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 ready!
Chapter 3: Shocks and Misunderstandings
Harry ducked his head out of his room and listened for a moment to make
sure that no one was around. After a quick glance assured him that his early
morning activities would go unnoticed by the other people in the house, he
opened his bedroom door completely and went back in. He came back out dragging
his trunk behind him. Harry slid the trunk down the hall and then eased it down
the stairs as quietly as possible. Going back to his room, he left a note on the
bed and picked up Hedwig's empty cage, closing the door to his room for the last
time. Feeling as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders, he went
downstairs picked up one end of his trunk and walked out the front door.
"I don't care what Dumbledore says, I am never coming back here.” Harry
muttered as he struggled toward the local park, two blocks away.
"Going somewhere, Potter?" a gruff, and apparently disembodied, voice
asked from nearby. Harry dropped his trunk and drew his wand, frantically
looking around for the source of the comment. After a moment, two figures
appeared in a swirl of fabric. Harry was halfway through casting a disarming
charm when he recognized one of the figures as 'Mad-eye' Moody.
"Prof…I mean, Sir? What are you doing here?"
Moody smirked at his expression. Moody looked like he always did, his
magic eye whirling insanely. Tonks on the other hand had changed drastically
from the last time. Instead of the drab, black haired schoolteacher he had
seen before, she was now a gorgeous redhead. Their muggle clothes were also a
stark contrast. While Moody was dressed in a ratty tweed suit, Tonks was wearing
a tight fitting outfit of black jeans and a dress shirt that only served to
emphasize the change. Harry realized he had been staring at her when she smirked
and waved her hand in front of his face.
"So Harry, you like red-heads do you?" she teased, her smile getting even
broader as Harry blushed.
"Um... Yeah, I guess." At Tonks questioning look, he felt his face getting
hotter. "You kind of remind me of my mom." Tonks looked a little displeased at
the comparison to his mother, but then grinned mischievously.
"Not getting an oedipal complex are you?" At Harry's disgusted expression,
she laughed and helped Moody pick up Harry's trunk. "So where are we taking all
of this?"
"I was going to the park, so that I could wait for Mr. Weasley and
Professor Lupin without having to deal with the Dursleys." Moody grunted and
glared at the house behind them.
"They haven't been mistreating you again have they boy. I meant what I
said in June."
"They weren't too bad until I let slip yesterday that Sirius was dead."
Harry said with a shrug. "After that, I just don't want to deal with them."
"Are they really that bad?" Tonks asked curiously, absently smiling at an
older man who tipped his hat in her direction. "The members of my dad's family
are all muggles, and they've always been pretty nice to me; even when I break
something at their house." Harry sighed and shrugged again as they came to a
stop near one of the benches and set everything they were carrying down.
Harry sat in the middle of the bench with Moody and Tonks on either side of him.
"When they found out about Sirius yesterday, they started celebrating.
They were happy that he was dead! Dudley was the worst, probably because he was
scared the most. Now that they know he's dead though, they feel like they can
treat me however they like. Aunt Petunia even started planning a party for
tomorrow." Tonks and Moody looked shocked for an instant, and then Moody got a
grim expression on his face.
"Those muggles have got to learn that they need to be careful. Voldemort
would just love to give you one less place to hide from him." Tonks nodded,
looking outraged and glaring around as if looking for something to hex.
When she looked back at Harry and saw that he was struggling to hold back tears,
she forced herself to relax and slowly put her arm around his shoulder. "I know
that it's hard to believe right now Harry, but it will get better. No, Not
easier, never easier, but it does get better. It's as they were saying during
one of my last classes in auror training. 'It's not the victims who suffer most
under a Dark Lord, but the survivors'."
Harry stared at Tonks and noticed that Moody was nodding in agreement.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"The ones who die or are tortured only suffer for a short while, boy."
Moody replied gruffly, his stare making Harry uncomfortable. "The survivors, the
ones that don't get hit, always feel that they could have done something about
the others. That they could have somehow prevented what happened to their
friends. What they don't seem to get is that worse might have happened if they'd
tried to help."
"But I should have known, should have realized..."
"Potter, if I had a Knut for every time I'd said that, I would be richer
than Lucius Malfoy." Harry stared at Moody, surprised at the caring tone in his
voice. "True seers are extremely rare, even amongst magical folk, and no one can
truly know the future. What is important is how you react to what you know. You
have good instincts, boy, and that's what matters."
"But it was a trap. Sirius wasn't even there... All I had to do was use
the two-way mirror he gave me..."
"No one told you? That elf hid the mirror from Sirius." Tonks said,
shaking in rage at the thought of a house-elf betraying his wizard. "Molly found
it when she was cleaning his room, after..."
"Kreacher? He's the one who told me Sirius wasn't there!"
"Don't worry Harry, he's been dealt with." At Harry's confused expression,
she smiled. "House elves have their own ways of dealing with traitors. He will
never betray anyone again." Harry nodded and smiled a little, realizing that
there was actually little he could have done. Recognizing his need for silence,
Moody and Tonks sat back, and the trio spent the next half-hour watching people
walk by. After a short while, several mothers and grandmothers started bringing
children to the park. Harry watched the children enviously, watching a young
mother help her son build a castle in the sand box.
"Cute kid, isn't he?" Tonks said, grinning at Harry's surprised
expression. "What? Just because I'm clumsy some times doesn't mean that I'm
blind. I notice things; I just don't always pay attention." Moody snorted,
shaking his head.
"Aurors today... I'm not surprised that the Minister has been getting away
with lying about the snake. No one is calling him on it." Tonks smirked at Moody
then jumped when he spoke again. "It's about time you two got here. The boy has
been sitting out in the open for half-an-hour." Tonks and Harry looked around,
and then looked behind them, finally catching sight of the Arthur Weasley and
Remus Lupin coming up the path from the car park. The men looked surprised at
Moody's comment and Arthur became agitated.
"We were expecting meet you at your home Harry. Why are you in the park?"
"He had a good reason, Arthur," Tonks replied, glaring toward Privet
Drive. "We need to be going. Harry needs to be at the Burrow before Moldyshorts
figures out that he's in the open." Mr. Weasley nodded and drew car keys from
his pocket while Remus and Moody picked up Harry's trunk while Tonks grabbed
Hedwig's cage and Harry followed them. When they came to a large black sedan,
Tonks gaped at it, the stared at Arthur Weasley.
"The Ministry gave you one of the new Benz S55's!" Tonks stared at the
car in wonder, blushing when Remus and Moody laughed. After the trunk and cage
were loaded into the boot, Harry was bundled into the middle of the back seat.
Tonks and Moody took the side seats in the back while Lupin and Weasley sat in
the front. As they were driving off, Harry noticed a difference from the
Dursley's car.
"Why are the windows so thick? They must be at least 20 millimeters!"
"Bullet-proof glass," Tonks said with a grin. "These cars were bought by
the ministry to protect visitors who might be in danger. How did you get one
Arthur?"
"I might as well ask you something similar. What are you doing here? I
thought Albus assigned Alastor to guard Harry today."
"He did. I'm here in an official capacity."
"As what?" Mr. Weasley was suddenly paying more attention to Tonks than
the road. When Remus had to yank the steering to get them back into the correct
lane, he went back to his driving.
"The Minister of Magic requested an auror be placed to watch Harry's
movements in order to, and I quote, 'prevent certain subversive groups from
obtaining legitimacy through association,' end quote. It sounds to me like he's
trying to keep young mister Potter away from the Order. Fortunately, he doesn't
know how badly the ministry had been penetrated." Moody laughed and muttered
something that sounded like 'ostrich' while Lupin and Mr. Weasley nodded in
agreement.
Harry watched nervously as Mr. Weasley navigated the streets of Little
Whinging, narrowly avoiding collisions often and smiling at the drivers who
swore at him. When they finally reached the motorway, Harry relaxed a little,
and then jumped in surprise when Remus dropped a scroll in his lap.
"What's this?" Harry asked, unrolling the scroll a little and seeing the
handwriting on the parchment. Looking up at Remus, he was startled to see a
confused expression on his face.
"I don't really know... Professor Dumbledore gave it to me when he told me
I would be coming with Arthur this morning. He didn't say what was in it, just
that it was part of the agreement you made with him after you got back from the
ministry last month." Harry nodded and went back to reading. He quickly realized
that the scroll contained the reports that members of the Order of the Phoenix
had given Dumbledore over the past month and a half since school had been out.
Harry focused on the reports in moments and didn't realize that Tonks was
looking over his shoulder until he came to the report she had made after isiting
him three weeks before, and she gasped.
"What do you have there Harry," She demanded, looking at it more closely.
"How did you get your hands on that report?"
"Report?" Moody asked looking at the scroll, then at Tonks in confusion.
"What are you talking about, theirs nothing on the scroll."
"Are you kidding me? Harry was reading the report I made to Dumbledore
three weeks ago. What I want to know is how he got it."
"You heard Remus, Albus sent it to him." Moody replied, not taking his
magical eye off the scroll. "There is a low level magical field surrounding the
thing. I think Albus may have put a spell on it so that only Harry could read
it."
"Then why can I see my report?"
"Then you can probably read it, because it is your report. I have no
doubt that were Harry to be reading my report now, I would also be able to read
it while you would not. Such spells often work that way." Harry filed that away
in his memory to think about later, and went back to reading the reports. He
smirked at how different Bill's report of their visit was than Tonks. It seemed
the oldest Weasley brother hadn't noticed how eager the Dursley's had been for
them to leave. He also hadn't noticed that there were no signs that Harry even
lived at privet drive. Tonks had, which made Harry feel a little better. At
least someone had noticed that there was something wrong on Privet Drive.
*************************
"Message coming in!" A chime rang through the almost deserted Department
of Magical Law Enforcement offices; the only person there sighed and came to his
feet, wondering what monumental waste of time had come into his life this time.
All of the Aurors in the department were out on assignment or currently in
Hospital, leaving the Duty Auror to his endless job.
He quickly changed his mind however when he read the contents of the
message from Japan. Rushing over to the fireplace, he made three fire calls in
quick succession. One was to the Minister of Magic's office, then one to the
head of his department, and the third to the senior case officer. He found
himself envying Kingsley Shacklebolt and his luck.
Two months without a lead and suddenly, his quarry had dropped into his
lap.
Sirius Black had been found!
*************************
"Mum! There here!" Harry heard Ron shouting as everyone got out of the
car. There was a clattering in the house, and then the door burst open. Ron,
Ginny, Fred, and George boiled out of the house and rushed the car, while Mrs.
Weasley followed at a much more sedate pace. Ginny slowed down and looked at
Harry questioningly while the boys surrounded him, pumping his hand, and
slapping him on the back.
"Harry it's so good to see you." Mrs. Weasley said, beaming at the black
haired boy surrounded by the read heads. "But I can't say much for your
relatives. Do they never feed you?" She looked over his painfully skinny frame
and shook her head sadly.
"Don't worry mum, you can always fatten him up a little before school
starts." One of the twins, Harry thought it was George, said with an impish grin
on his face. Harry gave him a weak grin in return. Mrs. Weasley enveloped him in
a warm hug, and suddenly Harry couldn't take it anymore. With a mumbled apology,
he broke away from Mrs. Weasley and the others and ran toward the tree house Ron
had showed him the last time he was here. Harry heard shouting behind him, but
ignored it as he reached the ladder that still hung down from the structure in
the huge tree. Swarming up the ladder and pulling it up after him, he gained the
tree house and collapsed into the chair he found nearby, sobbing.
"Harry? Are you okay?" Ron shouted up at the tree house. Harry ignored
him, after a few more attempts, Ron went back to the house, and Harry was alone
again. He felt the darkness settle over him again.
He didn't know how long he had been alone when he felt something touch his
shoulder. He jumped out of the chair and spun around with his wand in his hand.
Only to stare at the girl he saw standing there. "G... Ginny?"
"Ron said you were up here but wouldn't answer. He said you just wanted to
be left alone."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because Harry, I can't let you sit here alone in your grief. I know you
probably don't care, but I would be lying if I said it didn't tear me apart to
see you crying alone."
"I deserve to be alone; everyone who cares about me dies."
"That's not true, Harry. My mum and dad love you, and they're still alive.
Ron and Hermione care, and they're still alive. And... Harry... I care. I'm
still alive, only because of you, not in spite of you."
"But Sirius..."
"Died because Voldemort set a trap for you and his own cousin cursed him.
You know that you didn't do anything wrong Harry, but I want to tell you that I
know it too."
Harry stared at her in shock, amazed by the simple way that she said that,
the pure honesty shining from her face. When he saw that, he felt a glimmer of
hope start in him that he hadn't felt since he'd heard the prophecy that had
brought him to Voldemort's attention when he was barely a year old. He started
to smile shyly.
Ginny smiled at him in return, and he felt an unexpected surge of warmth
at that smile. Without knowing why, Harry found himself suddenly lost in the
dark brown depths of her eyes, drawn toward them. Then they kissed, and Harry
stopped thinking.
Eventually they had to stop to breath, and that was when it hit him.
'Ginny! I was kissing Ginny! Ron is going to kill me!' Harry was panicking, when
he heard a sleepy sounding voice.
"That was nice Harry; did you learn that from Cho?"
"What? No! I mean… did you really like it?" Harry was surprised at
himself. This was Ginny; Ron's little sister. What was he thinking? What was he
doing? "No… kissing her was never like that." Harry almost slapped himself the
instant he said that, thinking 'Way to go Potter, tell the girl you just
finished snogging… NO!! BAD!!! RON'S SISTER!!!!'
"Really?" Ginny sat up suddenly so she could look Harry in the eyes.
"You're not just saying that are you." What ever she was looking for, she
obviously found because Harry was suddenly on the receiving end of a powerful
kiss that made him feel like his head would explode.
"Harry James Potter, come down here this instant." Molly Weasley's voice
rang through the air, causing the teens to jump apart quickly. Ginny motioned
for Harry to go down first as she put her hair back in order. Harry grinned at
her, blushing a little, and then came out of the tree house. "I know you are
missing Sirius dear, but it doesn't help to be alone. It's times like these that
you need your friends and family the most. Now come down from there and go into
the house. Arthur needs your help with one of his Muggle devices."
Harry fought down the anger he felt from her bossy tone, recognizing it
for the motherly tone she used on Ron and Ginny. With a silent chuckle at the
soft 'squeak' that he heard from Ginny when she realized her mother was still
there, Harry climbed down the ladder and made a spur of the moment decision.
Suddenly wrapping his arms around Mrs. Weasley, he gave her a tight hug, making
her squeak in surprise.
"Thanks for caring Mrs. Weasley; I'm feeling a lot better." Molly Weasley
smiled and returned the hug. Stepping back, he smiled in return and started
toward the house. "What is it that Mister Weasley found this time?"
"Something called a 'Tele,' whatever that means. He says that it is
supposed to be a device that shows moving pictures; As if pictures didn't move
already." Harry laughed, and shook his head, trying to think of how to explain
television to the Weasleys.
***************
"Molly has him." Remus said coming back from the window. Arthur Weasley
nodded, while Tonks sighed.
"Why does life have to be so hard for him?" She asked, shifting her hair
from its vibrant red to a dull, lifeless black. "Is it too much to ask that he
get a break?"
"You-know-who doesn't believe in giving people breaks, unless they're
dead, and even then he might not." Moody growled. "Potter just had the very bad
luck to come to his attention at a young age."
"It's not fair," Tonks huffed. She was about to say something else when a
head appeared in the kitchen fire.
"Arthur? Molly? Anyone there?" Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice rang through
the kitchen. Arthur Weasley came to his feet and walked over to the fire, a
questioning look on his face. "Ah you've arrived Arthur. Are Moody and Tonks
there?"
"What is it boy?" Moody asked, noting the excitement on Shacklebolt's
face.
"We just got a report from Japan, with a confirmed sighting of Sirius
Black."
"That's impossible..." The occupants of the kitchen jumped when they heard
Harry's voice. He was standing in the doorway, staring at Shacklebolt's head in
the fire. "Sirius fell through the Veil of Souls in the Department of
Mysteries. He can't be in Japan."
"I know what you and Dumbledore saw Harry, but this sighting included a
magic signature close enough to be a match. Since we know that Sirius was the
last living member of the Black family, it has to be him. I need Tonks and Moody
as part of my team when we go to pick him up."
"But..."
"I know you don't want him to be captured Harry, but at least he's still
alive." Harry nodded and slumped into a chair at the kitchen table. Molly put
her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. "We'll let you know how he
is when we get back. I promise you this though; Sirius will get a trial this
time. I'm not letting Fudge even start to act like Barty Crouch did during the
last war.
Moody, Tonks, we're leaving in fifteen minutes." Shacklebolt's head
disappeared and Moody grabbed a handful of floo powder, vanishing with a shout
of "Auror Staging Area!" Tonks grabbed a hand full for herself.
"Don't worry Harry, if it is Sirius, we won't let him go back to Azkaban."
Harry nodded his thanks, and she disappeared in a flash of flame, following
Moody. With a sigh, he got back to his feet and made his way toward the stairs.
"Harry..."
"Don't worry Ma'am; I'm just going to take a nap. I haven't really been
sleeping well." Mrs. Weasley nodded sympathetically and followed him up to the
door to Ron's room.
"Sleep well dear; we will come to wake you if there is any news." Harry
nodded, relieved that the room was empty. Stripping down to his underwear, he
slipped into the bed he'd used every time he'd stayed here. As he fell asleep,
he caught himself praying that Sirius was safe.
**************
"Thanks for coming so quickly," Kingsley Shacklebolt said to the group of
ten aurors gathered in the staging area. "At approximately 2000 local time, an
auror for the Japanese Ministry of Magic was sent to investigate a report of an
unlicensed apparator in the Nerima ward of Tokyo. When she arrived, she found
nothing out of the ordinary, until she used an aura perception spell."
"So why are we here?" A tall, Nordic, blonde-haired woman demanded.
"Unlicensed Apparition is an internal matter."
"This auror is an unusual case. She can sense and record magical auras.
When she was relieved by an observation team, she checked her scan against the
aura records at their offices and came up with the record we sent out when
Sirius Black escaped."
"Black is in Japan?"
"That's what we're going there to find out. We'll travel by portkey to the
main Tokyo auror office, where we'll meet this witch, who will then take us to
the target location. Moody will use his eye to confirm or deny the
identification of the target."
"And if it is Black?" The blonde was looking rather nervous now. "We're
talking about the man who turned the Potters over to you-know-who... the lunatic
who blew up a street full of muggles just to kill one wizard."
"If it is Black, then we capture him by any means necessary. Remember,
Fudge wants him alive for questioning, so no killing curses, and no wild spells.
We are all professionals. Let's act like it." Reaching down, he picked up the
hula-hoop lying at his feet and the auror team grabbed hold of it. A minute
later, they all felt a sharp tug behind their navels and the ten aurors
vanished.
**************
Ranma snorted and sat up in bed, wondering what had woken him up. He
expanded his senses outward, noting and moving on when he sensed the Tendos, his
mother, and Happosai. When he couldn't detect anything unusual anywhere near the
house, he continued expanding his senses to the edge of the property. "Still
nothing... wait..." Ranma's senses went on full alert as he felt a surge of
energy just outside the main gate. Ranma shivered a little as he felt a barrier
form between the dojo and the rest of the world.
Rolling off his futon, Ranma moved silently through the house to Akane's
room, where his mother was sleeping. Keeping his senses expanded, he moved to
the western style bed that Akane had preferred and shook his mother awake.
"Ranma?" She asked blinking blearily.
"Mom, I think someone is attacking the house. We need to get out of here."
Nodoka was instantly awake and sitting up in bed.
"Do you know who it is?" She asked, getting out of bed and pulling her
robe on over her nightgown.
"No I don't, but their auras are powerful, and they did something to block
the ki field outside the dojo. I can't feel anything past the perimeter wall.
I'll get Kasumi and Nabiki out. You need to wake Soun up and see if you can hold
them off." Nodoka nodded and smiled, realizing how much Ranma trusted her to ask
her to back him up. They separated, and Ranma went to Nabiki's room. He tried
to wake her, but she was too asleep. Feeling the press of time, He went to wake
up Kasumi, hoping she would know a way to get Nabiki out of bed quietly. She was
just stirring, as all hell broke loose.
***************
"Alright, now everyone knows the plan. Go in and take everyone down, but
remember, only use stunners. We want them alive for questioning." Kingsley
waited until everyone had nodded in agreement then turned to Moody. "Have you
confirmed it yet Alastor?"
"I did that when we got here. The energy signature is coming from..."
Moody swore as his eye revealed something to him as he concentrated on the
house. "We have movement in the house. Black and two others are moving around.
Someone must have tipped them off."
"No one knew about this operation except us." Hinako argued, angry at his
implication.
"It doesn't matter how they know. Get in your positions now people. We
move in five minutes. Moody, Tonks you're with me." The aurors scattered,
surrounding the compound. Once everyone was in position, Kingsley sent off
purple sparks, signaling for everyone to move in. That was when all hell broke
loose.
***************
Ranma swore when he felt fifteen people cross the perimeter wall as a
group. "This is a coordinated assault, not just a random attack." Ranma smirked
as he saw part of the assault group recoil when his mom and Soun attacked them
from the house, then shook himself out of his stupor. Kasumi blinked at him
owlishly, and Ranma realized that he would have to carry her out and come back
for Nabiki after Kasumi was safe. With that in mind, Ranma scooped Kasumi into
his arms and jumped out of the window.
Kasumi's shriek drew attention to them, but Ranma and Kasumi were on the
roof of the house next door an instant later and moving rapidly away. Two
minutes and two kilometers later, Ranma set Kasumi on her feet and headed back
to the dojo. Ranma made it past the attackers easily, and made it through the
upstairs window just before a shower of red sparks crashed into frame of the
window.
Ranma ran to Nabiki's room, swearing to himself, and picked her up as
gently as he could. He was about to jump out of the window when he heard a
shriek of pain. Setting Nabiki down, he ran to the front window and glanced out
the window.
Soun was on the ground unconscious as were several attackers. One of the
attackers was lying on the ground bleeding, but Nodoka was fighting a losing
battle to keep them from getting behind her. Ranma was about to jump down and
help her when she noticed him.
"Ranma, get Nabiki out of here!" The distraction was enough for one of the
attacker to find an opening, and Ranma groaned as his mother went down in a
shower of sparks. Swearing to himself, Ranma ran back to the bedroom and picked
Nabiki up, and moved toward the widow as he heard running steps on the stairs.
Making a decision, Ranma dove out the window, grinning as red sparks followed
him out the window. An instant later, he had hit his stride and was dashing away
across the rooftops.
***************
"What the hell?" Shacklebolt stared out the window as their target
vanished into the distance, carrying someone else as he ran and jumped across
the rooftops at unbelievable speeds. "How does he do that?" Tonks could only nod
as she followed the fleeing figure with her eyes.
"Shacklebolt-san, the two prisoners have been secured. Where is the
target?"
"He escaped." Kingsley grunted, and then turned to the Japanese witch. "We
need some brooms." She nodded and spoke to one of the aurors from her office. He
disappeared, and a moment later returned with four Raiden type II brooms.
Hinako handed each of them a broom and they jumped into the air and flew after
their fleeing target.
****************
"Saotome put me down," Nabiki shouted struggling against his hold. "What
are you doing?"
"Someone attacked the dojo," Ranma said stopping on a roof and setting her
on her feet. "I don't know who they were, but my mom was talking about some
'wizards' who tried to kill her and my dad before I was born."
"Wizards? Come on Saotome, next thing you'll tell me is that you're a
wizard."
"Actually... Oh crap." Ranma picked Nabiki up again without an explanation
and started running again.
"Saotome, what... Are those the wizards? Are they flying on brooms?" Ranma
ignored her questions as he ran as fast as he could. Red light splashed around
him, but Ranma dodged them easily, using his chi senses to keep track of the
energy his pursuers were using.
Ranma continued dodging, but he soon realized that the people who were
chasing him could probably keep this up a lot longer than he could. Coming to a
decision, he landed on a roof, set Nabiki down, and turned to face the people
chasing him.
The flyers flashed past his rooftop and came around in wide sweeping
curves. Ranma was about to shout at them when a booming voice crashed over them,
speaking English.
"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt of the Department of Magical Law
Enforcement. Step away from the girl, and don't make any sudden moves. We won't
hesitate to kill you." Ranma glanced at Nabiki who was staring at him in
confusion. Deciding to play along for now, Ranma moved away from her, but kept
himself between her and the people in the air. The four flyers landed on the
roof, and Ranma noticed his English teacher.
"Hinako-sensei? You're a wizard?"
"Shut up, Black," Shacklebolt growled, keeping his wand trained on the
young Asian. Tonks moved around behind Ranma and grabbed Nabiki's arm pulling
her away from him. When he tried to help Nabiki, the other two moved in holding
their wands on him. Once Tonks was clear, the three aurors moved to surround
Ranma. "Sirius Black, by the authority of the British Ministry of Magic and by
permission of the International Confederation of Wizards I place you under
restraint."
Ranma watched Shacklebolt closely and when he started moving his wand
tensed his muscles. At the last moment, as Ranma felt the energy gathering in
the wand Shacklebolt was pointing at him, he dove out of the way. The spell
struck the other male auror, encasing him in a glowing energy field. Hinako cast
a stunner at Ranma, which he dodged easily. Soon he was bouncing around,
laughing as the two wizards had to dodge each other's spells. This went on for
several minutes until one of the spells hit Nabiki, making her slump to the
ground. Ranma growled and glared at the two magic users as his battle aura
flared, and with a shout of "Moko Takabisha!" threw a ki bolt at the British
auror.
***************
Tonks glared at the boy they'd caught, and then moved around him to grab
the girl he'd carried for the last ten kilometers without even breaking a sweat.
The girl struggled against her, but Tonks ignored that, keeping her eyes on the
target. When Kingsley made the standard declaration of restraint required by
wizarding law, she relaxed glad the chase was over.
Then everything went south.
Shacklebolt's restraining charm was just leaving his wand when the boy
moved, as if he'd known it was coming, and the spell hit the Japanese auror
behind him. The boy was moving so fast that Ninomiya and Shacklebolt had to
dodge each other's stunners. As time went by the two aurors started getting
sloppy with their aim and one of the stunners hit the girl Tonks was guarding.
Tonks stared in awe as pure energy gathered around their target as he shook with
rage. The other two aurors kept casting spells at him, but the red sparks
dissolved when they came within a few feet of their unmoving target, only
seeming to boost the energy around him. He shouted something in Japanese, and
the magic surrounding him collapsed into a glowing ball between his hands and
shot at Shacklebolt. Kingsley was bathed in the glowing blue energy for several
second before he flew backwards, his wand collapsing into a pile of ash when he
slumped to the ground.
An instant later, the boy collapsed into unconsciousness.
"What the hell was that Ninomiya? How can he use that much magic without a
wand? How can he use that much magic at all?"
"It wasn't all magic," the Japanese auror replied, checking the boy's
vitals with a diagnostic spell. "This is Ranma Saotome, not Sirius Black. We
went after the wrong person," Hinako swore violently to herself.
"What do you mean that wasn't all magic. Muggles can't do stuff like
that." She pointed at Kingsley Shacklebolt who was lying against the wall he'd
slammed into, his scorched outline still on the wall. "He burned out King's
wand!"
"Ranma Saotome is one of the five most powerful martial artists in the
known world, wizard, or muggle. Most of what hit your friend was a simple ki
bolt. Think of it as concentrated life energy. Do remember that demi-god that
the idiots on Phoenix Mountain summoned into their king's body?" Tonks nodded
remembering a report she had read just after Dumbledore had left Hogwarts during
the last year. "Ranma is the one who defeated it. Somehow, he was able to save
Saffron at the same time, but he caused so much damage with ki bolts that the
Beijing Ministry still hasn't solved all of their problems. Fortunately, that's
mostly a muggle free area. Now, let's get everyone back to the Tendo dojo. We
have enough problems without having to deal with the weirdoes that roam this
town."
Tonks nodded and walked over to Shacklebolt's crumpled form. After
erforming a diagnostic charm to make sure she wouldn't be injuring more than he
already was, she levitated him over to the other unconscious figures. In the
mean time, Ninomiya had released the other Japanese auror from the restraining
charm and turned a piece of roofing tile into a portkey. Holding Shacklebolt's
hand on the portkey, Tonks sighed, wondering what was going on. Then she felt
the tell tale pull behind her navel and soon found herself in the yard of the
house they attacked.
***************
"Oh man, my head hurts," Ranma thought to himself as he slowly regained
consciousness. Then the memories of the fight on the rooftop flooded in, and
Ranma sat bolt upright.
"Ranma please, calm down!" Nodoka said placing her hand on his shoulder.
He whirled on her, and then sighed in relief when he saw Kasumi and Nabiki
sitting behind her.
"What happened?"
"You were hit by the stunning spell," Hinako said, coming into the room
and looking at Ranma nervously. "Sorry about that."
"What?" Ranma stopped when he saw one of the wizards who had attacked the
house come in. "What is he doing here?"
"Ranma, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, an auror from England." Nodoka
explained, trying to calm her son. "He's a kind of magical police officer."
"If he's a cop, why did he attack us?"
"That's partly my fault," Hinako said, blushing when he glared at her.
When Ranma looked at her questioningly, she blushed hotter and sighed. "When you
apparated here from Okayama, The Ministry of Magic told me to come here, find
out who was apparating without a license, and bring them in for violating of the
International Secrecy Pact."
"I'm guessing you are a witch? An Auror?" Nodoka asked, smiling when the
woman nodded, giving her a confused look. "My husband, Ranma's father, is a
wizard. He told me a great deal about your world. He also told me if he ever
disappeared and I was contacted by aurors, to ask to speak with Albus
Dumbledore."
"Dumbledore?" one of the British aurors asked, surprised at the mention of
the name. "Who is your husband?"
"Genma Saotome is not a wizard," Hinako said, looking startled. "There is
no way he could be a wizard."
"I wouldn't know, but you are probably right. I do know that my sense of
justice would be offended if he were. But then, Genma Saotome isn't my husband,
nor is he Ranma's father."
"Who is?"
"My husband's name is Sirius Black. Perhaps you've heard of him?" The
aurors gasped in shock, talking rapidly amongst themselves. "I thought so."
"That explains why we thought... Ranma is it?" Moody grunted when Nodoka
nodded. "If Ranma were Black's son it would explain why his magical signature
looks like Black's. Though I do wonder why the Japanese Ministry didn't know
about Ranma's magic."
"I've been monitoring Ranma for the last two years. He didn't show any
signs of magical ability until today."
"According to the physicians who are treating him, Ranma suffered a skull
fracture when he was young."
"Ah... Well I for one think we are done here." Kingsley sighed. "Thank you
all for coming, I'll report to the ministry when I get back to England. Tonks,
would you please ask Albus to join us at his earliest convenience? Moody,
Ninomiya, and I will take care of repairing the damage to the Tendos' property,"
Tonks nodded and apparated away. Meanwhile, Ranma followed the three aurors out
into the yard, watching in awe as shattered windows and damaged screens were
repaired completely without any signs that they'd been broken in the first
place. He was watching Hinako repair one of the statues that had been blown to
pieces by a spell, when he heard the distinctive sound of someone apparating.
Looking around, he saw that Tonks had returned with an old man who was talking
to Ranma's mother, who smiled and motioned for Ranma to join them.
"Ah... So you are Ranma Black." the man, who must be this Dumbledore
person his mom had asked for, said in fluent Japanese. "Yes, I can see your
father in you. I knew him well... A very good man who was very loyal to those he
loved."
"You say that you knew him..."
"Yes, as I was telling your mother, Sirius was killed fighting the dark
wizards that she mentioned to you earlier. He was trying to rescue his godson
who had been tricked into entering a trap."
"Professor..."
"I feel that I can trust them Nymphadora," Ranma smirked, and then laughed
at the glare she threw at Dumbledore who smiled. "This development does change
things somewhat though. Firstly, it means that we now have a means to fight
Narcissa Malfoy's claim to the Black estate. Secondly, if Mrs. Black would be
willing, we have the means to teach people to defend themselves, even without
magic."
"What..."
"Mr. Dumbledore, what kind of teaching do you mean?" Nodoka asked the old
wizard nervously. "My family style is sword-based and just that, a family style.
I would need permission from the head of my family to teach anyone that style."
"I see... do you have any other conditions?" Tonks stared at Dumbledore
and Nodoka, amazed at the respect she heard in Dumbledore's tone. Nodoka smiled
and nodded.
"If I do agree to this, then Ranma must be permitted to attend Hogwarts as
his father wished."
"Of course Mrs. Black, that was my intention from the beginning." Albus
and Nodoka grinned at each other when Ranma groaned at the mention of school.
"We do need to be going though. We need to get you settled before we can deal
with your estate. There are some things that need to be taken care of
immediately." Nodoka nodded again and came to her feet.
"Ranma, gather your belongings quickly." Ranma ran up to the guest room
where he was sleeping. When he came back down, Professor Dumbledore shrank the
box, and Ranma put it into his pocket. Nodoka told Dumbledore where her brother
lived, and he created a portkey. Ranma watched as his mother, Dumbledore, Tonks,
and Hinako touched the old shoe, then touched it himself and felt a sharp pull
behind his navel.
Ranma tensed himself when he felt a strange fluttering in the ki around
him, and then jumped when the group came to a sudden stop, landing in a dive-
roll. Looking around at the formal arrangement of the buildings, he recognized
the traditional architecture of Hokkaido, and gave his mother as confused look.
"Yes Ranma, my family is one of the old Samurai clans of Hokkaido. I hope
that my brother will be willing to listen to me now. It didn't go well the last
time I tried to visit." Ranma nodded, still recovering from the shock of this
revelation. Nodoka moved toward the gate of the main house, and stopped when two
men stepped out of the shadow on either side of it. They wore black suits and
wore radio headsets. They looked the group over, and then spoke softly into
their Radios while Nodoka waited patiently.
"Mrs. Saotome, your brother told you that you would not be welcome until
you had repaired your honor by divorcing the thief. You have not done this."
"No I have not." Nodoka said, laughing when they looked at each other
nervously. "There was no need, since our marriage was not valid. Would you
please wake my brother so that I may explain it to him? I do not ask to enter,
only to speak with him." One of the guards walked a short distance away and
spoke softly into his radio, while the other guard watched the five people
standing at the gate. A short time later, a man wearing the traditional kimono
came out of the main house, and walked to the gate.
"Why have you returned Nodoka, and what is this nonsense about your
marriage to Saotome being invalid? I was there. All of the rights were performed
properly."
"The marriage was invalid because my first husband, who our parents
claimed was dead, was in fact still alive. This gentleman and his friends
brought proof that Sirius was alive when the wedding took place."
"And your son..."
"He is the child of Sirius Black. I was pregnant when they forced the
wedding on me." The man smiled for the first time and hugged Nodoka, ignoring
the gasps from his security detail.
"Welcome home little sister. May the error of out parents be washed away
by the passage of time." He said, smiling down at Nodoka, who was grinning back
up at him. He then turned to the others at his gate. "Please, let me offer my
thanks for the return of my sister."
"Hideki, I would love to celebrate with you. Unfortunately, Ranma and I
must travel to England immediately. One of Sirius' relatives is attempting to
claim his estate."
"Ah... then this Sirius Black was not the penniless gaijin our father
thought then. If it was so urgent Nodoka, why did you come here? You could have
notified me through my lawyers in Tokyo. I would have understood."
"Hideki, I need my masters’ certificate." Nodoka sighed, shifting
nervously. "I know that father destroyed my copy of it when I left for school,
but the original was cast in sword steel as out tradition required. Do you know
where it is?"
"You intend to teach your son the way?" Her brother glanced at his nephew,
nodding approval. He glanced back at his sister and frowned when he saw her
nervousness. "There is more?"
"I have been offered a position at the school Sirius attended in England.
They wish me to teach students the sword, not the family secrets of course, but
the basics techniques. I need your permission as the head of the clan to teach
them more."
"Are you sure Nodoka? Why would English school children need to know the
more advanced techniques of the way?"
"It is easiest to learn the advanced skills when you have someone to spar
against who is near your level. You know this truth as well as I do. Ranma will
need sparring partners."
"Very well. I will permit you to train nine others. This is the most I can
permit outside of the family." He looked at her significantly, and she smiled in
gratitude. "I will have another copy of your certificate produced and sent to
you."
"Thank you Hideki, I will contact you when I know where I will be
staying."
"Thanks are unnecessary Nodoka, not between us. I will let you go now, so
that you may thwart the evil gaijin. Know that I love you baby sister. Remember
that you need never be alone again." Nodoka hugged her older brother, wiping
tears from her eyes. Ranma shook his uncle's hand, and the group of five walked
away from the gate. Once they were out of sight from the gate, Dumbledore pulled
the shoe out of his pocket and produced another portkey. With the same jerking
feeling, Ranma found himself traveling again.