Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Harry Hibiki and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Hibiki and the Philosopher's Stone
Disclaimer: Harry Potter © J. K. Rowling and Ranma 1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
Author Note: Wow, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support the fic got right off the bat. Thanks to my new beta for this story The Blissfull Wulf for helping me out. More author notes at the bottom!
Chapter 2
***
"BEEWWW!" Ragnok's first thought was that the young man had played a trick on him and had changed into an Animagus form. Except for the fact that he was surrounded by the clothing he had been wearing. Ragnok knew enough about that type of magic that the clothing transforms with him. The goblin was snapped out of his thoughts as the piggyfied Ryoga started to oink and bwee rapidly, waving his front hoofs.
"I don't suppose you can change back?" Ragnok asked. Ryoga oinked softly then wiggled the rest of the way out of his shirt and hopped off the chair. He trotted over to kettle of hot water that was lying on its side; most of its contents spilled out and pointed a hoof at it. "You need... hot water?" the goblin guessed after a moment. Ryoga oinked excitedly and nodded his head.
"You! Go fetch some more hot water!" Ragnok barked at the lower ranking goblin who had been watching with wide eyes. The goblin quickly scrambled up off the floor and ran out of the room. He returned a minute later with another kettle of hot water, handing it to his leader. Ragnok looked at the kettle then down at Ryoga, the young man had changed after the cold drinks were spilt on him so....
"Yowch!" Ryoga yelped as he turned back into a human, the water had been very hot. He quickly ran back over to the chair, grabbed his shirt and pants then dove out of sight behind the chairs. He popped back out after a few seconds, once again fully dressed. Harry meanwhile was laughing loudly and clapping his hands.
"I suppose you can explain what just happen?" Ragnok asked as he shoved the empty kettle into the lower goblin's hands and told him to leave. Ryoga sighed; he hated explaining his curse, but nodded and sat back down, pulling Harry into his lap again. Once both boy and goblin was seated, Ryoga launched into an explanation of the cursed Jusenkyo springs and how he ended up as a pig.
**
"So this is the curse you mentioned before?" Ragnok asked once Ryoga finished his story. The goblin director was really intrigued! He wondered if the Chinese branch of the bank knew about these springs.
"Yeah, I don't have any real control over it. Both cold and hot liquids just seem to find all of us," Ryoga said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hate turning into a pig, it's made my life hell since I'm so small and pigs are something people and other animals like to eat."
"I can... see where that would be a problem," Ragnok agreed. "Is there any way to cure it for good?"
"As far as I know, only the spring of the drowned man can turn me back for good. But we got into a battle with the Phoenix People a few months ago and I'm not sure if the springs have recovered yet," Ryoga said with a sigh.
"Phoenix people.... I thought that race had died out!" Ragnok said. Old records talked about the phoenix race having a humanoid form but a war had wiped them all out until only the bird version was left. It was rumored that the Veela might be descended from that race themselves but Veela were also rumored to be distantly related to Harpies.
"Not this clan," Ryoga muttered, shuddering as he remembered how hard the fight had been and how Akane almost died. Ryoga didn’t realize he and Ragnok were thinking of two complete different races that had the same name. "They live close to Jusenkyo and so do the Musk and Amazons."
"Hibiki-san... I would like for a couple of healers and curse breakers to look you over. Perhaps they can find the key you need to be cured of this and of your problem with your direction if it is a curse as well," Ragnok said. "And also for a healer to check Harry over. There isn't much known about what happened the night that the Potters were attacked, but Voldemort would have been using some of the most evil and darkest magic possible, so it would be a good idea to make sure the Potter heir wasn't affected by this."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Ryoga said, leaning over and digging in his pack. "Maybe this can help, I found it the night I found Harry in his nursery next to a pile of ash and robes." He took out the wand he found that night and dropped it on the desk.
"Are you saying... this is the Dark Lord Voldemort's wand?!" Ragnok asked eyes wide as he looked at the dark colored wand on his desk. "Yes... yes the curse breakers can check the wand to see what the last few spells that had been used were." The goblin called in another one, barking orders in Gobbledygook. A few minutes later, a group of goblins entered Ragnok's office, one of them taking Harry from Ryoga while another snagged Ryoga's wrist and dragged him off to the other side of the room.
Ryoga shivered as he felt the goblin's magic roll over him, the goblin doing most of the casting speaking lowly to one of the others who was writing on a scroll of parchment. Harry was making upset noises, shying away.
The goblin that was checking Harry over paused in his motions over Harry's head, his eyes wide and turned to Ragnok, speaking rapidly in Gobbledygook. Ragnok replied back in the same tongue, catching Ryoga's attention, something was going on; the goblin leader’s face was getting darker and darker in anger. "Hibiki-san, come here for a moment."
"What's going on?" Ryoga asked as he pulled away and went over to the desk.
"Ryoa up!" Harry said, holding his arms out. Ryoga reached out and plucked Harry off the desk, setting him on his hip.
"We have a problem, it seems the wizard Voldemort has managed to... somehow turn little Potter into a soul container," The goblin standing to his right said.
"A soul container?" Ryoga asked, blinking his eyes.
"Yes, humans call this type of magic a 'horcrux'," The goblin said. "An act of murder splinters the soul and with a spell, the wizard or witch in question can place that soul shard into an object."
"It's a foul, dark and evil branch of magic," Ragnok said. "Voldemort likely didn't mean to turn Harry into one, but may have meant to make one with the boy's death."
"As long as these 'containers' are intact with the soul shard, the main soul is tethered to this plane and is able to come back," The other goblin added. "If the wizard dark lord had made the Potter boy one by accident, then he must have other horcruxes out there. The man's soul would have to be already torn to shreds for something like this to happen."
"Is there a way to get rid of it?" Ryoga asked.
"The container must be destroyed or if the anchor is something living, the anchor has to die," The goblin said. Ryoga growled and held Harry closer. "But, it is possible to move the soul shard from one container to another."
"We come across these foul things from time to time, usually in priceless artifacts," Ragnok said. "We have no desire to destroy the artifacts so our curse breakers move the soul to some cheap little thing that no one would miss if it was destroyed."
"So you can get this thing out?" Ryoga asked. The nameless goblin sighed and looked at Harry.
"I'm not sure; there has never really been a case of a live human turned into a horcrux," The goblin said. "The ritual used to move the soul shard may not work, it could spur the shard into trying to possess the boy, or we could remove the wrong soul."
"Tell him what else you found Blackclaw," Ragnok said.
"There seems to be some sort of ward or shield around the boy," The other goblin, Blackclaw, said. "The magical signature belongs to the boy's mother Lily Potter and it's keyed against Voldemort. It's possible that this is how he survived the Killing Curse."
"So that's a good thing," Ryoga asked as Harry played with the frog ties on his tunic shirt.
"Yes, if and when Voldemort attacks him again, it should keep him safe. But with the soul shard within him, it could also cause him great pain," Blackclaw said. "When the shard is close to the main soul it could react to it. But if we can remove it, the ward Lily Potter created on him should work like it was made for. As it is, it could be what is keeping the shard from taking over the boy now."
"Who is this 'Voldemort' you keep mentioning anyway? I get he's the one that attacked and killed Harry-chan's parents," Ryoga asked, rubbing Harry's back as the little boy buried his face into Ryoga's chest.
"Voldemort is a dark, evil wizard that 20 or so years ago began a quest to take over the British wizarding world," Ragnok said. "He has gathered many of what are called 'pureblood' wizards and witches to him, they went by the name Death Eaters. The war was bloody and the only wizard it seemed the man was afraid of was Albus Dumbledore." The goblin said Dumbledore's name with distaste.
"Then on Halloween night, Voldemort seemed to disappear. The wizards are convinced he is dead, somehow by the boy in your arms," Blackclaw continued. "But now we know that it isn't true, somewhere out there he still exists on the mortal plane. Everyone here in the wizarding world worships Harry Potter as the 'boy-who-lived'."
"How do they know he's alive?" Ryoga asked. "There wasn't anywhere alive in the house other than the chibi and I took him with me when I left."
"We don't know how, but Dumbledore is the one who told the humans that the Potter heir was alive and the one to defeat the dark lord," Ragnok said. "He has also made everyone think that he is hidden away in the mundane human world."
"So he told people that so they don't know he's missing?" Ryoga guessed. Ragnok shook his head slightly.
"I believe he intends to place the boy with his maternal aunt," The goblin leader said. "The manager of the Potter vaults informed me a week or two ago Dumbledore had visited and wished to set up an account for one Petunia Dursley for the care of Harry Potter once he starts living with her. The request was denied until we had proof he was living with her."
"And he's not... he's been with me the whole time," Ryoga said as he sat down in the chair again, looking at Ragnok. "Who is supposed to have him? This aunt?"
"We do not believe so, I've spoken to Lily Potter several times and she did not speak highly of her older sister," Ragnok said. "Her sister seems to dislike anything that she doesn't perceive to be normal. No doubt he was to go to his godfather or if not him, his godmother."
"Well how do I get in touch with them... wait, was?" Ryoga blinked as he caught the past tense words Ragnok used.
"Harry’s godfather Sirius Black is currently in Azkaban, the wizarding prison, for charges of betraying the Potters to Voldemort and for killing Peter Pettigrew and 13 non-magical humans," Ragnok explained. "We are still awaiting word for the outcome of his trial but it has been over a month since his arrest and I do not believe he will receive one. I honestly do not think he was behind the betrayal of the Potters, he and Lord Potter were always close and the man is different from the bulk of his family. But the human wizards will not listen to an opinion of a goblin." Ragnok's mouth twisted up into a sneer.
"What about his godmother then?" Ryoga asked he didn't know whether or not to feel angry at this Sirius Black guy for getting his chibi's parents killed, but Ragnok didn't seem to think any of it was true. For now, he would go with what the goblin thought.
"Alice Longbottom and her husband were attacked a week or so after Voldemort was dispatched," Ragnok said. "They are currently unable to take care of anyone; they were driven insane and are in the care of the healers at Saint Mungo's. The only other person that the Potter's knew that they might like to take the boy would not be allowed by the Ministry as he is deemed dangerous because of his werewolf status. Hibiki-san the only person that Harry Potter has now.... is you."
"Nani!?" Ryoga asked, standing up in shock. "I can't keep him! It's dangerous for him to stay with me! I have no sense of direction, what if I get separated from him in the wild or in the middle of a busy city!? What if I turn into my curse from and I'm not able to protect him as a pig!"
Harry looked up at his current caretaker, little thumb shoved into his mouth. His Ryoa was all red in the face and yelling loudly.
"Ryoa!" Harry said, tugging at the teen's shirt. Ryoga looked down at Harry and deflated at the watery green eyes looking up at him. He sighed and sat back down, hugging Harry close.
"I don't want Harry-Chan to get hurt or lost because of me," Ryoga said softly. "My life is hell; I don't want that for him."
"Hibiki-san, you are all the boy has," Ragnok said. "Many of Voldemort's followers are still out there, you took out three of my best warriors one handed, I have no doubt that you could do the same to others that wish the boy harm. We will work with you around these two problems you have, let the curse breakers continue to look at your curses. You are the best chance he has for growing up, dare I say it, loved. If not you, then I'm afraid Dumbledore will make sure he will go to his aunt and I believe Harry's mother when she said those things of her sister."
Ryoga sighed, he had come to really care for little Harry, the toddler had made his dark days on his own a little brighter. He wasn't alone, lost to the world as he was, while he had Harry with him. He also didn't like the sound of this aunt of his and he didn't want to see Harry unhappy and hurt.
"Alright.... alright," He finally said, looking up at Ragnok. "I'll take care of him and raise him... but you better figure out some way I can keep from getting lost from him and my pig form."
"Of course, Hibiki-san," Ragnok nodded his head. He told the other goblins to get back to work on checking the Japanese teen over while he told Blackclaw to start looking into ways they might remove the horcrux from Harry. He commanded a low ranking guard in the room to retrieve magical and mundane adoption forms, if they were going to make sure Harry Potter stayed with Ryoga Hibiki, they would make sure no one, not even Albus Dumbledore, could take the boy away from his new protector.
***
Later that night, Ragnok sat at the head of a meeting table, looking around at the other goblins with him.
"Tell me Dkrax, what did you learn about Mr. Hibiki?" He asked, looking at goblin on his left. Dkrax had been the curse breaker goblin in charge of learning about Ryoga's two curses.
"The shape shifting curse is similar to the wizards Animagus spell. The curse physically changes his body into a black piglet but his mind stays human," Dkrax explained. "The trigger is of course the temperature of liquid, not limited to water. Cold triggers the curse, hot reverses it. The boy told us that other than himself, he knows of two that change gender, one that changes into a cat, one into a duck and another that changes into a panda among others."
"Do any of the spells used against Animagus work against this 'Jusenkyo' curse?" Ragnok asked.
"No sire, while similar, the curse works differently from the Animagus spell," Dkrax said. "At this time, without more study of the curse itself and of the water that caused it, we cannot cure the curse completely. We can perhaps change the trigger from cold and hot liquids to something else."
"There is another possible option," Another goblin beside Dkrax said. Ragnok nodded for the goblin, Gtusok, to continue. "We've noted how alike the Jusenkyo curse is to the Animagus ability; perhaps we could change the cursed form itself. If it can be changed, then we can reshape it to his real form. He is still cursed and water will find him but in the end it would not matter as both his real and cursed forms are the same."
"We would need to contact a transfiguration master," Ragnok said. "The only two with the skill to tackle this curse are Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall. Dumbledore is out of the question, he will take the Potter boy away from Mr. Hibiki."
"McGonagall is well known to work closely with Dumbledore; she is his Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts," Dkrax pointed out.
"Yes... but if we have her swear a wizarding oath not to reveal anything to anyone, we might be able to work around that," Gtusok said. "We've used her before for problems we've had with transfiguration spells; it will not look unusual if we do so this time."
"Hmmm," Ragnok tapped his clawed fingers together in thought. "Contact her then, but make sure she makes the oath and that it is iron clad," He said. "If after she seems inclined to tell Dumbledore in some way, erase the memory from her mind. What of the other curse, what have you figured out on it Ripblade?"
"This direction curse, if it is one, is unlike anything I have ever seen sire," Ripblade said with a shake of his head. "I had the boy lead me around the bank so I could see if it is as bad as he claims." Ripblade shook his head again, pressing his fingers to his forehead. "It is much, much worse. We entered a doorway that should have lead us toward the upper vaults we use for new clients and somehow ended up at the other end of Diagon Alley."
Ragnok's eyes widen, he had never heard of a spell or curse like this. "Teleportation then?"
"It must be, but he seems to have no knowledge of when he is doing so. All the boy seems to know is that he is one place one moment and another the next. He cannot seem to even follow the simplest direction without getting lost. I instructed him to go left and instead he goes right. He seems to have some sort of sixth sense, he can detect when he is about to be attack, we saw that with his fight with Captain Snapfang and the guards. He can also sense when someone is watching him but cannot seem to point in the direction it is coming from." Ripblade shook his head once again, he was getting a headache just thinking of it. "The strange thing is, every time I scanned him, I could not find anything that could be a source of this disability. He simply has no sense of direction."
"What do you suggest then? This problem he has is one of the two things he is worried the most about when it comes to the Potter heir," Ragnok pointed out.
"Use a ward or magic tether, connect the Hibiki boy to the Potter so no matter what, he will never wander too far from the child," Ripblade said. "Set the spell so this ability to teleport does not work unless the boy is with him. If we use ward bracelets, the spell can be turned off while the Potter boy goes to Hogwarts and turned back on when the boy is with the Hibiki youth."
"So be it. Have the ward bracelets made," Ragnok said with a nod then looked at the last goblin. "Are you still looking for ways to get the soul shard out of the Potter heir Blackclaw?"
"Yes sire. I have sent out contacts to Japan, the Americas and to Africa," Blackclaw said. "It might take time to find the right ritual to take care of the shard but leave the boy's soul intact."
"Right now, the wizard Voldemort is nothing more than a shade so we have at least a little time," Ragnok said. "We need to find the other soul containers as well." The goblin leader stood from his throne like chair and looked at the other four. "We have committed ourselves to our own side of the war, one behind Harry Potter soon Hibiki. The Potters have always been friends of the goblin nation. We will make sure he wins this war that has been placed on him by the Dark Lord Voldemort and the Light Lord Dumbledore."
Blackclaw, Ripblade, Dkrax and Gtusok all gave the goblin war cry, pumping their fists into the air.
****
Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, head of Gryffindor at Hogwarts and transfiguration mistress, spelled away the soot from the fireplace off her robes as she stepped out from the floo at the Leaky Cauldron. In her other hand was the missive from Gringotts that had arrived at breakfast that morning. As she nodded to Tom the barkeep and headed out the back to enter the alley so she could make her way to the goblin run bank, Minerva wondered just why the goblins had requested for her to come, it didn't happen very often.
She sighed very softly as she stopped and looked around the alley, watching carefree witches and wizards start their Yule/Christmas shopping. Everyone was still in high spirits after he-who-must-not-be-named was defeated by little Harry Potter. Little Harry who was still missing, not that anyone here would know that. Minerva could remember clearly what happened a month ago, waking up early November first to hear that you-know-who was defeated by the extremely happy house elves. She had asked one of the elves where Albus was, she wanted to ask him herself if it was true. All the elves knew was that Albus planed on headed to someplace call 'Dursleys'.
It took a moment for the witch to remember who that was, poor sweet Lily's older sister. Minerva only met her once, when she brought the letter to little Lily Evans. She remembered how plain the little rude blonde girl was next to her redheaded sister, she also remembered how heartbroken Lily was when Petunia blamed their parent’s death on her and refused to have anything to do with Lily at all. The woman hadn't even come to Lily and James's wedding. Lily mentioned that Petunia had married a man with the last name of Dursley. Why in the world would Albus want to go see them?
Minerva canceled classes that day: everyone, teachers and students alike, were too joyous in the idea that they were free from the dark days to properly attend classes. She then swept out of the castle, taking her copy of the Daily Prophet with her, and apparated to Privet Drive. There she had changed into her cat Animagus form and read the paper while peeking in on the muggles inside.
She couldn't say she was at all impressed by what she saw. Petunia, who Minerva thought might grow into her looks when she was older, looked like a stuck up horse and her husband was a fat muggle who didn't look like he would be pleasant company at all. Then there was their child, what a spoiled rotten little brat! When the man, Vernon, had come out of the house, Minerva had been reading her paper which had to be quickly knocked out of the way when she noticed him watching her.
The professor watched Petunia with her spawn the rest of the day, the woman was a terrible mother! She spoiled her little brat worse than any rich pureblood she had ever seen and seemed to think very highly of herself. How in the name of Merlin was she related to sweet, kind Lily!? It just got worse when her fat lump of a husband returned home that day, calling little Harry's name common, really now...
That night, Albus had shown up at the house close to midnight. Minerva had finally got the answers that she needed, Lily and James were dead but their son lived. And He-who-must-not-be-name was defeated but still out there. It accrued to Minerva why Albus was there and was shocked that the man wanted to leave Harry with these people! They were the worst sort of muggles!
That plan fell apart when Hagrid showed up a few minutes later, without Harry. The half giant told them when he arrived at the house, Sirius Black was there, running from the house screaming something about killing a rat and when Hagrid searched the house, there was no one there but the bodies of the two elder Potters, Harry was missing.
The trio rushed back to Hogwarts where Albus checked a strange little silver instrument that was linked to Harry's life force. James and Lily had ones as well, theirs were not moving and the silver appeared to be dull. But Harry's looked brightly polished and was spinning around emitting pink tinted smoke. This was how Albus knew that Harry was alive while his parents perished. But it could not seem to locate where the boy was, there seemed to be something blocking anything used to find the toddler. Even Albus's phoenix Fawkes couldn't find the boy.
Albus had spelled the memory of Harry being missing away from Hagrid and after checking that Black didn't have the child hidden somewhere, had told no one that the boy-who-lived was missing. Everyone was told that their savior was living someplace hidden and safe. The Order was the only ones who knew, and they were the ones searching when they could.
Minerva sighed and shook herself out of her thoughts as she reached the steps of Gringotts. It was time to see what the goblins wanted.
"I'm here to see Curse breaker Dkrax," She said in her Scottish accent, handing the missive to the goblin guard at the door. He took the parchment and read it to verify then nodded to one of the other guards.
"Take her to where Dkrax is," He told the other who nodded and motioned for Minerva to follow him.
***
Dkrax looked up as the guard knocked on the door, giving a goblin grin as he saw Minerva at the door.
"Professor McGonagall," He greeted, waving off the guard while the woman sat down.
"Dkrax," Minerva said, holding up the missive. "What is it you needed my help with?"
"Before we get into that, we need you to give a wizard's oath that everything you learn today will never be revealed to anyone. In any form," Dkrax said firmly. Minerva blinked; it was an unusual request and wondered just what was going on. The cat part of her perked up, curious to know.
"Alright," she said, taking out her wand and holding it in front of her. "I, Minerva McGonagall, do swear on my life and magic to never reveal in anyway anything I learn today. So mote it." The tip of her wand lit up brightly as she finished the oath. Dkrax nodded and motioned for Minerva to follow him. The goblin led Minerva further into the bank to a room near the offices.
"In here," He said as he opened the door. Minerva slowly entered the room, her eyebrows rising as she observed a young man sitting cross-legged on the floor with a small child in front of him. He was holding up a little stuffed dog in front of the child, a little child that looked familiar to her.
"Inu," Ryoga said slowly, trying to get Harry to repeat him. "This is an 'inu'."
"m-u," Harry repeated, making Ryoga shake his head.
"in-u," He repeated again.
"Inu," Harry said, laughing as Ryoga gave him a fanged smile and handed the stuffed dog to the toddler. "Inu! Inu Ryoa!" Minerva gasped as she realized it was Harry. Harry and Ryoga turned to the noise, Harry's green eyes lighting up. "Mimi!"
Harry got up and ran over to Minerva, holding out his arms. Minerva gave a small sob and picked Harry up; checking him over to make sure he was ok.
"Mimi, inu," Harry held his toy out in front of him, beaming as he showed off his new word.
"I don't understand, who are ye and why do ye have the wee bairn?" Minerva asked, her accent more pronounced as she was upset and shocked. Ryoga had gotten up and followed Harry over to the older woman.
"This is Ryoga Hibiki, he is soon going to be Harry Potter's new guardian," Dkrax said as he closed the door and locked it so they wouldn't be disturbed.
"New guardian?" Minerva asked, looking down at the goblin then up at Ryoga. "I think ye better explain from the beginning. Just how did ye get the wee bairn and why are ye his new guardian? We've been looking everywhere for him."
"It's sort of my fault," Ryoga said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I found the house where Harry-chan and his parents were right after that Voldemort guy attacked them. I didn't see anyone coming up from the nearby village so I had to go get help. But I didn't feel comfortable leaving the chibi by himself for who knows how long."
"That was over a month ago," Minerva said as she narrowed her eyes.
"I...sigh... I have a problem with my sense of direction. I get lost really easily," Ryoga said, hanging his head. "I did go for help, but I wasn't sure how long it would take to find anyone. I had to chance taking Harry-chan with me to keep him safe."
"Professor McGonagall, the boy is telling the truth," Dkrax said. "We've witnessed how badly his sense of direction is."
"So... ye have been watching Harry for the last month and been lost," Minerva said slowly, rubbing Harry's back as he laid his head on her shoulder.
"Hai," Ryoga said, looking up at the witch. Minerva searched Ryoga's face then slowly nodded.
"And now you want to adopt him," She stated.
"The goblins said I'm all he has... and I'm not lonely when he’s with me," Ryoga rubbed his shoulder as he looked down again. Minerva opened her mouth to disagree that Harry didn't have anyone else then snapped her mouth shut as she thought about it. Harry didn't have anyone. His godfather was in prison; his godmother was unable to take care of him. Albus wanted to put Harry with his aunt and her family, Minerva remembered those horrible muggles, they would be horrible guardians for the wee bairn and even if she tried to take him in herself, Albus would still have his way.
"I... see," She finally said, standing up straight and looking sternly at the teenager in front of her. "Do you swear you will take care and protect Harry? That you'll love him?"
"Hai, I swear," Ryoga said, his eyes shining as he gave his word.
"Ryoa," Harry said, holding his arms out for his Ryoga. Ryoga smiled and took Harry, holding him close. "Inu kisskiss," Harry said, pressing the toy dog to Ryoga's cheek. Minerva smiled softly then turned to Dkrax.
"Well, just what am I here to do?"
****
Ryoga gave a piggy sigh as he sat in front of Minerva while the witch frowned and cast another spell at him.
"I see... it's just as you said," She finally said, turning to Dkrax and Gtusok who had joined them some time ago. "It's like the Animagus ability but not. And you said water is the trigger?"
"Yes, hot water will return him to his human form," Gtusok said. "We are thinking that we could change the form itself."
"Hmm," Minerva tapped her wand against her chin. "We could try that." She waved her wand, saying a spell under her breath. Ryoga's eyes widened as he felt his body shifting, falling over as his center of balanced changed.
"Awoo?" Wait... he didn't oink.... he didn't oink!!! Ryoga jumped to his four new paws and looked at himself.
"Ryoa Inu!" Harry squealed with laughter and wrapped his arms around Ryoga's furry neck. He panted happily, he wasn't a pig! He was a big black dog that still happens to be wearing his black and yellow bandanna around his neck.
"Well, we can change the shape," Dkrax agreed. "But will it hold?"
"Only one way to find out," Gtusok said, grinning evilly as he poured the hot water over Ryoga.
"Yowch!" Ryoga yelped. "It doesn't have to be that hot... eepp!" he curled his legs in front of himself, blushing heavily. Harry pouted as his doggy was gone now and let go of his Ryoa's neck. The goblins snickered at the embarrassed teen before dumping cold water on him. "Brink."
"I think that answers that question," Minerva said. Ryoga got a disappointed look on his face as he saw he was a pig again.
"Piggy!" Harry giggled and wrapped his arms around Ryoga, ignoring the water all over the floor.
"Well, what do we do now?" Minerva asked her two goblin cohorts. Dkrax and Gtusok put their heads together, speaking in Gobbledygook.
"Let's see if we can use runes to lock the form," One of them finally suggested. They tried again, after getting Harry to let go of Ryoga and put him on a blanket with a few of his toys. This time Minerva transfigured Ryoga's pig form into a monkey then used a spell to shave off a small section of fur on his arm. Gtusok painted a few runes on the patch of skin before nodding for Dkrax to pour hot water on the cursed teen again.
"Really, the water doesn't have to be that hot," Ryoga said, his face red as he put his hands in front of his crotch. The goblins just smirked and poured the cold water on him. This time the form stuck which made Ryoga very happy. Maybe there was a chance he would finally be cured. The witch and goblins experimented with different forms; every time they changed Ryoga's form they had to reapply the runes otherwise it would go back to the base form of a black piglet.
"I think we can try a human form now," Dkrax said, making Minerva nod and waved her wand, transfiguring Ryoga's pig form into a human. The runes were painted onto the teen and it held for a few minutes.
"Arrrggg!" Ryoga clutched his middle, kneeling over. His whole body was on fire! It felt like it did the first time he fell into the spring! His form blurred then shifted back into the pig form.
"That... was unexpected..." Gtusok said after a minute. Dkrax frowned and walked over to a roll of parchment and quill that had been spelled to write down the results of the monitoring spells they cast on Ryoga.
"Hmmmm.... the curse was fine with the other forms we chose but when we tried to make his cursed form his real form, the magic in the curse flared up and forced it back into its original form," He said after studying the results. Minerva sighed and cast a heated aguamenti charm on Ryoga, turning the teen back to human then with another flick of her wand, a blanket was covering him.
"What... what about just turning me into a girl?" Ryoga asked his body was still faintly hurting from what happen. "I mean... Ranma turns into a girl and it's a hell of a lot better than being a pig."
"Would it work?" Minerva asked the goblins.
"It could... it seems the curse is satisfied as long as he isn't in his original form," Dkrax said, rubbing his chin. "We can try it either way."
"Do it then," Ryoga said. If he couldn't be cured, he would be happy with turning into a girl like his rival, almost anything was better than a pig. Once again he was doused with cold water, giving a weary 'bweee' as he was changed again.
"Before I cast the spell, perhaps we should use a potion that would stabilize the insides of his form," Minerva suggested. Dkrax walked over to the door, yelling for one of the guards to fetch a potion that would work. When the goblin guard came back with the potion, he nodded for Minerva to start.
Ryoga gave a piggy groan as his sore body changed again, turning into a female version of his normal form. The potion was shoved under her nose and she gulped down the vile tasting thing, shivering as she felt the stuff working on her. Gtusok painted the runes all over Ryoga's new form, muttering goblin spells under his breath and watched the paint sink into her skin.
"Now for the real test," Minerva said, casting the heated aguamenti charm again. Ryoga sighed as his body changed again. He had shifted so many times today; he was getting tired of it real quick! Cold water hit him this time and he closed his eyes as he waited.
"So far so good," Gtusok said, watching the shivering female teen sitting in front of them, Ryoga holding the soaked blanket up to her body. Several minutes passed without being forced back into her original pig form, making hope bloom in her chest. The two versions of the aguamenti spell was used several times, with the same results, Ryoga shifted from male to female then back.
"So... so no more pig?" Ryoga-chan asked, standing on shaky legs.
"We believe so," Dkrax said. Ryoga nodded then opened the blanket slightly to look down at her new cursed from. Her eyes widened as she looked at her new breasts, a trickle of blood coming out of her nose as her eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted.
***
Meanwhile, at Azkaban the wizarding prison, the goblin leader Ragnok waited in the small waiting room for his appointment with Sirius Black. Not that the guards had any idea who he was, most wizards couldn't tell the difference between one goblin to the next, much less the leader of the whole nation. He looked up as the door opened and Black was lead in by human guards.
"You have 10 minutes," The guard said roughly as he pushed Sirius into a chair then went to stand outside of the door. Ragnok waved his hand and threw up several spells so they couldn't be overheard.
"Mr. Black," Ragnok said, looking at the man across from him when he was done.
"No, that was my bastard of a father," Sirius quipped. "So what is a Gringotts goblin doing here?"
"Officially I'm here to inform you that your mother returned heir to the house of Black status to you," Ragnok said.
"Don't want it," Sirius said. "It's not gonna do me any good anyway, these fuckers aren't gonna let me out anytime soon."
"I realize that... did you betray the Potters Mr. Black?" Ragnok asked, wanting to satisfy his own curiosity. Sirius snarled and stood up, slamming his cuffed hands on the table.
"I would never betray them!" He said angrily. "It was that little rat Wormtail. He was the secret keeper, not me!"
"And the muggles?" Ragnok asked.
"That was him too, he blew up the street after yelling out that I betrayed Prongs and Lily and little Prongslet," Sirius sighed and sat back down. "He then cut off his finger and changed into a rat. I never knew he had it in him."
"I believe you Mr. Black," Ragnok said after a few minutes. "But you realize that the ministry will not listen to me, I will not be able to get you a trial."
"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," Sirius said with a snort. "So you said the official reason was to tell me mummy-dear," here a sneer crossed his pale face, "made me heir again. So what's the real reason?"
"I need you to sign these," Ragnok said as he pushed the papers he brought with him forward. "These are adopting forms for Harry Potter to be adopted by his current caretaker."
"Prongslet... is alive?!" Sirius said grayish blue eyes wide. "Where is he? Is he ok?"
"Yes Mr. Black, Mr. Potter is fine. His current guardian is a remarkable young man," Ragnok said. "He was able to take out three goblin guards one handed while protecting the Potter heir. Any dark wizard who attacks him would be stupid to do so. Both you and his godmother are unable to take care of him. This document gives your permission for Harry Potter to be adopted by one Ryoga Hibiki; he is the one who saved your godchild from the home after it was attacked."
"Oh..." Sirius took the papers and looked them over. "So... Prongslet will be ok with this kid?"
"Yes, I believe he will. Mr. Hibiki and Mr. Potter get along very well," Ragnok said. He handed a blood quill to Sirius when he mentioned for it, the man signing his name.
"If I ever get out, I want to stay Prongslet godfather and... and give this kid the key to my vault..." Sirius said as he stood up again, the 10 minutes was almost up. "In case he ever needs money for the pup." Ragnok nodded and put the papers away. A wave of his clawed hand had all the spells fell just as the guard came in and took Sirius back to his cell.
Ragnok smirked as he walked down the hallway to get out of the prison. He already had Petunia’s signature for her to give up any rights to her nephew. With Sirius's name on the papers, no one would be able to take the boy away from Ryoga now.
**
"This bracer ties you to the one on Mr. Potter's wrist," Ripblade explained as he placed the bracer on Ryoga's wrist. "If you two get separated, you will not be able to wander far from the boy. Only you can take them off and it will resize itself to your new from when you change. Mr. Potters will change sizes as well as he grows."
"That should take care of your two concerns Hibiki-san," Ragnok said. It was the next day, all the papers were signed and filed, Harry Potter was now officially Harry Hibiki-Potter, or just Harry Hibiki for short.
"Yeah, thanks... how am I gonna repay you for all this?" Ryoga asked as he looked at the steel bracer on his wrist, the gems on the front where yellow and black while Harry's were gold and red.
"We are one upping Dumbledore and the humans at the ministry of magic, that is thanks enough," Ragnok said with a smirk. Ryoga nodded and picked up his travel pack, his umbrella sitting on top. The bag he originally packed for Harry was inside, with more things for him and Voldemort's wand was returned to Ryoga, the goblins had cleaned all the previous spells out of it and were giving it to Harry to use when he was older. Ryoga leaned down and picked up Harry next, sitting the boy on his hip.
"Well, thank you for your help," Ryoga said with a half bow. Ragnok bowed his head then ordered one of the guards to guide Ryoga out of the bank. The first chance he got, he would have to contact Sharpblade, the manager of Mahou Village's branch of Gringotts in Japan to tell him to be on the watch out for the young man and for the boy.
***
"Now... which way is Nerima?" Ryoga asked once he and Harry were back in the muggle part of London. He looked both ways before shrugging his shoulders and picking a random direction, he would get there eventually.
***
Author Notes: Whew, long chapter. Yes, a little goblin heavy but I wanted to set the stage and get it all out of the way. The next two or three chapters will be about Harry growing up until he's ready to go to Hogwarts. Yes, McGonagall is on Ryoga and Harry's side, I like stories where she does the right thing and keeps Harry away from the Dursleys. We'll see other characters from the Harry Potter series as Harry grows up.
There was zero support for Akari as far as couples go. The suggestions so far has been Ukyo who has the most support so far, Shampoo who is in second and then Kasumi and Tonks. I'll leave the suggests/vote open for another chapter. Someone also suggested that Harry should get a cursed form of a magical animal which I like so thank for the suggestion. I have a idea what it should be but I'll leave that as a surprise for now ;)
As for Ryoga's changed curse, yes girl form has been done before and it's not very original but I figured the curse wouldn't let them just cure him that easily and I think Ryoga would rather turn into a girl than a pig.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!
Edit 8-13-14: Not much to fixed, just a few little errors that was missed the first time.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter © J. K. Rowling and Ranma 1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
Author Note: Wow, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support the fic got right off the bat. Thanks to my new beta for this story The Blissfull Wulf for helping me out. More author notes at the bottom!
Chapter 2
***
"BEEWWW!" Ragnok's first thought was that the young man had played a trick on him and had changed into an Animagus form. Except for the fact that he was surrounded by the clothing he had been wearing. Ragnok knew enough about that type of magic that the clothing transforms with him. The goblin was snapped out of his thoughts as the piggyfied Ryoga started to oink and bwee rapidly, waving his front hoofs.
"I don't suppose you can change back?" Ragnok asked. Ryoga oinked softly then wiggled the rest of the way out of his shirt and hopped off the chair. He trotted over to kettle of hot water that was lying on its side; most of its contents spilled out and pointed a hoof at it. "You need... hot water?" the goblin guessed after a moment. Ryoga oinked excitedly and nodded his head.
"You! Go fetch some more hot water!" Ragnok barked at the lower ranking goblin who had been watching with wide eyes. The goblin quickly scrambled up off the floor and ran out of the room. He returned a minute later with another kettle of hot water, handing it to his leader. Ragnok looked at the kettle then down at Ryoga, the young man had changed after the cold drinks were spilt on him so....
"Yowch!" Ryoga yelped as he turned back into a human, the water had been very hot. He quickly ran back over to the chair, grabbed his shirt and pants then dove out of sight behind the chairs. He popped back out after a few seconds, once again fully dressed. Harry meanwhile was laughing loudly and clapping his hands.
"I suppose you can explain what just happen?" Ragnok asked as he shoved the empty kettle into the lower goblin's hands and told him to leave. Ryoga sighed; he hated explaining his curse, but nodded and sat back down, pulling Harry into his lap again. Once both boy and goblin was seated, Ryoga launched into an explanation of the cursed Jusenkyo springs and how he ended up as a pig.
**
"So this is the curse you mentioned before?" Ragnok asked once Ryoga finished his story. The goblin director was really intrigued! He wondered if the Chinese branch of the bank knew about these springs.
"Yeah, I don't have any real control over it. Both cold and hot liquids just seem to find all of us," Ryoga said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I hate turning into a pig, it's made my life hell since I'm so small and pigs are something people and other animals like to eat."
"I can... see where that would be a problem," Ragnok agreed. "Is there any way to cure it for good?"
"As far as I know, only the spring of the drowned man can turn me back for good. But we got into a battle with the Phoenix People a few months ago and I'm not sure if the springs have recovered yet," Ryoga said with a sigh.
"Phoenix people.... I thought that race had died out!" Ragnok said. Old records talked about the phoenix race having a humanoid form but a war had wiped them all out until only the bird version was left. It was rumored that the Veela might be descended from that race themselves but Veela were also rumored to be distantly related to Harpies.
"Not this clan," Ryoga muttered, shuddering as he remembered how hard the fight had been and how Akane almost died. Ryoga didn’t realize he and Ragnok were thinking of two complete different races that had the same name. "They live close to Jusenkyo and so do the Musk and Amazons."
"Hibiki-san... I would like for a couple of healers and curse breakers to look you over. Perhaps they can find the key you need to be cured of this and of your problem with your direction if it is a curse as well," Ragnok said. "And also for a healer to check Harry over. There isn't much known about what happened the night that the Potters were attacked, but Voldemort would have been using some of the most evil and darkest magic possible, so it would be a good idea to make sure the Potter heir wasn't affected by this."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Ryoga said, leaning over and digging in his pack. "Maybe this can help, I found it the night I found Harry in his nursery next to a pile of ash and robes." He took out the wand he found that night and dropped it on the desk.
"Are you saying... this is the Dark Lord Voldemort's wand?!" Ragnok asked eyes wide as he looked at the dark colored wand on his desk. "Yes... yes the curse breakers can check the wand to see what the last few spells that had been used were." The goblin called in another one, barking orders in Gobbledygook. A few minutes later, a group of goblins entered Ragnok's office, one of them taking Harry from Ryoga while another snagged Ryoga's wrist and dragged him off to the other side of the room.
Ryoga shivered as he felt the goblin's magic roll over him, the goblin doing most of the casting speaking lowly to one of the others who was writing on a scroll of parchment. Harry was making upset noises, shying away.
The goblin that was checking Harry over paused in his motions over Harry's head, his eyes wide and turned to Ragnok, speaking rapidly in Gobbledygook. Ragnok replied back in the same tongue, catching Ryoga's attention, something was going on; the goblin leader’s face was getting darker and darker in anger. "Hibiki-san, come here for a moment."
"What's going on?" Ryoga asked as he pulled away and went over to the desk.
"Ryoa up!" Harry said, holding his arms out. Ryoga reached out and plucked Harry off the desk, setting him on his hip.
"We have a problem, it seems the wizard Voldemort has managed to... somehow turn little Potter into a soul container," The goblin standing to his right said.
"A soul container?" Ryoga asked, blinking his eyes.
"Yes, humans call this type of magic a 'horcrux'," The goblin said. "An act of murder splinters the soul and with a spell, the wizard or witch in question can place that soul shard into an object."
"It's a foul, dark and evil branch of magic," Ragnok said. "Voldemort likely didn't mean to turn Harry into one, but may have meant to make one with the boy's death."
"As long as these 'containers' are intact with the soul shard, the main soul is tethered to this plane and is able to come back," The other goblin added. "If the wizard dark lord had made the Potter boy one by accident, then he must have other horcruxes out there. The man's soul would have to be already torn to shreds for something like this to happen."
"Is there a way to get rid of it?" Ryoga asked.
"The container must be destroyed or if the anchor is something living, the anchor has to die," The goblin said. Ryoga growled and held Harry closer. "But, it is possible to move the soul shard from one container to another."
"We come across these foul things from time to time, usually in priceless artifacts," Ragnok said. "We have no desire to destroy the artifacts so our curse breakers move the soul to some cheap little thing that no one would miss if it was destroyed."
"So you can get this thing out?" Ryoga asked. The nameless goblin sighed and looked at Harry.
"I'm not sure; there has never really been a case of a live human turned into a horcrux," The goblin said. "The ritual used to move the soul shard may not work, it could spur the shard into trying to possess the boy, or we could remove the wrong soul."
"Tell him what else you found Blackclaw," Ragnok said.
"There seems to be some sort of ward or shield around the boy," The other goblin, Blackclaw, said. "The magical signature belongs to the boy's mother Lily Potter and it's keyed against Voldemort. It's possible that this is how he survived the Killing Curse."
"So that's a good thing," Ryoga asked as Harry played with the frog ties on his tunic shirt.
"Yes, if and when Voldemort attacks him again, it should keep him safe. But with the soul shard within him, it could also cause him great pain," Blackclaw said. "When the shard is close to the main soul it could react to it. But if we can remove it, the ward Lily Potter created on him should work like it was made for. As it is, it could be what is keeping the shard from taking over the boy now."
"Who is this 'Voldemort' you keep mentioning anyway? I get he's the one that attacked and killed Harry-chan's parents," Ryoga asked, rubbing Harry's back as the little boy buried his face into Ryoga's chest.
"Voldemort is a dark, evil wizard that 20 or so years ago began a quest to take over the British wizarding world," Ragnok said. "He has gathered many of what are called 'pureblood' wizards and witches to him, they went by the name Death Eaters. The war was bloody and the only wizard it seemed the man was afraid of was Albus Dumbledore." The goblin said Dumbledore's name with distaste.
"Then on Halloween night, Voldemort seemed to disappear. The wizards are convinced he is dead, somehow by the boy in your arms," Blackclaw continued. "But now we know that it isn't true, somewhere out there he still exists on the mortal plane. Everyone here in the wizarding world worships Harry Potter as the 'boy-who-lived'."
"How do they know he's alive?" Ryoga asked. "There wasn't anywhere alive in the house other than the chibi and I took him with me when I left."
"We don't know how, but Dumbledore is the one who told the humans that the Potter heir was alive and the one to defeat the dark lord," Ragnok said. "He has also made everyone think that he is hidden away in the mundane human world."
"So he told people that so they don't know he's missing?" Ryoga guessed. Ragnok shook his head slightly.
"I believe he intends to place the boy with his maternal aunt," The goblin leader said. "The manager of the Potter vaults informed me a week or two ago Dumbledore had visited and wished to set up an account for one Petunia Dursley for the care of Harry Potter once he starts living with her. The request was denied until we had proof he was living with her."
"And he's not... he's been with me the whole time," Ryoga said as he sat down in the chair again, looking at Ragnok. "Who is supposed to have him? This aunt?"
"We do not believe so, I've spoken to Lily Potter several times and she did not speak highly of her older sister," Ragnok said. "Her sister seems to dislike anything that she doesn't perceive to be normal. No doubt he was to go to his godfather or if not him, his godmother."
"Well how do I get in touch with them... wait, was?" Ryoga blinked as he caught the past tense words Ragnok used.
"Harry’s godfather Sirius Black is currently in Azkaban, the wizarding prison, for charges of betraying the Potters to Voldemort and for killing Peter Pettigrew and 13 non-magical humans," Ragnok explained. "We are still awaiting word for the outcome of his trial but it has been over a month since his arrest and I do not believe he will receive one. I honestly do not think he was behind the betrayal of the Potters, he and Lord Potter were always close and the man is different from the bulk of his family. But the human wizards will not listen to an opinion of a goblin." Ragnok's mouth twisted up into a sneer.
"What about his godmother then?" Ryoga asked he didn't know whether or not to feel angry at this Sirius Black guy for getting his chibi's parents killed, but Ragnok didn't seem to think any of it was true. For now, he would go with what the goblin thought.
"Alice Longbottom and her husband were attacked a week or so after Voldemort was dispatched," Ragnok said. "They are currently unable to take care of anyone; they were driven insane and are in the care of the healers at Saint Mungo's. The only other person that the Potter's knew that they might like to take the boy would not be allowed by the Ministry as he is deemed dangerous because of his werewolf status. Hibiki-san the only person that Harry Potter has now.... is you."
"Nani!?" Ryoga asked, standing up in shock. "I can't keep him! It's dangerous for him to stay with me! I have no sense of direction, what if I get separated from him in the wild or in the middle of a busy city!? What if I turn into my curse from and I'm not able to protect him as a pig!"
Harry looked up at his current caretaker, little thumb shoved into his mouth. His Ryoa was all red in the face and yelling loudly.
"Ryoa!" Harry said, tugging at the teen's shirt. Ryoga looked down at Harry and deflated at the watery green eyes looking up at him. He sighed and sat back down, hugging Harry close.
"I don't want Harry-Chan to get hurt or lost because of me," Ryoga said softly. "My life is hell; I don't want that for him."
"Hibiki-san, you are all the boy has," Ragnok said. "Many of Voldemort's followers are still out there, you took out three of my best warriors one handed, I have no doubt that you could do the same to others that wish the boy harm. We will work with you around these two problems you have, let the curse breakers continue to look at your curses. You are the best chance he has for growing up, dare I say it, loved. If not you, then I'm afraid Dumbledore will make sure he will go to his aunt and I believe Harry's mother when she said those things of her sister."
Ryoga sighed, he had come to really care for little Harry, the toddler had made his dark days on his own a little brighter. He wasn't alone, lost to the world as he was, while he had Harry with him. He also didn't like the sound of this aunt of his and he didn't want to see Harry unhappy and hurt.
"Alright.... alright," He finally said, looking up at Ragnok. "I'll take care of him and raise him... but you better figure out some way I can keep from getting lost from him and my pig form."
"Of course, Hibiki-san," Ragnok nodded his head. He told the other goblins to get back to work on checking the Japanese teen over while he told Blackclaw to start looking into ways they might remove the horcrux from Harry. He commanded a low ranking guard in the room to retrieve magical and mundane adoption forms, if they were going to make sure Harry Potter stayed with Ryoga Hibiki, they would make sure no one, not even Albus Dumbledore, could take the boy away from his new protector.
***
Later that night, Ragnok sat at the head of a meeting table, looking around at the other goblins with him.
"Tell me Dkrax, what did you learn about Mr. Hibiki?" He asked, looking at goblin on his left. Dkrax had been the curse breaker goblin in charge of learning about Ryoga's two curses.
"The shape shifting curse is similar to the wizards Animagus spell. The curse physically changes his body into a black piglet but his mind stays human," Dkrax explained. "The trigger is of course the temperature of liquid, not limited to water. Cold triggers the curse, hot reverses it. The boy told us that other than himself, he knows of two that change gender, one that changes into a cat, one into a duck and another that changes into a panda among others."
"Do any of the spells used against Animagus work against this 'Jusenkyo' curse?" Ragnok asked.
"No sire, while similar, the curse works differently from the Animagus spell," Dkrax said. "At this time, without more study of the curse itself and of the water that caused it, we cannot cure the curse completely. We can perhaps change the trigger from cold and hot liquids to something else."
"There is another possible option," Another goblin beside Dkrax said. Ragnok nodded for the goblin, Gtusok, to continue. "We've noted how alike the Jusenkyo curse is to the Animagus ability; perhaps we could change the cursed form itself. If it can be changed, then we can reshape it to his real form. He is still cursed and water will find him but in the end it would not matter as both his real and cursed forms are the same."
"We would need to contact a transfiguration master," Ragnok said. "The only two with the skill to tackle this curse are Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall. Dumbledore is out of the question, he will take the Potter boy away from Mr. Hibiki."
"McGonagall is well known to work closely with Dumbledore; she is his Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts," Dkrax pointed out.
"Yes... but if we have her swear a wizarding oath not to reveal anything to anyone, we might be able to work around that," Gtusok said. "We've used her before for problems we've had with transfiguration spells; it will not look unusual if we do so this time."
"Hmmm," Ragnok tapped his clawed fingers together in thought. "Contact her then, but make sure she makes the oath and that it is iron clad," He said. "If after she seems inclined to tell Dumbledore in some way, erase the memory from her mind. What of the other curse, what have you figured out on it Ripblade?"
"This direction curse, if it is one, is unlike anything I have ever seen sire," Ripblade said with a shake of his head. "I had the boy lead me around the bank so I could see if it is as bad as he claims." Ripblade shook his head again, pressing his fingers to his forehead. "It is much, much worse. We entered a doorway that should have lead us toward the upper vaults we use for new clients and somehow ended up at the other end of Diagon Alley."
Ragnok's eyes widen, he had never heard of a spell or curse like this. "Teleportation then?"
"It must be, but he seems to have no knowledge of when he is doing so. All the boy seems to know is that he is one place one moment and another the next. He cannot seem to even follow the simplest direction without getting lost. I instructed him to go left and instead he goes right. He seems to have some sort of sixth sense, he can detect when he is about to be attack, we saw that with his fight with Captain Snapfang and the guards. He can also sense when someone is watching him but cannot seem to point in the direction it is coming from." Ripblade shook his head once again, he was getting a headache just thinking of it. "The strange thing is, every time I scanned him, I could not find anything that could be a source of this disability. He simply has no sense of direction."
"What do you suggest then? This problem he has is one of the two things he is worried the most about when it comes to the Potter heir," Ragnok pointed out.
"Use a ward or magic tether, connect the Hibiki boy to the Potter so no matter what, he will never wander too far from the child," Ripblade said. "Set the spell so this ability to teleport does not work unless the boy is with him. If we use ward bracelets, the spell can be turned off while the Potter boy goes to Hogwarts and turned back on when the boy is with the Hibiki youth."
"So be it. Have the ward bracelets made," Ragnok said with a nod then looked at the last goblin. "Are you still looking for ways to get the soul shard out of the Potter heir Blackclaw?"
"Yes sire. I have sent out contacts to Japan, the Americas and to Africa," Blackclaw said. "It might take time to find the right ritual to take care of the shard but leave the boy's soul intact."
"Right now, the wizard Voldemort is nothing more than a shade so we have at least a little time," Ragnok said. "We need to find the other soul containers as well." The goblin leader stood from his throne like chair and looked at the other four. "We have committed ourselves to our own side of the war, one behind Harry Potter soon Hibiki. The Potters have always been friends of the goblin nation. We will make sure he wins this war that has been placed on him by the Dark Lord Voldemort and the Light Lord Dumbledore."
Blackclaw, Ripblade, Dkrax and Gtusok all gave the goblin war cry, pumping their fists into the air.
****
Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, head of Gryffindor at Hogwarts and transfiguration mistress, spelled away the soot from the fireplace off her robes as she stepped out from the floo at the Leaky Cauldron. In her other hand was the missive from Gringotts that had arrived at breakfast that morning. As she nodded to Tom the barkeep and headed out the back to enter the alley so she could make her way to the goblin run bank, Minerva wondered just why the goblins had requested for her to come, it didn't happen very often.
She sighed very softly as she stopped and looked around the alley, watching carefree witches and wizards start their Yule/Christmas shopping. Everyone was still in high spirits after he-who-must-not-be-named was defeated by little Harry Potter. Little Harry who was still missing, not that anyone here would know that. Minerva could remember clearly what happened a month ago, waking up early November first to hear that you-know-who was defeated by the extremely happy house elves. She had asked one of the elves where Albus was, she wanted to ask him herself if it was true. All the elves knew was that Albus planed on headed to someplace call 'Dursleys'.
It took a moment for the witch to remember who that was, poor sweet Lily's older sister. Minerva only met her once, when she brought the letter to little Lily Evans. She remembered how plain the little rude blonde girl was next to her redheaded sister, she also remembered how heartbroken Lily was when Petunia blamed their parent’s death on her and refused to have anything to do with Lily at all. The woman hadn't even come to Lily and James's wedding. Lily mentioned that Petunia had married a man with the last name of Dursley. Why in the world would Albus want to go see them?
Minerva canceled classes that day: everyone, teachers and students alike, were too joyous in the idea that they were free from the dark days to properly attend classes. She then swept out of the castle, taking her copy of the Daily Prophet with her, and apparated to Privet Drive. There she had changed into her cat Animagus form and read the paper while peeking in on the muggles inside.
She couldn't say she was at all impressed by what she saw. Petunia, who Minerva thought might grow into her looks when she was older, looked like a stuck up horse and her husband was a fat muggle who didn't look like he would be pleasant company at all. Then there was their child, what a spoiled rotten little brat! When the man, Vernon, had come out of the house, Minerva had been reading her paper which had to be quickly knocked out of the way when she noticed him watching her.
The professor watched Petunia with her spawn the rest of the day, the woman was a terrible mother! She spoiled her little brat worse than any rich pureblood she had ever seen and seemed to think very highly of herself. How in the name of Merlin was she related to sweet, kind Lily!? It just got worse when her fat lump of a husband returned home that day, calling little Harry's name common, really now...
That night, Albus had shown up at the house close to midnight. Minerva had finally got the answers that she needed, Lily and James were dead but their son lived. And He-who-must-not-be-name was defeated but still out there. It accrued to Minerva why Albus was there and was shocked that the man wanted to leave Harry with these people! They were the worst sort of muggles!
That plan fell apart when Hagrid showed up a few minutes later, without Harry. The half giant told them when he arrived at the house, Sirius Black was there, running from the house screaming something about killing a rat and when Hagrid searched the house, there was no one there but the bodies of the two elder Potters, Harry was missing.
The trio rushed back to Hogwarts where Albus checked a strange little silver instrument that was linked to Harry's life force. James and Lily had ones as well, theirs were not moving and the silver appeared to be dull. But Harry's looked brightly polished and was spinning around emitting pink tinted smoke. This was how Albus knew that Harry was alive while his parents perished. But it could not seem to locate where the boy was, there seemed to be something blocking anything used to find the toddler. Even Albus's phoenix Fawkes couldn't find the boy.
Albus had spelled the memory of Harry being missing away from Hagrid and after checking that Black didn't have the child hidden somewhere, had told no one that the boy-who-lived was missing. Everyone was told that their savior was living someplace hidden and safe. The Order was the only ones who knew, and they were the ones searching when they could.
Minerva sighed and shook herself out of her thoughts as she reached the steps of Gringotts. It was time to see what the goblins wanted.
"I'm here to see Curse breaker Dkrax," She said in her Scottish accent, handing the missive to the goblin guard at the door. He took the parchment and read it to verify then nodded to one of the other guards.
"Take her to where Dkrax is," He told the other who nodded and motioned for Minerva to follow him.
***
Dkrax looked up as the guard knocked on the door, giving a goblin grin as he saw Minerva at the door.
"Professor McGonagall," He greeted, waving off the guard while the woman sat down.
"Dkrax," Minerva said, holding up the missive. "What is it you needed my help with?"
"Before we get into that, we need you to give a wizard's oath that everything you learn today will never be revealed to anyone. In any form," Dkrax said firmly. Minerva blinked; it was an unusual request and wondered just what was going on. The cat part of her perked up, curious to know.
"Alright," she said, taking out her wand and holding it in front of her. "I, Minerva McGonagall, do swear on my life and magic to never reveal in anyway anything I learn today. So mote it." The tip of her wand lit up brightly as she finished the oath. Dkrax nodded and motioned for Minerva to follow him. The goblin led Minerva further into the bank to a room near the offices.
"In here," He said as he opened the door. Minerva slowly entered the room, her eyebrows rising as she observed a young man sitting cross-legged on the floor with a small child in front of him. He was holding up a little stuffed dog in front of the child, a little child that looked familiar to her.
"Inu," Ryoga said slowly, trying to get Harry to repeat him. "This is an 'inu'."
"m-u," Harry repeated, making Ryoga shake his head.
"in-u," He repeated again.
"Inu," Harry said, laughing as Ryoga gave him a fanged smile and handed the stuffed dog to the toddler. "Inu! Inu Ryoa!" Minerva gasped as she realized it was Harry. Harry and Ryoga turned to the noise, Harry's green eyes lighting up. "Mimi!"
Harry got up and ran over to Minerva, holding out his arms. Minerva gave a small sob and picked Harry up; checking him over to make sure he was ok.
"Mimi, inu," Harry held his toy out in front of him, beaming as he showed off his new word.
"I don't understand, who are ye and why do ye have the wee bairn?" Minerva asked, her accent more pronounced as she was upset and shocked. Ryoga had gotten up and followed Harry over to the older woman.
"This is Ryoga Hibiki, he is soon going to be Harry Potter's new guardian," Dkrax said as he closed the door and locked it so they wouldn't be disturbed.
"New guardian?" Minerva asked, looking down at the goblin then up at Ryoga. "I think ye better explain from the beginning. Just how did ye get the wee bairn and why are ye his new guardian? We've been looking everywhere for him."
"It's sort of my fault," Ryoga said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I found the house where Harry-chan and his parents were right after that Voldemort guy attacked them. I didn't see anyone coming up from the nearby village so I had to go get help. But I didn't feel comfortable leaving the chibi by himself for who knows how long."
"That was over a month ago," Minerva said as she narrowed her eyes.
"I...sigh... I have a problem with my sense of direction. I get lost really easily," Ryoga said, hanging his head. "I did go for help, but I wasn't sure how long it would take to find anyone. I had to chance taking Harry-chan with me to keep him safe."
"Professor McGonagall, the boy is telling the truth," Dkrax said. "We've witnessed how badly his sense of direction is."
"So... ye have been watching Harry for the last month and been lost," Minerva said slowly, rubbing Harry's back as he laid his head on her shoulder.
"Hai," Ryoga said, looking up at the witch. Minerva searched Ryoga's face then slowly nodded.
"And now you want to adopt him," She stated.
"The goblins said I'm all he has... and I'm not lonely when he’s with me," Ryoga rubbed his shoulder as he looked down again. Minerva opened her mouth to disagree that Harry didn't have anyone else then snapped her mouth shut as she thought about it. Harry didn't have anyone. His godfather was in prison; his godmother was unable to take care of him. Albus wanted to put Harry with his aunt and her family, Minerva remembered those horrible muggles, they would be horrible guardians for the wee bairn and even if she tried to take him in herself, Albus would still have his way.
"I... see," She finally said, standing up straight and looking sternly at the teenager in front of her. "Do you swear you will take care and protect Harry? That you'll love him?"
"Hai, I swear," Ryoga said, his eyes shining as he gave his word.
"Ryoa," Harry said, holding his arms out for his Ryoga. Ryoga smiled and took Harry, holding him close. "Inu kisskiss," Harry said, pressing the toy dog to Ryoga's cheek. Minerva smiled softly then turned to Dkrax.
"Well, just what am I here to do?"
****
Ryoga gave a piggy sigh as he sat in front of Minerva while the witch frowned and cast another spell at him.
"I see... it's just as you said," She finally said, turning to Dkrax and Gtusok who had joined them some time ago. "It's like the Animagus ability but not. And you said water is the trigger?"
"Yes, hot water will return him to his human form," Gtusok said. "We are thinking that we could change the form itself."
"Hmm," Minerva tapped her wand against her chin. "We could try that." She waved her wand, saying a spell under her breath. Ryoga's eyes widened as he felt his body shifting, falling over as his center of balanced changed.
"Awoo?" Wait... he didn't oink.... he didn't oink!!! Ryoga jumped to his four new paws and looked at himself.
"Ryoa Inu!" Harry squealed with laughter and wrapped his arms around Ryoga's furry neck. He panted happily, he wasn't a pig! He was a big black dog that still happens to be wearing his black and yellow bandanna around his neck.
"Well, we can change the shape," Dkrax agreed. "But will it hold?"
"Only one way to find out," Gtusok said, grinning evilly as he poured the hot water over Ryoga.
"Yowch!" Ryoga yelped. "It doesn't have to be that hot... eepp!" he curled his legs in front of himself, blushing heavily. Harry pouted as his doggy was gone now and let go of his Ryoa's neck. The goblins snickered at the embarrassed teen before dumping cold water on him. "Brink."
"I think that answers that question," Minerva said. Ryoga got a disappointed look on his face as he saw he was a pig again.
"Piggy!" Harry giggled and wrapped his arms around Ryoga, ignoring the water all over the floor.
"Well, what do we do now?" Minerva asked her two goblin cohorts. Dkrax and Gtusok put their heads together, speaking in Gobbledygook.
"Let's see if we can use runes to lock the form," One of them finally suggested. They tried again, after getting Harry to let go of Ryoga and put him on a blanket with a few of his toys. This time Minerva transfigured Ryoga's pig form into a monkey then used a spell to shave off a small section of fur on his arm. Gtusok painted a few runes on the patch of skin before nodding for Dkrax to pour hot water on the cursed teen again.
"Really, the water doesn't have to be that hot," Ryoga said, his face red as he put his hands in front of his crotch. The goblins just smirked and poured the cold water on him. This time the form stuck which made Ryoga very happy. Maybe there was a chance he would finally be cured. The witch and goblins experimented with different forms; every time they changed Ryoga's form they had to reapply the runes otherwise it would go back to the base form of a black piglet.
"I think we can try a human form now," Dkrax said, making Minerva nod and waved her wand, transfiguring Ryoga's pig form into a human. The runes were painted onto the teen and it held for a few minutes.
"Arrrggg!" Ryoga clutched his middle, kneeling over. His whole body was on fire! It felt like it did the first time he fell into the spring! His form blurred then shifted back into the pig form.
"That... was unexpected..." Gtusok said after a minute. Dkrax frowned and walked over to a roll of parchment and quill that had been spelled to write down the results of the monitoring spells they cast on Ryoga.
"Hmmmm.... the curse was fine with the other forms we chose but when we tried to make his cursed form his real form, the magic in the curse flared up and forced it back into its original form," He said after studying the results. Minerva sighed and cast a heated aguamenti charm on Ryoga, turning the teen back to human then with another flick of her wand, a blanket was covering him.
"What... what about just turning me into a girl?" Ryoga asked his body was still faintly hurting from what happen. "I mean... Ranma turns into a girl and it's a hell of a lot better than being a pig."
"Would it work?" Minerva asked the goblins.
"It could... it seems the curse is satisfied as long as he isn't in his original form," Dkrax said, rubbing his chin. "We can try it either way."
"Do it then," Ryoga said. If he couldn't be cured, he would be happy with turning into a girl like his rival, almost anything was better than a pig. Once again he was doused with cold water, giving a weary 'bweee' as he was changed again.
"Before I cast the spell, perhaps we should use a potion that would stabilize the insides of his form," Minerva suggested. Dkrax walked over to the door, yelling for one of the guards to fetch a potion that would work. When the goblin guard came back with the potion, he nodded for Minerva to start.
Ryoga gave a piggy groan as his sore body changed again, turning into a female version of his normal form. The potion was shoved under her nose and she gulped down the vile tasting thing, shivering as she felt the stuff working on her. Gtusok painted the runes all over Ryoga's new form, muttering goblin spells under his breath and watched the paint sink into her skin.
"Now for the real test," Minerva said, casting the heated aguamenti charm again. Ryoga sighed as his body changed again. He had shifted so many times today; he was getting tired of it real quick! Cold water hit him this time and he closed his eyes as he waited.
"So far so good," Gtusok said, watching the shivering female teen sitting in front of them, Ryoga holding the soaked blanket up to her body. Several minutes passed without being forced back into her original pig form, making hope bloom in her chest. The two versions of the aguamenti spell was used several times, with the same results, Ryoga shifted from male to female then back.
"So... so no more pig?" Ryoga-chan asked, standing on shaky legs.
"We believe so," Dkrax said. Ryoga nodded then opened the blanket slightly to look down at her new cursed from. Her eyes widened as she looked at her new breasts, a trickle of blood coming out of her nose as her eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted.
***
Meanwhile, at Azkaban the wizarding prison, the goblin leader Ragnok waited in the small waiting room for his appointment with Sirius Black. Not that the guards had any idea who he was, most wizards couldn't tell the difference between one goblin to the next, much less the leader of the whole nation. He looked up as the door opened and Black was lead in by human guards.
"You have 10 minutes," The guard said roughly as he pushed Sirius into a chair then went to stand outside of the door. Ragnok waved his hand and threw up several spells so they couldn't be overheard.
"Mr. Black," Ragnok said, looking at the man across from him when he was done.
"No, that was my bastard of a father," Sirius quipped. "So what is a Gringotts goblin doing here?"
"Officially I'm here to inform you that your mother returned heir to the house of Black status to you," Ragnok said.
"Don't want it," Sirius said. "It's not gonna do me any good anyway, these fuckers aren't gonna let me out anytime soon."
"I realize that... did you betray the Potters Mr. Black?" Ragnok asked, wanting to satisfy his own curiosity. Sirius snarled and stood up, slamming his cuffed hands on the table.
"I would never betray them!" He said angrily. "It was that little rat Wormtail. He was the secret keeper, not me!"
"And the muggles?" Ragnok asked.
"That was him too, he blew up the street after yelling out that I betrayed Prongs and Lily and little Prongslet," Sirius sighed and sat back down. "He then cut off his finger and changed into a rat. I never knew he had it in him."
"I believe you Mr. Black," Ragnok said after a few minutes. "But you realize that the ministry will not listen to me, I will not be able to get you a trial."
"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," Sirius said with a snort. "So you said the official reason was to tell me mummy-dear," here a sneer crossed his pale face, "made me heir again. So what's the real reason?"
"I need you to sign these," Ragnok said as he pushed the papers he brought with him forward. "These are adopting forms for Harry Potter to be adopted by his current caretaker."
"Prongslet... is alive?!" Sirius said grayish blue eyes wide. "Where is he? Is he ok?"
"Yes Mr. Black, Mr. Potter is fine. His current guardian is a remarkable young man," Ragnok said. "He was able to take out three goblin guards one handed while protecting the Potter heir. Any dark wizard who attacks him would be stupid to do so. Both you and his godmother are unable to take care of him. This document gives your permission for Harry Potter to be adopted by one Ryoga Hibiki; he is the one who saved your godchild from the home after it was attacked."
"Oh..." Sirius took the papers and looked them over. "So... Prongslet will be ok with this kid?"
"Yes, I believe he will. Mr. Hibiki and Mr. Potter get along very well," Ragnok said. He handed a blood quill to Sirius when he mentioned for it, the man signing his name.
"If I ever get out, I want to stay Prongslet godfather and... and give this kid the key to my vault..." Sirius said as he stood up again, the 10 minutes was almost up. "In case he ever needs money for the pup." Ragnok nodded and put the papers away. A wave of his clawed hand had all the spells fell just as the guard came in and took Sirius back to his cell.
Ragnok smirked as he walked down the hallway to get out of the prison. He already had Petunia’s signature for her to give up any rights to her nephew. With Sirius's name on the papers, no one would be able to take the boy away from Ryoga now.
**
"This bracer ties you to the one on Mr. Potter's wrist," Ripblade explained as he placed the bracer on Ryoga's wrist. "If you two get separated, you will not be able to wander far from the boy. Only you can take them off and it will resize itself to your new from when you change. Mr. Potters will change sizes as well as he grows."
"That should take care of your two concerns Hibiki-san," Ragnok said. It was the next day, all the papers were signed and filed, Harry Potter was now officially Harry Hibiki-Potter, or just Harry Hibiki for short.
"Yeah, thanks... how am I gonna repay you for all this?" Ryoga asked as he looked at the steel bracer on his wrist, the gems on the front where yellow and black while Harry's were gold and red.
"We are one upping Dumbledore and the humans at the ministry of magic, that is thanks enough," Ragnok said with a smirk. Ryoga nodded and picked up his travel pack, his umbrella sitting on top. The bag he originally packed for Harry was inside, with more things for him and Voldemort's wand was returned to Ryoga, the goblins had cleaned all the previous spells out of it and were giving it to Harry to use when he was older. Ryoga leaned down and picked up Harry next, sitting the boy on his hip.
"Well, thank you for your help," Ryoga said with a half bow. Ragnok bowed his head then ordered one of the guards to guide Ryoga out of the bank. The first chance he got, he would have to contact Sharpblade, the manager of Mahou Village's branch of Gringotts in Japan to tell him to be on the watch out for the young man and for the boy.
***
"Now... which way is Nerima?" Ryoga asked once he and Harry were back in the muggle part of London. He looked both ways before shrugging his shoulders and picking a random direction, he would get there eventually.
***
Author Notes: Whew, long chapter. Yes, a little goblin heavy but I wanted to set the stage and get it all out of the way. The next two or three chapters will be about Harry growing up until he's ready to go to Hogwarts. Yes, McGonagall is on Ryoga and Harry's side, I like stories where she does the right thing and keeps Harry away from the Dursleys. We'll see other characters from the Harry Potter series as Harry grows up.
There was zero support for Akari as far as couples go. The suggestions so far has been Ukyo who has the most support so far, Shampoo who is in second and then Kasumi and Tonks. I'll leave the suggests/vote open for another chapter. Someone also suggested that Harry should get a cursed form of a magical animal which I like so thank for the suggestion. I have a idea what it should be but I'll leave that as a surprise for now ;)
As for Ryoga's changed curse, yes girl form has been done before and it's not very original but I figured the curse wouldn't let them just cure him that easily and I think Ryoga would rather turn into a girl than a pig.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!
Edit 8-13-14: Not much to fixed, just a few little errors that was missed the first time.
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