FicWad

Harry Hibiki and the Philosopher's Stone

Disclaimer: Harry Potter © J. K. Rowling and Ranma 1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi

Author note: Thanks once again to my beta Blissfull Wulf.

Chapter 11

After classes for the day were complete, Harry headed back to the Gryffindor Tower to retrieve Diego. The tower was mostly empty, most everyone seemed to either be outside enjoying the still warm days before fall started to settle in or in the library starting on their homework. No one paid much attention to Harry as he went up to his dorm, picked up Diego, and headed back out.

~How wassss your day Diego?~ Harry hissed in Parseltongue.

~A bit boring, I ssstayed in your room like you sssaid,~ Diego said. ~I explored a bit but there wassssn't much to ssssee.~

~You left the other'ssss petsss alone right?~ Harry asked.

~Of courssssse,~ Diego said. ~The rat wassss really freaked out, he kept hiding under the boy from lassst night's coversss. The toad didn't even pay attention to me.~

~Good,~ Harry said. Maybe this could help their case to let Diego stay in the castle, at least until he went home for winter holidays. The hallways were empty as he walked to Minerva's office and for the most part the people inside the paintings ignored him as he walked past them. As Harry passed one stairway that would lead downstairs, a voice called out.

"Hibiki," Harry stopped and turned, Blaise Zabini stepped out from the shadows. "Or should I call you Hibiki-Potter?"

"If you like, it's a bit of a mouthful. I go by Hibiki," Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders, Diego hissing as he was bounced. Blaise's brown eyes went wide as he finally noticed the large boa wrapped around Harry's torso.

"Is that.... is that a snake?" Blaise asked.

"Yeah, he's my pet boa Diego," Harry said. Blaise looked very amused as he got over the shock, Gryffindor’s new golden boy had a pet snake, an animal that was not looked on very highly by most people.

"My my, what would the rest of the wizarding world think of their golden boy having a pet snake," Blaise mused. "They might start calling you dark."

"I could care less what they think," Harry said as he turned and started to walk again. Blaise quickly fell in step beside the other preteen.

"Really?" Blaise asked only somewhat surprised. He was looking at Diego who was flicking his tongue out at him.

"You can pet him if you like," Harry offered. "Anyway, purebloods are only one small part of the wizarding world. I already know that most Muggleborns won't care."

"How do you know that?" Blaise asked, he was still keeping his opinion open about Muggleborns for now, as he reached up to gently stroke Diego's head.

"Snakes are a popular pet in the mundane world, I bet a lot of the mundane-borns in the school have a pet snake at home or know someone who does," Harry explained. "One of the boys in my dorm, his family has a pet snake."

"Muggles keeps snakes as pets?" Blaise said in surprise.

"Yes, not everyone likes snakes of course but for a lot of people it's their choice pet," Harry said. Blaise hummed softly to himself, crossing his arms over his chest in thought.

"Why are you carrying, what was it Diego? Why are you carrying him through the school?" Blaise asked.

"I have to tell Professor McGonagall about him, if I try to keep him hidden after he snuck in," Harry shot Diego a look who Blaise swore was giving an innocent look, "then I'll be in trouble and who knows what they'll do to my snake. But, if I come right out and tell them right away, the teachers will be willing to listen to me later and may not catch me in a lie." Harry smirked slightly as Blaise laughed.

"That is almost Slytherin," Blaise admired.

"Why thank you," Harry said with a grin. They reached the door to Minerva's office soon after, Harry turning back to face Blaise again. "Well wish me luck. Oh, if you like, you could sit at our table tomorrow for breakfast."

"Sit with a bunch of Gryffindorks?" Blaise asked as he wrinkled his nose in distaste. "No thank you, I think I'll pass." Harry shrugged his shoulders and turned to knock on the door. Blaise watched him enter the Gryffindor head's office then headed back to his own dorms. He didn't know what to make of Harry, the boy was nothing like the stories the wizarding world had grown up on and he kept turning Blaise's head on the Muggleborns. He was surprised to be invited to sit with the other boy at the red and gold table, it was not a common Gryffindor move.

'Well Hibiki is entertaining if nothing else,' Blaise thought with a smirk. 'Who knows, maybe I'll take him up on his offer one day.'

**

"Enter," Minerva called as someone knocked on her door. She looked up and smiled as Harry entered into her office. The smile quickly changed to a look of alarm as she saw the snake wrapped around her pseudo grandson. "Harry, don't move," she hissed as she stood up, her wand held out.

"Mimi, it's ok," Harry said. "He's not going to harm me. Diego is what I came to talk to you about."

"Diego?" Minerva asked with a raised eyebrow. "Harry, why do you have a boa constrictor with you?"

"He stowed away in my trunk, I didn't know he was there until last night," Harry said as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of Minerva's desk.

"Since when do you have a snake?" Minerva asked with a slight quiver in her voice. Harry sighed and gave a short explanation of what happen. "You're a Parselmouth!?" Minerva asked in a strangled voice, she had never been informed about this by Harry's dad.

"Yeah, I've been talking to snakes for years," Harry said with a blush. "Mimi, being able to talk to snakes isn't bad. It's just a 'dark ability' here in the U.K. and some of the other nearby countries. In other places it's not a big deal."

"How can you be a Parselmouth?" Minerva asked as she summoned her personal House Elf to bring them some tea.

"Slytherin and his family weren't the only snake speakers," Harry pointed out. "I've met others and most of them were really nice. At least one of them was a healer."

"Did your other house mates see the snake?" Minerva asked.

"Everyone in my dorm, Hermione-chan and Zabini-san knows," Harry said as he counted them off on his fingers. The House Elf returned with a tray of tea and shortbread biscuits. Diego flicked his tongue out at the cookies and tea curiously. "Ron, Seamus and Neville were a little upset but Dean was fine with it."

"And why is that?" Minerva asked as she poured them tea.

"He said his family has a pet snake," Harry said with a shrug. "Mimi I didn't mean for Diego to follow me here, I even told him he couldn't come, but he did anyway. Can't he stay, at least for a while? He won't eat anyone else's pets, I promise."

Minerva sighed and rubbed her forehead, this was very unusual. She may be a half blood but she spent most of her life in the wizarding world and was very wary of snakes.

"I don't know Harry," Minerva said slowly.

"Please," Harry said again, even the snake was looking at her now and she swore it was giving her puppy-dog eyes and sighed in defeat.

"The snake may stay, at least until the holidays. But if I hear of it attacking anyone in the school or eating any of the pets I will turn that snake into a leather handbag," Minerva said. "If he does well, we'll see about letting you continue to bring him to the school."

"Thank you Mimi!" Harry said jumping up and running around the desk to hug the older woman.

"And you are in charge of telling your house mates about your snake," Minerva added. "But I would leave out your ability to speak to snakes for now."

"That's fine," Harry said. "Will Professor Dumbledore be ok with it?"

"If he says anything, I will take care of him," Minerva said then changed the subject. "Harry, you did very well this morning in my class. I'm proud of you."

"Thank Mimi, but was mostly my Otousan's journals that helped," Harry said as he sat down again.

"James's journals may have helped but you did the work yourself," Minerva said with a small smile. Harry was so unlike James, his father would have been preening and boasting from her praise but Harry did none of that. "And I'm proud of you and Miss Granger for helping your classmates."

"Thanks Mimi," Harry said with another blush.

"Well Mr. Hibiki," Minerva said with an amused glint in her eyes. "Dinner should be starting soon, I suggest you leave now if you want to return that beast to the common room and make it in time."

"Alright," Harry said as he stood. "Thanks again Mimi," Harry said before leaving the office. Minerva shook her head; she could not believe she just agreed to let Harry keep his snake at the school.

***

Dinner in the Great Hall was underway when Harry returned from putting his pet snake back in the tower. Diego was extremely happy to be allowed to stay and planed on exploring more of the tower. After living in a tank for all his life, Diego had a huge case of wanderlust and a want to see the world. It was a good thing he was now a pet of the Hibiki family, traveling with Harry and Ryoga was a sure fire way for Diego to see everything.

So the snake was excited to explore the castle the first chance he got.

"Harry!" Hermione said as he sat down beside her. "Did you go to Professor McGonagall about you-know-what?" She asked softly.

"You mean Diego?" Harry asked as he filled his plate. "Yeah, she said it was ok for him to stay til the winter vacation at least."

"What!" Hermione hissed.

"That snake is staying?" Ron asked a little loudly as he listened in.

"Ron, we went over this, Diego isn't evil," Harry said looking at the redhead who flushed; the snake wasn't acting anything like how he had always been told snakes were known to do.

"Sorry," Ron mumbled.

"It's ok Ron, I know you have to wrap your head around it," Harry said with a sigh.

"Did our ears deceive us?"

"Or did our little Ronni-kins say something about a snake?" Fred and George appeared among the first years.

"Yeah, he did," Harry agreed. He looked around and saw several of the other Gryffindors looking at him and shrugged. "I'll explain back in the tower after dinner."

"Harry-sama," Kodachi said as she walked up behind them. Takewaki was by her side nodding in greeting.

"Dachi, Tachi! Just in time," Harry said with a grin. "Sit down, move over Ron."

"Excuse me, students are to sit with their own classmates," Percy said as he noticed the Slytherin and Hufflepuff sit down.

"Actually, if you read the school rules in the back of the Hogwarts a History books, students have to sit at their house tables only during feasts like the opening and closing feasts," Harry countered. "Otherwise, as long as they are invited, students are allowed to sit at other houses tables. And I invited my friends to sit with me." Harry finished with a small smirk, to bend the rules you had to know the rules. One of Nabiki Saotome's many rules.

Percy sputtered slightly, his face so flushed you couldn't see the freckles on his face. He huffed and turned around, stomping back down to his place at the table.

"Good on you mate!" Ron said with a grin.

"That was so"

"Wonderful." Fred started then was finished by George. Harry squeaked as the twins hugged him on either side while fake crying. "No one has"

"Gotten under Prefect-Percy's skin"

"Like that since what was it Forge?"

"I think it was this morning Gred"

"Oh yes, we put a little itching powder in his knickers."

Harry laughed and pushed both boys away. In the short time he had known Ron’s older brothers, which was only a couple of days now, he’d found the two pranksters to be very amusing. Ron had warned him though that Fred and George would prank him if they could get away with it, good naturedly of course. As soon as the twin moved back down to their seats with their friend Lee Jordan, Harry quickly searched himself over.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Making sure your brothers didn't try to leave a little surprise on me," Harry said.

"Good idea," Ron said as he sagely nodded his head.

"You have a small insect on your back," Tatewaki pointed out.

"Get it off and be careful about it," Harry said. Using his chopsticks, Tatewaki carefully plucked the bug off of the back of Harry's shirt and dropped it into the younger boy's hand. Harry looked at it closely then snorted and shook his head. The so-called bug was made to look vaguely like a bee but the abdomen was clear and he could see some sort of murky liquid inside.

"Eww, it's a stink bug," Ron said, his freckled nose wrinkling. "It's like a mini version of a dung bomb, the twins set one off at home this summer. Careful not to set it off." Harry smirked and pointed his Kirin wand at the prank bug.

"Let's give them a taste of their own medicine," he said. Ron grinned and nodded, he never got the better of his trickster brothers. Hermione sighed and shook her head while muttering 'boys' under her breath. "Float," Harry said as he used the levitation charm on the 'stink bug', it was one of the spells that Remus had taught him during the summer.

The prank stink bug rose up in the air out of Harry's open palm and under Harry's careful guidance flew over to Fred, or maybe it was George. The older red headed teen went crossed eye as the bug suddenly landed on his nose.

"Um Gred... we might have a problem," George said to his twin. Harry grinned wider as he nudged the prank bug with his magic.

"Oh bullock," the Weasley twins said as the same time as the wings on the prank bug fluttered once before releasing the stink juice inside. The students around them screamed and quickly scrambled away from the twins and their friend Lee, spells quickly sprung up to contain the stinky gas so no one would end up smelling like the three boys who were coughing up a storm.

"Now would be a good time to get out of here," Harry said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said to the Kuno siblings as he, Ron, Hermione and Neville stood up.

"On the morrow then," Kuno agreed with a nod.

"You know they are going to try to get us back for that," Ron said as they raced up the stairs to get to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Maybe, but Uncle Moony was a prankster in his school days too," Harry said. "I don't really do much of it myself but he did teach me a few things."

"Th-they wouldn't try to pr-prank us would they?" Neville asked shyly. "Hermione and I didn't do a-anything."

"Sorry mate, Fred and George will prank anyone," Ron said. "Don't worry though; they have never done anything that would hurt anyone. Just maybe injure your pride a bit, but nothing else."

"Harry I can't believe you did that," Hermione said with a shake of her head. Harry shrugged his shoulders as he said,

"They were going to do it to me first, should I have sat there and let the bug go off and stink us up?"

"Well no, I didn't mean that," Hermione said with a scowl as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, giving her the password. Once inside the common room Hermione continued, "But you could have just thrown the thing away, you didn't have to prank them back."

"Hermione-chan, no offence, but not everyone plays nice and follows the rules," Harry said as he sat down on one of the plush chairs in the room. "And other than making Ron's brothers smell like they were dipped in a vat of skunk juice they didn't get hurt."

"I know the twins, they'll try harder to prank Harry but they’ll also respect him a little more now," Ron said. Hermione huffed but let it drop, she wasn't getting anywhere with this for now. At that moment Diego slithered into the room from the direction of the dorms and up to Harry.

~Buenassss nochessss,~ Diego hissed as Harry picked him up. Harry smiled slightly but didn't respond, Hermione was the only one who knew he could speak to snakes, Ron and Neville did not.

"I can't believe Professor McGonagall let you keep that snake," Hermione said as she sat on the arm of the chair and let Diego flick his tongue at her.

~It'sss the Amiga who let me out of the tank!~ Diego hissed excitedly.

"Y-you're not afraid of it?" Neville asked as he and Ron looked on in shock. Both of them had tensed up when Diego showed up.

"Of course not," Hermione said. "They're not harmless but as long as the owner is careful, I know they make decent pets. I'm not fond of them myself but I'm not afraid of them."

"I think all Muggles and Muggleborns are mad," Ron said with a shake of his head.

"Oh there are plenty of people who are afraid of snakes," Hermione corrected him. "I'm just not one of them."

"Neville it's ok, Diego isn't going to hurt you," Harry coxed the frightened boy when he noticed his new friend staring at Diego in fright. He stood up and carried the snake over to the boy. "You're going to have to get use to him Neville, come on just touch his back he's not going to bite."

"Ar-are you sure?" Neville asked. When Harry nodded Neville screwed up what little courage he had in him at the moment and placed a shaking hand on Diego's back. The snake laid his head on top of the hand, tongue flicking out to scent the boy.

~Hmmm, ssssmellssss like dirt and plantsssss,~ Diego said.

"Yo-you said he just smells li-like that right?" Neville asked as he froze up.

"Hai, he's just taking in your scent," Harry assured him. Ron watched with a wide open mouth, Neville stuck him as almost a Hufflepuff the boy was so timid and scared but the other boy just touched the snake on his own! Ron hadn't been able to do that, Harry had to force him to touch the ruddy snake.

Soon after the rest of the Gryffindors arrived from dinner, many of them still laughing at the Weasley twins prank backfiring on them. Even the twins were laughing, they were good humored and humble enough to not get angry when they been had. The stench from the 'stink bug' had been cleared from them and their friend Lee with plenty of cleaning and freshening spells though there was a small bit of stink still clinging to them.

"Harry-kins"

"We are so"

"Impressed. How did"

"You know that... is that a snake?" The twin’s loud question caught the attention of everyone who turned to look at the Boy-Who-Lived who did in fact have a snake draped over his arms and shoulders.

"OK, guess I'll get this over with," Harry said. He moved to the front of the fireplace so he could see everyone. "Alright, yes I have a snake, this is my pet Brazilian Boa Constrictor, his name is Diego. No, I'm not evil or dark just because I've got a snake. Yes, our head of house knows about him and said she could stay for now. No, he's not going to attack anyone here or eat anyone’s pets. He's just a snake, not even a magical one, and if by chance you do get bit, and the only way that is going to happen is if you attack him, you wouldn't get poisoned cause he's a non-venomous snake. Any questions?"

"Why did you bring it?"

"Are you sure it's not going to eat my cat?"

"Can I pet it?" These were just a few of the questions hurled at Harry.

"One at a time!" Harry called loudly over the noise.

"Why did you bring that thing?" One boy from the upper years asked.

"I didn't bring him on purpose, Diego stowed away in my trunk, I found him last night," Harry said.

"Oh, can I pet him?" Another boy asked as he pushed to the front.

"Sure," Harry smiled as he held his arms out. Everyone started to talk again as several muggleborns, a few half bloods and a couple of foreign pure bloods came closer to see Diego up close.

"Don't you know that snakes are dark creatures?"

"No it's not, it's just an animal like any other."

"We have a couple of pet snakes at home."

"Really? Our cousins back home have a lot more than that, they have a pet viper too."

"Wow, you really stirred something up mate," Ron said as he squeezed in next to Harry again. "I never knew so many people were ok with snakes."

"I told you before Ron, most snakes aren’t dark or evil," Harry said. "Most certainly not a non-magical one. They're just animals, most are content to leave humans alone as long as they don't get into their space in the wild. Pet snakes you still have to watch but that's the same for any animal."

"I guess..." Ron said with a thoughtful look.

~Wow, thesssse humanssss are assss noissssy asss the onesss at the zoo,~ Diego said as he heard all the vibrations in the air from the students talking and arguing about him and snakes in general. Harry patted Diego's head but didn't say anything.

"I'm going to take Diego back upstairs and start our homework," Harry said. "It's a little loud down here."

"Homework already?" Ron said in disbelief. "It's not even due for a couple of days."

"Maybe not, but the sooner I get it done the sooner I can do other things," Harry pointed out. "Keep putting it off then you'll have to rush at the last minute and it looks horrible then you'll get a bad mark."

"Ehh, I think I'll stick down here for now," Ron said, he did not want to start any homework. Harry nodded and headed back up to their room.

Inside the dorm room, Harry checked to make sure he was alone as he shut the door. Seeing the others were still downstairs Harry sighed and walked over to his bed.

~Sssso what did you do while I was at dinner Diego?~ He asked the snake in Parseltongue.

~I explored a bit more,~ Diego hissed. ~I can't wait to explore the ssssschool.~

~You'll have to be careful, the resssst of the ssstudentssss of the ssssschool don't know about you yet. I'm sssssure the Slytherinssss will find out since Zabini knowssss about you. Jusssst be careful Diego, it could be very dangerioussss for you here.~

~I'll sssstay out of ssssight,~ Diego promised. Harry sighed and let Diego slither off of him and onto the bed. He might as well start his homework like he had said he was going to do.

After a while his dorm mates joined him as the night wore down. As Ron changed into his PJ's, he wondered about everything he had learned about snakes tonight. As he leaned over to grab his top off the top of his battered old trunk, he froze in fear. A few feet from his hand, on the edge of the trunk, stood an eight legged monster.

The spider seemed to look back at him, waving its front legs. Ron's brain started to shut down as the fear welled up in him.

~Ssssspider!~ Diego cried in glee as he darted forward. Back at the zoo every now and then a spider would stupidly wonder into Diego's tank and he had developed a taste for them over the years. Ron watched in shock as Diego snapped his mouth around the eight legged monster and swallowed it whole.

'Ok... maybe having a snake in the dorm won't be too bad,' Ron decided as he watched Diego slither back off toward Harry, shuddering as the spider leg hanging out of the snake's mouth gave a twitch. If that thing ate spiders, Ron was more than happy to share a living space with it.

****

"What were you doing with those Gryffindorks?" Malfoy asked as soon as Kodachi entered the Slytherin Dungeons.

"I do not answer to you silly boy," Kodachi said as she walked past Malfoy.

"You're acting like a traitor to our house," Malfoy hissed as he grabbed Kodachi by the arm. Kodachi spun and gave him a cold glare that sent shivers down the Malfoy heir's spine. Kodachi quickly withdrew her wand from its holster and with a whisper cast a spell at Malfoy's face. Draco let go of Kodachi with a yelp as the light from the spell blinded him for a moment, reaching up to cover his beautiful face.

"Listen here little boy, what I do on my own time is no-one’s business but my own," Kodachi hissed as she pressed her wand into Malfoy's neck who gulped in fear. "Do not cross me again or I may feed you to Mister Green Turtle." And with a flourished turn, Kodachi walked away calmly toward the girl's dorms. Malfoy glared at Kodachi's back, gritting his teeth. His attention was drawn away from Kodachi as he heard the rest of his housemates start giggling and laughing.

"What are you laughing at!?" He yelled, stomping his foot like a spoiled child.

"Kuno left you a little gift," Blaise said in amusement, very few students in the room knew what the heck Kodachi had written on his head but the fact that she had hexed the spoiled brat amused everyone.

"It's very good spell work, I may have to ask her about it," Daphne agreed. Draco looked confused then rushed over to a mirror on the wall. Seeing the mark on his forehead he screamed in rage.

***

Snape scowled as someone started to pound away at the door to his private rooms.

'What in the name of Merlin?' He thought as he put his 'Potions Weekly' journal to the side and stood up. While he would have loved to ignore whoever was bothering him at this time of night, he knew it might be one of his snakes.

"What?" Snape snarled as he opened the door. "Mister Malfoy... what do you have on your forehead?"

"That little traitor Kuno did this," Draco whined.

"And what did you do to anger Miss Kuno?" Snape said as he pulled the boy into his rooms so he could look more closely at the spell work. Kodachi had spelled the word 'Baka' in Kanji onto Draco's forehead; it was a very well done spell and one that was very familiar. He swore a similar spell had been used on him in his own youth while at Hogwarts.

"I didn't do anything!" Draco said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "That bitch is the one who turned her back on our house."

"While Miss Kuno spending time with other students from other houses is unusual, it is not against the rules of the school Mister Malfoy," Severus said. "Let me guess, you confronted Miss Kuno when she arrived in the common room about her sitting at the Gryffindor table."

"Why would she want to sit with them? They're a house full of blood traitors and mudbloods," Draco said.

"I would suggest you keep your opinions to yourself Mister Malfoy," Snape hissed. "As long as Miss Kuno does not go against our house, there is nothing to stop her from spending time with students of other houses. And it is expectant she would at least spend time with her brother. As she took care to curse you in the common room, she has not gone against House rules."

"You can't be serious," Draco said.

"You’ll find that I am quite serious," Severus said in a cool tone. "Now I suggest you return to your common room before curfew starts." The Potions professor started to push his student toward the door.

"Wait! What about this?" Malfoy said, pointing at the writing on his forehead.

"Use your Slytherin wit you stupid boy," Snape said as he opened the door and pushed the boy out into the hallway. "Or wait until the spell wears off on its own," he added before slamming his door closed. Draco Malfoy stared at the door opened mouth then huffed and stomped his foot. He was a Malfoy, Merlin damn it, that half blood of a teacher should have spelled the curse away! He knocked on the door again but soon had to stop when Snape sent a spell at his door that shocked Draco's hand.

Finally, with a full pout on his face, Draco stomped down the hallway to the Slytherin Dungeons just before curfew started. He was going to get that little bitch Kodachi Kuno for this.

***

The rest of the week passed quickly enough as the first year students adjusted to living in the school and their classes.

Harry's first charms class had been interesting when the Professor of the subject, Filius Flitwick who was a short professor who was part goblin, fell off a stack of books he was using to stand on when teaching classes with a startled squeak when he called Harry's name out on the class roll. Thankfully after the incident Flitwick treated him like any other student in the room and even called him 'Mister Hibiki' when asked. It wasn't Harry’s best class but he did well enough on the subject and would put it on par with transfiguration. Hermione and surprisingly Tatewaki both did better than him in the class.

Flitwick had taken Harry off to the side at the end of class when he noticed that during the lesson on the light charm Harry had said 'Hikari' instead of 'Lumos' when getting his wand to light up.

"Mister Hibiki I noticed that you chose to use Japanese instead of Latin when casting your spell," Flitwick had said.

"Yeah, Hermione-chan chewed me out a bit about that but I told her that not every country uses Latin when casting spells and hikari means the same as lumos," Harry explained.

"Yes yes, that's true," Flitwick said with a smile. "I'm not going to stop you from using another language when you cast spells Mister Hibiki but I would recommend learning the spell in Latin first. During your OWLS and NEWTS exams you will be required to use the spells in what they call 'proper' form."

"Hai sensei," Harry said, he hadn't known about that. Flitwick smiled and patted Harry's arm.

"You'll do well in my class," He assured Harry. "Your mother was one of my best students you know, she could have been a Charms Mistress if she..."

"If she hadn't died?" Harry guessed then smiled. "I knew O'kasan was best at charms and potions."

"Yes, she could have surpassed me one day I believe," Flitwick said with a fond smile. "Well I won't keep you Mister Hibiki, you should head on to lunch." Harry smiled and nodded his head as he left, he liked the little professor.

History, Harry found, was as boring as Remus had warned him it would be. Cuthbert Binns was a man who died one day in the staff room in his sleep and his ghost rose up from his place and continued to teach. Binns Harry quickly found had a dry, toneless way of speaking that could put almost anyone to sleep. He reminded Harry of the American Ben Stein, an actor slash lawyer who could also speak in a dry toneless voice. Hermione seemed to be the only one who could stay awake and listen to Binns. Harry had given it up within the first 10 minutes and instead just learned from the book. It was the only was he was going to pass that class. (1)

Herbology with Pomona Sprout was a class Harry knew he wasn't going to be the best at. While he knew plant names and how they were used in potions, Harry had never had a green thumb of any kind. Neville excelled in the class and was clearly already Sprout's favorite. Tatewaki and Kodachi also both did well, the elder Kuno brother because the Hufflepuffs usually did well since they got private tutoring from their older classmates and the younger Kuno sister because she was quite good at growing plants. Harry wouldn't be surprised if Kodachi was better at the poisonous and more dangerous plants.

Astronomy was a class held once a week, on a Wednesday, at night for all four houses at once. Aurora Sinistra taught their year group while the older years were taught by other professors. It was the only department in the school that had more than one teacher Harry observed, all others were only taught by one professor.

Defense against the Dark Arts was highly disappointing Harry found out pretty quick. Quirinus Quirrell stuttered throughout the whole lesson, making it almost impossible to understand just what he was saying. To be honest, Harry didn't trust the man. There was something off about Quirrell that made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand up. The stutter sounded fake and there was something strange about how he always wore that silly looking purple turban. Harry had come out of the lessons with a mild headache every time so far and a strong scent of garlic clinging to his clothing for hours afterward. The others didn't really believe him when he said there was something off about Quirrell, Ron laughed and said the man was afraid of his own shadow, what harm could he do.

The only class he and his friends had yet to take was potions. Harry both was and wasn't looking forward to going. Harry was actually quite good at potions as Cologne, who was China's leading potions mistress, had tutored Harry in potions since he was a kid. But Harry wasn't sure how Professor Snape was going to treat him. It had taken Harry a day or two to remember where he heard the name Severus Snape before. The man had gone to school with his birth parents and from the stories that Remus told him, Snape and his father James hadn't gotten along at all.

James and the rest of his friends who called themselves the Marauders which included Remus, Harry's godfather Sirius Black and a fourth friend named Peter Pettigrew, had picked on and played pranks on Snape during all seven years they went to school. Remus had been ashamed to admit while they did prank the whole school, Snape was their target more often than anyone else. Not that Snape was innocent, he gave back as good as he got but there was still enough bad blood between Snape and Harry's birth father that Harry was afraid he might try to take it out on him. On the other hand, according to Remus, Snape had been friends with his mother Lily until their 5th year when they’d had a falling out. Snape had some sort of feelings for Lily that never went away.

"Here comes the post," Ron's voice knocked Harry out of his thoughts. They were sitting at breakfast at the Gryffindor table, the friends mostly split their time between there and the Hufflepuff table as they had yet to be invited to the Slytherin house table. Harry smiled as he spotted Shiroyuki among the other owls swooping down in his direction with a couple notes in her claws.

'Dear Harry,

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer with Shiroyuki.

Hagrid'

Harry chuckled and quickly wrote a quick note on the back.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"Hagrid invited me to his home for tea," Harry said as he let Shiroyuki take the note and watched her fly off to deliver it to the half giant. "Why don't you guys come with me? He's really friendly, I'm sure he won't mind."

"Sure, I heard a lot about him from my brothers," Ron said as he stuffed a sausage link in his mouth.

"I will enjoy that as well," Hermione agreed, wrinkling her in disgust at Ron's eating habits.

"O-o-okay," Neville quickly agreed, not wanting to be left out.

"Great, I'll invite Dachi and Tachi during lunch," Harry said with a smile as he read the second note, he quickly recognized Cologne's handwriting.

'Harry,

You've had a week to adjust to your to school, tonight we shall continue our lessons. Come to the Shrieking Shack tonight via the willow.'

'I was wondering when Grandmother was going to contact me,' Harry thought as he folded the note and tucked it into his bag. He was starting to worry, he had gotten a letter back from everyone but his parents. He hoped that Cologne might have a message from them when he went out.

Meanwhile across the hall at the Hufflepuff table, Justin grinned as he opened a package from his parents and turned to Tatewaki beside him.

"Here," Justin said as he handed his friend the book that had been in the package.

"What is this?" Kuno said as he took the book.

"The first 'Lord of the Ring' book," Justin said. "You said you read 'The Hobbit' but not the other books so I had Mother send me my copy."

"Oh yes, I vaguely remember thou speaking of it our first night here," Tatewaki said as he flipped through 'Fellowship of the Ring'.

"I think you're really going to like it," Justin said. "When you're done, let me know if you want to read the other two."

"I shall," Kuno agreed. His curiosity was peaked, he had read and enjoyed 'The Hobbit' and Remus had told him he should read the other books as well. Further down the table Zacharies Smith snorted softly, why would anyone want to read a silly muggle book?

"Come on, we have potions and I don't want to be late," Hermione said as she packed away her potion book she was reading into her bag. Ron groaned, he had heard plenty of horror stories about Snape from his older brothers and he was not looking forward to this class.

***

Snape stalked down the hallway from his office toward his classroom, today was the day he had his first class with Lily's son in it. He wasn't sure what to expect, from what little he had seen of Hibiki-Potter the boy got along with a few of his snakes and students in Hufflepuff. Not too much in Ravenclaw but he didn't seem to know anyone there at all so that could be the reason. His colleagues claimed the boy was smart, not prodigy level smart but he did well in their classes. There had been a rumor that the boy had brought a snake to school, Minerva had confirmed that one much to his surprise. Now he would see for himself if the boy was a spoiled big headed brat like his father or more like his kind mother.

"In," Severus barked as he walked into the hallway and opened the door to the classroom. The Gryffindors and Slytherins quickly filed into the potions classroom, his snakes sitting on one side and the lions on the other. He quickly noticed that Hibiki-Potter sat in the middle next to the Weasley boy, already taking out a notebook and pen. He sneered slightly, but it was mostly for show. Lily had also used notebooks and pens during class.

Snape stood in the front of the room, looking out at the rest of his dunderhead students. He quickly picked out who was paying attention to him and who wasn’t. Picking up a scroll, he started to take roll. As he reached Harry's name he stopped and looked over it at the boy.

"Mister Hibiki-Potter... our new... celebrity..." He said dryly. A few of the Slytherins snickered softly but Harry didn't even flinch, he just looked back at Snape with calm face. Slightly impressed, Snape continued the roll. Once finished he put the parchment to the side and looked out at the students.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," He said, starting his yearly first year speech. Snape spoke in barely more than a whisper but the students caught every word. He was much like Professor McGonagall; he had that gift of keeping his class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic."

Snape started to pace slowly around the room, looking at each of his students as he spoke. "I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its simmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses."

He smirked slightly, he successfully captured everyone's attention, all eyes were on him.

"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even stopper death..." Snape reached the front of the room again and spun on his heel to face the class. "If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." He saw the Weasley boy raised an eyebrow and Granger appeared to be on the edge of her seat looking desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. Snape ignored her and turned his attention to the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Hibiki-Potter!" Harry looked up at him as his named was called. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of worm wood?"

"A powerful sedative or sleeping potion but I do not know which one," Harry said.

"Tut tut..." Snape said. He was a bit impressed Potter knew that much, it was a fourth year potion after all. "Let's try again shall we? Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar."

"Inside the stomachs of animals. Goats are the most common animal to find one but you can also find types of bezoars in horses, oxen and even humans who chew on their hair," Harry said. "It will save a person from most poisons."

"I see you do know how to open a book," Snape said, "that's more than I can say for most. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

“They’re two different names for Aconitum, or better known as aconite," Harry said.

'Well he's not a complete dunderhead,' Snape thought to himself and he couldn't accuse the boy of cheating, he had looked Snape in the eye the whole time. "For your information, asphodel and wormwood do make a powerful sleeping potion, it is known as Draught of Living Death."

Snape looked around and noticed that only a few of his Slytherins and Granger were writing. "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" Quills started to fly across parchment and notebooks as everyone wrote quickly. "Two points to Gryffindor for knowing how to open a book." He added in a slightly pained tone.

Snape quickly put everyone into pairs, putting Harry with Neville after seeing how nervous the boy was and maybe he could avoid any cauldrons being melted by putting the Longbottom boy with someone who acted like they knew what they were doing.

Spelling the instructions for the potion to cure boils, Snape walked around the room to watch everyone weigh dried nettles and snake fangs that were crushed. He was impressed by the Kuno girl, she brewed like she knew her way around a potion lab.

"Look at Miss Kuno, perfect brewing. Look at how her slugs are stewed," Snape praised with a smirk. Kodachi's lips quirked slightly but gave no other outward sign she heard her professor as she and Tracy continued brewing.

"Don't," Snape heard Harry hiss behind him. He turned and saw Harry grab Neville's wrist in a firm grip, stopping the other boy from dropping porcupine quills into the potion that was still over the fire. "You don't add those until after we take this off the fire, otherwise it's going to react badly."

"S-sorry," Neville said as he snatched his hand back after Harry let him go. Snape tried to decide if he should swoop down on the teens and deduct points or leave Potter alone. He had stopped Longbottom from a very dangerous mistake, it would have turned the boil cure potion into a sort of acid.

"Longbottom, five points from Gryffindor," Snape said, deciding to still take the points. "I see you can't even follow simple instructions. If Hibiki-Potter had not stopped you, one or both of you would be on your way to the hospital wing at this moment." Neville cowered under Snape's glare, ducking his head with a whimper.

Harry ignored Snape scolding Neville as he removed the cauldron from the fire, waited for it to cool then added the porcupine quills to the potion. He had been taught by Cologne that potions were violent and to ignore all outside distractions when brewing otherwise someone could get hurt or even worse killed. Snape finished reducing Neville to near tears and swept away to his next victim.

'That slimy git,' Ron thought as he grit his teeth in anger. 'Why did Harry let Snape tear into Neville like that?'

"Bottle up your potions and leave a vial on my desk," Snape called as the class came to an end. "Write a foot on the potion and what would have happened if you didn't follow the directions!"

"Harry, why didn't you stop Snape!?" Ron asked as soon as they left the class.

"Ron, don't," Neville said with a blush.

"He was harsh Ron, but Professor Snape is right. No offence Neville, but if I hadn't stopped you, the potion would have turned into acid and you could have been hurt," Harry said looking at Neville.

"It's ok Harry," Neville said shyly. "Thanks for stopping me." Harry smiled then turned back to Ron again.

"If I had stopped Snape-sensei we would have lost more points and our potion would have been ruined," he said, "which would have given us both a failing grade. Sometimes Ron, you have to ignore what is going on around you when you brew. "

"He's right, potions are very dangerous," Hermione said in agreement. "Harry did the right thing." Ron scowled slightly but couldn't find fault in their reasoning.

"Well Snape is still a git," He muttered to himself as he followed his friends. Kodachi walked up to Harry's side and began talking about the class and their homework as they left the dungeon toward the Great Hall.

"5 points from Gryffindor," Snape muttered as he stepped out of the shadow of his classroom. He couldn't believe Potter's brat took the time to defend him to his little friends. And the boy had some skill with potions, in that he took after his mother at least.

**

"Are you sure that this is right?" Ukyo asked as she and Ryoga headed up toward the castle. The castle looked run down and crumbling to Ukyo and she had this feeling that she was forgetting something that she needed to do. Every time she turned to leave Ryoga grabbed her arm and brought her back to what they were doing.

"Yes, Granny told you this is the path up to the castle," Ryoga said. He gazed up at the tall towers of Hogwarts, he could see the castle as it was. The wards that kept Muggles out didn't affect Ryoga any more than the muggle repealing wards in Diagon Alley or Mutoh Village did. "Look, there are the gates."

"Ooo!" Yoshi said. "Tosan look, monter!" He said as he pointed at one of the stone Gargoyles on top of the gate. One of the Gargoyles moved as the Hibiki's drew closer.

"Ryoga, all I see is a crumbling wall," Ukyo said with a huff as her husband grabbed her arm again gently. She didn't see one of the Gargoyles lift itself off the gate and fly off toward the castle while her husband and children did.

"Byebye!" Yoshi said with a wave while Keiko squealed.

"I wonder if we just go through the gate or wait for someone to come get us," Ryoga said. He was worried they weren't going to make it up to the castle, something kept trying to make Ukyo leave and Ryoga knew he wouldn't make it on his own.

"'ello there!" A booming voice called as Hagrid hurried toward the gate with the Gargoyle following him. The stone beast retook its place at the top of the gate.

"Hagrid-san," Ryoga greeted with a grin.

"Ryo'a," Hagrid said with his own warm smile, remembering the man from one of his last trips to Diagon Alley, when he had to do that very important mission for Dumbledore. It dawned on him that this was little Harry's adopted father and he was so happy that somebody had taken such good care of the boy. "What ar' you doing her'?" He asked as he opened the gate. "Par'nt's don't usually visit durin' the school ye'r."

Ukyo gasped as she stepped through the gate she swore hadn't been there before and suddenly her mind cleared up and she could see the castle as it really was now that she was on the other side of the wards.

"Your headmaster asked to see us," Ryoga said. Yoshi looked up at Hagrid with wide eyes, his little mouth gaping open.

"Aww, who's this littl' tyke then?" Hagrid asked, gently tickling Yoshi with one large finger, making the boy squirm with laughter.

"This is my younger son Yoshi," Ryoga said with a smile. "And this is my wife Ukyo and our daughter Keiko."

"Err hi," Ukyo said, also looking up at Hagrid with wide eyes. She had seen her share of different people living in Nerima but not one had ever been this large except that giant of a women they had met when they arrived through the Floo connected to the Cat Café.

"Miss," Hagrid smiled and nodded. "W'll I'll be happy to take both of you up to the castle."

"T-thanks, that'll be great," Ukyo said, grabbing onto Ryoga's hand to keep him from getting lost. Hagrid waved for the two Hibiki's to follow him, answering all of Ukyo's questions about the castle happily and grinning as Yoshi babbled his own 'questions'.

"Her' we go," Hagrid said as they reached the tall doors of the castle and he pulled them open. "It's abo't lunch time Dumble're will be ther'-"

"Mom, Dad?" They arrived just in time for the Slytherins and Gryffindors to come up from the dungeons. Many of the students stopped and stared at Harry's adopted parents, whispers springing up among the teens. Many of them talked and wondered at what looked like a giant spatula that could have been too big even for Hagrid on the woman's back. Ron's eyes widened as he looked from Ukyo to Harry then back. He remembered on the train that Harry said his mother trained him in using spatulas as a weapon. On the other side of the hall Malfoy scowled as he remembered the incident on the train as well when Harry threw one of the spatulas at him, clipping part of his hair.

"Nii-san!" Yoshi yelled excitedly and wiggled down from Ryoga's grip and ran straight for his brother who swept him up. "Nii-san Nii-san!"

"Hello to you too," Harry said with a laugh as he settled his brother on his hip. He ignored all the coos coming from the surrounding girls and the sneers from some of the purebloods, looking up at his adopted parents. "What are you guys doing here?"

"What is all this commotion?" Snape asked as he came up behind the students, scowling down at all of them. "Why are you all not in the Great Hall? And who are you?" Snape asked as he turned to the other adults, stopping short as he recognized Ryoga from Minerva's photos.

"We have a request to see your headmaster," Ryoga said with a smile to Harry.

"You must be the Hibiki’s," Albus said as he exited the great hall to see what was going on, Minerva at his side. "Shall we take this up to my office?"

"It's lunch time, I'm sure young Mr. Hibiki wouldn't mind taking his young siblings with him," Minerva said, not wanting the youngest Hibiki's in the crosshairs.

"I think that's an excellent idea," Ukyo agreed, smiling as Hermione offered to take Keiko for her. She handed her only daughter to the young witch and the baby bag. "There are bottles of formula in the side pocket if you’d like to feed her."

"Thank you Mrs. Hibiki," Hermione said. Albus watched as Harry leaned over, tickling the tiny girl who reached up a little hand toward her brother as she giggled. He felt bad, the boy clearly cared for his adopted family and he hated to take the boy away from that but Harry needed the protection of his mother's blood.

'Maybe I can arrange visits during the holidays,' Albus mused as he motioned for Ryoga and Ukyo to follow him.

"I would love to be a fly on the wall in Dumbledore's office," Minerva said softly to Severus.

"You seem to have an idea how this meeting will go," the younger teacher said. Minerva's lips quirked slightly as she turned toward the great hall.

"I've known the Hibiki's for a few years now, I have a very good idea of what they are capable of," She said. "Albus on the other hand does not." Severus snorted softly and shook his head but now he wished he was a fly on the wall as well.

**

"I am glad you have taken the time to come and see me," Albus said as he waved his hand for Ukyo and Ryoga to sit down as he sat in his own grand chair behind his desk. "May I offer you a lemon drop?" he asked as he held out a dish with his favorite candy then shrugged and popped one of the candies in his mouth as they declined.

"Let's get straight to the point sugar," Ukyo said. "Why did you ask us to come?"

"Ahm... yes..." Albus said as he clasped his hands in front of him on his desk. "I am curious, how did young Harry Potter come to be a part of your family?"

"I found the Potter home after they were attacked by that dark wizard," Ryoga explained. "I walked in and found Harry's birth parents already dead and took him for his safety as I went to find help. A month later I adopted him."

"I married Ryoga when Harry was four and have been his mother ever since," Ukyo added, reaching over to hold her husband's hand who gave her a small fanged smile. Albus smiled slightly, it was nice to see people so much in love.

"Well I thank you for looking after young mister Potter-" Albus started to say.

"Hibiki," Ukyo interrupted him.

"I beg your pardon?" Albus said, blinking in surprise as very few people dared to interrupt him like that. His phoenix familiar Fawkes trilled softly in amusement.

"Our son's last name is Hibiki," Ukyo said.

"Oh... yes... Mr. And Mrs. Hibiki, you must understand Harry is a very important boy," Albus said. "There are those out there that would still wish to harm him in revenge of their master's defeat."

"We know," Ryoga said. "And he's perfectly safe with us. We are both martial artist and we are highly skilled in our art. We also live with a ninja and we have several family friends who are also highly skilled martial artist."

"Mr. Hibiki," Albus sighed. "I'm sure you and your wife are very skilled at your chosen art but young Harry needs a special type of protection. You see, when his mother Lily Potter was killed, she cast a very special type of ward based on blood that protected her son from a spell known as the Killing Curse. That same blood ward protects him from the very person that killed his parents and attempted to kill him. But to keep that ward strong and to keep him safe, Mr. Potter needs to live with somebody who shares the same blood as him and his mother."

"Look, you're crazy if you think we're going to let our son go live with somebody he doesn't even know," Ukyo said. "And how do you even know if this ward thing even still works, he's been living with Ryoga for over 10 years."

"Lily Potter was a very clever and powerful witch," Albus said in a grandfatherly tone. "I'm sure she powered the ward to last as long as possible, but to assure it stay s strong Harry needs to live with his maternal aunt during the summers. Now I'm not unreasonable, you can still visit him once the wards are recharged during the summers and during Christmas holi-"

"No," Ryoga said. "Harry is our son, and he'll live with us." Albus was starting to get annoyed; maybe these two Muggles didn't understand what he was trying to tell them. If they continued to resist... he may have to wipe their memories of Mr. Potter, he didn't want it to come to that but for the Greater Good he would.

"Now Mr. Hibiki be reasonable," Albus said in a slow calm tone like he was speaking to a child making Ryoga's eyes narrow. "This is all for Mr. Potter's protection."

"Harry's last name is /Hibiki/," Ukyo said through gritted teeth, Kami she thought Cologne and Happosai were pains in the ass to talk to. Were all people who reached this age hard-headed? "If you gotta call him anything, then call him Hibiki-Potter."

Now Albus was starting to get really annoyed and he let the tight restraint on his magic go, its presence filling the room. He just knew the pressure and power behind his magic would cower the two Muggles and force them to listen to him. So he was very surprised as Ryoga gave him a highly annoyed look and was soon glowing with a sky blue aura that had streaks of sickly green throughout. The presence of Ryoga's own power filled the room just as quickly and matched Dumbledore’s magical aura then out did it.

Fawkes trilled loudly in alarm, her wings flapping as she left her perch and flew out the window. Albus's mouth dropped open and quickly drew his magic back into himself.

"Wh-what was that?" He asked, he had never seen anything like it! The portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses began to whisper to each other, they had never see Albus so flustered before. Ryoga's battle aura disappeared as he gave Albus a fanged smirk.

"That was my chi," He said.

"Chi?" Albus repeated as he reached up and stroked his beard, he had heard the word before but had never really known what it was.

"An energy that all living things produce," Ryoga explained. "Animals, humans both magical and non magical, and even plants. Some people can learn to manipulate it, like myself."

"And just how do you use this 'chi'?" Albus asked he was fascinated. He had heard of chi from a few Asian wizards he knew from the IWC but he had never bothered to learn just what it was or what it could do.

"My Dad taught me how to push chi into any type of cloth to make a weapon when I was Harry's age," Ryoga said with a shrug. "Then in my teens I learned different Chi Attacks. One I learned was to push a pulse of chi into the weak point of a boulder to make it blow up then later modified the attack. Then I learned from a miner how to use my emotions to fuel a chi attack as he taught me the Shi Shi Hokodan."

"Emotions?" Albus repeated.

"Yeah, any emotion," Ryoga said with a nod. "I suffered from great bouts of depression and used it to fuel my attacks then later after I adopted Harry created a whole new attack fueled by hope."

"So could love be used to power one of these 'Chi attacks'?" Albus asked.

"Of course," Ryoga said. Albus hummed and tapped his fingers together. He was convinced that the 'power he knew not' that the prophecy spoke of was love as love was something Voldemort could never understand. It was Lily's undying love for Harry that saved her son that night and turned Voldemort's attack back at him and protected Harry now. But this chi thing... Albus very much doubted Voldemort had ever learned anything about chi and how it worked. He was starting to wonder if this chi might tie into the prophecy as well.

"I see," Albus said. "Well I'm certain that there can be time made for Mr. Potter to learn from you but he still belongs with his aunt."

Shrink! Thunk!

Albus pushed back in alarm as his desk was almost cleaved in half by Ukyo's combat spatula.

"Now look here jackass," Ukyo said as she leaned in close until her nose was almost touching Albus's crooked one. "Harry is our son. He's ours both in your little magical world and the non-magical one. Both here and Japan and you're not going to take him away from us. I love that boy just as much as his birth mother did and as much as my husband. He has a family with us, you try to take him away I'll make you regret it."

Albus didn't need Legilimency to read Ukyo's thoughts, he could tell just by the look in her brown eyes she was dead serious. A furious love only a mother could have for their child. Ukyo seemed satisfied with the look in Albus's eyes that said he understood her threat and using one hand lifted the giant steel spatula out of the top of the desk.

"Here," Ryoga said as he tossed a packet of papers on the damaged desk. "A copy of Harry's adoption papers, you have no legal right to take our son from us and if you try we'll take you to court."

Albus frowned as he picked up the papers and started to read through them. His shoulders sagged as he got to the paperwork where Petunia Dursley had signed away any rights to her only nephew years ago, he couldn't place Harry with her even if he wanted to these papers assured that. He didn't bother reading further so he didn't see that Sirius had signed away his rights as well.

"I see," Albus said with a sigh as he pushed the papers back.

"If you try to take our son again in any way and place him with somebody else, we're pulling Harry from this school," Ukyo stated coldly, "and sending him to one of Japan's schools of magic. They'll be glad to have him."

"I understand Mr. and Mrs. Hibiki," Albus said.

"Good," Ryoga said as he stood up. "Now that is all cleared up, we're going to say goodbye to our son and collect our youngest children." Albus watched as Ukyo and Ryoga left his office, the woman leading her husband by the hand. He looked back at the gouge in his desk for a moment then started to chuckle.

"I see you finally lost your mind," the portrait that contained the former Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black sneered.

"My dear Phineas, I haven’t been spoken too like that in years by anyone but Aberforth," Albus said. "It's quite refreshing to be placed in a check such as this." He was impressed by the two muggles who not only resisted him but had beaten him as well. Still, he worried for Harry's safety but for now there was nothing he could do. The boy would have to stay with his adopted parents until he came up with another plan.

For now, Albus would look more into this 'chi'. Something inside him told him it would be very important and could be the key to defeating Voldemort, Tom Riddle, once and for all.

***

Author note: Ok, just a quick notice, this will be the last chapter for a short while. I'm going on a short hiatus but don't worry it won't be as long as the years old writer's block I had. I am going back over the previous chapters of this and my other stories to give them a tune up. As soon as I'm done, I'll be back to writing.

(1) I always thought Ben Stein would have been perfect for this role; he pulls off that toneless boring voice so well in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and as the Pixies in Fairy Odd Parents.

Edit 8-26-14: Just a very few things that had to be cleaned up in this chapter.