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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 15

“’Ello Dad,” Remus said as he finally found his voice again.

Kasumi’s head snapped to the side to look at her husband in shock. ‘Dad? He did say…. Oh my, well I can see the resemblance.’ The man in front of them looked just like an older, worn out version of Remus, one who looked like he had seen too much in life.

“Remus… I thought you might be…” Remus’s father said softly, his eyes never leaving his only child. The man stepped forward, reaching up to place his hands on Remus’s shoulders when he noticed Tsuki for the first time. “Wha…”

“Husband, I think you might want to explain,” Kasumi said as she quickly came over to Remus’s side.

“Husband?” Remus’s father blinked looking over at the pretty young woman by his son’s side and seeing the second child; Miyu gave him a bright smile and waved at the man that looked like her daddy. “Yes, I think you better son. Were you ever going to tell me I’m a grandfather? Or even tell me that you had married?” Remus groaned softly when Kasumi shot him a disappointed look, he was in so much trouble.

“My name is Kasumi, Mr. Lupin,” Kasumi said as she turned to her newly discovered father-in-law.

“No no my dear, you can just call me Lyall,” Lyall said with a smile that Remus must have inherited from his father.

“Alright,” Kasumi agreed with a smile of her own. “Perhaps we should take this out of the street? Someplace where Remus can explain in private?”

“I have a room in the Three Broomsticks,” Lyall said. The elderly wizard led Remus, who looked like a child who had been caught raiding the cookie jar, and Kasumi, who kept shooting her husband questioning glances and wondering why he never mentioned his father was still alive. She had assumed Remus’s father was dead, he had never mentioned the man at all during the whole time she had known him and wondered for a moment if there was some sort of unresolved issue between the pair. But Lyall had seemed so happy and shocked to see Remus and Remus, while looking guilty for keeping his father a secret for so long, seemed a bit happy himself to see his sire. So why had Remus not even mention his father was alive or contacted the man in all these years to tell him he was married and had children of his own?

Once inside the pub/inn, Lyall led them all upstairs to his rented room after waving at the owner Madam Rosmerta as they passed through. Once inside the inn room, Remus was mildly surprised when Lyall spun on his heel and pulled Remus into a tight hug, making Tsuki squeal loudly as he was squished between his father and grandfather. Kasumi couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“I have searched for you everywhere,” Lyall said when he finally let go of Remus and stepped back slightly too really get a look at his son. “I was starting to think you might be dead. Why haven’t you contacted me at all?”

Remus turned his head in embarrassment, setting Tsuki on the floor when the boy wiggled to get down.

“Down Ka-san!” Miyu said when she saw her twin brother set loose. Kasumi absently set her down, keeping half an eye on her terror twins as she watched the two Lupins talk.

“I… didn’t think you wanted anything to do with me,” Remus admitted at last. “I thought you saw me as a burden, your horrible secret.”

“Oh Remus,” Lyall sighed and rubbed his forehead as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “I have never thought of you as a burden or a horrible secret. I’m afraid this is all my fault…”

“What do you mean?” Kasumi asked as she stepped closer to Remus’s side, placing a hand on his arm. Lyall sighed again then looked up at his daughter-in-law. She was quite pretty and Lyall could see a kindness in her that reminded him of his dear Hope.

“You know of course of Remus’s… sickness?” Lyall asked.

“Of course I know he’s a werewolf,” Kasumi said. “He can’t help what he is.”

“I’m afraid what happen to Remus is my fault,” Lyall explained. “The Lupin family, while not an old or powerful family like some of the rest, was always a well respected one. We allied with the rest of the ‘Light families’ as it were and like most Purebloods, I thought the worse of werewolves. When Remus was but a child I worked for the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, one day we brought in a man named Fenrir Greyback, to question him about the deaths of two muggle children.” Remus flinched at the name of the werewolf that had turned him.

“Fenrir Greyback?” Kasumi asked.

“Yes, now a days he is rather infamous as a well known dangerous werewolf who delights in biting and turning children,” Lyall said in a weary tone. “But back then the Werewolf Registry was very badly maintained and he had other’s convinced he was nothing more than a muggle tramp. I didn’t believe him and recommended that he be detained until the next full moon the next night but the rest of the committee thought I was mad. I lost my temper and declared werewolves to be nothing but soulless, evil, and deserving nothing but death.”

“That is a horrible thing to say!” Kasumi said with a gasp. Lyall nodded his head sadly in agreement.

“I agree my dear, I shouldn’t have said it but as I said, I believed werewolves to be so at the time. It wasn’t unusual to hear about werewolf attacks those days and everyone allowed the actions of a few to paint how the rest of the species acted,” Lyall said. “I was expelled from the room and they released Greyback who escaped before his memories could be erased. He tracked down my family and broke into our house, attacked Remus just before his 5th birthday. I believe he intended to kill my son but I managed to fight the monster off but… damage had still been done and Remus was turned into a werewolf.

“Don’t mistake anything my dear, Hope and I loved Remus with all our hearts. I feel like what happened to him was completely my fault and I’ve tried so hard over the years to help him. I spent the whole of our small family fortune trying to find a way to help my son, I came to understand and even pity those poor souls who I cursed and wanted dead before. Having a werewolf for a son… made me understand that things were not at all easy for werewolves and that most of them didn’t choose this sort of life. We managed to keep Remus hidden from everyone yet somehow Albus Dumbledore found out and offered Remus a place at Hogwarts.”

“But why do you think you were a burden on your father Remus?” Kasumi asked then turned her head toward the twins. “Stay out of that you two!” The twins looked up at their mother with wide innocent eyes that didn’t fool her for a second then slowly backed away from the trunk they had found. Lyall chuckled softly, they reminded him of Remus when he was that age.

“You heard what he just said Kasumi,” Remus said. “He had to spend years hiding me, to protect me… that’s why I never said anything, spent any money he and Mum saved up to try and cure me when none of the so-called cures worked. Once I became of age I wasn’t a burden on him or Mum anymore… he could finally live a werewolf free life again.”

“You were never a burden Remy,” Lyall said as he stood in front of his son again. “It was my fault this even happened to you and I wanted to fix the mistake that I made on your life. Your mother and I hated to see how much you were hurting after each full moon, how lonely you were. Do you have any idea how happy we were when you made friends with those boys? That you got to go to Hogwarts just like I did, that you had something normal in your life?”

“You know for everything you’ve done, maybe you should have tried looking in North America or Asia for help,” Remus said with a small laugh. “They figured out years ago how to make being a werewolf livable. They figured out how to blend the human and wolf minds so they’re no longer at war with each other during the full moon. It’s not a real cure but at least it makes life easier. I’m no longer afraid of accidentally attacking anyone.”

“Really?” Lyall said surprised. “You can… control your werewolf side now?”

“Yes… but there isn’t a ‘human side’ or ‘werewolf side’ anymore, it’s just me,” Remus said with a shrug. “All me.”

“I see,” Lyall sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I never thought to look for help outside of Britain, yet another way I failed you.”

“I think both of you played a part in all this,” Kasumi said. “But what past is past, now we should focus on today.”

“You’re right Kasumi,” Remus said giving his wife a loving smile. Lyall smiled happily as he watched Remus and his little wife. He had been afraid that Remus would never be able to find love, something else he felt was his fault for putting in motion the incident that had his only son bit by Greyback. So it warmed his heart greatly to see someone had stolen his son’s heart and loved him in return.

“So who are my two little grandchildren?” Lyall asked as he knelt down to the twins's level. Miyu and Tsuki came closer, wondering who this strange man who looked like their daddy was. “Are they…” Lyall let the question hang in the air. Remus smiled and sat down on the floor with his cubs who both climbed into his lap.

“No, they’re perfectly normal little kids,” he assured his father. “They’re a little wild during the full moon but they’re not werewolves. This is Tsuki,” Remus placed a hand on the boy’s head, ruffling the curls there, “and this is his sister Miyu. Cubs… this is your grandpa.”

“Granpa?” Tsuki questioned, looking at Lyall then back at his Daddy. This didn’t look like his Grandpa Soun.

“Yes, you have two grandpas you know. Soun is your Mama’s daddy and he’s my daddy,” Remus explained. The twins seemed to think on it then nodded their heads sagely as if that made sense. Lyall chuckled softly, they were too cute.

“Come here and met your grandpa,” Lyall said, holding his arms open. The twins quickly scrambled out of Remus’s lap into Lyall’s. “They look just like you at this age.”

“Don’t let them fool you, they are mini-pranksters all the way,” Remus warned.

“Oh yes, so much like you then,” Lyall said laughing. “Oh how Hope would have loved to meet you two.”

“Hope?” Kasumi asked as she sat down on a chair in the room.

“That’s my mother,” Remus said. “She passed away right after I finished Hogwarts.”

“Oh I’m so sorry Remus,” Kasumi said her hand flying up to her mouth. She knew what it was like to lose a mother since hers passed away from cancer when she and her sisters were young. Kasumi had taken over her mother’s duties after that, cooking and cleaning when she wasn’t in school. After she graduated Kasumi had became a full-time housekeeper for her family and the Saotomes.

“So tell me how you met my beautiful daughter-in-law,” Lyall asked. “We’ll have to find a Pensive as well, I want to see your wedding.” Remus laughed and settled in to tell his father what had happened since the last time he had spoke to the man, how he met Kasumi and his life in Japan.

***

“We have flying lessons!” Ron called excitedly from beside the notice board by the tower’s door.

“We have what?” Harry asked as he walked over with Hermione and Neville, Diego draped around his neck. The students in the tower were getting use to seeing the snake. The Muggleborn and Muggle-raised Halfbloods didn’t have much of a problem to start with of course, in fact one or two said they wished they could have brought their pet snakes much to the shock of many of their Pureblood and Wizarding-raised Halfblood housemates.

“Flying lessons,” Ron said again then groaned. “It’s with the Slytherins though.”

“I thought you didn’t have a problem with Slytherins anymore,” Harry said as he read the notice himself, that Wednesday they were to go down after lunch to the school grounds to have lessons in flying with the Flying Instructor Madame Hooch. “What if you already know how to fly? I would think a lot of the wizarding raised would have learned how already.”

“Well not all Slytherins are bad,” Ron agreed, sounding just a bit reluctant to say that but after sending so much time around Kuno, Greengrass and Davis not to mention Zabini, Ron had to agree that not everyone in the house of snake were bad. Mad on the other hand…. Yes he thought Kodachi and Tracy were both on the mad side. “I was talking more along the lines of Malfoy.”

“Well I can see your point there, Malfoy and his flunkies are annoying little bakas,” Harry said then looked over at his other two friends when he noticed they hadn’t said a word. Neville’s face was pale, staring at the notice for the flying classes while Hermione wringed her hands together and bit her lip in worry. “Are you two alright?”

“No no… I’m fine… I just need too…” Hermione rambled for a second then turned heading toward the door. “I need to get to the library,” she called over her shoulder as she disappeared through the door.

“What was that about?” Ron asked confused.

“Neville-san?” Harry said shaking his god-brother’s shoulder. Neville started and looked at Harry.

“I’m sorry, what?” He asked.

“Are you ok? You looked really worried there,” Harry said.

~He ssssmellssss ssssscared,~ Diego chimed in. Harry petted Diego’s head and silently agreed with the snake. Neville looked scared shitless.

“I’m not going to be any good at flying,” Neville said with a shake of his head. “Gran wouldn’t ever allow me on a broom, she said I was too clumsy. That I would fall and hurt myself…”

“Don’t worry Neville,” Harry said as he led the other boy to one of the couches in the common room.

“But what if I fall off the broom or make a fool of myself or-“ Neville babbled. Ron thought the other boy had a good point, Neville was a nervous wreck just thinking about getting on a broom, he had no idea how his friend was going to do once he was on one.

“Neville, no one is perfect the first time they get on a broom,” Harry said, lying just a little bit. Back home one of the local Quidditch teams held summer camps every year for the kids, part of that was flying lessons. The first time Harry got on a broom it was like a part of himself and he had flown like he had been doing it all his life. The coach had said he was a natural and Remus, when he heard the story, told him how his birth father James had been much the same way. But there was no reason for Neville to know about this.

“My brothers taught me how to fly… err… I might have fallen off the first couple of times,” Ron admitted with a blush as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Mum walloped Bill and Charlie pretty good the first time, I almost broke a leg.”

“See, no one is perfect their first time on a broom,” Harry said. Neville slowly relaxed bit by bit, feeling somewhat better now.

“I’m sorry, I know I sound like a baby when I complain,” He said softly as he leaned forward, resting his head on his hands. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong here, I’m not any good in any of our classes except Herbology.”

“Hey, you do better than me on the theory and stuff,” Ron pointed out, not that Ron tried very hard sometimes.

“You belong here as much as everyone else Neville,” Harry said. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten a letter.”

“Yeah… seems like that’s the only thing I’ve ever done right,” Neville sighed. Harry silently cursed Neville’s family in his head, while he hadn’t talked much about them Harry had heard enough to dislike most of Neville’s family members. A grandmother who was too busy comparing him to his father, an uncle that Harry could almost swear was trying to kill Neville, after all who the hell holds a kid out a window and drops them or tosses them off a pier into a lake just to try and bring out the child’s magic? Neville was lucky his magic did save him after being dropped out a window! The only person who seemed to have treated Neville like himself was his Grandfather, and his friend mentioned he died a couple of years ago.

“You do other things right Neville, don’t be hard on yourself,” Harry said patting the other’s shoulder.

Meanwhile down in the Slytherin Common room Draco Malfoy strutted forward after reading the notice board.

“We have flying lessons coming up,” He said as he took his usual seat, Crabbe and Goyle standing behind him as always. “And it’s with the Griffindorks.”

“So why are you so happy about that?” Blaise asked not even looking up at Draco as he flipped through the potions book he was reading.

“Why do you think Zabini?” Draco asked. “So we can show how much better we are at flying of course. Not that I need the lessons, I already had training with a professional Quidditch player you know. What about you Kuno? Do you even know how to fly?” He asked Kodachi as she and Tracy passed by on their way to their dorm room.

“I played Beater on the little league Quidditch team we have back home, what do you think?” Kodachi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Good, you won’t embarrass us then,” Draco said pleased. “I bet he doesn’t know how to fly, no better than a mudblood being raised by muggles.” A dark smile crossed over Kodachi’s face as she leaned over the back of the chair Draco sat in, her dark eyes pinning him into place.

“Harry-sama hits the Bludgers harder than I do, most teams will not play if he is playing a Beater position,” Kodachi said in a sweet tone. “They compare the force to having a cannonball hitting them from what I heard. I wonder Malfoy-baka if you can claim the same.” With a flip of her ponytail, Kodachi pushed away from the back of the chair and walked back over to a snickering Tracy.

“I think that is her way of telling you Hibiki knows how to fly,” Blaise said in amusement. “That or she’s warning you that Hibiki could try to take your head off with a bludger.”

“As if,” Draco said with a snort. “I bet that little bint is making it up. I can’t believe how much she, Davis and Greengrass hang around that upstart half blood. Well not Davis so much, she’s a half blood too. And don’t think I haven’t noticed how much time you spend around Potter and his group Zabini.”

“So what if I am?” Blaise said as he looked over his book at his housemate. “Last time I checked it isn’t against school rules to spend time with students from other houses.”

“They’re mudbloods and blood traitors!” Draco yelled then blushed as he got disapproving looks from the older students. “It’s bad enough Kuno, Greengrass and Davis spends time with them,” he added in a quieter tone.

“Whom I chose to spend my time with is not your concern Malfoy,” Blaise pointed out. “Unlike you I’m not going to close myself off, the girls have the right idea if you think about it.”

“You’re a pureblood Zabini, you shouldn’t be lowering yourself with spending time with people like… /that,/” Draco said.

“Well I guess I’m not as short sighted as you,” Blaise said with a shrug of his shoulders. Draco growled and stood, stomping off to his dorm room. He ordered Crabbe and Goyle to wait outside the door then slammed the door. His control over the other first years were slipping, half of them were not listening to a word he said, that Kuno girl at the top of the list.

‘Blood traitors the lot of them,’ He thought to himself as he paced. It would not do for Kuno, Greengrass, Davis or Zabini to consort with Half Bloods, Blood Traitors or Mudbloods. It was bad enough Kuno wanted to spend time with her Hufflepuff brother! How did he regain control? He had no idea and decided to write a letter to his father, surely his father knew how to get the upstarts back to being proper Slytherins. Feeling gleeful, Draco brought out his best parchment with the Malfoy Crest at the top and his favorite eagle feather quill to write with.

****

Over the next few days Harry discovered it wasn’t just Neville that was nervous about flying, so was Hermione. In fact the girl was terrified about the whole idea, though she wouldn’t admit it. She was dismayed to find there were no real books on how to fly and had to resort to reading Harry’s copy of Quidditch through the Ages which was no help at all since it didn’t teach anyone how to fly. Harry wondered if Hermione’s fear had to do with the time she went flying off the cliff while skiing with her parents, which was the first time they met as he had saved her in his cursed form.

Up above the morning post came in, mostly delivered by Owls though there were ravens, crows and even in one case a hawk that delivered the post instead. Shiroyuki flew in and landed on her master’s shoulder, holding out her foot with a couple of letters attached. Harry gave his beloved owl a piece of bacon and scratched her chest feathers in thanks. Opening the first letter which was from his parents, his eyebrow raised slightly.

“Huh…” He said as he read it again.

“What is it?” Hermione asked, anything to get her mind off the flying lessons they were having that day.

“Dad says Keiko used magic,” Harry said.

“Really?” Hermione asked as she leaned over to read over Harry’s shoulder but the writing was in kanji.

“Yeah, she used it to summon a bottle,” Harry said.

“Well that’s wonderful isn’t it?” Hermione asked. “She’s a witch like you’re a wizard.”

“Yeah I’m just shocked,” Harry said then grinned. “Dad and Mom are gonna have their hands full with the little princess.”

“What’s that?” Ron asked with a mouth full of food, pointing a fork at the glass orb in Neville’s hands.

“Ronald! Don’t speak with your mouth full!” Hermione scolded.

“It’s a Remembrall, it turns red when you forget something,” Neville explained then blushed as the smoke inside the glass ball turned red. “Problem is, I can never remember what it is I’ve forgotten.”

“What’s this? Lardbottom has a Remembrall?” Malfoy said as he passed by the group and snatched the little glass ball from Neville’s hands.

“H-hey!” Neville said.

“Give it back Malfoy!” Ron said as he stood. Harry laid a hand on Ron’s arm while smirking at Malfoy.

“Malfoy no baka,” He said in a lazy tone like Nabiki taught him, across the table Hermione laughed a tiny bit, “I didn’t think you needed help with your memory, there are potions for that you know. Maybe I could hook you up for some, for a price.” Malfoy’s face heated up and he clutched the Remembrall tightly in his hand. But as he opened his mouth to fire back at Harry, Minerva walked up to the table.

“Is there a problem here gentlemen?” She called in a stern tone.

“Malfoy took Neville’s Remembrall,” Ron quickly said, pointing at the blond boy. Malfoy sniffed and tossed it at Neville who fumbled a bit but was able to catch the ball.

“I was only looking at it,” he said before turning and walking away, Crabbe and Goyle following him. Minerva shook her head slightly then nodded her head to her students before heading out of the Great Hall.

“I can’t believe you called him that,” Hermione said brown eyes dancing in laughter.

“Wait, what did Harry call him?” Ron asked.

“Baka is the Japanese word for ‘idiot’,” Hermione explained.

“Y-you called Malfoy an idiot to his face?” Neville asked with a tiny laugh. Ron was guffawing beside Harry.

“It’s not my fault he doesn’t know any Japanese,” Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Come on, let’s get to class.”

*****

After lunch, Harry followed the rest of the Gryffindors in his year down into the courtyard where the flying lessons would be taking place. He could see the Slytherins had beaten them outside and were standing next to brooms.

“Those are the brooms?” Harry asked when he saw them. They were in horrible condition! The twigs on most of the brooms were bent out of place or broken, the handles on some of them looked like they’ve seen better days. It was no wonder the Slytherins had come out first, they had to claim all the decent brooms, not that there were many. Beside him Neville gulped while Hermione recited facts under her breath that she read in the Quidditch book showing how nervous she was.

“Alright, line up you lot,” Madam Hooch, the school’s flight instructor, said as she came out of the archway. “Everyone pick a broom.”

The Gryffindors scrambled to try and find a somewhat decent broom to stand next too. Harry ended up standing across from Kodachi who smiled and gave him a little wave. Harry grinned back and nodded.

“Everyone hold their hand above their broom and say in a good firm voice ‘Up’,” Hooch instructed. Soon the air was filled with cries of up as the students attempted to get their brooms to obey.

“Up,” Harry said clearly and firmly, grinning a fanged grin as the broom seemed only too eager to jump up into his hand. He looked around and noticed he was one of the very few who had managed on their first try. Ron’s had jumped up but only to smack him in the nose. Neville’s just sorta rolled slightly while Hermione’s didn’t move at all. “You need to want the broom to come to you when you say up,” he whispered to his friends.

“That’s the problem, I don’t want it,” Hermione whispered back.

Across the way the Slytherins were having a bit more success. Kodachi’s broom had quickly smacked into her hand as she gave it a sharp ‘Up’, seeming almost afraid of the girl. Malfoy, Zabini and Daphne also got their brooms to come up on the first try. Finally those who couldn’t get their broom to come up in the end bent down and snatched the broom off the ground.

“Now, mount your brooms… no Miss Brown, not side-saddle,” Hooch walked up and down the line, showing the students were to adjust their grip slightly. All the Gryffindors and a few of the Slytherins got a kick out of the flight instructor telling Malfoy his grip was all wrong and whoever taught him was an idiot. Kodachi would much later tell Harry that Malfoy had been boosting that a professional Quidditch player, she couldn’t remember which one, had been the one to teach him to fly. Hooch nodded approvingly at Harry when she passed him.

“Now,” Hooch stood at the top of the double line, her golden gaze looking over her class. “When I blow my whistle, I want you to kick off the ground and hover for a moment then lean forward to land again. Ready? One… two…”

“Ahh!” Neville, nervous that he wouldn’t be able to get into the air like everyone else, jumped the gun and pushed off the ground. At once his broom started jerking side to side then took off.

“Mr. Longbottom, come back down here!” Hooch called out in alarm.

“AAAHHHHH!!!!” Neville screamed as his out of control broom took him on a wild ride around the school. All he could do was grip the handle and hope to Merlin he didn’t fall off. The ride was over almost as soon as it started, the end of the broom crashing into the wall and turned into splinters. Neville screamed again as he fell only to be caught by his cloak on one of the monuments on the school wall a few feet above the ground.

“Hold on Mr. Longbottom,” Hooch said as she quickly strode forward to float Neville down. Neville whimpered and looked up as he heard a tearing sound, his cloak ripping on the spear-tip he had been caught on. With another rip, Neville fell the rest of the way to the ground, landing on his side with a Crack!

“Ow-ow-ow-ow,” Neville whimpered as he cradled his arm to his chest.

“Let me see,” Hooch said as she helped him sit up then checked his arm. She tisked then helped him to stand up. “Oh dear, broken wrist. I’ll escort you to the hospital wing Mr. Longbottom. And the rest of you, I better not see one of you in the air or you’ll be expelled faster than you can say ‘Quidditch’!”

“Oh Merlin! Did you see his face!” Malfoy laughed as soon as Hooch and Neville were gone. Malfoy and his cronies had been snickering the whole time while Neville was taken on an out of control ride. But now that the teacher was gone, they felt free to let everyone know just how funny they thought the incident was.

“It isn’t funny, he could have been killed!” Hermione snapped.

“Oh boo-hoo, no one would have missed that useless squib,” Malfoy said with a sneer.

“Neville isn’t useless,” Parvati yelled.

“What, do you have a thing for the cry baby?” Parkinson asked then laughed loudly.

“I’d like to see you fall from that height, breaking your arm, and not cry Parkinson,” Harry said. “Oh wait, I’m sure you would bawl like a baby.”

“She cries when she breaks a nail,” Kodachi said with a smirk. Parkinson gritted her teeth, glaring at Kodachi and gripping her wand tightly. Oh how she wanted to curse the up-start foreigner so badly.

“Look what Lardbottom dropped,” Malfoy said gleefully as he noticed the Remembrall that dropped out of Neville’s pocket on the ground and quickly picked it up.

“Give that back Malfoy!” Ron yelled. He lunged at Malfoy who laughed and quickly mounted his broom, floating into the air.

“I don’t think I will, I think I’ll just leave it somewhere for Lardbottom to find, like a tree!” He said with a laugh. His laughter quickly turned into a yelp as the end of a ribbon wrapped around the Remembrall and jerked it out of his hand. He growled and looked down ready to yell at Kodachi and was shocked to see Harry on the other end of the ribbon, tossing the Remembrall in one hand.

“Thanks Malfoy, I’m sure Neville-san will be happy you found it for him,” He said in a false cheerful tone.

“Mr. Malfoy!!!” Professor McGonagall shrieked as she stalked across the courtyard. “Get down here this instant!” Draco gulped and quickly landed only to yelp as Minerva grabbed him by the arm and dragged him toward the school. “Of all the foolish things… I know Madame Hooch instructed you… Detention Mr. Malfoy for the next week!”

“Well, that couldn’t have turned out any better,” Harry said with a laugh as he tossed Kodachi’s ribbon back to her.

“Wow, I thought only Kodachi could do that with a ribbon,” Tracy said. Harry shook his head with a grin.

“Dad taught me a bit and he learned from my Grandma, she’s the world champ of the art,” He explained. Kodachi sighed and looked skyward with a wistful look on her face.

“I can only hope to be as good as Hibiki Ayako one day,” she said. Madame Hooch soon returned and resumed the lesson with the leftover students. Thankfully, there were no more incidents though no one could get Hermione to fly more than a few inches off the ground.

****

“How’s the wrist Neville?” Harry asked that night once they were all back in the common room. Neville smiled a tiny bit and held his arm out.

“It’s fine, Madam Pomfrey was able to fix it up pretty quick. She just made me stay the rest of the afternoon to make sure it healed up right,” he said.

“Here, Malfoy tried to take it and hide it in a tree but I got it back,” Harry said as he handed the Remembrall over to his Godbrother.

“Thanks,” Neville said as he took the Remembrall. “Wouldn’t have minded if it got smashed really, it’s pretty useless to me since I can’t even remember what I’ve forgotten but Gran would have been pretty mad if I had.”

“You should have seen the look on Malfoy’s face when Harry got it back,” Ron said as he flopped down on the couch on Neville’s other side. “The only thing better would have been if Harry had been flying up there too and caught it in midair.”

“Well it’s a good thing he didn’t,” Hermione said as she sat down, arms full of books and parchment. “Madame Hooch told us to stay on the ground after all.”

“Think Malfoy will be expelled like Hooch said?” Ron asked hopefully.

“Doubt it, she was just trying to scare us into staying off the brooms,” Harry said. “I won’t lie, I did think about hopping on a broom and dive bombing Malfoy that way but it was crazy to think Hooch-sensei didn’t tell another Professor to watch her class.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Hermione said. “You would have been in trouble as well. And what if Malfoy would have dropped the Remembrall?”

“Knowing Malfoy, he would have thrown it away as soon as Harry got up there, hopping it would have smashed,” Ron said as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I think I could have caught it,” Harry said eyeing the Remembrall. “It’s about the same size as a snitch, it would have been the same as chasing after one in a deep dive.”

“Wait!” A taller boy a few years older than Harry shouted, scrambling over from the other side the common room, ignoring the shouts that followed.

“Oliver!”
“Watch it Wood!”
“My homework!”
“Hey!”

“Did you just say something about a snitch?” The boy asked as he stopped in front of Harry.

“Umm yeah, I said Neville’s Remembrall is about the same size as a snitch,” Harry said with confusion in his tone.

“Do you play Quidditch?” The boy asked next.

“I’ve played in the junior Quidditch leagues back home,” Harry said.

“What position do you play?” the boy asked, grasping his hands in front of him. “Please, please, please say Seeker.”

“Yeah, I usually play Seeker, and Beater sometimes too HEY!” Harry yelped as the boy cheered and picked Harry up in a hug. “Put me down!”

“Sorry sorry,” the older boy said as he quickly put Harry back on his feet. He studied Harry from head to toe, nodding his head. “You’re not that small, but still young enough that it doesn’t matter. Lean too, perfect Seeker’s build.”

“Waitwaitwait,” Harry said holding up his hands. “Who are you?”

“This is Oliver Wood,” Fred, or George, Harry wasn’t sure which, said as they seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

“He’s the Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team,” The other twin said.
“And our team captain.”
“We play the Beater positions on the team.”

“Sorry, just… we’ve been looking for a Seeker for the last couple of years. We haven’t had a good one since Charlie left Hogwarts,” Oliver said as he ran his hand through his hair.

“Charlie?” Harry asked.

“My second older brother,” Ron called from the couch.

“Yes, a hell of a Seeker he was,” one twin said.
“Could have gone professional,” added the other.
“But he wanted to play with dragons instead.”

“Right, and since he left Hogwarts, Gryffindor hasn’t won the Quidditch cup,” Oliver said. “Every year it’s been Slytherin house that’s won it. Bad enough they win the House cup every year but they have to get the Quidditch cup too?”

“So what does that have to do with me?” Harry asked.

“I want you to play on the team as our new Seeker,” Oliver said cheerfully. Harry gave Oliver a confused look.

“I thought First Years couldn’t play on the teams,” He said.

“Well they can’t bring brooms to school,” Oliver tried to argue. “Nothing says they can’t play on the Quidditch teams.”

“You’ve never even seen me play, you have no idea if I’m good or not,” Harry countered. Don’t get him wrong, Harry thought it would be great to play on the house team, he loved Quidditch as much as he loved flying. And while he knew several people, many of them the adults in his life, that would jump on the chance to get a free ride like this. But Harry had a strong sense of fair play, at least in something like this. “Look, I’m flattered and everything but I don’t think-“

“Please, I’m desperate,” Oliver said. “We haven’t found one single decent seeker yet.”

“You haven’t even had try outs yet,” Harry said then sighed. “Look, I’ll be willing to try out at least if the professors are ok with it.” Oliver cheered, he was sure Harry would make the team, and headed for the door.

“Oy! Where you going Ollie?” Fred called.

“To speak to Professor McGonagall,” Oliver said over his shoulder before heading out the door.

“Quidditch mad that one,” George said while Fred nodded.

***

The next day there was a new notice on the board next to the door in the common room that announced tryouts for the Quidditch team, with a note at the bottom that said that first years would be allowed to try out as well. It was the same in the other dorms as well, discussed by McGonagall and the other three heads of houses in a private meeting after curfew, when she brought up Oliver’s request.

Snape had scoffed at first when he heard that Oliver had only requested the try outs so Harry Hibiki-Potter could try out for Seeker, thinking at first the boy was being like his father and thought he was above the rules. That was until Minerva told him dryly that Harry had attempted to decline Oliver’s request then relented as long as it was a fair tryout and that others got a chance as well, and that permission was given by their house head. Severus admitted at least to himself that it did sound more like what Lily would do instead of Potter. This lead to the decision that all four houses would be given the same opportunity to let their first years try out for the house teams so Gryffindor would not be favored over Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Nor did they bring it up with the Headmaster, no doubt Dumbledore would all be for letting Harry play without even really trying out and not extend the same to the other first year students, no matter the house.

“I’m going to try out for Keeper,” Ron said after they had all seen the notice.

“The team already has a Keeper,” Seamus pointed out.

“I mean Reserve Keeper,” Ron elaborated. “When we play pickup games at home, I’m always the Keeper.”

“Well you’re not the only one trying out, I heard that third year McLaggen bragging he would try out too, maybe even beat Wood out of the position,” Harry said as he signed his name on the sheet for try outs for Seeker.

“…. He does know Wood is the team captain right?” Dean asked glancing over at the third year pureblood boy that was bragging about something or other. “I don’t see Wood giving that up for anything since he seems too mad about the game.” Harry leaned against the wall by Dean watching Cormac McLaggen as well while Ron and Seamus also put their names down on the try out sheet.

“He reminds me of some of the kids in my classes back home,” Harry said after a moment then hummed softly. “Hell, he reminds me of some of the adults in my life too.”

“How so?” Dean asked curious.

“Overconfident in their abilities, but may not be able to backup their claims,” Harry said. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of people over the years that have challenged my uncle Ranma, and some belong to some far out sounding schools of martial arts. Not as many as when he was a teenager, but still a lot over the years.”

“Really?” Dean asked.

“Hai. Uncle Ranma has fought against Martial Arts Cheerleading, Tea Ceremony, Figure Skating, Dining, Take out,” Harry listed the different schools off his fingers.

“Wow mate, that’s crazy,” Dean said.

“That’s tame to some of the stuff I’ve seen during the summers while traveling around with my dad,” Harry said. Ron walked over wringing his hands a bit.

“I need a way to get some practice in,” He said. “I just realized that the older students can fly and practice all they want but first years can’t yet.”

“Well the Keeper is like goalie isn’t it?” Dean asked. “Protecting the goal posts but on a broom?”

“And way up in the air,” Harry said. “But I see what you are trying to say. Think we can try to arrange a game somewhere?”

“I hope so, I haven’t played since this summer,” Dean said in a wistful tone.

“What are you two talking about?” Ron asked confused.

“Football,” Harry and Dean said together.

“The Americans like to call it soccer, they have some other sport that’s called football over there,” Harry added.

“Isn’t that the game you’re always going on about Dean?” Ron asked.

“Yes, it’s great,” Dean said with a wide grin. “I think you would be a great goalie, they protect the goal net, keeping the football from getting inside like a keeper keeps the ball from getting in the goal posts. I think the net is about the size as all three goals.”

“And this is played on the ground?” Ron asked.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “I played at my mundane school sometimes. Hey, why don’t we try to set up a pickup game for after classes. There are a lot of mundane borns and half bloods here, I bet we can make a couple of teams.”

“Great idea!” Dean said eagerly. “Where do you think we could play?”

“Let’s ask Hagrid if we can use the field by his hut,” Harry said with an eager grin of his own. Soccer wasn’t as fun as Quidditch or practicing martial arts but Harry really enjoyed the game. It could be blamed on Ukyo who was a fan herself and always tried to catch the games on the restaurants TV when she could between the lunch rush and dinner rush hours.

***

The planning went better than either boy thought it would as several Mundane, or Muggle, borns were eager to join in once word got around as well as a few curious purebloods. Most of them were either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor students, with a few Ravenclaws and a Slytherin or two, gathering outside of Hagrid’s hut.

Hagrid was more than happy to let the large group of students play in the field next to his home, grinning happily and dabbing his eyes a bit as they decided to let Hagrid be the honorary referee of the match.

“What are you doing?” Ron asked as Hermione walked up, her bushy hair pulled back into a high ponytail and wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt.

“I came to play of course,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. “Just because I’m not Quidditch mad like you doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy sports. My Dad and I go to matches all the time and I’ve played on my school team.”

“We need goal nets and the playing field to be marked,” Harry said. The older students that had come to either play or watch soon used a charm on the grass to change the color of the grass blades to mark out where the field was and someone transfigured a couple of Hagrid’s tea cups into proper goal nets, setting each one up on either end of the field. Hermione, Dean and Harry took it upon themselves to give Hagrid a quick explanation of the game and how it was played and what as the referee he should look out for. When Hagrid felt he understood at least somewhat, a couple of seventh years decided to be his assistants just in case to help keep the game running smoothly, everyone declared that since it was their idea Dean and Harry got to be team captains.

Harry made sure to pick Ron while Dean snatched up Hermione, and those who didn’t know how to play like Ron were given a quick rundown. Ron’s was easy, he just had to keep the ball from going into the net and was the only one on the team allowed to use his hands as well as his feet and the rest of his body to defend the goal.

When they felt they were ready, each team gathered on either side of the field with Hagrid in the middle, the giant of a man holding a soccer ball that looked downright tiny in his hands. He placed it on the ground and blew the whistle that someone enlarged for him starting the game.

***

“What are they doing?” Flitwick asked from where he was standing on top of a pile of books beside one of the many windows in Dumbledore’s office. They were currently having a heads of house meeting with the Headmaster now that classes were done for the day.

“It appears they are playing Football,” Severus said dryly as he watched the little dots that were their students run back and forth over a marked out field.

“How nice to see so many students getting along,” Sprout said with a motherly smile as she came over to watch as well. “But what is ‘Football’?”

“It’s a sport muggles play,” Minerva said. “They kick a black and white ball around trying to get it to the other teams’ goal. They are not allowed to use their hands to handle the ball except the player guarding the goal.” Curious Albus stood up and joined the other four at the window. It did put a bit of a twinkle in his eye to see so many of his students getting along to play a nice little game.

“I believe I heard of this game before from a wizard in the ICW,” He said as he stroked his long white beard. “But he called it something else.”

“The Americans refer to it as soccer,” Severus said as he turned away from the window to go sit down.

“Yes yes, that’s it,” Albus absently agreed. “My they do look like they are having fun down there.”

“And we should leave them to it,” Minerva said as she also walked back to her seat. “We need to look into these rumors about a giant alligator or crocodile in the lake.” Albus sighed and walked back to his grand comfy chair at his desk, sometimes he wondered where these children came up with these stories.

****

Author Note: Whew, Remus and Papa Lupin have made up, Oliver Wood just might have his new Seeker and a new sport was introduced to Hogwarts. And it’s still only the start of the school year!

Edit: 5-29-17 Only one little change, not thinking at all and had Malfoy call Harry ‘scar head’ which as one reviewer rightly pointed out nobody knows about the cursed scar to I changed it.