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Grounders10's Forgotten Files and Drabbles (Worm, Ranma, etc.)

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Honestly? I think the only man Ranma could possibly stand to spend extended amounts of time with in his 'friend' circle is Ryoga, even with the guy wanting to kill him. Kuno skeeves Ranma out. Mu Tze is an Amazon and he can't trust them as far as Gosunkugi could throw one of them. I honestly don't think Ranma sees Konatsu as a man. And any other guy he's been around has treated Ranma's female form as some kind of amusement at least once.
 
Grounders10 said:
oh?
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IIRC one Adventure Path has a group of adventurers going through a portal to post-WWI Russia due to Baba Yaga, the soldiers that respond to the situation are traumatized.
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Rasputin Must Die!, an adventure by Brandon Hodge with supporting material by Adam Daigle and Sean K Reynolds, and fiction by Kevin Andrew Murphy, was released on June 26, 2013.

Worlds at War
The search for the Queen of Witches finally ends when the Dancing Hut travels to Baba Yaga's homeland of Russia on the planet Earth. The year is 1918, and the First World War rages throughout Europe. The heroes find themselves in the wilds of Siberia, where they must face Russian soldiers armed with twentieth-century technology to infiltrate an ancient monastery and rescue Baba Yaga from her estranged son, Grigori Rasputin. Can the heroes kill the "Mad Monk"—who has already cheated death once before—and free Baba Yaga, or will they fall before the horrors of modern war?

This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path continues the Reign of Winter Adventure Path and includes: "Rasputin Must Die!", a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 13th-level characters, by Brandon Hodge.
A look into the cultural climate of Russia in the midst of revolution, along with rules for her weapons of war, by Adam Daigle and Brandon Hodge.
Revelations on Szuriel, the Horseman of War, and her brutal quest for souls, by Sean K Reynolds.
Spiders versus sentient dolls in the Pathfinder's Journal, by Kevin Andrew Murphy.
Four new monsters, by Adam Daigle, Brandon Hodge, and Sean K Reynolds.
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Well there's also the fact that Golorion (the pathfinder setting) is a hilarious kitchen sink in you have barbarians running around riding mamoths and fighting while also having a crashed spaceship and androids on the other side of the continent. In some ways Golorion is even more gonzo than Faerun, though Faerun is pretty gonzo itself.
 
I just binged The Taste of Peaches, which is easily my favorite fic of yours, and I have a question, how do you come up with cool fic ideas? Like The Taste of Peaches, besides giving Taylor fluffy tails, what was the inspiration there?
 
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Fighting For Happiness CH1 (Ranma x Harry Potter) New
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    A
    Harry Potter x Ranma 1/2
    Crossover

    Fighting For Happiness

    By: Grounders10

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    Chapter One

    A Small Wish

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    It had been three months since Mt. Horai and Ranma was tired. Tired of walking around Japan without a clue. Tired of not being able to go back to Nerima without the threat of marrying Soun Tendo hanging over her head. Tired of not having anyone left she could trust. Well, she could probably trust Ryouga and Mousse these days, but one was forever lost and the other had returned to Nerima following their pyrrhic victory.

    Herb was beaten, his body broken though not dead after she used him to collapse the mountain. His followers had carried him off to China. Ryouga and Mousse had been freed from the locks the two idiots had placed on themselves but…

    But the unlocking kettle had been crushed by the mountain. If it was still intact then it was buried under a literal mountain of rubble that could take entire lifetimes to clear. Which had left Ranma, still female, wandering Japan chasing down lead after lead in what was showing itself to be a clearly fruitless endeavour. If it had been any other situation she would have given up. Hell, she felt like part of her already had after just three months. That same part that always tempted her to go scam ice cream at an ice cream parlour or which revelled in her ability to draw people's eyes with her beauty alone.

    Still, Ranma wasn't a quitter and that was why she was wandering down a side street on one of the less developed hills around Kyoto, aimlessly hoping to stumble across… something. Anything.

    It was in this state of boredom and general malaise that Ranma came across a group of thugs surrounding someone at a bench. The thugs were heckling them, though Ranma couldn't tell over what as she was more than half a block up the street. Then one of them lashed out and she could quite clearly hear the loud smack of a hit.

    "HEY!" She shouted, bounding down the streets towards the thugs. The group of guys turned and a few of them started laughing until she jumped the remaining fifty feet in a single bound.

    "Oh shit, martial artist," the largest of them barked. In moments they were gone, disappearing between houses leaving an old man in a purple tracksuit picking himself up off the street beside the bench with the help of a cane.

    "Keep running assholes!" she shouted before dropping down beside the old man. "Easy there, are you okay?"

    He waved her off as he got to his knees. "I am fine, young lady. Thanks to you," he said as he tried to stand and promptly dropped to one knee with a wince. "Mostly, fine. I think I have twisted my ankle, however."

    "I can help."

    He nodded. "If you can help me over to my home, just over there. My daughter should be by later today," he said, gesturing to a narrow three-story home. Putting his arm over her shoulder, Ranma helped him limp over to the home and into his kitchen.

    "Can I get you anything? Food, a drink?" she asked him.

    "Should I not be the one asking you that?" he asked in reply, smiling as she blushed. He chuckled. "The tea is by the stove with the kettle. If you don't mind making some for us both."

    "I can do that." Ranma set her travelling bag, a replacement for the one that she'd managed to lose when they were hunting Herb, by the door and set about making a pot of tea.

    "Hrm, do you mind if this old man asks what brings a martial artist of your calibre to our little corner of Kyoto?" The old man asked as she worked.

    "Not at all. Not much to tell really. I'm just wandering at this point," she said, stifling a melancholic sigh. It was so very boring walking about Japan without anyone around to even talk to. She'd never really found wandering boring when she was with her pops, but now it was exceptionally boring without the constant attacks or conversations or just companionship. It wasn't like she was going to suddenly gain them again any time soon either.

    "Ah. Searching for new techniques to learn, then? You know we have some very nice Dojo's here in the city," the old man said.

    "I know. I've already learned from most of them," she said. Kyoto had been one of the earlier stops in her training journey.

    "Really now? Interesting. You've travelled far then?"

    "All over Japan, Korea and China," Ranma said as she set the timer for the tea. Their conversation continued as she finished the tea and pulled out a packet of biscuits at the old man's direction. It wandered eventually from her travels, where she carefully avoided mentioning Jusenkyo or that she'd been a guy at the time, to her time in Nerima. The stories of which always needed a little editing to avoid awkward questions.

    A few hours passed with Ranma keeping one eye on the time. She still had a bit of a ways to go until the next campsite and she'd rather get there before it got dark. Especially since it was forecast to rain that night. Eventually, however, she heard the door open and a female voice say, "I'm home, Grandfather."

    "In the kitchen," the old man said and moments later a pretty black-haired woman maybe five to ten years older than Ranma entered the room.

    "Oh, you have a guest, Grandfather," she said, bowing politely, "I am Matsumoto Erika."

    Ranma bowed back from her seat. "Saotome Ranma. We were just waiting for you," she said, glancing up at the time, "I'm sorry, but I need to go. I'm afraid if I wait much longer it will be dark by the time I get to the next campsite."

    "Of course, of course, before you go, however. Let me give you something for your help earlier today," the old man said, "Erika, can you please get down that box." He pointed to a box sitting atop a china cabinet by the stairs.

    "You really don't need to-" Ranma said, blushing.

    "Nonsense. You stepped in earlier and I must repay it at least a little," the old man countered.

    "Of course, Grandfather. Did something happen?" Erika asked as she got it down.

    "I had a small confrontation with that gang of hooligans that moved into the area a few weeks ago. Ranma here intervened and drove them away before it could escalate more than it had," he said. At Erika's doubtful look he added, "She's a martial artist."

    "Oh. Well, thank you, Ranma," Erika said, smiling at her, "Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" She set the box down before her grandfather who immediately started picking through it.

    "I'm a bit of a wanderer at the moment," Ranma said, waving her off, "I'm planning on staying at a campsite on the other side of town. I'll need to hurry to make it there at this point."

    "Well… If you insist," the woman said with a frown.

    "Here we go," the old man said as he produced a small silver chain with a silver lotus flower hanging from it. It was an exquisite piece that looked both old and well made with small opals outlining the petals. The chain was just long enough to fit about the wrist of someone like Ranma.

    "Oh, that's too much," Ranma started to say.

    "It's just enough, I feel," he said, "Take it. I feel it will bring you some luck. You sound like you might need it."

    Not willing to press the point and be rude, she accepted it. "Thank you," she said, putting it on her wrist and holding it up to the light. It was pretty, she'd admit, though she was going to stick it into her ki pocket the moment she was out of sight. It was too much for everyday wear, as much as that part of her that was responsible for her closet back at the Tendo's being full of more girls clothing than boys squealed in delight in the back of her mind.

    It really was lovely and she didn't have much in the way of jewellery.

    "You're quite welcome. Thank you for your help today," the old man said, "Erika, if you would?"

    "Of course, Grandfather. Ranma, this way," Erika said, guiding her towards the door where Ranma picked up her pack. She leaned in as they turned the corner. "How bad is it, Miss Ranma?"

    "He seems to have just sprained his ankle when they knocked him to the ground," Ranma replied quietly as she pulled her backpack on. Erika put a hand to her mouth and quietly swore.

    "I told him to be careful," she hissed with a shake of her head.

    "He'll be fine in a few weeks, I'm sure," Ranma replied, patting the woman on the shoulder, "I've had worse sprains than he got today."

    "He'll be insufferable for weeks then," she sighed before bowing politely, "Thank you, for your help, Miss Ranma. Safe travels."

    "Thank you, Ms. Matsumoto," Ranma replied, bowing herself before stepping out the door. She waved once then jumped up, landing on the house's roof before leaping to the next.

    Erika stared upward for a long minute before shaking her head and stepping back inside. "She's quite energetic, Grandfather. Is she the one?" She asked once she reached the kitchen.

    Her Grandfather was walking around the kitchen putting away the teapot as though nothing was wrong. "Yes, she is the one we were told to keep an eye out for. I'm sure the rest will have an easier time now with the bracelet on her. Did you remember-"

    "To add a subtle compulsion to forget she's wearing it? I've had several centuries of experience now, Grandfather," Erika chided as a pair of foxtails faded into visibility, "I feel sorry for her. These weeks will not be pleasant."

    "Pleasant or not, she will be thankful after they are over. That girl aches for real family," the older Kitsune grumbled as he pulled open the refrigerator, "Tell your brother that his acting needs work. She nearly walked by us until he got violent."

    "I'll make sure to discipline him again," she replied with a twitch of a smile and a shake of her head.

    "Now, get over here and help me prepare dinner."

    "Yes, Grandfather."

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    Ranma sagged against the tree, her breath coming hard as the world seemed to sway about her. The last couple of weeks had been rough to put it mildly. Nonstop rain had been coupled with unseasonably cold weather and despite her best efforts, she'd picked up a cold somewhere along the way.

    She coughed hard, clutching her chest as she hacked hard enough she could have sworn her lungs were trying to crawl their way out of her throat. Collapsing against the tree she whimpered and hugged herself. Her sleeves were too long. Somehow the day before she'd discovered far too late that one of those stupid mushrooms of time had made its way into her food and now she had no idea how old she was, but it was clearly younger than she had been by a few years.

    The worst part was she wasn't sure where she was. Between the rain and the fever, she had managed to lose the main path and was now somewhere in the mountains. She couldn't even get help at this point and her voice was raw from coughing so shouting was out.

    "Stupid, stupid," she muttered as she stared up at the canopy of the tree she found herself under. It was a fairly good canopy, really, and kept much of the rain off her. Not that it mattered much since she was soaked through from all the rain beyond. She shivered and coughed again.

    She pulled her pack off and hugged it as another coughing fit hit her. The world swayed so she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the damp fabric of her backpack. She hadn't felt this sick in… She might have been eleven the last time she'd felt this bad. She remembered it because it was one of the few times Genma had actually stopped her training on account of illness. Sure, he normally scaled it back when he had been ill but that had been the first time he'd stopped entirely.

    Was it weird that she kinda wished she was back on the road with him again? Roaming about, not caring for engagements or curses or anything. Just them, the road, and martial arts. She smiled and promptly broke into a throat-ripping cough.

    She sniffled and hugged her pack harder. Maybe it was the age mushrooms, but she just wanted her family again. Someone who cared when she was sick , who'd offer advice even if it wasn't always the best, who just wanted her because she was her and not because of an engagement or a scam or some stupid obligation.

    Had she ever really had that, though? Her Pops had always intended to go to Nerima and the Tendo Dojo. They were always going to end their trip there and she was always going to be engaged to Akane or one of her sisters. Not that there had been much chance of Nabiki or Kasumi wanting her. One didn't want to deal with a half-girl and the other was only interested in old men. Tears finally started falling as between illness, melancholy and whatever age her body was her emotions finally overcame her control.

    She wailed, coughed, and heaved for air in a cycle that she couldn't place a time to before finally collapsing on her side amongst the damp roots of the tree. Sobs still wracked her small frame as she curled into a ball, her rain jacket practically suffocating her from its bulk.

    Had Ranma been more conscious and less emotional she might have felt it. Something stirred within her. Something she'd long learned to ignore. A rising feeling of power that sent the rain swirling about the tree. Bright fresh leaves were plucked from their branches as a feeling of oily static gathered in the air. Finally, Ranma noticed as the rising feeling of power latched onto her emotions and the world disappeared with a twisting squeezing sensation that left her gasping for air when the world returned to her. Gasping just long enough to start coughing again.

    She barely registered that it seemed to be brighter out, and the rain was gone as she flopped to the ground with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion and passed out completely. In the process completely missing the shocked black-haired man and the large half-bird, half-horse not even five feet away.

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    Sirius Black was a bedraggled wreck of a man, as one would expect from anyone who had broken out of Azkaban after twelve impossibly unpleasant years as an inmate. That is to say, he was filthy and paranoid and generally unhappy on a good day. It came with being constantly on the run. As it was, however, he was generally feeling a little bit better since he had managed to escape the Ministry at Hogwarts just barely with the help of his Godson Harry Potter and his lovely friend, Ms. Hermione Granger. With Pettigrew on the run, albeit not from the Ministry as he'd have preferred or in the ground as he'd have wished, even more, he was at least comforted that Harry would be safe at Hogwarts.

    With Harry safe, well safer, Sirius had fled on Buckbeak a hippogriff who had just as much reason to flee the Ministry as Sirius did. They flew during the night south from Scotland through Wales, spending the days in caves and out-of-the-way groves, before swinging southeast towards the cliffs of Dover to make the flight across the channel. He needed time to recover from his imprisonment now that he knew Harry was safe and one of the old tropical getaways belonging to his family that he still had access to.

    Those plans promptly died the moment a redheaded girl appeared before him and Buckbeak on the fourth day of their journey with the crack of apparition. She appeared at chest height and dropped to the ground coughing and thrashing before falling still, one hand clutching the straps of a very large and overfilled travel backpack.

    "Merlin, what the hell," he said, bolting upright and rushing to her side. Buckbeak half rose from munching on a large rat before settling down with a crack-clatter of his beak.

    The girl was soaked through despite her raincoat, as was her bag. He checked her pulse and frowned as it took him a good minute to locate the weak beat. Once he was sure she hadn't been drowning he turned her over. To his surprise she was Asian. It had been a long time since he saw an Asian woman with red hair and a small smile appeared as he recalled his last encounter with her. He shook the memory off and frowned as he realised she was flushed and not just warm but hot to the touch. She was burning with a strong fever.

    "You can't be older than Harry," he muttered as he quickly checked to see if she had splinched herself. She hadn't, which meant the splinch detectors at the ministry wouldn't be going off. No one official was going to be coming for her which meant her condition was on him. If there had been someone coming he'd have left knowing that whoever was coming for her was going to take her to St. Mungo's. They could handle any illness easily.

    "Oh, bloody hell, what the hell do I do now?" He couldn't exactly fly her to St. Mungo's. He was trying to keep from getting arrested and walking into the only magical hospital in the entire country wasn't much better than stepping into the offices of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He'd be lucky to survive let alone get away.

    He couldn't leave her. The idea of someone doing that to Harry made his skin crawl and he didn't want to be that sort of person. He couldn't fly her to St. Mungo's. Not only was it a bad idea, it was daytime. He couldn't take her to a muggle hospital. She could very well disappear into the system there or have a burst of accidental magic. Which…

    "Wand. You've got to have a wand here somewhere," he said, patting her down carefully. If she had a wand he could disguise himself and apparate her to St. Mungo's. She'd be fine and he'd be a lot more mobile…

    Only she didn't seem to have a wand. Not on her and not in the top of her bag which he realised rapidly was filled with everything from clothes to camping gear.

    "Accidental magic. You apparated with accidental magic, at your age?" he muttered. He knew that Asia wasn't quite as obsessive about bringing in every muggleborn and stray byblow of wizards as Europe was, but the thought of someone reaching the age of thirteen without learning to control their own magic… then again, Harry had also lost control himself the year before. Watching Marge float away over the subdivision had been a hoot.

    Either way, it didn't say good things about the girl's home life, and it didn't leave him with much in the way of options.

    "No medicine, no wand, no hospitals. Shit… fucking Merlin's saggy balls," he muttered under his breath. He had one option, and he hated it. But… He looked down at the sick girl. She seemed fragile and helpless swimming in clothing that was too big for her. How had she gotten into this situation he had to wonder.

    "Damn it. Kreacher!" He barked. There was a crack as the familiar and much-loathed house elf appeared. Already short, he was bent over with age, his eyes as crazed as Sirius' could be on his worst days, and his tea cozy was dirty.

    "Despicable maaaster calls Kreacher?" the house elf drawled as it took two steps towards him. "Filthy blood traitor calls Kreacher to attend him and his spawn?"

    "Shut up, Kreacher," he snapped, glaring viciously at the old elf, "I need this girl-" the last thing Kreacher said registered. He snapped his gaze down at the girl. "Spawn, Kreacher?" he demanded.

    The elf smiled a mad grin. "Surely master knows his own spawn. Even Blood Traitor's know family," Kreacher said.

    Ignoring the condescension in the elf's voice Sirius stared down at the girl. There was no way she was his kid. She was too young for one thing, and he'd never heard from her that they had had a child. He'd have taken the first portkey to Japan if he'd ever heard even a rumour of that.

    "That's not possible," he said.

    "Kreacher knows family. Kreacher senses family from her. A Young Mistress of House Black. Can Master not see? Does he not know? Surely blood traitor master is not this terrible?" The last few sentences were muttered, but not quietly enough for them to not reach his ears.

    Sirius restrained a snarl at the elf. "If you're right," he said.

    "Kreacher is."

    "If. You are right, then this changes things. I was going to have you take her to St. Mungo's but they'll cotton on to who she is quickly and I'm not going to put her through whatever interrogation they'd inflict on her just to drop her in Lucius' hands," he said with a snarl.

    He stared down at the girl. She was the vision of her mother if he was right about who her mother was. "Why didn't you tell me, and how are you even here?" he asked the girl who simply whimpered and shivered. His heart clenched. Right. Sick girl. Think about whether or not she's his daughter later.

    "What condition is Grimmauld Place?" he asked, staring at Kreacher. The Elf shuffled in place.

    "It is… Livable," Kreacher said after a moment of staring.

    "My bedroom?" Sirius asked.

    "... Decent."

    "Are there any pests in there?" he asked.

    Kreacher's expression twisted in distaste. "Not in blood traitor's room, no," he said despite how much it seemed to pain him.

    "Take me and her there, with her things, now," he ordered. Kreacher sneered, but snapped his fingers a moment later. The world twisted away and with a pop he was dropped onto the floor of a dark bedroom lit only by the thin light seeping through the gaps in the blackout curtains. He coughed at the dust.

    Decent his ass.

    It was, however, his old bedroom and the girl had been dropped politely on his old bed. Her bag was leaning against the bedside table. The girl groaned and shifted on the bed, rolling on her side facing him. Her eyes weren't open and she looked even worse in the pale light.

    Kreacher was standing by the door. "Does Master require anything else?" he drawled.

    "Bring me the old family wands," he said, "Then clear out a guest room and bring the hippogriff into it. Get him hay and food."

    "Yes, Master," the creature drawled before muttering, "Asks nothing for his spawn."

    "And before any of that, bring me quill, ink and parchment. I have a letter to write," he snapped, "Now get moving you."

    "Yes master," Kreacher said, popping out of sight.

    Sirius stood and walked over to the window. He pushed the curtain open, half expecting doxies to come swarming out of the fabric. To his surprise, no creature attacked him as he pulled it open. The window beyond was filthy with enough dirt that despite being a bright summer morning it was nearly dark enough to be mistaken for early evening. Attempting to open the window proved fruitless as it jammed after less than a centimetre of movement.

    He scowled. Clean, sure, right. If Kreacher had spent any time cleaning beyond the barest necessities since his mad mother had passed away he'd eat the filthy ragged clothes he was wearing. He glanced down to find parchment, cracked from age and poor storage, an inkpot and a quill sitting on the table by the window.

    He checked the inkpot to make sure it was still liquid before taking the quill and scribbling out a hurried note of his situation. He couldn't take the girl to St. Mungo's but there were people he could ask for help.

    "Kreacher," he said, turning around with the note in his hands. Kreacher appeared with a pop, a small box full of wands in his hands. It joined the three others that had already been placed on the ground. "Take this to Albus Dumbledore, then return immediately."

    Kreacher sneered. "Yes, Master," he scowled. He disappeared with a pop again and the letter vanished with him.

    Sirius swept over to the boxes of wands and started sorting through them. He didn't need a perfect fit. Nothing here was likely to be as attuned to him as his old wand that he'd lost to the DMLE, but even a passing fit could allow him to be more than a hindrance to the girl… To the girl who was probably his daughter.

    He glanced back at her with a frown. He didn't understand how that could be. She was so tiny, and looked no older than Harry. He hadn't slept with anyone for years before Harry was born so her age should have been impossible.

    One of the wands he picked up absently sent a warm feeling down his arm.

    He turned back to the wand in his hands. It looked like dogwood to him and it had a reasonably good reaction as well. There might be a better one, but he was going to have guests soon and Madam Pomfrey would probably throw a fit if she found him caring for a patient in these conditions.

    He waved the wand at the room with a thought and was dismayed as the cleaning charm he cast took off only a layer of dust from the surfaces. This was going to take a bit more effort than he realised.

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    The world faded in and out for Ranma for an indeterminate time. People and voices all blended together the next several times she opened her eyes. Her eyes never stayed open long before closing again. Finally, however, consciousness returned with the suddenness it always does. She was still tired as she opened her eyes. Her body was sore and she was hot, uncomfortably so.

    Her mouth felt dry as she registered the heavy blanket over her. She was in bed. The room was dark with only a little light pouring in through a gap in the dark curtains. She could make out a man sitting in a chair by the window, his hands folded over his chest. The spilling light let her see his long black hair and the outline of a gaunt face that seemed to be screwed up in a frown in his sleep.

    Who was he?

    She watched him for a moment before something much more important made itself known. She needed the toilet. Muttering a tired curse she pushed her blanket off her. To her surprise she wasn't wearing her clothes, instead she had been dressed in a set of green pajamas. They were a little threadworn but seemed serviceable. She cast a glance at the man in the chair. Had he dressed her?

    Ranma put that aside as the feeling of a pressing need to go prodded her to sit up. Doing so was more tiring than she felt it had any right to be. Attempting to stand proved to be a mistake as her legs gave out and she crashed to the ground, and promptly started coughing again.

    There was the sound of a scraping chair and a hand on her shoulder a moment later. "Easy there, girl," a warm voice said in English of all languages. Well, it could have been worse. At least she knew how to speak English, even if her reading and writing were terrible.

    "I'm fine," Ranma said in English once she stopped coughing. Her voice felt raspy and dry.

    "No, you aren't. You've been terribly sick for days," he said, heaving her up and onto the bed with two hands.

    Days. She looked up to find the gaunt-looking man who had been sitting in the corner. Oddly, the first thought she had was that he had her nose. Well, her nose when she was a boy. "What… What day it is- is it?" Ranma asked, pausing to sort her words out just a bit. It had been a couple of years since she last had to speak English for any length of time.

    "June the 16th, you've been unconscious for three days," the man said once he was sure she wasn't about to topple.

    That… She must have been a lot more sick than she realised for it to knock her out for three days. She swallowed nervously. If she'd been left outside for three days she'd have probably been dead already.

    "T-thank you," she said.

    "No need to thank me," he said, patting her on the shoulder, "Lay down, I'll get Madam Pomfrey."

    She shook her head, wondering at the same time who 'Madam Pomfrey' was, and said, "Need the.. The… Bath- Toilet?" What was the right word again?

    "... Right, lean on me then," the man said. With his help, she got to her shaky feet and slowly across the room. She felt like a cripple.

    Kami, how she despised being sick.

    The hall beyond the room was dimly lit by flickering lanterns hung from the wall every few feet. The wallpaper was dark green and peeling, whatever pattern that might have been part of it having faded years prior. Her disgust must have shown for the man chuckled.

    "Not my favourite place, I'll tell you that," he said, "But I've only had a few days to fix it up." She flushed further and mumbled an apology. "Don't bother," he said, "I've hated this place since I was a kid. Even before my crazy mother let it go."

    Crazy mother? She wanted to ask, but it was taking a lot of concentration just to keep her feet under her even with his help.

    "Sirius?" a stern woman's voice asked from behind them and the man paused, causing her to stumble and fall against him.

    "Sorry," he said as he held her up, "Over here Minnie." Ranma turned her head towards the voice that had interrupted them to find a tall woman wearing robes over a very Victorian-style dress.

    "Goodness," the woman, 'Minnie', said, "When did she wake up, Sirius?" She hurried over to them and Ranma looked up at her with an annoyed expression. She was keeping her from the toilet.

    "A few minutes ago," the man, Sirius, said, "She needs the toilet."

    "Ah. Give her here, Sirius. I imagine she'll prefer someone of female persuasion helping her with the toilet rather than a man," Minnie said.

    Ranma opened her mouth to give her opinion, which was to accept, only to break down coughing. Her legs went out from under her and for a moment the only thing holding her up was the two arms Sirius wrapped about her. After a few moments, she managed to get her feet under her and whispered, "Thanks."

    Kami she felt pathetic. Neither of them looked like they had even the least bit of training, yet here she was relying on these two strangers while she coughed up her own lungs.

    "I think that's probably a good idea, Minnie. I need to let Poppy know her patient is awake," Sirius said, watching Ranma with worried eyes as he passed her off to this Governess-like woman.

    "This way, dear. Take it slow," Minnie said, gently leading her down the hallway.

    "I know. Not the first time I've been sick," she mumbled. The woman simply nodded and helped her along.

    The toilet was a dark and dingy place, much like the rest of the house was. It didn't stop her from taking care of her business quickly and heading back to bed with the help of 'Minnie'. Which was an odd name for someone English-speaking. A nickname, maybe?

    Ranma didn't bother asking as she was guided back to bed and tucked in by the fretting older woman as another coughing fit hit her. That seemed to be about her limit as she felt the tiredness hitting her again and in moments she was asleep again.

    When next time she woke up there was a distinct lack of light sources beyond a single candle burning on a table by the window. She felt a bit stronger than she had last time as she pushed off the covers once again with a soft groan. A twitch of something in the shadows of the chair where Sirius had been sitting the time before caught her eye.

    Two bright eyes turned to stare into her soul and her heart promptly leaped into her throat. "N-n-n-neko!" she stuttered in Japanese, scrambling backwards across her bed until her back hit the wall behind her. She mashed her eyes shut and pulled in on herself, curling up into a ball shivering.

    "Easy, there, child," the voice of Minnie said kindly and Ranma opened one eye nervously to find the older Governess-like woman sitting on the edge of the bed. "Not so fond of Cats, I take it?"

    Ranma flushed and glanced about. There didn't seem to be any sign of the cat she'd seen before and she relaxed marginally. "Not really," she mumbled, feeling her temperature rise even higher than the fever that was already afflicting her. It was enough to make her head spin just a little.

    "I'll make sure to let the others know, then," the older woman said. She patted beside her, "Don't worry. The cat's gone fer now."

    Ranma glanced about for the cat before scooting over. She started coughing halfway over, however. Minnie pulled her the rest of the way and placed an arm around her, rubbing her between the shoulders and she whispered comforting things in English. It made her feel like a child, but with how sick she was feeling she couldn't find it in herself to complain and instead just leaned against the older woman.

    Part of her wondered if this was what having parents who cared felt like.

    She shivered and was promptly pulled closer to the older woman. They sat that way for a few minutes before the older woman released her and stood up. Ranma shivered and blinked in dull confusion as the comforting arm disappeared, only to be handed a large glass of water by the older woman.

    "Drink, dear. You seem quite parched," Minnie said.

    Ranma drained the entire glass without complaint. "Is there more?" she asked once it was gone. Minnie smiled and took the glass before producing a stick from her sleeve. Ranma stared open-mouthed as Minnie pointed the stick at the top of the glass and water poured from the stick into the glass to fill it. She took it mechanically and stared at the water. "How?" she asked after a moment.

    "Magic," the woman said. Ranma took a moment to digest that.

    "Is this safe?" she asked, her innate suspicion of all things magical coming to the fore.

    "The spell aguamenti summons only clean, drinkable water," Minnie said, taking a seat beside her.

    Ranma swallowed nervously before taking a sip of the glass. It was, like she'd been promised, clean and clear. It was even cool. She finished the glass in moments and let out a sigh of relief. She waited for a few moments but nothing odd seemed to happen.

    Had she just encountered magic that didn't try to screw her over?

    "Have you never had a positive experience with magic before?" Minnie asked.

    "... Did I say that out loud?" she asked sheepishly.

    "I'm afraid so."

    Ranma flushed and looked down at the glass in her lap. "I-" her words were cut off by a coughing fit that stole her breath for a few moments. Minnie took her in her arms again and they sat there while Ranma got her breath back. "Not really," she finally said, "Never anything helpful. It's always been a pain in the… bum? Ass?."

    "Language, dear," Minnie chided and Ranma found herself flushing. "Butt, would be more acceptable in this case." Ranma just nodded. The older woman cleared her throat and said, "It seems we will have to rectify your experiences then. Magic can be quite wondrous and useful."

    Ranma nodded slowly. She had to wonder if this magic woman could undo her curse, but held off mentioning it. If she couldn't then that would just mean she'd told someone for nothing and that would probably have her treated differently. Worse, more than likely. No one ever seemed to like Jusenkyo curse victims.

    She yawned hard enough to send her ears ringing for a moment. Then her stomach grumbled loudly.

    "Lie back down. I'll get you some food," Minnie said, rising and taking the glass with her.

    "Thank you," Ranma said. She shivered as the older woman left and crawled back under the covers. She coughed into her pillow and shivered again.

    -0-0-0-0-0-​

    It was several days before Ranma was well enough to leave her room for anything other than bathroom visits. During that time she spent more time with Minnie, whose name she learned was Minerva McGonagall, and Sirius. Minnie, she couldn't stop thinking of the older woman with the name, only ever appearing in the late afternoons or evenings while Sirius tended to check on her throughout the day. Mixed in were visits from a matronly woman called 'Madam Pomfrey' or Poppy by the others. She showed up for ten minutes around dinnertime and would check her symptoms. It was her that gave the okay for her to leave the room at last.

    "While continued bedrest would only be a good thing," Madam Pomfrey said, her face well-lit in the sunlight pouring through the open window, "She's more than strong enough to brave the stairs if you wish to take her down to the kitchen or living room for a proper meal."

    "Really?" Ranma asked. Couldn't be too long before she was well enough to leave then.

    Madam Pomfrey smiled her way. "Really. Now, do take it slow and if you're getting tired let someone know," she told Ranma, who nodded.

    "I will."

    "Hmm, you're much better behaved than I'd expected, young lady," the matron said, shaking her head before shooting a fond and exasperated look toward Sirius.

    Ranma fidgeted. There it was. At moments she felt like there was some sort of subtext no one was telling her about. It was like they expected her to be like Sirius and she couldn't figure out why. "Then, can I go now?" Ranma asked, pushing aside the blanket she'd become very familiar with over the last few days.

    "Of course. Sirius, I'm leaving her to you since I need to return to Hogwarts sooner rather than later," Madam Pomfrey said, rising from kneeling beside Ranma.

    "I'll keep an eye on her, Poppy," he said with a grin, "You can count on that… Though, it's probably time to have that discussion I've been putting off the last few days."

    "Discussion?" Ranma asked.

    Poppy nodded. "She should be well enough to handle it. Have a good evening, both of you," she said before leaving.

    Sirius waited for her to leave before turning to Ranma. "Yeah, discussion. Like why you're in here getting private treatment rather than at St. Mungo's," he said, scratching the back of his neck like she did when she was nervous about a conversation.

    "What's St. Mungo's?" Ranma asked as she sat up.

    "St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. It's the only magical hospital in Great Britain," Sirius said, "By rights with how rough you were I should have had Kreacher take you there, but something he said stopped me." He was looking very awkward and nervous.

    First of all, however, "Who is Kreacher?"

    "Oh, right, I banned him from coming in here after Poppy saw to you," Sirius muttered, "That's… Why don't we go someplace a bit more comfortable? Like the living room. I'll make hot chocolate."

    "In June?"

    "... Well if you don't want any-" He said, a mischievous look appearing on his face.

    "I didn't say that," Ranma protested, rising from her bed only to stumble a bit as her legs complained about how quickly she was moving. Sirius arms were about her instantly and they stood there for a long moment before she cleared her throat. "You can let go now," she said.

    He released her and stepped back. "Right, sorry… hot chocolate, then answers?" he offered.

    "That sounds great." Ranma could really do with both at that moment. She let Sirius lead her from the room to the staircase that still ran up another level from where they were. Ranma held tightly to the railing of the staircase as they went down. Her legs might have been stronger but they still had moments where they'd complain and turn to jelly briefly.

    One such incident on the second floor gave her time to look up. "What are those?" she asked, pointing to a row of heads mounted on the wall over the staircase. Each one was small, bald, and had large floppy ears.

    "Those are House Elf heads. My barmy family has been mounting the heads of the old servants on the wall for centuries," Sirius said, his distaste for the practice clear, "Unfortunately, like so many things they put them up with sticking charms and I haven't had a chance to try and break them."

    Ranma shivered. She had to wonder what sort of twisted family he had that thought mounting people's heads after they died was good practice. They moved on from that and in a few minutes, Ranma was sitting comfortably wrapped in a blanket in the living room. Sirius joined her, handing her a cup of hot chocolate before taking a seat of his own in a ratty armchair. He had a couple of envelopes that he left on one knee.

    "You know I haven't sat here like this in… since I was fifteen- no, fourteen. I basically ran away right after getting back from Hogwarts for the summer when I was fifteen," Sirius said absently.

    "I've heard people mention it, but what's Hogwarts?" Ranma asked.

    Sirius looked surprised for a moment before muttering, "Of course." He sighed. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Minnie told me she showed you magic a few times over the last several days." Ranma nodded. Having a glass of water turned into a hamster for several minutes was… different. It was kinda odd seeing magic and not having to worry.

    "I went to Hogwarts myself. While not everyone in Britain does, it is the premier school of magic in Britain," Sirius said. His fingers tapped the envelopes on his leg nervously.

    Ranma nodded. "So, you were going to explain why I'm not in… St. Mungo's?" she asked him.

    "First, why don't we properly introduce ourselves," Sirius suggested, "I'm Sirius Black, Lord Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Wizard, age thirty-five."

    "Lord Apparent?" Ranma asked even as she looked at him. He looked older than thirty-four.

    "Well, I thought I'd been disowned. My mother apparently literally blasted my name off the family tree, but turns out she didn't have the authority to make it stick. My Grandfather Arcturus Black never confirmed it and when he passed the Lordship passed to me. I've yet to get everything properly organised due to my current, ah… Legal issues," Sirius said, scratching the back of his neck nervously, "Until then, I'm just Lord Apparent rather than Lord Black."

    Ranma nodded. She sipped her drink. "I'm Ranma Saotome," she said, pausing awkwardly, "I'm.. not really sure what my age is right now."

    Sirius paused, his own cup nearly at his mouth. "Why not?" he asked with a tone of suspicion.

    "... I was born a little over seventeen years ago, but just before I came here I accidentally ate a mushroom that changes your age based on how long it is. I thought I knew how to recognize them but it somehow got… into… Why are you banging your head against the chair?" Ranma asked as the wizard continued to smack his head repeatedly against the chair.

    Sirius let out an explosive sigh. "That's… that's complicated. Complicated and very very awkward," he said. He took a long drink from his cup. "Hmm, so… Merlin, this is awkward. Right, when I got out of Hogwarts my friends and I took a vacation to Japan. You're, ah… You're Japanese, right?"

    Ranma nodded, curious as to where he was going with this.

    "Hmmm, your mother wouldn't happen to be a Nodoka? Tall, curvy, redhead like you but a few shades darker?"

    Her Mother? "... I don't know my mother very well, but based on the last time I saw her, yeah. That sounds about right," Ranma replied.

    Sirius set his empty cup down. "Seventeen years ago I met a Nodoka Saotome. Beautiful woman, intelligent, stubborn, bit lonely and we hit it off. Whirlwind romance for the three months before we had to return and join in on the war that was going on at the time," he said.

    Was he claiming to have romanced her mother? Ranma stared in disbelief.

    "Then her father caught us in bed about, oh… three days before I had to leave. I had been planning on staying in touch, but… Well, he threatened to geld me and feed me to the Tengu," Sirius shrugged, "I did send a letter or two, but the only response I got was back from her telling me how much she enjoyed it, but that she was going to be married to a man named Genma in the next few months. Apparently, I'd caused something of a panic in her father."

    "My father's name is Genma Saotome," Ranma said, staring at Sirius as her hot chocolate grew cold in her hands.

    "I guessed. You look like your mother's twin, just shorter," Sirius said before sighing. He fiddled with the envelopes on his leg. "But, uh… See, looking familiar isn't why I didn't take you to St. Mungo's. I mean, I'm not welcome, but I was about to have Kreacher take you there when he, uh… Fuck why is this hard to say." He rubbed his eyes and sighed the sigh of the exhausted.

    "When's the last time you slept?" Ranma asked, examining him more closely before the sudden urge to cough hit her and she had to focus on not spilling her drink all over the blanket that was wrapped around her legs.

    "... Three days ago? Didn't sleep for the two days before that either," Sirius replied, "Sleep's not exactly my favourite activity after twelve years in Azkaban." He held up a hand as she went to ask. "I'll explain that later. Let's get through one thing at a time. So… Kreacher's a House Elf. One of those creatures whose heads are mounted on the wall above the stairs. They're basically magic servants. They bind themselves to a family and are bound to follow orders in exchange for living off the magic of the family. It's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the simple explanation. One bit of this means they can sense members of the family. Their magic has to know who to obey, right?"

    Ranma nodded.

    "Kreacher and I… hate each other. He was my mother's elf and he's as nuts as she was. But he's mine now because everyone else is either married off or dead," Sirius said, "I called him to me in that grove to get you taken to the hospital… and he promptly started complaining about my calling him to attend to me and my 'spawn'."

    "I'm not familiar with the word 'spawn'," Ranma admitted. Her English was pretty broad, but there were still a lot of words she didn't know.

    "In this context, spawn can be… It can mean 'child'," Sirius said, looking her straight in the eyes, "I asked him to confirm. I was rather confused, you see. Due to the fact, I hadn't slept with a woman since your mother. There was no way in hell a little slip of a girl who couldn't be more than thirteen or fourteen was my daughter."

    "Wait, wait, wait," Ranma held up a hand, "I know who my parents are. You said it yourself. Your elf is nuts." Her parents were Genma and Nodoka Saotome. There was no way in hell Genma would teach some… bastard child his art.

    Sirius nodded. "Mhmm, yeah, and I figured he probably was too…" He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees even as he practically hung his head between his legs. "This… his words were enough to make me worried about you. I'm not very popular at the moment here in England-"

    "We're in England? I kept meaning to ask, but it just was…" Ranma blurted out as she tried to not think about the implications of what he just said. She wasn't doing so well.

    "Yeah. we're in jolly old London right now. This building is number 12 Grimmauld Place. Not the oldest or best property I own, but its secretive, unlike most others… Like I said, I'm not very popular here and I was worried that if there was even the slightest chance we were related you'd be in for a rough time. Especially since you were obviously sick. Brought you here and had a few people who believe me come by and help. That'd be Minnie and Madam Pomfrey," Sirius said.

    "I know who my parents are, though. You even said it, my mother married Genma," she said, staring at the man.

    The dark-haired man who seemed to be trying to say he was her father of all people rubbed his face with both hands. "Look, I know how this sounds. You've never met me. I haven't a clue why you apparated who knows how fucking far to land practically in my lap-"

    "I was just outside Kyoto. A bit north I think, in the hills," Ranma said. He stared at her, his mouth opening and closing in disbelief.

    "We're in Great Britain, how did you apparate halfway around the world when we've never met?" He asked, his voice rising in sheer disbelief before dropping his face into his hands again.

    "How should I know, I'm not the Wizard!" Ranma snapped.

    "Well, you're definitely a witch, even if untrained," Sirius said, "Because there's no other way for you to have done it. Merlin, no wonder you collapsed. You were sick and nearly killed yourself Apparating. Why didn't you go to someone closer? Was there seriously no one closer than me? On the other side of the planet!"

    Ranma shuffled awkwardly and looked away from him. "... I barely know my mother because Genma took me on a training journey for martial arts when I was like three and we never went back," she said, "I didn't even know what she looked like until she tracked us down and… Well, she didn't recognize me at the time." She wasn't going to talk about the Jusenkyo Curses.

    "Right… And Genma?"

    "... On the outs at the moment," Ranma said, "Over who he wanted me to marry."

    "... shit. Shit, fuck, bloody hell, of all the- Merlins asscheeks this is-" She stared as he seemed to practically punch himself in the face. As it was he massaged his jaw for a moment before picking up one of the envelopes up. "This- ow," he winced, "This, was, is, my confirmation that we're related. Take a guess what it's about."

    Ranma's stomach dropped out. It couldn't be. "Marriage contract," she whispered.

    "Yeah… yeah…" Sirius, who might very well be her father, let out an explosive sigh, "Look, back during the war we had a night just after the… Second Battle of Hogsmeade I think it was? Little all-wizarding town by Hogwarts- Not important. Point is, it was the largest battle of the war and those of us who survived all got plastered. Completely shit-faced."

    While Ranma didn't recognize the exact words, she could guess their context and grimaced. "And someone proposed a marriage contract?" she guessed. She sipped her hot chocolate to try and distract herself while a cold feeling wrapped about her heart.

    "I can't remember who. No one can remember who brought the idea up," Sirius said, "By the time we woke up somewhere 'round a dozen had been written and signed. Judging by how few stains from beer were on this one it was probably the first." He opened the envelope and started pulling out the papers within. "Most of them haven't taken effect for one reason or another as I understand it and we've all tried to avoid triggering them since, well… Honestly, they're barbaric and I can't even imagine what the hell I was thinking writing one let alone signing one."

    Ranma took a deep breath. "The only reason I'm not punching you," she said, her tone exhausted, "Is because I'm sick and don't have anywhere else to go at the moment. Are we clear?" Why did she always blunder into this shit? First Shampoo, then Akane, then Ukyo and how many fucking other had Genma signed her off to? Dozens from her experience.

    Sirius winced again. "... Suppose I should be glad you don't know any hexes yet," he said, giving her a weak smile that she ignored by sipping her lukewarm hot chocolate. His smile fell. "This is a notification that the terms of the contract have been met and its come into effect. By your seventeenth birthday, you must be married to Harry James Potter… my Godson and son of… My best friend, James Potter and his wife Lily Potter. They're both dead for the record."

    That would make this… Harry Potter, an orphan. Lucky kid, he didn't have parents constantly fucking things over for him.

    "How's your English reading comprehension?" Sirius asked.

    "Not great," Ranma muttered.

    "I… I see… Look, this never should have affected you," Sirius said, staring at the ground, "We were too drunk to remember to put in the escape clauses-"

    "Oh of course," Ranma growled, glaring at Sirius- At the man who was claiming he was her actual father instead of Genma.

    "But, it had an age range-" Sirius had to pause as a coughing fit hit Ranma, "You were just outside of it. Maximum was three years older or younger and he's not quite fourteen yet," Sirius said, "If these mushrooms exist-"

    "I've eaten them before," Ranma scowled, wondering how close she'd come to getting hit with this contract she'd come before.

    "Right… Look, Ranma. I'm so sorry right now. I wasn't planning on having kids until after James and Lily had a couple so that I could keep them from being in that age range. The agreement was just for our generation so all we had to do was just keep from having kids near each other. Simple. But, um…" Sirius seemed at a loss from words before placing the notification on the table and sliding it across to Ranma.

    Ranma leaned over and picked it up. She wasn't lying about her reading comprehension. Most of the document made very little sense, but she made out her name listed beside a Harry James Potter near the bottom. "Question, how do I know this isn't a forgery?"

    "I knew who your mother was without you telling me," Sirius replied, "Beautiful woman. Very energetic." A wistful look appeared on his face before fading. "Harder to remember than I'd like thanks to the dementors. They eat happy memories, you see."

    "Uhuh…" She eyed him over the document. It had the sigil of a 'Gringott's Bank' at the bottom. She dropped it into her lap and pulled herself into a tighter ball on the couch. "A boy," she muttered. Her and a guy. It… wasn't as hard to picture as it would have been four months before. After so many months she'd noticed her tastes had shifted. She'd noticed it a bit when Cologne had locked her as a girl for a month with the cat's tongue pressure point. It hadn't been much, but she had started noticing how… nice looking some of the boys on that beach had been by the end of the experience. It had taken another month before she'd been back to her usual general disinterest in everyone, which itself had only set in about four months after she'd picked up the curse. She had been interested in girls before then, but something about switching back and forth had done an exceptional job dulling her interest. That wasn't to say she couldn't consider a girl cute, just that they had to be really cute or do something else to get her attention. It was half the reason she was able to ignore Shampoo's constant advances.

    Only, she'd now spent four months as a girl.

    Her mind unconsciously spun up thoughts of Ryouga and Mousse and she felt a small blush forming at some of her more… Risque memories from the bath houses. No, prolonged time as a girl had definitely turned her interests in an unwelcome direction…

    She sighed. "Is there something different about a wizard's marriage contract?" she asked.

    "Magic enforces agreements like this, especially since we were drunk enough to use a format no one uses anymore," Sirius said, "I'm... fuck, I'm sorry about this. This never should have involved you. Never should have written this stupid thing." He punched his armchair with a fist before standing up. He started pacing, running one hand through his hair constantly as he walked back and forth from the door to… what looked like a kitchen.

    This was at least somewhat different. "... You know Genma treated engagements like credit cards," Ranma said quietly, "Lowest price someone showed up for was a bowl of rice and two pickles."

    Sirius snorted. "A dowry of a bowl of rice and two pickles? Seriously?" he stared at her for a moment before frowning. "So this Genma, was selling you off to marriage for things? I thought dowry's were about the same between Japan and England. The bride's family pays."

    Ranma silently cursed her loose mouth. "That's because I was born a guy," she said with resignation.

    "... What?" Sirius stopped pacing and stared at her, "You? A guy?" Ranma nodded.

    "It's a Chinese curse. Have you ever heard of Jusenkyo?" Ranma asked. Her heart sank when he shook his head.

    "Is that the name of the curse?" he asked, looking even angrier… Though it seemed to be directed at himself.

    "It's a valley. Hundreds of springs fill the valley. Each one with its own tragic story," Ranma recited, "When someone or something dies in one of them it leaves an imprint. I fell in the Spring of Drowned Girl."

    "And so you're… now a girl." Sirius leaned his forehead against the doorframe of the kitchen.

    "... Not exactly. The curse normally changes you into a cursed form when you encounter cold water and back with hot, but a Chinese Prince locked my curse when I pissed him off," Ranma said, "I failed to get it unlocked before the unlocking kettle was destroyed in our fight…"

    "... Genma tried to marry you off to a man, didn't he? Merlin, I'm so sorry," Sirius walked over and dropped to one knee by her side, "Ranma, I never should have signed this stupid thing."

    "It's… Look, the issue wasn't that… that, it was a guy… these days anyways. I- I've become more… girl, over time since I haven't been turning back," Ranma mumbled awkwardly, her anger falling as he stared at her with tears in his eyes. She tried to hold onto it, really she did, but it was hard. He'd been so considerate of her the last few days and it was clear he really didn't want this. "You're sure you're my… dad?"

    "You wouldn't be listed in the notification otherwise," Sirius replied, "More girl?"

    Ranma shuffled awkwardly in her seat. "Look, he wanted me to marry his old training buddy who I was supposed to marry the violent daughter of. Since I couldn't do that he told me not to come back until I'd fixed the curse or he'd marry me to Soun," she said. Even with her tastes changing, the thought of marrying a man old enough to be her father was utterly disgusting. Hell, marrying a guy was…

    Yeah, she didn't like it. She was barely willing to accept that she sometimes would come across a guy who'd cause her stomach to do funny little backflips. She tried to avoid the ones that did that.

    She looked Sirius Black in the eye. "How can you be my dad?" she asked.

    "I never got an explanation why I'd caused a panic," Sirius said, "but, with you here, I'd guess I knocked up your mother when we slept together that one time just before I left. Genma was probably whomever was willing to accept her to help cover up the whole thing."

    "... He'd probably do it if they paid him enough," Ranma muttered as she thought about it. "There's no way out for me?"

    "Not unless you want to die or lose your magic, the process of which would basically cripple you physically as well," Sirius said, looking down again.

    Ranma finished her cup of hot chocolate and stared at her… father. He did look a lot more like her boy side than Genma ever had. The nose, the facial structure… Genma had always had a kinda round potato head rather than the more angular structure Ranma had possessed.

    "You've met Harry?" she asked, considering her options carefully. What options existed anyways.

    "I was there when he was born and visited a lot until James and Lily were murdered," Sirius said, "Then I spent twelve years in prison for a crime I didn't commit and I just managed to meet him again… ten days ago? Saved my life once he knew the truth."

    "Truth?"

    Sirius stood up and returned to his chair. "Yeah. James and Lily were hiding from a dark wizard called Voldemort," he said, "He was the git responsible for the war. Wanted to rule Great Britain. So James and Lily used the Fidellius charm to hide. You bind the existence of a location into a person from then on the only people informed by this Secret Keeper can see and enter it."

    Ranma nodded.

    "We uh, told everyone it was me while making Peter Pettigrew the actual secret keeper," He let out a barking laugh that sent goosebumps across Ranma's skin. The friendly, if gaunt, man disappeared as he seemed to age before her eyes. His eyes stared off into the distance. "It was the biggest prank we'd ever played. I was the obvious choice, right? Best friend, a skilled wizard. Peter was unassuming. No one would think it was him. The bastard turned traitor and sold them out. I… tried to hunt him down. He finally got one over on me. Loudly accused me of being the traitor in the middle of a crowded street, blew it up, lopped one of his fingers off with his wand and scampered into the sewers as a rat."

    He looked at her but for once he didn't seem to be seeing her. "They threw me in prison without so much as a trial. Not that I cared. Using Peter had been my idea and it had gotten both of them killed. Felt like I deserved Azkaban after that."

    He fell silent and just stared into the distance.

    Eventually, Ranma said, "So, Harry?"

    Sirius shook himself. "Harry. Good kid. Little awkward at the moment, but he'll grow out of it. Good heart. Kept me from killing Pettigrew when I had the chance cause he didn't want me to be an actual murderer. The bastard escaped before we could use him to prove my innocence… Merlin…"

    "There's no way to get out of this?" she asked.

    "Not unless you want to die or worse," he replied.

    "... I'm not calling you father," she said, "Or dad, or pops, or… whatever."

    Sirius smirked weakly. "No Papa?" he asked jokingly.

    She threw a spare pillow at him hard enough to cause him to double over.

    "With just a pillow? Merlin you have a good throwing arm," he wheezed.

    She sniffed and set her empty cup on the table before coughing once. "Fine. I'll give it a shot, but if you're lying to me, Sirius Black, I will hurt you," she told her supposed father.

    Sirius Black nodded and stood up, nursing his stomach. "How about something to eat, then?" he asked.

    Ranma's stomach growled on cue. "A lot please," she said.

    "I'll treat you to a royal feast, Princess," he said after a moment.

    "Do not call me Princess," Ranma replied with a scowl. His lips twitched upwards. "No!"

    He ducked into the kitchen only to pause in the doorway. "Sure thing…Princess." Her follow-up pillow sailed through the empty door frame as he disappeared with a cackle. She stared after him for a long moment before sliding down to lie across the couch properly.

    Ranma didn't know what to think about… everything. It was just too much. It was worse than meeting the Tendos. She'd at least had a day to understand what her father… what Genma was saying…

    She needed to confirm that Sirius was her father. If he was having her on then she'd beat him until he was an inch from death but… But if he really was her father… Ranma buried her face in the last pillow on the couch and groaned her displeasure into it. She was engaged again. Again. Why the hell did this keep happening to her? Halfway around the globe, with a different parent entirely and she was engaged to a boy she'd never even met.

    Her introspection was cut off by a vicious coughing fit.

    And oh yeah, she was sick as well. Fuck her luck with a rusty spoon.

    -0-0-0-0-0-​

    Ranma was in the kitchen when Minnie arrived again. She was sipping on a cup of tea at the table as the older woman entered the room. The notification of the engagement was sitting on the table beside her.

    "Hello, Minnie," Ranma said, greeting the woman absently as she puzzled out some of the words she was unfamiliar with.

    "Ranma, how are you today?" the older woman asked.

    "Tired, annoyed. Ex… Exasperated? That's a word, right?" She glanced at Minnie for confirmation. Minnie nodded as she stepped up to read over Ranma's shoulder.

    "Ah. He showed you finally," Minnie said, her lips thin with disapproval, "I never thought I'd see another of these applied to one of my lions."

    "Your lions?" Ranma asked, curious.

    Minnie smiled at her. "Has anyone explained Hogwarts to you yet?" she asked.

    "Sirius said it was the premier school of magic here in Great Britain."

    "Nothing else?"

    Ranma shook her head.

    "At Hogwarts students are sorted into four houses, dorms, where they will stay for the duration of their education," Minnie said, "These houses are Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. Each was begun by one of the four founders of Hogwarts and bears their name. A witch or wizard is sorted into them based upon their personality and natural inclinations. Hufflepuff prizes hard work and loyalty while Ravenclaw values intelligence and cleverness. Slytherin prizes ambition and cunning and my own Gryffindor values honour and bravery."

    "So, the Gryffindors are your 'Lions'?" Ranma asked.

    "The sigil of Gryffindor is a rearing lion. Ravenclaw is a Raven while Hufflepuff and Slytherin have a badger and snake respectively," Minnie said, "I am the Head of Gryffindor house. I hope that you might wind up in my house one day."

    "In your house? You think I could learn to use magic?" Ranma asked.

    "You've already done so," Minnie said, "Sirius says that you apparated in front of him when you arrived. That is powerful magic, Ranma. You more than qualify for Hogwarts in my opinion, even if you would be years behind. Which is hardly unprecedented. Every few decades we find someone who failed to get started at the same time as everyone else. It's often fairly hard on them, but I've seen people catch up as much as four years during the course of a single year."

    Ranma twitched a little at the thought of that much work. "And how far behind am I?" she asked. Magic. It had always been a pain in her ass, but could she learn to use it? There was something enticing about that. Maybe in time she could try to cure her own curse…

    She frowned. Then again, that might count as attempting to break her marriage contract now. It was possible that trying to do that could kill her.

    Minnie pulled her into a surprise hug, getting a squeak out of her. "Based on Poppy's checks you would be going into your fourth year at this time. The same as Mr. Potter."

    "You mean Harry Potter, my… I'm sorry I don't know what the right word is," Ranma said, blushing a little.

    "Fiance, or intended would work. The second implies a betrothal contract more than personal choice," Minnie said.

    "Fiance," Ranma muttered before sighing and leaning into the older woman's hug. "I thought I got away from this shit."

    "Language, Ranma," Minnie chided, causing a blush, before the older woman frowned. "What do you mean by 'from this'?"

    Ranma fidgeted. "Well… This isn't the first time I've been engaged to someone. Those weren't magical contracts, but… I've been caught in the middle of a few contradicting contracts and agreements before," she said, "I hadn't seen home in about four months before I apparated here because of how badly things were going." Minnie pulled another chair over before pulling Ranma into a comforting hug.

    Ranma had never been a hugging person, it was too unmanly as a boy and in Nerima hugging the wrong person could cause a small war. Here, however, she found that she liked being hugged. There was something comforting about someone who actually cared for you, giving you a hug that was just missing when a lunatic like Shampoo or Kodachi did it.

    She closed her eyes and sighed.

    "I'm sorry you've gone so far only to wind up in an even more binding situation, Ranma," Minnie said.

    "Story of my life, really. Still better than Nerima was turning into, though," she replied.

    "Oh?"

    "Mhmm. No one was ever on my side back there."

    "I see. Well, that changes here. Outside of school, should you wind up coming to Hogwarts, you are welcome to call me Aunt Minnie," Aunt Minnie said. Ranma blinked.

    "Aunt Minnie?"

    "Mhmm."

    Tears blurred Ranma's sight quite abruptly and she hugged the older woman back. "Aunt Minnie!" The older woman rubbed her back as they sat there and she simply cried. They sat there for a while before Ranma pulled back. She hiccuped. Kami, what was wrong with her?

    "It's fine," Aunt Minnie said before Ranma could say anything, "Now, I have with me a letter from your intended." Ranma frowned, coughing a little as she wrinkled her nose. "You do not have to read it if you don't want to, but I'll admit I suggested to Mr. Potter that if he wanted to get started on the right foot it would be proper to introduce himself." She produced an envelope and held it out for Ranma.

    Taking it a bit like she would one of Happousai's lit bombs, she accepted the letter. It was sealed with wax. "Um… He didn't… put anything weird in here, did he? I've had a lot of bad experiences with letters and gifts and such," she said.

    "Mr. Potter isn't the sort to do such a thing," Aunt Minnie assured her, but produced her wand anyway. She waved it a few times over the envelope. "And it is fine, Ranma."

    "Thanks…" Ranma stared at it for a long moment before sighing and breaking the seal. "I… I might need a little help. My reading isn't very good for English."

    "I am more than willing to help," Aunt Minnie said. Ranma removed a sheet of folded parchment from within. Unfolding the letter she laid it out on the table for both of them to read.

    Dear Ranma Saotome

    Um, hi. I'm not really sure how to start this letter. How do you introduce yourself to someone you've never met who you're going to be married to? I guess I'll start with me. I'm Harry James Potter, 13 years old. I'll turn 14 on July 31st.

    Ranma grimaced. Despite now being about that age herself this felt a bit like cradle robbing. Still…

    [...] My interests are Quidditch, DADA, and not really sure what else. There doesn't always seem like much to do around here if you aren't studying. We play wizard's chess or exploding snap, but I'll be honest I'm pants at chess and I'm kinda tired of singing my fingers when playing card games.

    "Singing his fingers Auntie?" Ranma asked.

    "Exploding snap cards… explode as part of the game," Aunt Minnie said.

    "... That seems expensive."

    "It can be, yes."

    Err… my favourite food is treacle tart, and I'm rather partial to french onion soup, but other than that I don't really have anything in particular I prefer.

    So, er, yeah that's me. Harry Potter. Not sure what else to say really.

    Best Regards
    Harry Potter

    P.S. School will be ending on the 18th and I'm going to be living with my relatives this year again since, well, Sirius wasn't able to prove his innocence. They're at number 4 Privet Drive in Surrey if you want to send a post by muggle methods.     They're um.. They don't like owls.

    "Don't like owls? What does he mean by that, Aunt Minnie?" Ranma asked.

    "Here in the magical world wizards and witches use owls to send post to each other. I'm sure if you asked, Sirius would be willing to get you one so you can communicate with him. They're one of the three animals considered acceptable pets at Hogwarts as well along with toads and cats." Ranma shivered. Minnie patted her on the shoulder. "And you really should see someone about that, dear. Hogwarts has quite a few cats."

    "... Or I could just, stay here," Ranma said, shivering with remembered fear. She was pulled into another hug and heard Minnie mutter something nigh incomprehensible. It didn't sound flattering, whatever it was.

    "I'll speak with your father," she said.

    Ranma grimaced. The thought of Sirius being her father was so strange. Genma hadn't been the best father, he'd probably count as abusive in nearly every country on Earth, but she had seen him as her father for her entire life. The idea that he wasn't her father at all was just disturbing in some instinctual way.

    "So how's my Princess doing?" Ranma groaned into Aunt Minnie's side.

    "Stop calling me that!"

    "What? I've got over a decade of parental embarrassment to make up for," Sirius said from the doorway with a grin, "Besides. What's wrong with being a Princess?"

    "... They're usually murderous lunatics? Or at least the Princes are. I can't imagine the Princesses are any better," Ranma said.

    "... You seem to have lived quite the life, dear," Minnie said.

    "Just the last… year and a half I think? Feels longer, but…" Ranma blew her hair up with a sigh. She pulled away. "Right, enough of the pity. Stop calling me Princess. I do know how to throw knives very well and I will use them." She gestured to the butter knife on the plate next to her teacup that had had a scone on it a few minutes prior.

    "That's a butter knife," Sirius said.

    "Mhmm."

    "Princess it-" There was a thunk and Sirius stopped as the butter knife quivered in the wood of the door frame.

    Ranma frowned at it as the two adults stared at the knife. "Hmm, I'm rusty. That's at least two inches off target," she tsked then promptly started coughing again. It kept going until she was bent over and desperately trying to inhale. Aunt Minnie rubbed her back.

    "Sirius, if you think stressing your daughter out is going to win you points with her, then I'd advise you to stop while she's sick," Minnie said, shooting the worried idiot a sharp look.

    "I- I'll, stop, I guess," Sirius said, watching with worry as Ranma slowly got her breathing back under control except for a few intermittent coughs.

    "Note to self," she mumbled as she leaned against Minnie, "Don't use Ki to make a point while sick." She'd stepped into amaguriken speeds for a moment to make a point but the effort felt like it had been counterproductive.

    "Why don't we get you someplace you can lie down for a few, then we can talk about writing a reply to Mr. Potter?" Aunt Minnie suggested gently.

    "That sounds great," Ranma said, letting the older woman guide her back to the living room where she laid down on the couch and soon had a blanket draped over her again.

    Sirius knelt down beside her as Aunt Minnie searched for parchment. "I'll stop with the Princess bit," he said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She glared at him before huffing.

    "Thanks. Too girly for me," she said, her eyes slipping shut for a moment. When she opened them Sirius was no longer at her side. Aunt Minnie was sitting with an inkpot and a quill of all things in the armchair Sirius had used earlier. "Where'd he go?" she mumbled, yawning.

    "You fell asleep, dear. Sirius is doing something at the moment," Aunt Minnie said, her lips pursed with suspicion.

    "He mentioned pranks before."

    "Yes, however, if he thinks of playing a prank on you while sick I will hex him," Aunt Minnie said, shooting a glance out the door of the room.

    Ranma snorted and rolled over so she was facing the older witch. "You suggested a letter?"

    "Yes. It would be polite to at least send him something to let him know you received his letter," Aunt Minnie said, "Do you wish to write it, or would you prefer to dictate it to me?"

    Her English was terrible but… "I should probably get used to writing in English," she said with a sigh, "Do you mind helping?"

    "Not at all."

    Even with Aunt Minnie's help the letter took several hours to write, by which point Ranma was quite frustrated with the very idea of English. It made zero damned sense as a written language.

    -0-0-0-0-0-​

    It was June 25th, a Saturday, before Ranma stopped coughing. She woke up that day feeling energetic for the first time in weeks and swiftly bounded down the stairs toward number twelve's kitchen. She made sure to take it slow near the portrait behind the curtains in the entry hall. She had yet to meet her alleged 'Grandmother's' portrait, but she'd heard the one time someone had been too loud near it. She didn't understand most of what she'd been yelling about, and Sirius had refused to explain it claiming she 'didn't need to worry about such crap'.

    Her supposed father was exasperatingly protective about the weirdest things.

    Today, she found the man cooking breakfast with the help of another unfamiliar man who looked a bit older. His clothes were a bit ratty and his light brown hair had small bits of grey shot through it. He was rather tall, however, even taller than Sirius.

    "Who's this?" Ranma asked as she stopped at the door.

    Sirius turned and grinned. "Good morning. How's my dear daughter doing?" he asked.

    She rolled her eyes at him before turning to the newcomer who was flipping pancakes. "Who are you?" she asked.

    He looked her way and smiled. He was well-kept other than his clothing, which suggested he probably didn't choose to dress that way. "Remus Lupin. She's got your lack of patience, Padfoot," he said to Sirius, causing her to flush.

    Sirius laughed. "Looks like her mother, though, Moony," he said, "Ranma, meet Remus Lupin. One of my oldest friends. We were in school together."

    Remus held out a hand to her. "What he means to say is I spent my school years trying and failing to reign him in," he said with a smile.

    She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm sao- Ranma Saotome. Sorry, Still getting used to English," she said, blushing as she stumbled over her introduction.

    "Don't worry about it. Sirius mentioned your mother is Nodoka?" Remus said. She nodded.

    "Have you met her?" she asked.

    "Several times. I was part of the trip to Japan. Sirius and James insisted on paying for myself and Peter during that trip," Remus said.

    Sirius scoffed as he turned some sausages. "Should've left that rat bastard behind," he grumbled loudly.

    Remus sighed. "Yes, well. Hindsight and all," he said.

    "Hindsight?" Ranma asked.

    "Ah, what you see when you look back on the past. You can recognize things that are only obvious with new experiences," Remus said, "And since you're metaphorically looking behind you. Hindsight."

    "Huh."

    "Please, take a seat. We'll be done in a few," Remus said with a smile. A few minutes later they were digging into the heavy breakfast that the English seemed to prefer. Not that Ranma was really complaining. It was filling and that was all that really mattered.

    "Sho-" Sirius took a moment to swallow the sausage he'd been chewing on, "So, how are you feeling today?"

    "Great. Better than I have in weeks," Ranma said, yawning as she stretched before she popped the sausage she'd just stabbed with her fork into her mouth. It was weird using western cutlery every day, though she'd admit that using a fork or spoon had been a lot easier while she was sick than using chopsticks would have been. "Why?"

    "Well, you've been complaining about a lack of clothing options because of your circumstances," Sirius said, grimacing.

    "Your father explained some of your odd circumstances," Remus said, "He suggested that I take you shopping later today if you wanted. We can stop at muggle and magical clothing stores. Get you some day-to-day clothes and some proper robes, then stop by Ollivanders and see about getting you a wand."

    Ranma paused. "A wand?" she asked, "Like the one Aunt Minnie has?"

    "Well you are a witch," Sirius pointed out and Ranma nodded. The idea that she had magic of her own was… weird. Strange. That she could do magic…

    "I- I wouldn't mind getting one of my own," she said.

    "Excellent," Sirius clapped his hands, "Remus can help you pick up the books you'll need. We'll go through them together since they're probably a bit much for you at the moment." He looked particularly pleased at the thought.

    "Thanks," she said, sending him an irritable blush at the passing insinuation that she didn't know how to read. Even if it was rather true for English.

    "You'll need money, but I've got plenty on hand at the moment. I had Kreacher pick it up a few days ago when it looked like you were improving finally," Sirius said, looking serious for once, "Remus, do you mind doing it today? I'm sure my daughter would like to get this over with. I'd ask Minnie to do it, but she's going to be busy for the next few days apparently."

    "That's perfectly fine," Remus said, "Not like I have anything else to do at the moment."

    "And like I said earlier, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want to," Sirius said.

    "I'll think about it," Remus said before looking to Ranma, "You'll want to get changed into something else if you have it."

    "... I might have a few items," she said, thinking hard. A couple of her shirts probably weren't too big. She'd shrunk a surprising amount. Then again, she'd never actually been thirteen or fourteen as a girl before. Who knows how tiny she'd been before?

    Thirty minutes later she was dressed in one of her older t-shirts and a pair of oversized drawstring pants. She must have looked ridiculous. Remus was waiting at the door with Sirius. He looked better dressed in muggle clothing than he did in his robes. They were somewhat less tattered to start with, and far less bulky.

    "We'll start with the magical side of things. Get some properly fitted clothes for you and your wand, then we can see how much time is left. I'm sure if we don't have enough time for muggle clothes shopping you're familiar enough to do your own muggle shopping," Remus said.

    "I've only spent my entire life shopping at normal stores," Ranma said sarcastically, earning a chuckle from both men. "I'm good."

    "Right. Take my arm and we'll get going," Remus said, holding out his arm.

    "Excuse me?" Ranma asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

    "I'll be apparating us both to the Leaky Cauldron, a pub at the entrance of the alley, and we'll go from there," Remus said, "I think Madam Malkin's will be a good start."

    "She's still in business?" Sirius asked.

    "And still quite good," Remus said.

    Ranma took Remus' arm with some trepidation. Hadn't apparition been that thing she'd done that dropped her halfway across the planet?

    Remus led her out onto the front step as her alleged father waved cheerily from behind them.

    "See you in a bit," Sirius said just as Remus turned on one heel and Ranma's vision went wild for a brief moment. Well, not her actual sight, but her ki senses spun about as though she'd been stuffed into a blender set to puree. Things around her blended together into one impossible-to-determine mass of ki even as something squeezed her tight like she was being stuffed through a pipe.

    Then it was over and she staggered away from Remus to lean against the wall of the alleyway they'd appeared in, both hands over her mouth as she tried to keep her breakfast down. After a few moments, she pulled herself together and pushed off the wall to stare at the amused visage of Remus Lupin. "Apologies, I should have warned you," he said.

    "We are never doing that again," she blurted out. That was far worse than whatever the hell she'd done when sick. Sure she couldn't really remember it too well, but she was fairly sure her ki senses hadn't gone completely haywire.

    "It's always worse as a ride along," Remus said, patting her on the shoulder.

    She huffed and looked about. "Where are we?" They were between a pair of red brick buildings in an old cobblestone alleyway.

    "Charing cross road. Just across the street from the Leaky Cauldron. I thought you might like to know what the muggle side of the pub looks like just in case," Remus said, pulling her along, "This spot is layered with muggle-repelling charms to make sure no one is spotted apparating in."

    She listened with one ear as they stepped out of the alleyway onto a London street. The city looked very different from Tokyo. Tokyo was, mostly, rather new. It had been burned down during the second world war and put up with entirely new buildings. Here, they seemed to have decided to just repair the damage and move on.

    They approached a seedy-looking pub on the other side of the road with a worn-down sign that said 'The Leaky Cauldron' above the door. This was the normal people's entrance? Not very nice looking was it?

    The inside wasn't much better. It was a bit on the dark side for her tastes, something it shared with Grimmauld Place though admittedly the Leaky Cauldron was significantly more welcoming with its low level of constant chatter.

    "Ah, Lupin. Here for a bite?" the bartender said as they crossed the room. He seemed to wince after a moment. "Sorry, bad choice of words that."

    "It's fine, Tom," Remus said, waving him off, "Just taking a friend's daughter to pick up a new wand and some clothes. Her cousin had a bad bout of accidental magic and shrank her entire trunk. We haven't been able to find it since."

    Tom looked at Ranma with pity while she gave a side-eye glance to Remus for his on-the-spot story. "Accidental magic can be a pain. Now, I don't recognize the young lady here. What's your name, miss?" he asked kindly.

    "Ranma Saotome," she replied.

    "She's from Japan. She came to live with her father recently and will most likely be going to Hogwarts in September," Remus said.

    "We haven't really talked about it," Ranma said, giving him another pointed look. Remus seemed to get the hint.

    "We should get going. We might stop in for lunch, Tom," Remus said.

    "Well, I'll see you then, Lupin, Ms. Saotome," Tom said, bowing to them just a bit as Remus led her out to the back yard. A trash can stood in the small walled… courtyard? It was barely large enough for the two of them standing there. It was more like a terminated hallway that lacked a roof.

    "Well this is certainly impressive," she said sarcastically.

    Remus chuckled. "It's not much is it?" he said, drawing his wand, "Now, to get into Diagon Alley, you go three up and two across from the dustbin." He tapped up to the correct brick and it retracted inward before folding aside. The effect spread, rippling through the stonework with the grinding of stone on stone as they slid away to either side forming a perfect archway.

    "... So why is there a hidden entrance in the back of a pub that average people can't even see?" Ranma asked, perplexed as she stared out down the street. It was a weird place by the looks of it. It was a cobbled street that wound erratically between two and three-storey buildings that hung out over the street in many cases. Wizards and witches in robes and a variety of hats, many of them pointed, meandered between businesses. Only some of them seemed to be carrying much with them, though Remus had just mentioned shrinking so maybe they were just keeping things easy to carry.

    "I believe it's just how the street was laid out when the statue of secrecy was brought into being," Remus said.

    Ranma nodded and glanced down at the dustbin that Remus had used as a reference. With an impish grin she slid it six inches to the right with her foot. Remus snorted and she glanced up. "What?" she asked.

    "Your father couldn't resist a good prank either," he said before leading the way, chuckling.

    She blinked and followed him. "What's a prank?" she asked.

    He paused looking at her confused before realisation set in. "A, well another name would be a practical joke… Give me a moment, I've never had to explain this before," he said and after a few moments began to explain the concept in English. It didn't take long for her to get it.

    A minute or two after Remus showed her into a store called 'Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions'. It was a small lavender shop with a few well-dressed mannequins in the window, though Ranma had questions about the… practicality of the robes and other outfits on display. She wasn't some wuxia film protagonist that enjoyed fighting in robes bulky enough to smother a cow.

    The inside was better lit than the Leaky Cauldron, though that wasn't saying much. Wizarding locations seemed to have a particular aversion to proper lighting. Racks of robes and other things were arranged neatly about the store. A bell rang as they entered.

    "Be there in a moment, dearie!" a woman's voice called from the back of the shop. Ranma took a moment to examine the clothing on display. Much like the things on display they seemed well-made but rather impractical.

    "Please tell me she does more than robes," Ranma said to Remus.

    "They are the preferred outfit amongst wizards," he replied. She scoffed.

    "Too bulky and cumbersome," she said, "If I ever had to fight in them they'd just get in the way."

    "Fight? What sort of fight are you expecting to get into?" Remus asked, amusement in his tone.

    "Dunno. Someone's bound to take a swing at me at some point," she said with a shrug, "Since I'm all the way over here in Europe maybe it'll be something like Martial Arts Ballroom Dancing, or another round of Rhythmic Gymnastics."

    "Pardon me?" Remus asked.

    Ranma hummed as she eyed a very… archaic looking dress on the rack. It was very well made, but honestly who wore corsets every day? It was nineteen-ninety-four not eighteen-eighty-four. The robes were… meh.

    "What sort of martial arts do wizards practice? Are they practical, or just for basic self-defense like most in the west?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

    "I- I don't think anyone practises martial arts amongst wizards, Ranma," Remus said, "I've certainly not heard anything, though some of the werewolf packs have been known to dabble in muggle boxing or mixed martial arts. People tend to view it as a waste of time compared to learning more magic."

    She frowned. Well, there went much chance she was going to have of finding a good sparring partner around England. "That sucks," she said, though it explained the outfits. No one expected to have to do anything physical with them so why bother designing them to be accommodating? She'd just have to pick up normal clothing after this. "I guess we won't be buying too much here then."

    "I wasn't aware you practiced martial arts," Remus said.

    It was then that the shopkeeper decided to join them. She was a short stout woman wearing a dark purple set of robes. "Why hello there, Mr. Lupin. How good to see you again," she said with a smile that seemed to Ranma to be just a touch forced.

    Remus seemed to notice as he sighed. "Good morning, Madam Malkin. I'm escorting a friend's daughter today. Her cousin had a bout of accidental magic and her trunk full of her things was shrunk and possibly sent somewhere. We've yet to find it," he said.

    Whatever was going on between them seemed to disappear and Madam Malkin gasped. "Oh you poor dear," she said, turning to Ranma, "I suppose you'll need all the essentials as well as robes?"

    "I hope you do more than just robes," Ranma said, shooting a glance about the room.

    "Oh, that we do. Dresses, suits, casual day wear for the young witch and wizard," Madam Malkin said as she walked around Ranma once before nodding, "My you are the pretty one, aren't you? This way dear. Let's get you measured." Ranma let the older woman lead her into the depths of the store.

    "I'll stay back here for now," Remus called, finding a seat by the window.

    "Coward!" she called jokingly. She received a laugh in return. A better reaction than she normally got. Maybe it was a cultural thing?

    Shortly she was in a private room, stripped to her underthings, getting measured by animate tape measures. It was a bit like being in a Studio Ghibli film or one of those American Disney films. If only the lighting was a bit better.

    "It's been a while since I've had someone with your complexion visit my shop," Madam Malkin mused, "I have to ask, Chinese?"

    "Japanese," Ranma corrected with a roll of her eyes.

    "Ah, my apologies for getting it wrong. You have family here?" Madam Malkin asked as she held up strips of fabric.

    "My father," she replied. She withheld the urge to add 'allegedly'.

    "You must get your hair from him then."

    "My mother, actually."

    Madam Malkin paused. "Really?"

    "Yes."

    "You learn something new every day. Now, I've a few colours here that will work well with your complex and hair. Now, materials. I'm not sure what sort of budget you're working with," she said.

    "You can ask Remus. I'm not good with English money yet," Ranma said.

    "I'll speak with him in a moment then. Let's talk style. I overheard you complaining about how bulky things are up front."

    Ranma nodded. "My… stepfather," It was strange to think of Genma as her stepfather after everything he'd put her through. It was easier to forgive him for it all thinking he was her birth father. "Insisted I learn martial arts. It's the family school and in my experience, you never know quite when someone is going to be crazy enough to try and kill you in a place you can't do magic." Not that she knew magic, but why not play to their expectations?

    "You make it sound like you've been attacked quite frequently," Madam Malkin said, sounding rather distressed at the thought.

    "... The last year and a half have been, erm… Overly exciting?" She offered with a shrug and a smile, "I think the average was one incident every couple of days if you ignore my stepfather's morning training exercises."

    "Oh my…" The stout-looking woman swayed on the spot in horror before shaking herself. "Well, I can certainly see why you might wish for things that are a bit less… bulky. Some of my auror customers ask for similar things. Though, I've never made something for… I'm afraid I'm not entirely certain what a 'Martial Art' is? Something fighting related?"

    "It's a dedicated style of hand-to-hand combat developed along a particular philosophy. My family's school focuses on grappling," she said.

    "Oh, fisticuffs then."

    Ranma snorted. "You make it sound like we're just throwing punches without thought. A properly trained martial artist spends years improving their form and stance and can react and act faster than the eye can track. For example," she paused and held up a purple feathered quill.

    Madam Malkin stared at it before reaching up to pat her pockets. Eyes wide she took it back. "When?"

    "Just then."

    "I- oh my. I see. No magic?"

    "I'm not very good at magic. I think my father wants me to go to Hogwarts to fix that," Ranma replied. Madam Malkin nodded, looking faint as she stared at the quill.

    Pushing on Ranma said, "My style has a lot of movement to it. I need my legs and arms free to move."

    "I- Will see what I can do," She said, the talk of clothing bringing her out of her daze for a moment, "I may need you to come in for several fittings in order to ensure that everything fits as you wish. For now, however, I believe I have some day clothes that I can adjust to fit you without too much issue… I may have to pull in a bit more material than I first anticipated, however. Your body type is quite different than my normal customers."

    Ranma grinned and preened a bit, fluffing her hair. "Don't worry, I'm used to it. There's a cost to looking this good," she said.

    "... Yes, I imagine the girls at Hogwarts will hate you," Madam Malkin mused, drawing a smirk from Ranma. She may have been born a guy, but she'd always been a bit vain. Being pretty wasn't a curse. It was an opportunity. Usually for ice cream.

    Thirty minutes later she walked out of the door with Remus wearing a properly fitted blouse and slacks. The bag holding a few other items had been shrunk by Remus and dropped into his pocket.

    "Next, we should see about a wand. Then we can stop at Flourish and Blotts," Remus said.

    "A wand. That'll prove if I'm actually a witch, right?" Ranma asked.

    "Like apparating yourself halfway across the work didn't?" Remus asked.

    "I don't remember it." Much.

    Ollivander's was a dingy shop much further down the street. In the dusty window sat a single wand on a purple cushion. Remus held the door for her and she rolled her eyes as she entered. The inside was fairly well-lit, but the air was rather dusty. She glanced about. There was something- Ah. Her eyes zeroed in on a particular shelf of wands.

    "I know you're back there," she said, looking at the shelf, or rather what was behind it.

    A well-dressed old man with thinning hair stepped out from behind the shelf. "It has been quite a while since someone managed to spot me so quickly," he said, "Welcome, to Ollivander's, Makers of Fine Wands. Remus Lupin, 10 ¼ inches, cypress wood with a single hair from a unicorn if I recall. Still working fine?"

    "Quite well. I've made sure to take good care of it," Remus said.

    Ranma glanced at her then at the old man. Did he remember every single wand he'd ever sold? She smiled. Impressive. "I'm here for a wand," she said.

    "Hmm… A few years late by the looks of it… Ms. Black, unless I miss my guess?" Ollivander asked.

    Ranma blinked. Ms. Black? "Um…"

    "Sirius Black is your father, is he not?" Ollivander asked.

    "... Maybe." Something that seemed a little bit more likely all of a sudden. She didn't look much like him at all, but there was clearly more resemblance than she'd realized.

    "Hmm, a rough time to admit relations, I suppose, Ms. Black."

    "It's Saotome, actually," Ranma said.

    "After your mother, I assume."

    "... I'm not actually sure," she admitted. She didn't know whether it was Genma's last name or her mother's. She'd assumed it was Genma's. Though Sirius had called her mother a Saotome and he'd known her before Genma had.

    "Yes, well, you need a wand. Looking to start at Hogwarts, I assume?" Ollivander asked.

    "Yeah."

    He snapped his fingers and a tape measure leaped to action. She stared down at it as it started with her nostrils. What on earth did that have to do with anything?

    "I feel that you might be a tricky one… Let's see, here," Ollivander plucked a box from the top of a shelf. He plucked a stout wand from it. "9 ½ inches, Pine, with a dragon heartstring."

    Ranma closed her hand on the offered wand and felt something surge unpleasantly. There was a bif as five boxes exploded from their shelves like rockets. One of them smashed out through the glass of the front window.

    "Um…" Ranma stared as the wand was plucked from her hand.

    "I'll get that," Remus said, repairing the window with a wave of his own wand as he hurried outside after the rogue wand.

    "How about this? 13 ¼ inches, holly, with a unicorn hair. Quite swishy," Ollivander said as he presented another wand.

    This time the magic surge turned the stool in the corner into a piglet. It was turned back with a wave of Remus' wand when he returned, by which point Ranma had been handed two more wands. Neither did much other than add to the chaos with a cloud of feathers and a bunch of the wand boxes bouncing in and out of their shelving spaces in time to 'Konya Wa Hurricane'.

    Another ten minutes passed with little success and much chaos that Remus promptly fixed. "Hrm, perhaps something less standard," Ollivander mused as he disappeared behind the stacks.

    "This is going well," Ranma said sarcastically.

    "It does prove you're a witch. No muggle could have gotten so much as a spark," Remus said.

    There was that. She was definitely feeling something familiar when she grabbed a wand. A spark within her that she almost felt like she'd somehow forgotten. "I guess…"

    Ollivander returned with a stack of six wand cases. Taking the top one off he handed her a wand. "11 ½ inches, rosewood heartwood with a single scale from an ashwinder. Quite difficult to make, let me assure you."

    And apparently quite volatile since its reaction to her touch was to blast a hole in the far wall. It was promptly snatched away and replaced by an orangish wood wand that was snatched back before she could properly get a grip on it. The next was apparently Cedar and Sea Serpent heartstring, and doused all three of them in a burst of water that Remus promptly dried.

    Rather annoyed, she shot Ollivander a look and promptly recognized the grin on his face. He was enjoying the challenge. "How about an 11 ¾ inch, mahogany wood with the hair of a veela-" No sooner had the wand been placed in Ranma's hand then she felt something was wrong. She looked up and both men were staring at her with wide adoring eyes. Before she could say anything Remus dropped to one knee and took her by the hand.

    "I know I am old enough to be your father," he said with a voice that dripped with desire, "But please take me to be your husband. I will love you-" Ranma smacked him in the face with the wand before throwing it to the ground.

    Ollivander, who had clearly been about to do something equally regrettable, shook himself. "... Perhaps not the Veela hair," he said after a moment, "Blasted temperamental things." He huffed, picking up the wand and storing it in its box with perhaps more force than it really required.

    Remus rubbed his face with a chagrined look. "Please, don't mention that to your father," he said, "I'm normally able to resist a Veela's allure."

    "What the hell is a Veela?" Ranma demanded, her eyebrow twitching. Three weeks. She hadn't even hit three weeks before someone tried to propose to her regardless of whether it was a magical compulsion or not.

    "A magical being that normally appears to be a beautiful woman," Ollivander said, "They transform into bird-like beings when angry. They emit a supernaturally powerful attraction to men not in love with someone else."

    "... Ah." Lovely. Of course, that wand would go haywire.

    "Hrmm… Perhaps this one," Ollivander murmured, apparently determined to put the experience behind him. He handed her a slightly curved wand. It was a soft rosey colour, nearly pink but not quite. "11 and ½ inches, eucalyptus heartwood with a single tailfeather from a thunderbird. I received it in payment from Newt Scamander some years ago. It should be quite good for transfiguration," he said, presenting the wand.

    The moment her fingers curled about the wand Ranma gasped. The spark inside her didn't just react, it roared to life like a bonfire. The power swirled around her, lifting her hair and caressing her soul before receding to a lower ebb, though still much stronger than it had been. She could feel it thrumming in tune with the wand in her hand.

    "Oh. Oh wow," she whispered, staring at it. She felt… Alive. Electrified and energetic like an approaching storm on the horizon.

    "Hmm, very nice. That will be twelve galleons and thirteen sickles," Ollivander said to Remus. As they sorted out the payment Ranma gave her new wand a swish and giggled at the feeling of her magic as red sparks sprayed from the tip.

    "Are you alright, Ranma?" Remus asked.

    She looked up at him. "Great, never better," she told him, beaming with a thousand-watt smile.

    "Ah, this isn't unusual in those who get their wand late," Ollivander said with a chuckle, "I'm told the experience can be quite uplifting."

    Ranma flicked her wand and giggled at the sparks again. Uplifting, yeah that was one way to put it. She felt like she was soaring amongst the clouds. She flicked it again and a small breeze swept the room.

    Remus placed his hand on hers as she went to flick it again. "That's enough, I think," he said kindly. Ranma blinked at him and frowned. But she- He poked her in the nose. "You aren't supposed to do magic outside of school, so relax."

    "Fiiine," she muttered. She stared at her wand for a good minute before sliding it up her sleeve and into her Ki pocket. It wasn't nearly as large as Mousse' was, but it was fine for holding a wand. As a plus, it almost felt like it was resting in her ki. It was a very comforting sensation. She smirked at Ollivander's raised eyebrow.

    "Thank you again, Mr. Ollivander," Remus said as he took her by the shoulder.

    "Have a pleasant day, Mr. Lupin," The old man replied as he set about organising his store.

    Ranma hummed happily as Remus led her over to Flourish and Blotts for the last stop of their magical shopping.

    -0-0-0-0-0-​

    "How's she doing?" Remus asked as Sirius sat down at the kitchen table. His old friend was busy making tea by the stove.

    "Busy turning her ceiling different colours and giggling. Are you sure this is normal?" Sirius asked, feeling worried.

    "Ollivander said it is, though I get the feeling he didn't realise how much longer she'd gone than normal," Remus said, "Seventeen years old, wasn't it?"

    "About that," Sirius replied. He accepted the cup of tea he was offered and sipped it. "Seventeen years. Merlin, I was just out of school."

    "We all were. Don't beat yourself up too much. You didn't know about her," Remus said.

    "Hmm." He hadn't explained everything to Remus about Ranma. It really wasn't his place. He might be her father, but they had just met and her trust was thin so far. Especially after the engagement.

    "I would have taken her shopping for muggle clothing, but she was getting antsy after Flourish and Blotts," Remus said, "I was worried she was going to start waving her wand about right there in the store."

    "She'll calm down in a bit, I'm sure. Maybe a few proper spells will help," Sirius said.

    They sat in each other's company for a while before a bang from upstairs shook the house. A moment later his mother's portrait started shrieking. "Oh bloody hell. I'll get my mother, you check on Ranma," Sirius said, abandoning his tea to hurry out to the entrance hall.

    "-Filth! Blood traitors, you disgrace the House of Black with your presence!" His mother ranted from her painting. It got worse as she spotted him. Painted spittle flew from her lips, thankfully confined to the painting.

    "Shut up you old bat!" he snarled as he attempted to force shut the drapes that normally kept her silent. He hadn't a clue how a painting could have so much influence over the world or resist silencing spells so effectively. Really, it was like she could cast her own magic which was absurd. Paintings didn't have that kind of power.

    It took nearly a full minute to force the drapes shut by which point he was utterly sick of her shit once again. He squashed the temptation to cuss her out in return. That only succeeded in waking her up again as he'd discovered the first day he'd moved in.

    Moving quietly he hurried up the stairs to Ranma's room, which had been his room at one point. He had taken over the master bedroom, though doing so had been practically a war against the things that had crawled into it since his mother's demise. What exactly Kreacher was spending his time on other than cleaning he hadn't a clue, but he had let the entire house fall into atrocious disrepair in a frightfully short amount of time.

    Ranma was sitting on her bed, flushed bright red and fidgeting as Remus vanished what looked suspiciously like soot from the walls and furnishings. "What happened?" he asked.

    "I, um… Might have accidentally caused an explosion?" His daughter said, fidgeting with embarrassment, "I really don't know what caused it."

    He and Remus exchanged looks and chuckled, causing Ranma's face to start taking on shades of her hair. "Don't worry about it. There's not a witch or wizard alive who hasn't exploded their room at least once while playing with magic," Sirius said, sitting down beside her. He glanced down at the wand she was fidgeting with in her lap. "So that's the wand. You know most kids are excited to show off their wands to everyone when they first get them."

    Ranma mumbled something and looked away. Sirius placed an arm over her shoulder. She twitched away briefly before leaning against him. Her entire body was tense, but it slowly faded as he rubbed her back.

    "You aren't in trouble," he said softly, "Like I said. Everyone's done this at least once." She nodded, but continued to fidget.

    "Sorry about waking up that painting," Ranma said after a minute.

    "Don't be. Just wish I knew why we can't get it off the wall. Paintings aren't normally so stubborn," Sirius said.

    "You've had Minerva take a look at it?" Remus asked.

    "And Dumbledore and Poppy," Sirius said with a scowl, "No one seems to have a clue what she did to that thing." It was driving him nuts.

    "... So you don't know why it has Ki then?" Ranma asked, a curious tone to her voice.

    "Ki? You've mentioned that a few times now. What is it?" Sirius asked. The word sounded familiar. Something about environmental symmetry or something?

    "It's… hrmmm, give me a moment," Ranma said, chewing her lip in an adorable fashion as she stared off into space. It made him think back on that summer so many years ago. He'd have been lying if he said he hadn't fallen for Nodoka Saotome. The vivacious and brilliant witch had captured his heart in just a few short months. If it hadn't been for James, Lily and the rest he'd probably have stayed in Japan to try and win over her parents to let them marry.

    In hindsight, he probably should have.

    "I think the best term might be 'life force'. Not sure if there's a proper word for it here, but Ki is basically the power of life," Ranma said, "If something's alive, truly alive, it has Ki. You, me, a dog, insects. Even trees have Ki, though theirs is rather weird. Some people think the earth and dirt has it, but they're only half right. The world is like a giant hrm… Ki container thing? It's like a sponge for Ki. Anything we give off tends to get absorbed by the Earth joining channels of Ki running through the land."

    "Ley lines," Remus said, "Like what Hogwarts is built on."

    "Hmm?" Ranma turned her attention to Remus.

    "Hogwarts is built on a location where multiple channels of magic in the Earth converge. It's a site of immense power that is responsible for the sheer amount of enchantments in the structure," Remus explained.

    "Ah, well. It's similar I guess," Ranma said, "But magic isn't Ki. Martial Artists at my level are trained to sense Ki. We use it to strengthen ourselves. We erm… grow? Cultivate? Something like that. We cultivate our Ki, training ourselves to have more over time. We can use it for all kinds of things. Combat, healing, protection. It's not magic, though. Everyone has Ki and from what I've been doing with magic it's less cooperative to flat-out rewriting the world. I can't change the colour of a wall with Ki." She smirked, and gods did she look like his younger self when she smirked, and held a hand out palm up. A glowing orb formed with barely a flicker.

    Sirius stared at the glowing orb that sent flickering shadows dancing about the dark room. "That's Ki?" he asked.

    "Mhmm," his daughter grinned proudly up at him, "I can't use this to change the colour of a wall, but with this much? I could probably blow the roof off the house."

    Sirius choked on his spit as he stared at the innocently glowing orb. It shrank after a moment then winked out of existence back into his daughter's hand. He shared a look with Remus.

    "Ki isn't magic. It's not as versatile, but it's got a lot of raw power and everyone has it," Ranma said, continuing as though she hadn't just summoned and then dismissed enough power to blow away an entire squad of Aurors like it was nothing.

    "And you're sensing it coming from the painting?" Sirius asked.

    His daughter nodded. "It feels like there's something alive behind that curtain," she said, "Truly alive. Not just some imitation." She squeaked as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the forehead. "You- gr- Sirius!" she wailed as he chuckled and held her close.

    "Remus. I'm going to go do some reading in the library. See if there's anything that might match Ranma's description," he said seriously as he let her go. He stifled a chuckle as she straightened her hair and blouse, sending him an adorable pout. He didn't miss the way her hand closed into a fist and rose just a touch before dropping again. She was, once again, completely scarlet.

    Point to him.

    "Do you want me to help?" Remus asked.

    "No, the protections on the books might try to kill you," Sirius said with a shake of his head. He'd heard stories of some of the spells used to protect the family's secrets. Grimmauld Place wasn't the main manor, but it still held quite a few horrible texts that couldn't be allowed to just walk off. "If you wouldn't mind walking Ranma through a few spells from the Standard Book of Spells, Grade One? It should help with her control a bit," he said, sending her a teasing grin.

    Ranma both pouted and tried to send Remus a hopeful look. It didn't quite work. It was clear that despite her earlier nervousness she'd been bitten by the magic bug just like any other witch her age.

    "I can do that. We can use the kitchen for now," Remus said.

    Giving his daughter one last hug, which earned him a light punch to the ribs from the blushing girl, he hurried upstairs to the library. Once inside he closed the door behind him.

    "Kreacher!" he barked. With a pop, the little shit appeared.

    "Filthy master be calling Kreacher?" The hunched-over house elf asked.

    "What books was my mother reading when she made that portrait downstairs?" Sirius asked.

    Kreacher stared at him strangely. "What is terrible master thinking? Does he wonder if he can do it himself? No, no, not a thing he could do," the elf muttered.

    "Kreacher. The books, now you nasty little monster," Sirius snarled, drawing his wand.

    Kreacher sneered at him and snapped his finger. A pile of books, what had to be several shelves from around the library, landed on the nearby reading table. Just by looking at them Sirius knew this was going to be unpleasant. He was, unfortunately, rather familiar with the look of human skin when it was used to bind a book. Nearly a third of them had that disgusting and distinctive look.

    "You can- You can go clean. I want another guest room cleaned up as soon as possible," Sirius said. Kreacher sneered at him and disappeared with a pop.

    Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding Sirius approached the pile of reading material. He waved his wand over it and grimaced as his detection spells returned curses on nearly a third of the books. He was going to need to do some curse-breaking before he got to work reading.

    -0-0-0-0-0-​

    A/N: Greetings and Salutations merry folk of mysterious realms! Today I bring you a tale of romance and adventure! Or, well, the beginnings of one. It's a little aged as well. Not exactly my most recent work for a lot of it, but I finally managed to get a chapter finished. So now you get to suffer through enjoy it.

    Thanks once again to my patrons on Patreon. You help a lot. ^^ *gracious bowing kitsune*

    Grounders10: So Gekkou, how much of a disaster do you think Ranma and Harry are going to be?

    Gekkou_Yoko: Yes. They will be Yes.

    Grounders10: … I should have expected the mathematician's answer.

    Gekkou_Yoko: ^.^ *happy*

    Grounders10: *headpats Gekkou then carries her off* Enjoy the story people!
     
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    • So. Much. Happened.

    First, typo alert.
    Grounders10 said:
    "I believe it's just how the street was laid out when the statue of secrecy was brought into being," Remus said.
    Click to expand...
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    Statute.

    So Ranma's stuck as a girl. That's bad.

    But silver lining: The crazed suitors of both genders chasing her won't be happening. That's good.

    Genma isn't Ranma's real father. That...actually explains a fair bit.

    Yet another marriage contract rears its head and Ranma can't escape. That's not nice.

    Luckily, Harry is a very nice young man.

    Hermione could cause trouble, because Crookshanks.

    Draco's going to get a nasty surprise if he tries picking on Ranma! She'll be quick to show him some hands!
     
    Grounders10 said:
    Grounders10: So Gekkou, how much of a disaster do you think Ranma and Harry are going to be?

    Gekkou_Yoko: Yes. They will be Yes.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I mean both are disasters by themselves. And putting the two together does not result in the disasters cancelling each other out. I wonder how big Hermione's eye-twitch will be after dealing with the two for a few weeks.
     
    You know, Harry's probably going to be the fourth or fifth person Ranma meets who's genuinely nice to her.

    And this is the year of the Triwizard Tournament.

    Depending on how much she hears about Harry's past adventures, I wouldn't rule out Ranma destroying the Goblet of Fire with a Shishi Hōkōdan before anyone can put their names in it.
     
    I can hardly wait for more of this wonderful little plot twist. I know it'll be a while, given your normal writing schedule, but I'll be very glad if your muse delivers on this one!
     
    Oh this is fascinating, I'm curious on what purpose the bracelet will serve later on. This could go in a much more political direction as there could be pressure for Ranma to back to Japan to learn more 'traditional' magical arts besides the wand magic forced upon them by the West.
     
    So, the summer between PoA and GoF. So, Ranma gets a crash course in Magic, and Harry in physical fitness, dodging/amateur acrobatics and maybe a couple of lower end belts worth of Martial Arts training from a mercilessly sadistic fiance by truly bizarre and some might wonder if banned-by-the-Geneva-Conventions methods. Also waiting for either Su Li or Cho Chang to turn out to be passible in martial arts (to Ranma, or in general is the question of degree), or to have heard things about Saotome or Genma or perhaps the perverted troll and his school.

    I just know during the maze, one of the competitors will hear an angry depressed voice wondering where they are, then blaming Saotome. They will witness a well built Asian young man pass across the intersection while grumbling, only for his voice to fade into nothing. When they reach the intersection and look in the direction the stranger walked? They will find a dead end. No path or secret means to leave, the walls of the maze, perfectly ubdisturbed.
     
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    And don't forget, multiple contracts were signed the night the Marauder's drank a tavern under. So there could be more engagements that are about to activate with Ranma's acting as the catalyst. Whether they're for Harry or Ranma is up to the arthur.
    But I think poor Harry's gonna need some training in the art of punching with fist, before too long.
     
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