Disclaimer: I used to write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am making no money whatsoever from the writing of this FanFiction.

Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, foul language, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon from both worlds goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter Seventeen: Acclimatizing a Fellow Wizard

Tuesday, June 08, 1993, Evening
Fuji Household, Tokyo, Japan

Syusuke released a soft sigh as the door closed behind his sister and their departing guest. He'd not expected to open such a large can of worms when he'd approached Evans to warn him that his chosen portkey departure point was not as secure as he believed it to be. Although, he wasn't completely surprised at how easily Evans had panicked several times after he had approached the younger wizard; the freshman was well known for being rather twitchy. He'd just been a bit surprised by the rather mundane topics that set Evans off; such as his [Syusuke's] father's position as an ambassador.

A frown pulled the corners of Syusuke's mouth down as he returned to the kitchen and began clearing the table.

Now that he thought about it, any mention of magic had sent the younger wizard into a panic at first. Originally, Syusuke had thought that Evans had been worried that he'd broken the Statute of Secrecy but that theory had been debunked the moment Syusuke had revealed that he too was a wizard. Evans had gone white as a sheet with terror and immediately searched for any indication that Syusuke would turn his wand on him. The mere mention that there were other magicals attending Seigaku had had the same affect.

At the time, it had almost been as if Evans was terrified of magic period.

That notion had flown right out the door once Evans had relaxed; the kid's love for magic had shown through once he'd stopped flinching away from the subject. And the wonder on his face as he wrote about Hogwarts had been painfully obvious even when his written words alone had failed to convey his feelings about the school.

He was definitely frightened of the idea of magic being cast on him.

Syusuke's frowned deepened as his thoughts immediately turned to the scars marring Evans's face. If those scars had been caused by magic (and Evans had all but said it had been magic that had ruined his right eye), then it was no wonder that he was wary of other magicals. Syusuke wouldn't want to find himself on the wrong end of a wand if he'd been attacked so viciously by another wizard. Being on the receiving end of such an attack would also explain why Evans had tried to hide the fact that he was a wizard from the rest of the local magical community.

Or it was possible that the green-eyed wizard hadn't wanted to be reminded of all that he'd lost when he'd been expelled.

Syusuke froze over the sink as the word 'expelled' triggered a memory of his father making a passing remark about how Western Magical Academies snapped the wands of those students that they kicked out of their institutions. Taking a slow, measured breath, Syusuke carefully set the pile of dishes he'd been carrying into the sink lest he drop them in a moment of inattention while he was digesting that theory. He then braced himself against the counter as it only just now occurred to him that part of Evans's fear most likely stemmed from the fact that he was completely defenseless.

And Syusuke just knew that the younger boy didn't have a wand.

It was rather obvious now that he thought about. Not once had the freshman made even an aborted attempt to draw a wand on Syusuke during any of his little panic attacks (meaning Evans had been without a wand long enough for him to have lost any reflexive responses to reach for his wand or he hadn't actually had his wand long enough to develop such a response in the first place). Nor had he seen him carrying one with him at any point since the start of the school year; or rather, since Echizen first started dragging his fellow freshman to practice with him.

The lack of a working focus with which to protect himself after he'd been caught in a brutal attack that had cost him an eye and his voice would have been reason enough for him to fear other magicals. That wasn't even touching on the fact that he'd been uprooted from his home and shipped halfway around the world to an unfamiliar land filled with unfamiliar people and their unfamiliar customs. No wonder Evans had been so stressed out and so full of mistrust the moment he'd learned why Syusuke had approached him.

It also explained Evans's excessively reserved behavior since the start of term.

Syusuke's earlier frown returned when he recalled the supposed reason for Evans's expulsion from Hogwarts. It hadn't been because he'd broken any rules or even that he'd led other students into a dangerous situation. No, he'd been expelled because he had 'lost his magic'. The teen knew full well that it wasn't possible to strip a wizard of his magic without killing him; their magic lived in their very blood, after all. Though, it was possible for a wizard to have his magic bound.

Did that mean that someone had bound Evans' magic in order to get him kicked out of Hogwarts? Or had they bound his magic as punishment for breaking rules and getting other students hurt?

Syusuke's lips curled up in disgust in response to the direction his thoughts had turned. Binding a person's magical core was both brutal and barbaric. It was also the harshest of punishment short of death that was usually reserved for the worst kinds of criminals. To use such a punishment on a child was wrong on so many levels.

The teen calmed down a moment later when he recalled that he didn't really know the circumstances under which Evans had had his core bound. It was also entirely possible that the person that had attacked him had been the one to bind his core. Actually, now that he thought about it, Syusuke didn't really know much at all about what had happened to the younger wizard; it wasn't like Evans had offered up any details. So, he couldn't really say for certain if Evans had had his core bound at all or if there had been some other reason he'd supposedly 'lost his magic'.

That line of thinking soon had Syusuke wondering why Evans was so scared of Dumbledore.

Was it simply because Dumbledore was the one that had expelled him from Hogwarts? Or was there more to it than that?

And just who was it that had attacked the younger wizard right under Dumbledore's nose? Syusuke couldn't count the number of times that his father had called Hogwarts Dumbledore's stronghold due to how long the British wizard had held the headmaster's position at the ancient school. It made no sense for someone to go after a student in Dumbledore's care when there would have been a high chance that Dumbledore would have caught them in the act or immediately after the fact before they could escape.

Those thoughts had barely passed through Syusuke's mind before he recalled a comment that Kikumaru had made in passing not long after Kawano's gang had put Evans in the hospital about Evans being kidnapped by the members of a so-called 'satanic cult'. Knowing what he did now about Evans's status as a wizard, Syusuke easily deduced that the 'satanic cult' was actually a group of wizards. And in light of the fact that Evans originated from Great Britain, he'd be willing to bet that the members of the 'cult' in question that had kidnapped him had actually been Death Eaters.

The fact that there'd been no breakouts announced from Azkaban at any point since Voldemort had been vanquished back in 'eighty-one most likely meant that those potential Death Eaters had most likely been sympathizers that had never been caught or individuals that had been acquitted for some reason or another.

If that were true, then there must be some reason for them to target Evans.

As he silently reviewed what he'd been taught about the British Blood War (the name most of the world had assigned to Voldemort's relatively short, if fierce, reign of terror), it didn't take Syusuke long to realize that Evans Harold was actually Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Syusuke knew there was a chance he could be wrong but he was fairly certain that he was correct. The mute freshman was the correct age, matched the known description of the boy-hero, had been born and raised in Britain, attended Hogwarts for a year, and most telling, shared a similar given name.

Harry was a popular nickname for Harold, after all.

There was also the fact that Evans was the maiden name of Harry Potter's mother; the history of the Potters had been covered in considerable detail in conjunction with the British Blood War. Syusuke hadn't thought to link that little tidbit to Evans until now though; mostly due to the fact that he'd not had any inkling that Evans was a wizard until the first time he'd seen him portkey off campus.

Even if he was to disregard those clues, the fact that Death Eaters had targeted the freshman the moment he returned to the wizarding world to start his magical education was enough to unmask Evans's real identity; what other child would be of any interest to the Death Eaters? It had been Harry Potter who had been given credit for defeating Voldemort in nineteen-eighty-one, after all. Well, by the British, at least. The rest of the world was more than a little skeptical that a toddler could have done anything to defeat a powerful dark wizard.

That skepticism certainly hadn't prevented the British from awarding the then infant Potter celebrity status though.

Syusuke briefly tried to imagine what it must be like to be considered a celebrity before he could walk only to wince when he thought about the attention he'd garnered due to his status as a tennis prodigy. He could easily imagine how hard it must be for Evans to live beneath the weight of such a heavy burden; that would have been especially true while he was still living in England. The fact that Evans was so humble and introverted given the amount of fame that was attached to the legend of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' was rather surprising.

Even more surprising though was the fact that Harry Potter had been expelled from Hogwarts. Let alone that the British magicals had allowed their precious idol be shipped halfway around the world.

You'd think that the British would have gone out of their way to 'fix' Evans after he'd been injured.

Unless Evans (Syusuke had trouble thinking of the younger boy as Potter even though he knew who he really was now) had been relocated for his protection. If that was the case, it would certainly explain the complete media black out that had been placed on Evans; restricting his name and image would make it harder for anyone to track him down. Though, he did wonder why the other wizard hadn't been placed with a magical family for his protection; since the Echizens wouldn't be able to protect him from magical threats.

Of course, it was possible that the Echizens and Evans were distant family. Echizen and Evans did share a small handful of features; such as their small build, messy hair, and athletic talent – the seeker position was universally considered the most difficult position to play due the fact that the seeker had to spot and catch a speeding ball the size of a golf ball while simultaneously monitoring the rest of the players on the field. Not to mention being the most dangerous position to play due to how significant catching the snitch was to the game (which translated into being targeted by the other team).

Syusuke personally disliked playing seeker due to the risks involved. He much preferred the position of beater (mostly due to the slight similarities it shared with tennis – it let him smack a ball about) though he didn't mind playing keeper either.

That said, Syusuke was looking forward to the day when Evans was taken off medical restriction; he really wanted to see how good the younger wizard was on a broom. And Syusuke knew the kid had to be good in order to play seeker on an officially recognized Quidditch team (future pro-players were frequently scouted from all of the European Schools); the European conclaves were notoriously strict regarding the age limits for Quidditch players – even those playing at school level according to what he'd learned from his father. The reason for those limits was mostly due to the risks involved with playing the game and the high number of injuries seen in an average game.

So, for Evans to have had the minimum age rule waved in order to allow him to play for Hogwarts meant that the kid either used his fame to buy into the team or he was a natural on a broom. Based on what he knew of Evans, Syusuke was fairly certain that it was talent that saw Evans being named seeker for his team at age eleven; the kid was no where near arrogant enough to use his fame for unearned privileges. There was also the fact that Evans had not boasted about his seeker skills to make himself seem better than he was; he simply stated facts and downplayed his abilities.

And, of course, Syusuke had seen a glimpse of Evans's talent first hand on the court.

After spending another minute thinking about how much fun he would have when he could get Evans to the Pitch Park so he could see how his own broom skills measured up against Evans (there was nothing Syusuke loved more than the challenge of a friendly competition), Syusuke returned his focus to the puzzle that was Evans. And the silent freshman was still very much a puzzle to the fourteen year old despite how much he'd learned about him that evening; there were still so many questions about the younger wizard that he had no answers to.

He was still just standing in front of the sink trying to unravel the mysteries that surrounded Evans when his sister returned from taking the freshman home. He hadn't even known she was back until the sound of her voice calling his name drew him out of his head.

"Syusuke…"

"Nani, neesan?" Syusuke asked as he glanced at his sister over his shoulder.

"Otouto, you can't confront Evans-kun with the conclusions you've drawn tonight," Yumiko stated the moment he made eye contact with her. "You'll only frighten him if you reveal what you've figured out about him and his past before he's ready to offer up the truth himself."

"Do you know who he is, neesan?"

"Aa, he's a lost kitten stuck out in the cold and you're going to have to work hard and be very patient with him in order to earn his trust if you want him to stick around long enough to make friend out of him."

"You did a reading on him, didn't you?"

"Chigau; you know I never read the cards for others unless I have their permission."

"Oh? Then what do you call all of those times that you read the cards for me without permission?"

"Older sister privileges; I don't need permission from family to watch out for family," Yumiko teased as she moved to clear the rest of the table off since Syusuke hadn't finished cleaning up.

Syusuke let out a soft snort of amusement in response to his sister's teasing before he turned his attention to the dishes in the sink. As he rinsed the food residue off of the dishes with the sprayer while the other side of the sink was filling up with sudsy hot water, Syusuke pondered the warning his sister had just given him about Evans. The analogy she'd used to describe the younger boy was scarily accurate and he'd watched the kid panic numerous times over things that most people would consider trivial during the time they'd spent together.

So, it wasn't all that hard to reach the conclusion that bringing up more sensitive topics would send Evans running for the hills (figuratively speaking or possibly quite literally, if he felt threatened enough).

That meant that Syusuke was going to have to temper his desire to unravel the mysteries surrounding his kohai with a little patience. He'd also have to learn to navigate the minefield that was Evans's insecurities in order to get to know the younger boy better without his efforts blowing up in his face due to a single misstep. It wouldn't be easy to earn Evans's trust (above and beyond the thin veneer of trust he'd shown by accepting the invitation to supper) but Syusuke suspected it would be well worth the effort.

And not just because he loved a good challenge.

"Syusuke," Yumiko called as Syusuke grabbed the sponge and prepared to start scrubbing the dishes.

"Nani…?"

"Just treat Evans-kun the same way that you treat Yuuta; as a little brother.

"I'm not sure that'll work, neesan; Yuuta isn't exactly happy to have me as an older brother right now."

"Yuuta will come around eventually; he still loves you even if he refuses to acknowledge it. Besides, we're discussing Evans-kun, not our moody little brother and Evans-kun has no fear of getting caught up in your shadow. So, you don't have to be afraid that he'll grow to resent you if you take the initiative to step forward as a mentor of sorts until he feels confident enough to stand on his own."

"I'll try to keep that in mind, neesan," Syusuke promised with a pained smile that held an edge of wistfulness to it as he recalled just how far his little brother had gone to escape his [Syusuke's] shadow.

Wednesday, June 09, 1993, Morning
Seishun Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan

Harry held back a yawn as he trotted through the school gate half a step behind Ryoma. He'd had a rather rough night last night due to his worries about Fuji finding out he was a wizard following him into his dreams. He hadn't had any nightmares, per se, but his dreams had been more than a little uneasy due to how torn he felt about the fact that Fuji (and his sister) both knew he was a wizard. On one hand, it had been rather nice to talk to another wizard that was around his age. On the other hand though, he was more than a little scared that Fuji would oust him as a wizard to other magicals.

And he wasn't naïve enough to think all underage magicals were nice; he'd crossed paths with far too many bullies during his only year at Hogwarts.

It wouldn't matter if he still had his wand but the two halves of his holly wand were useless to him. Sure, he could try and use Hagrid's little cheat of sticking the pieces into an umbrella handle but that technique wasn't exactly what one could call reliable. Even if he did try something so outlandish, it would be rather weird to carry around an umbrella all the time and an umbrella was far harder to hide on your person than a wand. That wasn't even taking into consideration the questionable legality of doing such a thing.

The last thing that stopped Harry from even trying to cobble together a makeshift focus using his broken wand was the fact that he was basically banned from using his magic until Healer Kyomoto cleared him due to his magical core being unstable at the moment. His messed up core was another reason for him to avoid dangerous situations; since another large scale outburst of accidental magic on his end could damage his core. And being ganged up on by a bunch of other magicals was just asking for trouble.

Harry slowed to a stop just outside of the club room and stared at the ground without seeing it for several seconds before he twisted around to stare out over the tennis courts as if searching for answers in the glinting dew drops that clung to everything. When he didn't find what he was looking for on the courts, Harry closed his eyes and tipped his head backwards as he focused inwards in an attempt to settle his nerves. He would be interrupted just a few seconds later by the quiet crunching of footsteps walking up to the club room from his left side.

Letting out a soft sigh, Harry reluctantly opened his eyes and turned to see who had just arrived. He wasn't really surprised when his gaze landed on Fuji; it was just his luck that he'd run into the senior while he was still feeling so conflicted by the knowledge that Fuji was a wizard that had recognized him as a fellow magical.

"Ohayou, Evans-kun," Fuji cheerfully called in greeting as he offered Harry a warm smile. Harry hesitated for a moment before he returned the greeting with a semi-wary wave. Fuji's smile dimmed a bit as a result of Harry's rather lukewarm response but otherwise seemed unaffected by Harry's lack of enthusiasm as he suggested, "We should probably head inside and get ready before we're late for practice."

Harry started over the abrupt reminder of what he was supposed to be doing right that minute and he felt his cheeks warm up with embarrassment (he had just been caught daydreaming by the older boy) as he nodded in agreement and hurriedly opened the door to the club room. Once inside of the room, he held the door open long enough for Fuji to enter in his wake before he crossed the room to put his things away inside of his assigned cubby. He headed right back out just a couple of seconds later since he didn't need to change because he always wore his practice clothes to school and changed into his uniform after morning practice.

As soon as he stepped back outside, Harry was snagged by a passing junior and roped into helping set up the nets for the day. Harry didn't actually mind the chore since it gave him something to focus on other than his insecurities. Sadly, the distraction didn't last for long since it didn't take more than ten minutes to set up the nets due to how many people had been drafted to help. After that, it was time to warm up and run through the usual morning training. Harry felt more than a little unsettled when Fuji would pop up behind him every now and then to offer praise or advice.

Having Fuji's attention on him like that was weird. Normally, it was Inui who offered him training advice or it was Oishi who corrected him when he made a mistake during the normal drills. That's not to say everyone else ignored him; they just didn't go out of their way to interact with him during practice unless they were working with him directly. Up until that morning, the same could have been said of Fuji. Only now, Fuji was paying far more attention to Harry than he used to and he was going out of his way to encourage the younger wizard.

His behavior actually baffled Harry and the oddness of Fuji's behavior left him twitchier than a squirrel on caffeine.

By the time practice ended that morning, Harry was practically a complete wreck due to his sleepless night and the added stress of not knowing why Fuji was paying him so much attention all of a sudden (well, aside from the fact that the older boy knew he was a wizard now). On top of that, his twitchiness had drawn even more attention to him from the rest of the club and the constant feel of everyone's eyes on him had made him itch all over. He knew he should be used to such attention by now but he just couldn't stand it; he hated being watched by large groups of people.

After making a half-hearted attempt to let go of his fear and discomfort once they'd been dismissed, Harry rushed to change into his uniform so that he wouldn't be late for class. He'd just finished tucking his shirts into his trousers and was reaching for his uniform jacket when Horio loudly asked him a couple of questions that made him freeze in place.

"Ne, Evans; how can you stand to wear long-sleeved turtlenecks as undershirts all day long, every day when it's been so hot lately? Wouldn't it be better for you to stop wearing them all of the time now that it's almost summer? If you don't, what's to stop you from overheating during practice?"

Harry let his hand drop as he glanced towards his overly loud classmate before he let his gaze sweep over the rest of the freshmen that were currently in the room getting ready for class; the mute wizard easily noting the expectant looks on everyone's faces. He then very deliberately picked up his jacket and slipped it on but left it unbuttoned before he grabbed his things and left the club room without bothering to reply to Horio. As soon as he stepped outside, Harry pulled the door shut behind him hard enough to rattle the clubhouse's windows in his annoyance.

He immediately stalked away (purposefully moving to take the long way around to the main building because he didn't want any of the others to catch up to him and pester him a second time) as he swung his book bag and tennis bag over his shoulder while he silently ranted about nosy classmates sticking their noses into things that were none of their business. He'd barely taken a dozen steps before he heard a familiar voice call his name. Harry considered ignoring Fuji as he continued walking for another five steps before he grudgingly stopped when the senior called out to him a second time.

"Evans! Chotto matte!"

Letting out a silent huff, Harry stopped in his tracks and waited for the teen to catch up to him; though he pointedly did not turn around to face the other boy. He was rather short on patience right now and it was only the manners that his aunt had drilled into his head while he was growing up that had kept him from blowing Fuji off. Well, that and the fact that Harry didn't want to annoy the older wizard off enough that he'd go out of his way to make Harry's life miserable if he felt slighted by Harry's behavior.

"Thanks for waiting," Fuji murmured as he stepped up on Harry's left side.

Harry glanced at the teen from the corner of his eye and gave an awkward shrug and briefly inclined his head to acknowledge the other boy before he began walking once more. Fuji easily kept pace beside him and the two of them headed towards the main building where most of the classrooms were located. They would walk in silence for several minutes (Harry feeling rather tense while Fuji appeared to be unruffled) before the silence was broken by Fuji.

"Do you have any plans for lunch today?"

'I'm meeting up with Inui-sempai like usual.' Harry signed in reply.

"Oh? Inui is still making you train during your lunch breaks?"

'Sorta, he mostly just quizzes me on various tennis strategies, regulations, and stuff while we eat.'

"You really are taking your training seriously, ne?"

'I promised I would.'

"So you did. And you're efforts have paid off from what I've seen. I know your form has improved quite a bit since the first time you attended practice with the rest of the club."

Harry squirmed a little uncomfortably in response to the compliment before he changed the subject and asked, 'Why did you want to know what I was doing for lunch?'

"I was thinking the lunch break would be a good time to show you a couple of the places we talked about yesterday."

Harry stumbled to a stop and glared at the ground in front of him as he struggled with the conflicting feelings that Fuji inspired in him. The older boy slowed to a stop just a few steps later and turned back to face Harry. The green-eyed pre-teen wracked his brain for an explanation as to why Fuji had suddenly taken such an interest in him. Well, no, that wasn't quite true, he knew why Fuji was interested in him; magic. That still left him scrambling to figure out what the other boy wanted from him.

"Is there something wrong, Evans-kun?"

Harry snapped his head up and pinned Fuji with his lone eye as he harshly signed, 'Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden? You pretty much ignored me like the rest of the upperclassmen for the most part up right up until yesterday! Or should I say, right up until you found out I was a wizard? Why…? Why would it matter to you if I'm a wizard? What is it that you want from me!?'

Fuji straightened up and unflinchingly met Harry's gaze head on with his eyes fully open as he replied, "It wasn't that I was ignoring you up until now so much as I was trying to avoid crowding you when it was rather obvious that you were still very uncomfortable interacting with anyone outside of Echizen for the most part. The fact that you share the gift I inherited from my father's side of the family had very little bearing on my interest in you; though it was the catalyst for me approaching you when I did rather than waiting until you'd settled in more like I'd originally planned."

'That doesn't really tell me what you want from me.'

"Oh? I would have thought you'd have figured that out by now since I thought it was pretty obvious."

'Well, it wasn't; otherwise I wouldn't have needed to ask.'

Fuji offered Harry another friendly smile as he allowed his eyes to slide shut and answered, "I want for us to be friends, Evans-kun."

That was not the answer that Harry had been expecting. Not by a long shot. He hadn't actually known what to expect from the older boy but it certainly hadn't been claim that he wanted them to be friends. Harry's brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to figure out whether or not Fuji actually meant that the way it sounded because it sounded too good to be true. No one ever wanted to be just friends with him. Even Ron and Hermione hadn't been just friends with him; they'd been friends of the Boy-Who-Lived. After all, they'd cut him out of their lives after he'd 'lost' his magic.

And boy oh boy had the loss of his first two supposed friends ever hurt.

It had been the pain of losing Ron and Hermione's friendship that had driven Harry to spurn every offer of friendship that had been sent his way during his first two months in Japan. And he would have gone right on spurning their offers of friendship if it hadn't been for the Well of Healing opening his eyes during the trials he'd experienced while facing all of the negative feelings he'd been bottling up inside. Even now, he wasn't really certain he could call any of the other kids he hung out with his friends; though Ryoma and possibly Inui came closest.

Out of all of his classmates, only Inui had ever implied that they were friends. But that had been back before Harry had realized just how much he still longed for a true friend; back when he still insisted he didn't need friends. So, it was entirely possible that Inui no longer considered Harry a friend. Sure, bespectacled teen still took time out of his busy schedule to train Harry but that didn't mean that he saw Harry as a friend. It was entirely possible that Inui only helped him because he felt obligated due to the fact that he'd been the one to drag Harry into the tennis club in the first place.

And one of the few things he'd always desperately wished for growing up was a friend. He'd all but given up hope of ever finding one before Hagrid had barged into the Hut on the Sea and introduced him to a whole new world where the Dursleys held no sway. Then he'd befriended Ron on the train and later they'd befriended Hermione and he thought one of his greatest wishes had finally been fulfilled. But it hadn't lasted and he'd buried both the pain of losing his only friends and the hope that he'd ever find another long before he set foot in Japan.

Only, Inui had ripped the scab off of that wound the night he'd introduced Harry to Tachibana An as his friend before the poison had been flushed from said wound during his first foray into the Well of Healing and Harry had been left with an aching emptiness where his bonds of friendship with Ron and Hermione used to be. Since then, he'd been far more open to the friendly advances of his classmates but part of him was still hesitant to claim friendship with any of them because he was so afraid of getting burned again.

That didn't stop him from wishing for a friend he could trust not to throw him away at the drop of a hat.

Unknown to Harry, his inner turmoil, ever present apprehension, and desperate longing were poignantly splashed across his face for all the world to see as he stared at up Fuji. When he finally found the wherewithal to respond to the teen's claim, he signed, 'Why? Why would you want to be friends with me? I'm nobody.'

"Chigau, Evans-kun," Fuji countered in a gentle but firm tone as he backtracked to drop his hand on Harry's head (the twelve year old far too conflicted to make an attempt to avoid the contact). "You aren't a nobody; you're my cute little kohai and a proud member of Seigaku's Tennis Club. And that is reason enough for us to be friends."

Harry blinked up at his fellow wizard in surprise even as a faint flush of pleased embarrassment crept up the back of his neck and onto his cheeks. A split second later, he finally registered exactly what Fuji had called him and the flush on his face darkened as he gave Fuji an unimpressed look and flatly signed, 'You did not just call me cute.'

"Of course I did, Evans-chan!" Fuji cheerfully retorted as he playfully ruffled Harry's hair before he lightly pinched Harry's left cheek. "You're positively adorable; like a cute little kitten with its fur all fluffed out!"

Harry gaped at Fuji for several seconds in a mix of indignation and disbelief before he let loose a soundless war cry, drew his harisen out of his tennis bag, and launched himself at the senior. Fuji laughed loudly and expertly dodged each swing of the paper fan while Harry chased after him.

"Oi! What are the two of you doing goofing off back here?" Coach Ryuzaki demanded as she stumbled across the two of them less than a minute later. "You're going to be late for class if you don't get a move on!"

Both boys hurriedly apologized to the woman before they took off in the direction of the main building at a dead run; Fuji still laughing while Harry wore a small embarrassed grin. They would reach the building just as the five minute warning bell sounded and as soon as they ducked inside of the building, they split up in order to head to their respective classes. Just before they exited the entrance hall, Harry let out a short, sharp whistle to catch Fuji's attention.

The moment the older boy glanced his way, Harry signed, 'I was excused from joining a committee for the semester and I no longer meet with the counselor three times a week; so I'm free after sixth period and usually just sit in the club room meditating while I wait for the afternoon practice to start.'

"The Year Book Committee only meets up on Tuesdays and Fridays; so, I'll meet you in the club room after class."

Harry waved an acknowledgement before he bolted up the staircase to get to class. He would slip into the room with half a minute to spare; the right corner of his mouth still quirked up in a partial smile as he slung both of his bags across the back of his chair. He made to drop down into his seat at the same time only to be called out by the instructor.

"Evans, you look like a slob; straighten up your uniform and button your jacket!"

Harry blushed bright red (he'd completely forgotten that he'd stormed out of the club room before he'd finished getting dressed) and signed an apology to the teacher before he hastily put his uniform to rights. Once he was done, he dropped down into his chair and dug out his class materials as the instructor began the day's lesson. He soon got caught up in his school work as he concentrated on listing to various lectures, taking notes, reading the accompanying chapters, filling out an assortment of worksheets, and deflecting the occasional question and before he knew, classes were over for the day.

It was with equal amounts of dread and anticipation that Harry made his way back to the club room; his feet alternately dragging his heels and hurrying him along in turns as he tried to decide if he'd made the correct choice in trusting Fuji in light of his conflicted feelings. All too soon he was walking up to the club room where he found Fuji casually propped up against the wall beside the door waiting for him. Harry slowed to a stop right in front of the teen and stared up at him for a long minute before he finally signed him a somewhat bashful greeting.

'Sempai.'

"Ka~wai~i," Fuji teasingly chanted before he flashed a friendly smirk at Harry and Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at the teen in response. Fuji snickered a couple of times before he asked, "Did you want to drop your things off inside before I give you a quick and dirty tour of the key locations or are you going to bring them with you?"

Harry thought about it for a few seconds before he pointed to the club room door to indicate that he was going to put his things inside. Fuji nodded and indicated that he'd wait outside for him and Harry slipped inside. Just before he headed back outside, he took a moment to grab his whiteboard and marker in case he needed them since there were still times when it was easier to write out his answers than it was to use sign language. The moment he stepped back through the door, Fuji pushed away from the wall and began leading Harry towards the school library.

Instead of taking him through the front door though, Fuji led him around to the back of the building where he stopped in front of a pair of doors. The door on the left was your typical fire escape that was painted red and clearly labeled as an emergency exit with an additional warning that the door was alarmed. The door on the right though, was painted a simple gray and had a sign with the words 'Restricted Access' bolted to the door below which sat the words; Seigaku's Student Library – Magical Annex.

"The doors that lead to the magical areas around the school are charmed so that non-magicals will only see the Restricted Access signs in addition to mild aversion wards in order to discourage them from trying to sneak inside," Fuji explained as he opened the library door and ushered Harry inside. "Most of the doors are located next to the fire exits; the only exceptions are the Dueling Chamber which is located in the school's Martial Arts Dojo and the Spell Casting Practice Rooms which can be only accessed through Coach Okada's office in the sports building."

"The Dueling Chamber is mostly used by the Dueling Club but you don't have to be part of the club to duel during non-club hours. Yamasaki-sensei, the wizard who runs the Dueling Club, hardly ever leaves the Chamber and he's usually quite willing to referee duels for anyone that wants to duel. Use of the Practice Rooms, however, is by reservation only and you can reserve the room for a half an hour at a time for up to an hour a day, three days a week. You can sign up for practice time through Okada-sensei or Hasegawa-sensei."

'Ano, just how many magicals work or go to school here?' Harry inquired with more than a little trepidation over learning that there were adults wizards that worked at the school.

"There're only five magicals on the staff at Seigaku; Kanzaki Shinju who works in administration, Fujimoto Masao who is the on-site healer, Okada Atsushi who is in charge of the Magical Sports Department, Yamasaki Daisuki who teaches Aikido and runs the Dueling Club, and Hasegawa Maiko who teaches World History and runs the Culture Club. The number of magical students attending Seigaku varies from year to year; this year, there are only twenty-seven magical students, including both of us, while last year there were forty-three."

Harry felt slightly relieved to learn that there were so few magicals running around the school but at the same time he was rather confused that the number of magical students seemed so small when compared to the total number of students that were enrolled in the school. After spending a few seconds trying and failing to figure out why there weren't more witches and wizards attending Seigaku, Harry asked, 'Why are there so few magical students? Is the magical population of Japan really that small?'

"No, not at all; during the last nationwide consensus done by the Council, the average population distribution was one magical for every five thousand mundanes though the number of magicals that live in each city varies from prefecture to prefecture. Tokyo generally maintains a magical population of around half a million."

'If that's the case, then why aren't there more magical students here at Seigaku?'

"Because Seigaku is far from the only school in this district and placement in any given school is typically based on a combination of age, academic achievement, family tradition, personal preference, and residential zoning and as a result, the number of magical students attending each school fluctuates from year to year."

Harry absently nodded in response to the answer while he thought about the differences between Britain and Japan. He would be drawn out of his ruminations just a short while later when Fuji addressed him once more.

"Evans-kun, come on, the library's just down the hall."

'Ano… just how crowded is the library going to be?'

"We'll have the entire place to ourselves for the next half an hour since everyone else is attending committee meetings or spending time in either the Dueling Chamber or Practice Rooms."

'What about the librarian?'

"There isn't a librarian for this part of the library; the books are cared for by a small family of wild brownies and there are wards on the room to prevent the books from being removed. Are you familiar with brownies?"

'Yes.'

"Then I should probably warn you that the family that lives in the library is far more sociable than most wild brownies due to the high number of people they've interacted with through the years and they'll probably come out to greet us the moment we step through the door. If you wish to leave them gifts in the future, there's an offering bowl that sits right next to the door and they have a preference for fresh fruits, raw vegetables, bread rolls, cheeses, box juices, patches of brightly colored fabrics (so long as you aren't giving them actual clothes), and sewing notions."

As they entered the library, Harry was rather thankful for the brief heads up or he might have been startled by the sudden appearance of the six colorfully dressed brownies that popped up to greet them before the door closed behind them. Like Kashiwagi, all six beings were roughly two foot tall (two of them were slightly shorter and one was a few inches taller) and had overly large eyes and ears. Those were the only similarities though as the ears of these elves were rather droopy, their tennis ball sized eyes were all different shades of purple, and their noses were wide and flat instead of long and thin.

The rather excitable beings all greeted Fuji with obvious fondness (they'd known the teen for just over two years) before they crowded around Harry to stare at him out of curiosity since he was unfamiliar to them. Harry tolerated the attention since the friendly creatures didn't make any attempts to touch him like they had touched Fuji (they'd hugged the older teen around the knees). As soon as Fuji introduced Harry to the group, the brownies would wander off to go back to what they were doing before the two boys entered the library.

Fuji then gave Harry a brief tour of the library and gave him a quick run down of the rules that had to be followed when using the library. After the tour, Fuji collected a map of the school and the two of them took a seat at one of the tables and spent the next twenty minutes pointing out the various magical areas of the school including the known portkey points, the hidden student lounge that sold magical drinks and snacks, and the hidden recreation room beneath the gym where several magical gaming clubs (such as the Magical Chess, Magical Mahjong, and Gobstones Clubs) held their meetings and tournaments.

Afterwards, the two of them headed back to the tennis courts so they wouldn't be late for practice. As they crossed the school grounds in companionable silence, Harry carefully considered everything Fuji had shared with him. He was in the middle of comparing the differences between the number of students enrolled in Hogwarts and the number of students that were enrolled in Seigaku and the ratio of magicals to non-magicals when it occurred to him that he had no idea who the other twenty-five magical students attending Seigaku were.

He also didn't know if any of them were members of the tennis club or if any of them were assigned to his class group.

They were nearly to the courts when Harry broached the subject with Fuji when he asked, 'You said there were twenty-five more students like us, ne?'

"Aa."

'Are any of them in the tennis club?'

"No, we're the only two wizards currently in the tennis club. There used to be another three magicals in the club but they graduated back in March and are currently attending Seigaku High. There are other magicals attending other schools that are part of their school's tennis clubs though; my otouto, for example, is a member of St. Rudolph's tennis club – he's a regular on their tennis team, so he'll be at the tournament matches this weekend."

Harry briefly wondered why Fuji's brother wasn't attending Seigaku but didn't think that Fuji would appreciate him prying and instead turned his focus back to what he felt was a more pertinent subject as he asked, 'Do you know if any of the other students like us here are freshmen?'

"Aa, there are three freshmen this year; not including you. I don't believe any of them are in your class group but you've already met one of them."

'I have?'

"Aa."

'Who…?'

"Osakada Tomoka."

'Oh, she's one of the girls that are always hanging around Echizen,' Harry replied as he tried to figure out how he felt about the fact that he'd been unknowingly hanging out with a witch for several weeks now. He blanched a moment later as it occurred to him that she might have figured out that he was a wizard and he turned to face Fuji as he worriedly signed, 'Does she knows about me?'

"No, I don't believe any one else has figured out that you're a wizard; otherwise one of them would have approached you about it by now."

'Are you going to tell them?'

"No."

'Why not…?'

"It's not my place and it's quite obvious that you don't want them to know right now; though I'd be more than happy to introduce you to everyone once you're ready to let others know."

Harry eyed the teen for a long minute to gauge his sincerity before he nodded in acceptance and silently thanked him for his silence on the matter. He was no where near ready to announce himself to the world at large; he was far too scared of being recognized and more than a little paranoid about being shipped back to England or potentially being attacked while he was unable to defend himself. He also had no desire to put himself in the spotlight any more so than he already was.

Nothing further would be said on the subject of magic after that as the two of them headed into the club room in order to change out for practice. The rest of the tennis club would trickle into the courts over the course of the next ten minutes and the two wizards split up to warm up. The rest of the afternoon would fly by in the blink of an eye as Harry fell into the familiar training routine he'd been following for weeks now. And once again Fuji took the time to offer him praise and advice throughout the practice; though this time the older boy's attention didn't spook him nearly as much.

Thursday would play out much the same way with Harry skipping out on his afternoon meditation to hang out with Fuji in the magical annex of the school's library where Fuji went through last year's yearbook and showed Harry photos of the current magical students that were in their junior or senior year (photos of the freshmen not available).

Translations: Japanese to English

Aa – yes
Ano – um/uh/er
Chigau – can be used to mean wrong, no, or to differ
Chotto matte – wait a minute!
Kawaii – cute
Nani – what
Oneesan/neesan – older sister
Ohayou – good morning (informal)
Otouto – little brother

Notes:

Seigaku Magicals – Now, I'm certain that many of you are wondering why I didn't have there be more magicals in the tennis club and there are many reasons for that; the biggest one was that I didn't want to fall into the trap that I've seen so many authors fall into when writing this particular crossover where they make ALL of the PoT characters wizards. So, I knew going in that I was going to limit the number of magical tennis players.

The reason why I chose Fuji's family to be magical was strictly because of his sister's prowess with tarot cards in the series. There were also canon reasons for me not making certain characters magical; such as Tezuka's elbow injury (since magic could have been used to heal it and therefore negated a big chunk of his personal history). I toyed with the idea of making Inui either a magical or a squib (Inui Juice anyone…?) but eventually decided against it since he's so scientifically and data minded.

As for the rest of the regulars and the other members of the freshman cheering squad, I really couldn't find a reason to make them magical. Although I nearly made Kikumaru and Horio wizards but eventually decided against it. I nearly didn't make Tomoka a witch either but I didn't want Harry to be the sole magical freshman at Seigaku and since I'd already vetoed Horio (he's too much of a bragger to keep magic quiet) I was rather limited in choices because I'd already established Coach Ryuzaki as non-magical (she didn't recognize Harry's magic a few chaps back) and picking between Kato and Mizuno was impossible because they appear to be rather close in the series.

There will be other magicals players from other schools (as mentioned in the story) and I've already picked and chosen who will be magical and who will not; so please don't send me suggestions or demands – they will be ignored. Some of them will even be reoccurring characters in the series and some won't. There will even be additional OCs that I've created to flesh out the PoT world. If that annoys you, feel free to stop reading at any time.

AN: Wow, this chapter was a really long time in coming and it isn't even the original chapter seventeen that I had planned. That chapter was actually bumped down to chapter nineteen so I could add this chapter and the next. I never intended for it to take me so long to get this chapter finished but Fuji was rather difficult for me to write. This entire chapter was originally supposed to be entirely from Fuji's PoV but the small section I gave him was hard enough for me to write. Once I gave up trying to write Fuji's PoV, the story just flowed from my fingertips and here we are.

Anyway, there was a bit of info in the chapter, a bit of deductive reasoning (on Fuji's part), and a bit of fluff in the interactions between Harry and his sempai. Next chapters pretty much going to be nothing but fluff as well and I might still cut it out and post it as an omake once the story is finished - it just depends on how much of an issue it's going to give me when it comes to writing it. On a side note, I've also done a bit of editing to the first sixteen chapters and will be replacing them off and on throughout the next week; so expect to get notifications for previous chapters.

At least I think they give updates for that... if not, well, you're not really missing out on much since I mostly just corrected my mistakes and smoothed out a few rough patches. Next chapter should be up sometime next year. As always, I'll keep a running word count on my author's page. For those of you looking for the next chapter of An Epic Adventure, I'm afraid it's been delayed to a continuity error that I made while I was sick and I need to re-write several parts of it before I can post it but I'm working on that as well as a few other things. I'll scheduled an update date once I get it fixed. ~ Jenn