Chapter One
by Lionheart
I O I O I
Because of posting requirements of the original site, and need to retain original attribution, this first chapter is a little stilted. For that you have my apologies.
Where scenes had other authors they retain their original attribution. However, I would like to add my heartfelt thanks to all those, few though they may be, who did contribute.
I O I O I
Spells 'R'anma: Remedial Witchcraft
by Thrythlind
Kodachi looked at the item in her hand and into the dingy little antique shop she found herself in, and sighed.
"May I help you Miss?" the Wizard asked.
"Yes... I received this letter." She handed it over a letter written in green ink with a certain wax seal.
The wizard took the letter and read.
"Miss Kuno,
Due to a recent set of difficulties, it seems that your name has been overlooked for some time. While it is now far beyond the normal time for acceptance into our center for learning, it has come to my attention that a certain extra-dimensional establishment occasionally takes up residence within your local mall.
If you would present these letters to the proprietor of one Spells R'Us, you could, if desired, easily find a method to reduce your age to the appropriate level and begin studies after all. Otherwise I would not have contacted you.
We would be honored to have another member of the line of Hecate attend. House Slytherin has especially suffered from the lack of your family's firm, if odd, sense of honor.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
The Wizard took look at the next few pages, which were rather the standard stuff.
"And you've decided to become a Hogwarts student, Miss Kuno?" the Wizard asked. "You'll need to be 11. I do have the magic to make you so and the books you'll need, but are you certain of this?"
"Yes..."
I O I O I
Spells R'anma: Goodbye, Nerima
by Jryu
"...do you think my brother could track me down there?" she completed with a slight sense of concern.
"Not at all." The Wizard said with a smile. "And even if he somehow managed the feat, HE could never actually get to Hogwarts, and likely wouldn't recognize you even if he could."
Kodachi breathed an extreme sigh of relief. This was an even better form of protection than hounding Ranma. To finally be free of that maniac fate made her brother! Yes, she would pay any price for that. Besides... it wasn't like there was anyone here who would actually miss her.
"Very well," Kodachi said. "How much will this cost?"
"For you, not a thing." A pretty brunette walked from the back with a potion and handed it to her.
Kodachi looked at the old wizard and his apprentice in surprise.
Before she could ask, the Wizard answered her question. "Your ancestress already arranged for both the change and transportation, should you choose it. She is quite pleased to see one of her descendants return to the family trade, so to say."
Kodachi nodded, and with a smile, downed the potion.
That evening, an eleven year old girl was on a plane, bound for Europe. No one in Nerima would ever see Kodachi again...
I O I O I
A Rose at Hogwarts: A Rose at Hogwarts
by Thrythlind
Kodachi Kuno stared around in confusion at the train station. The letter said platform nine and three-quarters and she had neglected to ask how to reach that location, simply assuming that it was some obscure European ordering system.
That is until, of course, she found herself situated between platforms nine and ten without any sign of a platform nine and three-quarters.
Asking the various people around her was proving less than useful. They simply assumed she didn't speak English very well and pointed to the platform sign and then left, or else got really annoyed.
Kodachi continued looking around in confusion, and some trepidation, worried that she'd miss the train. She nervously sat down and decided to let out the pet snake, a small boa, she had acquired, which caused a lot of people to avoid her.
Then came her salvation.
I O I O I
A Rose at Hogwarts: Once more from the top...
by Thrythlind
(apologies to Brian Drozd for the title)
"Excuse me, can you direct me to platform nine and three-quarters?" someone asked nearby. Kodachi looked up to see a boy about her age talking to one of the conductors.
"Platform nine and three-quarters?" the adult said. "Think you're being funny do you?" He shook his head irritably and walked on. The boy turned and saw her with her collection of books and things, almost identical to his.
"Excuse me, are you looking for the Hogwarts Express as well?" the boy asked, and hesitated on noticing the snake draped over her shoulders.
"Do you think I should tell him I'm lost too?" Kodachi asked the snake in what she thought was Japanese. So she was rather surprised when Harry answered.
"Oh, we're in the same boat then, aren't we?" Harry asked. "Excuse me, what was your name?"
Kodachi blinked for a moment, surprised that the boy knew Japanese. Which he didn't, of course, Kodachi just hadn't figured out that she was speaking Parseltongue, not Japanese or English.
"Kodachi..." she hesitated, not wanting to use a name her brother might eventually track down. Then she remembered the name of the house line she supposedly belonged to. "...Hecate. Kodachi Hecate."
"Same every year," a woman was saying, walking past them. "Packed with muggles."
I O I O I
A Rose at Hogwarts: Getting onto the Platform
by Lionheart
"Muggles?" Harry breathed, surprised to hear the word.
"Is that something special?" Kodachi asked, noting his interest.
Harry turned back to her with a grin. "It's the wizard word for non-magic folk. Whoever is saying it has got to be a witch. That means they'll know where the train is!"
Eleven-year-old Kodachi leapt to her feet, carrying the motion up to clear the heads of those around her by three feet, then landing lightly again by Harry's side. "It was a woman with red hair who said it?" She confirmed, she hadn't really been paying attention. When Harry nodded, she pointed and pushed off with her cart. "She went this way."
They caught them in only a few steps. If Harry'd been alone he'd have been onto them right away, but he was glad Kodachi was there. Even if she didn't know any better than him how to get onto the train she was company. At least he wasn't alone.
The woman he supposed was a witch was talking to four boys and a girl, all with flaming red hair. The boys had trunks like Harry's and one of them had an owl, so he grew more confident with each step this was the right sort of bunch, and he whispered the same to Kodachi. "I think these are the right sort. Do you see their baggage? Alot like ours, don't you think?"
His companion nodded, studying them intently and inwardly cursing her short height. When the group they were following stopped, Kodachi and her companion stopped also, just within hearing range to overhear what the woman said. When the woman sent her oldest son first, a crowd of tourists cut in between cutting off Harry's view, but Kodachi simply leapt to the top of a nearby station sign and perched there.
She watched a moment, then hopped back down beside the stunned Harry, reporting. "He went straight at the wall, walked into the bricks, and disappeared."
"It's got to be magic." Harry concluded.
Kodachi demurred the obvious answer. "But is there a magic word or something to make it work?"
The boy bit his lip. He didn't know. Hagrid hadn't told him, hadn't told him anything of how to get onto the platform. "There's only one thing, then. We've got to ask."
Kodachi agreed, and pushed her cart after Harry's as the boy closed the distance and said to the plump woman, "Excuse me."
"Hello, dears," the woman returned, frankly stunning Kodachi with her friendliness - a trait she had never much experienced, and here she was receiving it unasked, unearned, and completely out of nowhere. The woman went on to say, "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new this year as well." She indicated her youngest son, who nodded completely without fear.
Kodachi was reeling. She had never experienced anything of the sort. The closest she had ever come to this lack of hostility was Ranma, who barely tolerated her at best. Combine a family without natural affection, a harsh childhood, neighbors and schoolmates poisoned by their mothers with stories of her family and their foibles, and she had been on guard most of her life.
Here, not only had Harry accepted her without qualms, but this group of open, cheerful people was treating her as an innocent, harmless girl.
She'd fought battles, battles she knew she would always lose, fighting for scraps of attention of a man who'd only treated her with a gram of kindness. Her reaction to this flood was completely predictable.
She turned on 'sweet' mode, and determined to keep it on until she grew old and died, or something tried to come between her and this flood of kindness.
"Come on, dear," the woman prompted. "You've got a bit of a rush if we're to catch the train on time. Did you hear what I told your brother?"
I O I O I
A Rose at Hogwarts: Pretty Girl Kodachi
by Lionheart
Maximum cuteness was called for. Though it had been drilled into her on the tip of a whip, Kodachi knew manners, and etiquette, and style. She knew them in all major cultures, half a dozen languages, every populated continent, and most prominent time periods. When her parents ran out of that which was relevant, they started with the irrelevant just to have something to do.
The fact that it was taught by lash made her loathe to use most of it except in mocking terms - but it was there.
Dipping into that well of politeness, Kodachi executed a flawless English curtsy while answering "Yes, ma'am," just because that was the right thing to say to cover the gaff of having paid minimum heed to the question. But she had heard enough, and Harry's cart was just disappearing, so she followed it with her own, helplessly wondering and replaying the woman's words in her mind just in case a clue was dropped.
The information overheard while deep in thought was reassuring, so she stopped worrying about the barely-caught question and merely gave the wall a bit of a rush, skipping she was so happy.
In moments she was on the platform and simply beaming with joy, following Harry and rejoining him as he searched for an empty compartment.
Harry, for his part, smiled to see her rejoin him, glad to have the company. They had to skip the first few cars as too full, with people fighting over seats, and found an empty spot near the end. But even between them they couldn't lift their heavy trunks up the steps and into the compartment.
"Want a hand?" Cried one of the red-haired twins whom they'd followed through the wall, of the family so warm and open.
"Yes, please." Harry and Kodachi replied at once, Kodachi dropping another curtsy.
The twins gave her excessive courtesy an eye, then a shrug, and with their help the luggage was at last tucked away inside.
I O I O I
A Rose at Hogwarts: The Wiping of Sweat
by Lionheart
For the universe, this was a tense moment. If Harry's scar was shown, news would be all over the train that the famous Harry Potter was on board moments after it was out of the station yard. That would lead to a run-in with Malfoy, and Harry's determination not to join house Slytherin - which determination put him in it's rival, Gryffindor.
Harry moved to wipe his sweat, and found Kodachi's elbow in his side, and she slipped him a frilly handkerchief, which he gratefully accepted, dabbed instead of wiped so his hair stayed more or less in place, and looked at the yellow sweat-spot on the cloth with chagrin. "Uh, look. Why don't I wash this and return it to you?"
Pleased at his manners, Kodachi accepted, then took him by the arm and led him off to where the boys went after they'd thanked them.
"Where are we going?" Harry asked, willing to let himself be led but wanting to know where.
"Did you see those boys?"
"Yah, sure. They went this way. But didn't we already thank them?"
"We did. But their mother thinks they are rascals. That may be true, but they did us a favor and it is only right we tell their mother so."
"But why?" Harry wondered.
Kodachi smoothed her dress and looked him over once, finding him utterly unsatisfactory, but nothing could be done about it. Boys this age always looked rumpled, as if their clothes never quite fit. "Because she probably only ever hears bad things about them."
"oh." Harry blinked, then they were there, intruding on the family.
"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" One of the twins teased as their mother used a kerchief to wipe a spot of dirt from her youngest boy.
"Excuse me," Kodachi pushed herself into the mess, dragging Harry with her to stand before the mother. "But we would like to thank you. These two boys helped us without being asked. It was ever so kind of them."
Both the twins blushed and looked away. Their mother stared at them in wonder, putting hands on both hips and scowling after a moment. "Fred, George, what prank did you pull on this girl?"
"Oh, they did nothing but behave like perfect gentlemen." Kodachi objected on their behalf. "They saw that we needed help getting our boxes on the train, and gave it. We just wanted to tell you how nice they were, that's all."
Harry nodded, saying, "That's right," something at a loss.
The mother looked puzzled for a moment, but could read no guilt in her boys, only their embarrassment. Having been tipped off, Harry could tell this probably was the first report of goodness she'd heard on them. The woman gave a great roll of her eyes and bent low, smiling to thank the reporting pair with warmth in her eyes, even if she didn't quite know to believe them. "Thank you for saying so."
"Good day." Kodachi curtsied. It was archaic, but effective. Inspired by her example (she'd been on the button about the other thing) Harry bowed, also muttering the polite phrase.
"Oh, but you haven't told me your names." Mrs. Weasley objected.
I O I O I
A Rose at Hogwarts: Introductions and Misconceptions
by Lionheart
"Hecate Kodachi." The girl replied, momentarily forgetting the proper order for family name and given name in this culture was different from Japan, in her distraction over seeing the oldest boy appear, already in Hogwarts robes, and wondering what the silver 'P' badge meant.
"Potter. I'm Harry Potter." Harry said himself in a rush, practically stepping on Kodachi's introduction, sounding to their ears as if he was finishing her sentence for her, and so her name would be Hecate Kodachi Potter, probably got her first name given after that ancient, and famous, Greek Witch...
But that was if they thought about her at all. Once Harry's profoundly famous name was said nothing more could be understood until the babble died down under the train whistle and they all had to rush to their compartments.
Fred and George went with the pair to their seats, finally able to press a question that they had them to themselves. "Do you remember what You-Know-Who looks like?" They asked in eager relish.
Harry frowned. "Not really. All I remember is green light, and high-pitched laughter. It's not much of a memory."
"Cool!" The twins echoed, looking at each other and rising up. "We've got to tell our friends. Look us up at Hogwarts, Harry. We'll show you a great time." They vanished, rushing forward.
Kodachi smiled at her bench-mate. "Looks like you've found two friends."
"Yeah." Harry grinned. Friends, what a concept! And no wicked Dursleys around to say he couldn't get any! "Actually," he said, on a bit of sober reflection, looking at her closely. "Don't I have three?"
Kodachi blushed.
"Yes, Harry, I would like that very much."
I O I O I
A Rose at Hogwarts: Discussions with Ron
by Lionheart
Ron leaned in the door. "Oh, there you are? Do you mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full." Taking their nods at full value, he moved in and sat with them. "It was all we could do to keep Ginny off the train. She wanted to ride to Hogwarts with you, even told mum that she could borrow your sister's things 'til mum and dad could send her some."
Kodachi's eyes widened. If Harry had a sister, why wasn't she with him?
"I have a sister?" Harry asked, confirming the question.
"Blimey, you don't have to be ashamed about it. Look at all the brothers I've got. You don't have to be bashful." Ron brushed off this protest.
"It's just..." Harry shook his head in wonder. "That I don't know much about my family. Only on my last birthday did I even learn how my parents died."
Ron's jaw dropped open. "Cor, is that true?"
Kodachi had already moved closer to Harry's side, taking his hand. Her mother had told her countless times the function of women was to soothe hurts and comfort feelings - but that was akin to an alcoholic telling his children not to drink while waving the bottle at them like a club. Still, the facts were there, if lacking in implementation.
She took Harry's hand and squeezed it. It was more difficult to do than it had once been to leap upon a man barely clothed, offering him her body (which never got taken, her attitude was downright scary back then), but the smile of gratitude she earned was worth it. It made her think this way of behaving may actually have worth to it, beyond manipulation value.
Percy, Ron's oldest sib still at school, shoved himself into their compartment. "Excuse me, but as a school prefect I'm required to send a letter ahead assuring everyone that the first years got on the train, but I'm afraid that I've forgotten the name of Harry's sister."
"Oh, this is Hecate Potter." Ron bubbled, having caught that part.
"Kodachi." The girl corrected.
"Oh?" Ron misunderstood. "So you go by your middle name, then? That's alright. Kodachi Potter, then."
"Right." Percy vanished out of the compartment.
Ron rose up to follow, vanishing with the words. "I'd best make sure he doesn't misspell it. I've seen your name on your bag, so it's alright. I'll take care of it." He shot off, so well used to old or second, third or even older hand-me-downs that he just automatically assumed the 'Potter' part of her bag had rubbed off long ago, or it was a relic from a grand-aunt who had mostly the same name or something. It had happened often enough to him, after all.
Harry and Kodachi looked at each other.
I O I O I
A Rose at Hogwarts: Confused. Are We Relations?
by Lionheart
"They think I'm your sister?" Kodachi wondered.
Harry gave a helpless shrug. "For all I know, you could be."
Kodachi was about to disabuse him of the possibility, when she thought back to her family. They were crazy loons, the lot of them. It was entirely within the realm of possibility that she might've had extra sibs no one ever told her about because they'd been high on spiked Cheese Whiz at the time they'd sold him to cannibals, or misplaced one at an airport and it was never important enough to look, or something.
Contrariwise, what if she was adopted? Or kidnapped? Or just bought from a black market child dealer because having their own proved too difficult or inconvenient? Considering how wacky her parents were generally such a thing was well within the realm of probability, and how would she know if such a thing had happened? It was hard enough getting them to reveal they'd replaced the traps on the bathroom door or which of the kitchen cupboard knobs released a hail of poisoned spikes today.
Harry noticed her pause and she turned to him somewhat apologetically. "I'm sorry. I can't say for certain it might not be true." Thinking back upon the letter, she added. "They already appear to know more about my lineage than I did. Perhaps it is true, and we just didn't know it?"
"Wow." Harry sat heavily back in his seat.
He'd thought he'd had enough surprises already today.
"Excuse me," the door slid open again. "Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."
"Yes," Kodachi answered absently, her mind on other questions. "My snake ate one as we were boarding the train. I didn't know it belonged to someone. I'll gladly pay to replace it."
"Oh." Hermione said limply.
The snake hissed.
Kodachi sat up, arising out of her thoughty stupor. "For what it's worth, Shirousagi says it was delicious."
I O I O I
Author's Notes:
Shirousagi means "White Rabbit" and is a perfect name for a snake owned by a girl who'd originally named her pet alligator "Mr. Green Turtle."
Originally posted as "A Rose at Hogwarts" at http/addventure.bast-enterprises.de/
which is a round robin story site where anyone can build off of anyone else's ideas. As such it is very rare if not unheard of for stories not to be influenced by or include bits of another's work, particularly in the first few steps.
Given the context, permission to use the original sections are implicit.
Posts are very short, averaging no more than a single scene, or even only a portion of one. However, as a result of the multiple authors or multiple directions even a single author can test out to use to explore their own story, creativity has often run very high.
After all, how often has an author started out a great story only to go downhill fast and you wish that you could've taken his plot and directed it another way? Well, that not only happens there, it's standard procedure, and doesn't necessarily prevent the original author from continuing on in the way he was going, branching endlessly down separate lines.
It can be a great place, and it was once. But various factors can make even the best idea unbearable, so it became time to move my novel-length selections from that site to another one. The first several chapters will, of necessity, bear a slightly different format than I hope for later ones, as the two sites have completely different posting requirements, and at the least the initial stages of this will be reposts of material originally featured there.
Here you go. I do hope you enjoy it.