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Summary: Having loved and lost, is it possible to love again? When faced with one who is an equal in power, can one set aside pride to allow love? New blood joins Inuyasha's group in the form of a foreign witch in search of redemption. Her meddlesome ways may be what the group needs to learn to defeat Naraku and destroy the Shikon Jewel, as well as get two brothers to see eye to eye. And perhaps she will earn her own reward. SessxOC, InuxKag, MirxSang.

Author's Note: Hey to all who were curious enough to read this. I have been toying with this story for a couple of years now and have decided to publish it as an incentive to finish it one day. Maybe then it will stop bouncing around in my head. I will be honest and say that I have not kept up with the manga. I have read up to the point where Sesshoumaru learns that Tenseiga is meant to be part of Tetsusaiga and I know that he manages to regenerate his arm and create a new sword.

As far as my story goes, it begins around the time when Kagura dies, but before Tokijin breaks. Of course, I will take a few liberties here and there to direct the story where I want it, and maybe be able to work in some events that occurred later in the manga. Although this story is not categorized as such, it is a crossover with Harry Potter, in the sense that I used magical spells and information about magical creatures from those books. The influence of The Mists of Avalon and Merlin are also clear throughout, which stands to reason because my OC is an English witch. So . . . enough of my rambling.

Disclaimer: If I had an original thought in my head, I would publish it for money instead of writing fanfiction. That being said . . . I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, nor do I own Harry Potter, Merlin, The Mists of Avalon, or any other works that I may reference without realizing it.

The late afternoon sun filtered through the dense foliage of the forest, forming golden patches of light on the forest floor. A young woman walked serenely through the forest; her alabaster skin seemed to glow in the sunlight. Her long, red-gold hair blew back as she walked and made a striking contrast to the emerald-green, velvet robe that she wore. It had embroidery – interlocking knots of Celtic origin – along the hems of the sleeves, down the front and along the bottom hem.

A single clasp held it closed at her bust line – a bronze brooch intricately carved into a sun-moon symbol, where it appeared that a crescent moon overlaid a sun. Half of the face of the sun and half of the face of the moon were visible, forming a complete face between the two and giving an impression that the two symbols were fighting for dominance over the whole. To the philosophical and knowledgeable eye, this would appear to be a hint to the torn soul of the brooch's wearer.

The rest of the robe was open, revealing the purple and black clothing underneath. She wore a leather belt that appeared to wrap around her twice, once at the waist and again, slanting downward to her left hip. Attached to this belt, but hidden from sight by the robe was an old English sword that was intricately carved with Celtic knots and a large garnet adorned the pommel.

As the woman walked, her deep-blue eyes darted from one side to the other in search of her prey. Occasionally she got the distinct feeling that someone was watching her. She felt a presence and thought she caught a scent once in a while. It seemed familiar to her, but she could not place it. After a while, she decided that she didn't care. Whatever it was – if malevolent – she could take care of herself. But since it did not seem to want to attack her, she did not concern herself with it. She focused on the task at hand. After all, she was hungry.

Eventually, she caught sight of a wild pig. She dashed for the animal and had it in her grasp in an instant. The poor thing didn't even know what had happened until it was too late. She soothingly stroked the animal's head while she summed up its size and decided how much blood the animal could lose without being too weakened.

Perhaps I should just kill it and take it back to Inuyasha and the others. She thought to herself. Then she thought against it – Kagome probably already had some food for them and preparing a hog would have been more trouble than it was worth. There was no point to killing the animal if it wasn't going to be put to full use.

She reached into a small leather pouch attached to her belt and pulled out a small bottle. As she held it, it grew to the size of a wine bottle. She held it up to the light and saw that it was about two-thirds full. This hog should fill it up.

She uncorked the bottle and set it on the ground beneath the hog's neck. She then drew her sword and drove it through the animal's neck, so that the tip of the sword came out the other side and was just above the opening of the bottle. It would have been expected that the pig would have squealed and tried to free itself, but it remained still and appeared to feel no pain. Blood ran down to the tip of the blade and dripped into the bottle.

After a few minutes, the woman removed the sword. The wound that the sword had inflicted on the animal immediately disappeared. She picked up the bottle and allowed the hog to run free, apparently unharmed, if not a little confused.

She held the bottle up to the light again and sighed. It had taken three pigs to fill it up, but that was only because she had not wished to kill any of them. Normally, she did not even wish to drink pig's blood. Naturally, she had cravings for blood, especially humans'. But she had stopped that long ago – and she had the will power to fight the cravings. Unlike her nocturnal brethren, she did not even need blood to live. She had been graced with the ability to gain the same nutrition from normal human food. However, it could not be denied that blood kept her stronger and healthier than normal food. It is for that reason alone that she was drinking it now – she needed all the strength she could get. That, and it was her usual practice to live off the blood of wild animals whenever she traveled in unfamiliar lands. The vampire – as this she was, in a way – sheathed her sword and carried her flask toward the sound of rushing water. She decided that she would have her "meal" next to a river.

All of the time that the woman had been hunting pigs and filling her flask, a pair of golden eyes had been watching her from afar. These eyes belonged to a youkai who sat in a tree, leaning against the tree's trunk, unmoving. If it had not been for a slight breeze blowing through his long, silver hair, one would have thought that he was a statue. His face showed no expression as he watched the woman, but that was only a mask that hid his curiosity and slight confusion about the woman. As he watched her leave, he stood up, trying to decide whether he should follow her or not. Why am I even watching this woman? Is it her strange appearance and behavior? Or is it that she may not be what she seems – a normal human woman?

He began to think about that morning, when he first "met" this woman that had managed to catch his attention. What was it Inuyasha and the others had called her? Something that sounded strange, maybe foreign – Elizabeth. Yes, that was it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Earlier that day . . .

The daiyoukai had not intended to run into his brother and his friends, but occasionally, it happens, to his dismay. After all, they were both after Naraku, so sometimes it was unavoidable that they would cross paths. When he came across him today, Inuyasha already seemed agitated – of course, when wasn't he?

Inuyasha was in the midst of battling a large number of demons when the daiyoukai appeared. It was the presence of these demons that had brought him to this area in the first place, despite the fact that he could smell Inuyasha's scent. Perhaps he thought it would be amusing to watch Inuyasha getting his ass handed to him by one demon or another. Unfortunately, when he got there, he immediately saw that Inuyasha was battling a mass number of weaker youkai that even his pitiful, half-breed brother should be able to handle without any trouble.

He heard a feminine voice with a strange accent saying something about a lost cause and that Inuyasha should just give up for the day. He also noticed a new scent among Inuyasha's group and he spared a glance over to the hanyou's friends standing a good sixty feet away. He saw that a pale woman, clad in green and leaning against a tree with her arms crossed over her chest, had joined his brother's group. It mattered little to him and he was about to turn around and walk away when he saw her gaze snap from the hanyou to stare directly toward him as she pushed herself away from the tree in a fluid, he couldn't help but notice, sensual motion to stand up straight, never uncrossing her arms in the process. Apparently everyone else had been too immersed in watching the hanyou that they did not notice his approach.

The woman called attention to his presence, speaking in the strange accent he had heard before, "What's this here? Who is this fellow?" She didn't seem to direct the question to anyone in particular. Was it her accent, or did she seem to have a lecherous tone to her voice?

He then heard the strange miko reply, "That's Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's older, half-brother. We told you about him. He's a full-blooded demon, unlike Inuyasha. They don't really get along with each other."

"That's an understatement, Kagome," stated the demon slayer, Sango. "Every time they meet, they try to kill each other."

As if on cue, Inuyasha bellowed, "Sesshoumaru, what are you doing here? Lookin' for a fight?"

The daiyoukai returned his gaze to his brother and stepped into the clearing. He fixed his characteristic, cold stare on Inuyasha, "Why should I waste my time with you half-breed? You are hardly any match against me."

Angered by this, Inuyasha charged at Sesshoumaru with his Tetsusaiga. Sesshoumaru dodged with little effort. Then he heard the woman again, an amused tone in her voice, "So I see. Well then, who better for Inuyasha to spar with?" She then added more seriously, "has he ever transformed while fighting . . . uhh . . .Sesshoumaru?"

"Yes," Miroku responded. "Sesshoumaru might have even managed to kill him if we hadn't gotten Inuyasha out of there."

"Hey, I'm right here and can hear every word you say, you idiot!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Well, it's the truth!" shouted Shippou, happy that he could rub Inuyasha's nose in that embarrassing fact.

The woman, ignoring the petty bickering, went on to say, "Then it is most likely that if they fight again and Inuyasha finds himself in a losing position . . ."

"What did you say?" Inuyasha shouted, waving his sword angrily. "As if I would lose to this arrogant son-of-a-bitch!"

"Apparently you have before, or did you not hear that part of our conversation? Do we have to repeat it?" She asked in a bored, but slightly mocking tone. Sesshoumaru nearly had to stifle a smirk at the woman's comments. He did not know what her purpose was for wanting him and Inuyasha to "spar," or for Inuyasha to transform, but his interest was piqued. Besides, today just might be the day that he would kill Inuyasha, forever removing that thorn from his side.

"If you are going to challenge someone to a fight, Inuyasha, at least have the sense not to let your guard down." He leaped toward his younger brother, not even bothering to draw his own sword, Tokijin. Inuyasha quickly turned to face his brother and jumped out of the way of his green whip.

Elizabeth leaned back against the tree, watching the scene with a serious expression and comparing Inuyasha's fighting to his brother's. She was very impressed with the daiyoukai – he blocked Inuyasha's attacks with absolutely no effort. He had incredible speed and moved with such grace that, by comparison, he made Inuyasha look even more the savage that he normally behaved as.

She soon found that her gaze had focused on the gorgeous demon, studying his moves, but also letting a few lecherous thoughts cross her mind – there is nothing wrong with having a little fun while working. She absentmindedly brought a hand up to her mouth, gently biting down on her thumbnail as she eyed the demon like a piece of meat that she wanted to sink her teeth into. Miroku must have noticed the gleam in her eye, having often had the same gleam in his own eye when around beautiful women.

"Elizabeth, are you alright?"

Without changing the direction of her gaze she spoke with an almost sultry voice, "I'm fine. I just . . . like the way he moves. Such grace . . . such skill. No wonder Inuyasha has difficulty defeating him. I bet he isn't even putting forth his best effort." The rest of the audience turned to look at Elizabeth with shocked expressions. Had she just complemented Sesshoumaru?

She had not spoken these comments very loudly, but she suspected that the brothers had heard her. She had spoken her honest thoughts – she was never one to feel ashamed for giving praise where praise was due, be it admiring a handsome man or a skillful fighter. In this case, she had the good fortune to do both. What was more, if they heard her, she could observe their reactions. She was pleased when she got the expected results.

Despite her comments, Sesshoumaru had not even spared a glance in her direction, keeping his focus on the task at hand, but he had definitely heard her. Of that she was sure because Inuyasha had heard her and it stood to reason that the daiyoukai's hearing was better than his brother's. And so disciplined, as I expected. Inuyasha, on the other hand, turned toward the group and started yelling at Elizabeth.

"We can hear you, you know! Do you think you could stop drooling over my brother and insulting me at the same time?"

"Sticks and stones, luv. You are letting a few silly words distract you, while your brother didn't even so much as flinch. You'll get yourself killed doing that." She stated calmly as she watched Inuyasha narrowly miss another attack.

"Then how about you shut up, unless you want to get into a fight with me, too?"

"I am only an observer. Of course if you would transform already, I wouldn't have to heckle you."

"You know damned well that I can't transform on command!"

"Then throw your sword aside and fight with your bare claws and let Sesshoumaru beat you to within an inch of your life. Whatever it takes. Just see if you can beat The Second Coming of Christ." She hastily made the sign of the Cross over herself while the others stared at her questioningly.

"The what?" Miroku asked.

"It just means to hurry up." Kagome interpreted the phrase.

"You want me to throw aside the sword? How about I throw it at your head?" With that Inuyasha hurled the sword directly at Elizabeth. She gracefully ducked as the sword hit the tree a few feet above her head, embedding itself half-way into the tree and transformed back to its battered, rusty form. She stood up straight and looked up at the sword, letting out a short chuckle at this outburst.

"Brash," was all Miroku could say while shaking his head in disappointment.

"He really is going to get a beating now," Shippou chimed in.

"Elizabeth," Kagome whispered in an anxious voice, "how are we going to stop Inuyasha from getting killed?"

"Are all of you ganging up on me now? You think I can't beat this asshole without my sword." Kagome put a hand over her mouth, wishing she had not spoken. Actually, wishing that Inuyasha had not heard her – she really was worried that Sesshoumaru was going to kill him. She had seen him fight Sesshoumaru hand-to-hand . . . and it did not go well for Inuyasha.

Inuyasha was continuing to get more furious, his attacks becoming wilder and less effective, while Sesshoumaru remained calm and collected. In all truth, Sesshoumaru was mentally laughing at his idiot brother. He had at first been irritated with the woman's remarks – sure she had complemented him, but she also seemed to speak in a tone that just seemed too liberal when speaking of someone of his stature. He soon let that go as he realized that this was a truly comical scene – the way Inuyasha let that woman get to him, even when she had openly admitted that she was doing it on purpose. The hanyou really had no control. Sesshoumaru decided to oblige the suggestion of quickly beating Inuyasha to within an inch of his life, if not completely kill him.

"That was a foolish move."

He had long since been fighting with Tokijin and was not about to put it away because his brother had been stupid enough to willingly disarm himself. He made a few strikes at Inuyasha, who managed to dodge, although just barely. He made another strong blow and managed to scathe Inuyasha's arm. This blow must have been the thing to push Inuyasha over the edge.

Inuyasha had jumped far away and was very still. Suddenly, Inuyasha's scent changed and Sesshoumaru immediately tensed, ready to fight the beast that was soon to attack. Elizabeth had been leaning against the tree again, watching with amusement when she caught the change in Inuyasha's blood. She pushed herself away from the tree, intent on watching Inuyasha now that he had transformed and wanting to be ready to stop the fight before it got too far.

Inuyasha attacked Sesshoumaru. With the short fight that ensued, it was clear that Inuyasha had become more of a challenge. What was even worse was that he did not seem to feel any pain when injured or hit, not that he was receiving any major injuries. He just kept attacking and it seemed that he would continue to do so until he was killed or subdued in some other way. After she felt she had observed enough of his demonic state, Elizabeth decided to act before Sesshoumaru tired of the fight and decided to end it in his own way.

"Whatever happens, do not interfere," she addressed the group of friends as she started walking toward the feuding brothers, ignoring the protests of the others. She wanted to end the fight, but also wanted to learn one more thing – could he change back without the help of Tetsusaiga?

"Elizabeth, what are you doing?" Kagome yelled. Sesshoumaru had heard the protests as well, but did not pay attention to what the woman might be doing – he was concerned with the wild hanyou in front of him.

The two brothers were standing about ten feet away from each other and Inuyasha was just beginning to make a leaping attack when Elizabeth seemed to appear out of no where, grabbing his arm and twirling him around in a violent swing-your-partner kind of move to make him face the opposite direction and forcing him to stop. Sesshoumaru had been stunned to see the woman appear out of no where and have the strength to pull the hanyou out of his attack – she was just a human woman, after all, or so she seemed to be, judging from her sent. He froze in place to watch the exchange between the woman and the hanyou.

The woman had not removed her hand from Inuyasha's arm and she had turned him to face her. "That's enough now, Inuyasha." She stated with a firm, calm voice. She showed no fear of the creature she was holding. In fact, she seemed to be closely studying the red eyes, elongated fangs, and jagged magenta stripes that had appeared on his face. How was that possible? Even Sesshoumaru admitted to himself that he had felt the slightest bit of fear the first time he witnessed Inuyasha's transformation. Of course, now he didn't fear him, but he did know that the transformed hanyou was nothing for a human to trifle with.

For a second, nothing happened. Perhaps even the wild hanyou was stunned by this woman. Then suddenly, Inuyasha let out a low, crazed growl. "Let go of me, bitch!" He slashed at Elizabeth's left arm, the arm that restrained his left arm, leaving four red slashes in the wake of his claws. She reflexively released his arm – the only sign that showed that she registered the injury, since no sign of pain crossed her features. Inuyasha then lifted his freed arm and slashed across the right side of her face.

Elizabeth snapped her head to the left, but showed no sign of feeling pain. She snapped her head back to face Inuyasha then glanced down at her arm while she raised her right hand to her face, feeling the blood trickling from the deep wounds. She was not concerned about the wounds – they were superficial and were already beginning to heal. She kept her eyes trained on Inuyasha, watching his reaction. He seemed to be struggling with himself after this outburst, but after a few moments, he raised his right hand to make another attack. She blocked it with her left hand and she brought her right across his face in a backhanded slap.

"Bad dog!" She said her voice louder, but still calm and firm as if she were paper training the hanyou instead of subduing him from going on a killing spree. The force of the blow knocked Inuyasha unconscious and he fell to the ground in an undignified heap. She stared down at the hanyou and looked up as she heard the others calling her as they ran up to the scene, stopping at a safe distance and casting wary glances at Inuyasha and the demon lord, who stood silent and still, observing Inuyasha and the strange woman.

"Elizabeth, are you alright? What about Inuyasha?"

"We're fine. Do you have his sword?"

"Um . . . it's still stuck in the tree. We couldn't pry it out."

"That's fine. If need be, we'll take him to it." She knelt down and grabbed Inuyasha's chin, turning his face up so she could see it. The purple marks had disappeared. She took that as a sign that he had returned to normal. She lightly slapped his face to bring him around.

Inuyasha groggily opened his eyes, feeling an intense pain on his right cheek, wondering what had happened. The last real, coherent thought he had had was when he flung his sword at Elizabeth, angry about the remarks she had been making. He looked up and saw the face of that very woman, but it was smeared with blood on one side, deep scratches being the source. Suddenly he was afraid of what might have happened.

"Elizabeth? Did . . . did I do that to you? Where are the others?" He began looking around, panic in his eyes. How could he live with himself if he had killed his friends? He was visibly relieved when he saw them standing a short distance away.

"Yes, but don't worry about it. You hesitated before doing it – that's a promising sign. Of course, I was obliged to give you a good smack for it, anyways." She said with a slight smirk.

Despite what the woman had said, Inuyasha still had a worried expression. After all, he had attacked someone that was part of his group – an ally. It was his worst fear that he would turn on the few people who trusted him. "I'm . . . sorry."

"I said don't worry about it." She continued as if she understood what the hanyou was thinking. "It's not like you randomly attacked me. You probably only did it because you were angry with me and because I got in your way of the fight."

She stood up and Inuyasha slowly followed her lead. "I think that is enough fighting for you today. Perhaps you should fetch your sword from the tree."

Inuyasha cast a sidelong glance toward Sesshoumaru, wondering briefly why he was still there and not trying to kill anyone, and began walking toward the rest of the group, which also was in the direction of said tree. He still looked very troubled despite the comforting words that Elizabeth had offered.

He has a long way to go. First and foremost, he needs to learn to keep his head in battle. Elizabeth thought as she watched the hanyou. She then turned her attention to the silent daiyoukai standing a few feet away. She made no attempt to hide the fact that she was looking him up and down, but showed no indication of what she was thinking about what she saw. Elizabeth found that the demon was even more handsome up close than he had been from a distance. She guessed that he must have been at least six feet tall, about a head taller than she was, and he held himself with a regal air, providing the illusion that he was even taller. His red and white clothing was made of some of the finest cloth and his armor was well-made. She saw that he had two swords, one of which he still held in his hand, and the other was tucked in a blue and gold sash around his waist.

His silver, knee-length hair then caught her attention. Just like Inuyasha's, but lighter. Like moonbeams. She thought to herself as her eyes followed it up to his head and temporarily locked on the cold, golden eyes that stared at her. Those are just like Inuyasha's as well, except with a much colder expression. She then took in the features of his face – masculine, yet delicate features that were very attractive and appeared as if they had been carved out of marble and accented with the purple stripes on his cheeks. She then moved her gaze up to the crescent moon on his forehead, flanked with silvery bangs. His overall appearance in the same colors as her own family's livery and the moon symbol brought back a sudden flash of bitter nostalgia that she repressed quickly. The waning moon. I wonder what its significance is? A mark of station? Clearly he is no commoner.

She brought her gaze back to meet the eyes of the daiyoukai and gave him a slight bow of the head as a gesture of respect and thanks, but also keeping an air about herself that suggested she was only showing courtesy to an equal. "I thank you for your assistance, whether you meant to provide it or not. I believe Inuyasha has had enough fighting for today." She glanced to the sword in Sesshoumaru's hand, snapping him out of his own thoughts.

He had been making his own observations about the strange woman in green. He had already observed her pale skin and strange hair color. He had studied her clothing and the strange symbols on her cloak – his attention resting briefly on the brooch she wore. His eyes lingered just long enough to get a mental image of it and he began to wonder what significance it was supposed to have. It was not until she looked him directly in the eyes that he saw that her eyes were a striking deep blue with a line of black outlining her irises. If she had not smelled like a human, he would have been sure that she was a demon of some sort. It may have been possible that she was maybe a quarter demon, but even then, he would have been able to sense that little bit of demon blood. However, he could also tell that her wounds were healing immediately, much like a demon. There was something very strange about this woman.

She looked him in the eye and showed no fear, but she seemed to recognize that he was of a noble stature. That was evident in her courteous gesture as she finally spoke to him – that was exactly what it was, courteous, as if she viewed herself as his equal. He almost did not register what she had said to him until her gaze locked onto his sword. He quickly realized what she had said and for reasons unknown to himself, decided to oblige her and sheathed Tokijin.

Elizabeth watched as the sword moved back to its place by its master's side and noticed that his left sleeve was empty. She gave a small smile, meeting his eyes again and giving another nod before turning to join the rest of her companions. Overall, he is a masterpiece. A real work of art . . . well . . . a marred piece of art. What a shame that he is missing an arm.

Sesshoumaru remained still as he watched her walk to the strange group. He noticed her relaxed manner of walking – swaying her hips in a manner that one could expect of prostitutes. Yet the way she carried her form and her manner of speaking spoke of refinement – perhaps she was of some sort of noble blood. She is not what she seems. Who and what is she? His curiosity piqued, he would have to find out, but it could wait until later. Silently he left the clearing. He would return later and find an opportune time to observe the woman better. That time came in the afternoon, when she wandered off into the woods alone.