Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Inuyasha and will probably never so this is the only time I will deign to post up this disclaimer.
Chapter One:
James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and Severus Snape were having their usual stand-off. This meant that Sirius and James were ganging up on a poor, defenceless (note that I couldn't write this without snickering) Severus while Peter was looking at them with hero-worship and Remus was trying to stop all of them. It was all stupid really. The only reason James and Sirius even did this was because James was jealous of Severus' used-to-be friendship with Lily Evans, his long-time crush and Sirius just felt the need to let out his negative emotions. So they decided to take it out on the nearest scapegoat, and who else could be better other than the school's resident "geek".
"What's wrong Snivellus?" James taunted when Severus didn't speak a word. "So frightened that you can't speak?" he asked snidely. Severus reddened in fury and was about to yell a spell, but was cut off abruptly when a bright white light blinded him. Alarmed, he looked around for the source, his eyes resting on a shaded figure hovering in mid-air. Once the bright light receded, the stranger took a terrifyingly quick plummet to the floor. Just as the figure was about to make a sickening landing, they slowed, the product of a levitating charm.
"What is going on here?" the voice of their esteemed Headmaster boomed. Albus Dumbledore strode forwards, his ridiculously coloured robes billowing behind him in a semi-impressive fashion as he got slower and closer to the now floating person.
Severus was already close enough so that he could see that this was not only a girl, but she was littered with wounds, some nasty-looking claw marks while some seemed to be arrow wounds, judging by the arrow sticking straight out of the middle of her chest. She looked to be still breathing, albeit shallowly. Only the Marauders and a certain Slytherin were around to see the girl, other than Severus.
Dumbledore rounded on the six students, the one Slytherin hidden in the corner, but knowing that he was being addressed. "Speak of this to no one." He mixed a compulsion charm in with his words and the students found themselves nodding, even if it was against their will. With wide eyes, they watched as the girl and Dumbledore slowly disappeared until they were out of their sight. The five, plus one in the shadows, stood there, bemused and completely transfixed on the spot where the duo had been before Severus realized that they were, or rather, had been in a duel where he had been cornered and outnumbered. Spinning around, he quickly shot a couple immobilus charms and fled, leaving a couple of confused Marauders and a calculating Slytherin who seemed to sink and fade into the dark, cold stone wall of Hogwarts.
This year would most definitely be different.
Lucius Malfoy was no fool. The girl who had, so to speak, "dropped in" unexpectedly in the middle of a duel was no witch. What witch would wear those strange clothes? What witch would have no wand and be soaked in blood from wounds which looked like a wild animal had clawed at her? And don't ask how he recognized the type of wounds she had had. Let's just put it this way: he had friends in very high places.
In all his years at Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy had expected one thing, and one thing only: to serve Lord Voldemort. But that didn't mean that Lucius was not entitled to investigate more on the mysterious person that had somehow gotten past the near-impossible to break wards of Hogwarts. In fact, one could almost say that it was his duty to find out everything he could about the girl. And he would find out everything about her. He wasn't Lucius Malfoy for nothing.
Sirius Black had seen many, many things in his life. Torture, abuse (he was often on the receiving end), cruel murders of Muggles, all so that mother could try and convince him that joining the Dark Lord was the right and only choice to do. Stupid woman.
Anyway, the thing he didn't ever expect to see in his life was that a girl would somehow magically appear out of thin air above them, fall unconscious and then plummet dangerously before Dumbledore could slow her fall. Yes, he was kind of ashamed that he hadn't acted a little bit more quickly…moving on…
Sirius saw the wounds. He knew that they were similar to his own claw patterns when he was in his dog Animagus form. Who was she? Why was she marked by wounds? Who gave her the wounds? Better yet, why did they give her the wounds? Surely she was not an agent for the Dark side, working for the Dark Lord? No matter, because he would find out in due time. Sirius Black wasn't a Marauder for nothing.
Remus Lupin was a werewolf. A creature labelled as dark due to the fact that every time the transformation occurred, the pain would drive the werewolf into a berserker rage. Most people would shun him in fear is they ever found out that. That was why Remus thanked whatever or whoever was watching over him every day that he would find three friends that not only accepted him for who he was, not judging him by the creature living inside of him, but also going as far as to research and successfully transform into animals so that they could accompany him on the nights of the full moon. Needless to say, he was grateful that they understood him and accepted everything including the wolf. However, there was one thing they didn't know. The wolf enhanced his senses far beyond that of any normal humans. He could hear things a mile away, see things that five people put together could not and his sense of smell was, let's just say it was so accurate that he could literally smell emotions.
He could smell the fact that every time he and his friends cornered Snape (something he was reluctant to do or admit) he could smell the slight fear and anger. Every time someone cried, he could smell the sadness that rolled off them in small bursts. The girl that had magically appeared in the hall was powerful. He knew this because the stronger a person's magic was, the more distinct their scent was. Her power came in big, destructive waves, and along with it came the bitter scent of sorrow, betrayal and pain. Dumbledore was more of a fiery smell, his magic burning and crackling all throughout the school. The mystery girl's power was more comforting and calm, something that soothes someone's stress.
Who was this girl that had enough power to rival Dumbledore? Remus Lupin wasn't a wolf for nothing.
Severus Snape had his school life planned out. Go to Hogwarts, fight with the bastard Marauders and receive high marks in both Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions while being hated and accused of being a "dark" wizard for it. It may have been a pathetic existence, but it was his life, and he found comfort in the familiarity of it. The female that had popped out of thin air, so to speak, and landed practically in Dumbledore's arms had completely thrown off the day-today schedule that never seemed to change. And Severus hated that. He hated that one simple little thing could throw him off so completely and utterly that it left him standing out in the halls gaping like some bloody….bloody…bloody Gryffindor! For God sakes he was in the house of the cunning and ambitious! It was like what Lily- ahem…Evans did everyday, or at least, used to do everyday. She preached about how everyone was equal and that was what had drawn him to her even when she had only been a clueless Muggle. But he saw as he and she grew older how she would always gravitate towards Potter, even while claiming she hated him. It used to make him jealous as hell and so he said words he didn't mean. He begged her to stay his friend but she soon broke that off too, because he was hanging out with "dangerous" people who were already on the path to Lord Voldemort.
What she didn't understand, though, was that this was necessary in order to ensure his survival. It was self-preservation. If he did not fool people into believing that he was an avid supporter of Voldemort then his house-mates would treat him worse than they already did. He was just glad that some were more indifferent to him. She did not understand because she had been self-centered and so absorbed in herself and her righteous attitude that she could not see past her own lectures to see that he suffered.
He had already gotten over Lily Evans. Severus just hoped that this new girl would not be anything like Lily. He did not want to fall in love with another girl that only cared about big-headed idiots and preaching but not doing anything. He would do everything in his power to stay away from the strange girl. Severus Snape wasn't the school reject for nothing.
Kagome Higurashi groaned and let her eyes flutter open, immediately closing them when the bright lights almost blinded her. Slowly, she opened her eyes, letting them get used to the light. She was lying on a bland-looking, hard bed and was surrounded by many more of the same beds. Obviously, she was in some sort of hospital, but how had she gotten there from the Feudal Era? Wait. No. She hadn't been in the Feudal Era…she had dragged herself up from well, bleeding all over the shed after Inuyasha and Kikyo had attacked her…
Kagome snapped back to reality and waited for the tell-tale sting of wounds, but she didn't, and looked down, amazed, to find that most of them had already healed, and the ones that hadn't were well on their way. She thought back to the betrayal of Inuyasha and let a tear slip through her closed lids and down her face.
It was silent. Oppressing. Kagome glanced around in the dark foliage surrounding her, panicking when she realized that she could feel two menacing auras approaching her from behind. Whipping around, Kagome turned just in time to see a dark, glowing arrow heading straight for her. With instincts ingrained into her from an entire year spent training with Sesshomaru, secretly, of course, she just barely managed to dodge it, the arrow grazing her cheek as it flew by her head.
It was silly really. Sesshomaru had first approached her with the order that she stand and learn his training. She could not say no to such an opportunity, but when she asked his reasons, he replied stiffly that it was so his debt would be cleared for saving his charge's life. Kagome had nearly laughed outright at Sesshomaru's pouting (or as close to pouting as it would get) face.
Kagome was about to send another arrow back at in the direction it was fired in, but she felt a familiar aura at her back and recognized it to be Inuyasha's. Smiling, she turned to greet him only to be met with a set of gleaming claws shoved into her abdomen. Grimly, she noted with dark humour that Tetsusaiga was lying by his side, battered and old-looking. It was proof that he could not wield it against her, because he was no longer protecting a human. She was able to grab a hold of it before Inuyasha viciously removed his claws from her stomach.
"What do you think you are doing Inuyasha?" Kagome spat, clutching her wound that was precariously spilling her life onto the cold ground. At that moment, Kikyo walked out and put her arms around Inuyasha, pulling him into a sickening kiss. Imagine, a dead corpse kissing a dog. Bad images. Anyway, moving on…
"What's wrong reincarnation? You must have known this would happen." Kikyo said in a sickly-sweet voice. "After all, no one goes for the copy." Kagome felt the familiar stirrings of sorrow, but pushed them away angrily.
"Inuyasha. How could you? I trusted you! I may not love you anymore, but I still think of you as a friend!"
"Feh, stupid bitch. I only pretended to like you even the slightest bit, because I wanted the Jewel!" Kagome felt betrayal slowly work its way up from her stomach to grip her heart painfully. She began to doubt herself again. Terror started to rise up within her and turning from the scene, she fled.
"Oh no you don't, bitch!" Inuyasha raced after her, inflicting many gashes on her person while Kikyo shot more and more arrows, one piercing right into her chest. She just barely managed to tumble over the edge of the Bone Eater's well and mutter a sealing chant before she succumbed to the darkness. She did not see nor feel the feather that she always kept on her person glow brightly and shudder before it dragged her to an unknown place. Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.