A/N: For a YYH/HP crossover, this received a surprisingly significant welcome. Perhaps a result of all you lovely people who have me on author alert? :)

2.

"Yo! What's this I hear from Botan about a wizard who can see Spirit Energy?"

Genkai glanced away from where she had her student using his Spirit Energy to run on tall spikes without getting skewered.

"You came faster than I expected," Genkai noted. She had sent Harry away just two hours earlier. "Is it so horrifying a possibility for a wizard to do so?"

The floating toddler groaned around his pacifier. "You have no idea. Witches and wizards are finicky about their afterlife. Their magic leads them to their own plane just barely connected to the rest of the Spirit World, but the paperwork involved just ensuring that those with enough investment in the Wizarding world who have no magic of their own also ends up there, or at least as close as we can get without blindly chucking them off the edge of our realm is absolutely horrendous!"

Genkai scoffed. "Don't give me that crap, Koenma. This is about more than just paperwork. Why does it bother you so much that Harry can see Spirit Energy?"

Koenma sighed, before sitting cross-legged in the air with a small pout. "It's strange. No possessor of magic has ever before been made aware of Spirit World or Spirit Energy on their own. Their magic overwhelms any sixth sense they might have, so while some can see an aura of magic around other magic-users or feel the magic in the air from wards and spells, Spirit Energy goes completely under their radar. Are you sure this person was a wizard?"

"Of course not," Genkai replied, turning back to watch Yusuke move on to the next part of his obstacle course. "However, I've no other explanation for what he managed to demonstrate. His Spirit Energy is a very bright and distinctive green which remained just as calm and flowing before, during, and after his demonstration of his magical powers. Unique, handcrafted tea cups do not spontaneously clone themselves, nor do rubber balls appear out of nowhere and decide to dance in the air for whole minutes at a time. From your reaction thus far, it's clear that at the very least, magic is real. Whatever Harry Potter is, a wizard is just as good an explanation as any other."

Koenma inhaled so quickly that he nearly choked on his pacifier. "Harry Potter? The wizard is Harry Potter?"

Genkai gave him a look. "What about it?"

Koenma coughed for a few seconds before coming back to grips with himself and groaned. "My dad is going to be so upset. He never liked witches and wizards much, so it's good that there's little interaction with them. But, Harry Potter. If it were anyone else, then it could be hushed up pretty quick, but Harry Potter! Once the UK Ministry of Magic catches wind of their savior's new ability, it'd be the new biggest thing in their whole society!"

"Hmph," Genkai huffed. "I'm decidedly not interested. You can talk to the boy yourself tomorrow. That's when I told him to come back."

"Very well," Koenma agreed. "I'll have Botan come stay the night so she can alert me of his arrival. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Genkai. Koenma out." And with that, the toddler popped out of the air, presumably back to Spirit World.


Harry woke up early the next morning due to, er, portkey-lag, wondering when exactly he should be returning to Genkai's. Boton had given little indication of when to expect a reply from this Koenma person, and he had no way of contacting any of them without popping over. They were all muggles, and worse still, muggles without phones as Harry very much doubted any telephone lines extended into the large area of private land Genkai owned.

In the end, he decided he may as well wait for word from Koenma at Genkai's rather than pace around at the inn. He didn't think the hour would be a problem. Martial artists were all early risers or something, right?

This time he apparated onto the front steps and walked up to the door, knocking on the wooden frame while calling out, "Hello?"

"You're here!" came the cheery greeting. The door was quickly opened by Botan who gestured him in. Today, she was wearing navy blue jeans and a loose yellow sweater.

"Good morning, Botan. I wasn't expecting you to be here so early," Harry commented, tilting his head slightly in confusion for more than one reason. Today her bubblegum-pink glow seemed a little, muffled? It was hard to tell with his glasses on.

"I could say the same," she returned with a cheery smile, withdrawing a compact mirror from her pocket. Flipping it open, she talked into it, "Koenma, are you there?"

"Yo!" came a voice from the mirror. "Is he there already?"

"That's right, Master Koenma. Can you come now?"

Rather than answer, Koenma popped directly into the room with them, prompting Harry to instinctively draw his wand and point it at the unexpected arrival.

When he got a good look, however, he gaped at the toddler that was floating in the air beside them. The small boy was wearing a blue robe – not styled like a wizard's robe, but more like an old fashioned Japanese casual robe – and a tall blue hat with red accents and a red sash tied around his waist. In his mouth was a light blue pacifier that oddly didn't seem to affect his speech at all.

"So you're Harry Potter, hmm?"

Harry groaned. "Don't tell me I'm famous in your world too?"

"Quite the opposite, really," Koenma assured him. "What with your death experience and all, Spirit World is trying to keep your existence hush-hush, and with your new abilities, the secrecy is even more vital. If Demon World ever found out there were wizards capable of both magic and spirit powers, who knows what they might try to do. I do hope you plan on keeping this new ability of yours quiet?"

Harry nodded vigorously. "I've already mentioned it to my two best friends, but all of us would prefer to keep any new oddness about myself out of the public. Most people back home don't even know I died – they assumed Voldemort was lying about killing me, or that I was playing dead waiting for the advantage."

"Well that's something I suppose," Koenma muttered. "Is there anything else we need to talk about?"

Harry and Botan traded looks. Suddenly, they were both reminded of the fact that it was Genkai who had called for Koenma to get answers. Botan understood the situation by now, having been given Harry's file while at Spirit World, and Harry had simply wanted to know more about his ability when he came to Japan.

Although, if the head of Spirit World was offering…

"What is this Spirit World exactly?" Harry asked. "When I died, I remember being at King's Cross Station, talking to Dumbledore. Is that a part of it?"

"Hmm, no, not really," Koenma answered. "When a person dies, their soul and body separate. Normally, a guide is needed to take that soul from the human world to their new home in Spirit World. Botan is one such guide. Whether or not the soul becomes a ghost depends on how successfully they refuse their guide.

"For those with magic, however, it is different. When a magical being dies, their soul and body separate still, but there is no need for a Spirit World guide. About an hour or so after dying, the magic leaves the dead body to find the soul and manifest the soul's final desires. If after the hour of reflection the soul chooses to stay, the magic will infuse the soul with enough energy to become a ghost, visible and audible to human eyes and ears. If the soul is willing to move on, the magic acts as a kind of vessel, bringing them to your afterlife.

"Your afterlife is technically still part of the Spirit World, though pretty much out of our jurisdiction. We mostly communicate in organizing the new homes of non-magicals who were involved in the Wizarding world, or processing visitation requests from their people to visit our residents.

"But I digress. The answer to your question is that the vision you saw after dying was likely just in your head since you weren't dead long enough to be taken from the human world. Its possible this Dumbledore figure did come to speak with you, I'm not sure. It's rare, but occasionally souls in the magical afterlife come to visit the dying to convince them to make one choice or another. I'm vague on the details since it's not part of my jurisdiction."

"I see," Harry mumbled, trying to wrap his mind around all this new information. "Er, where's Genkai, anyway?"

"Outside training Yusuke," Botan informed them. "That's right, Koenma, sir, did you answer all her questions yesterday?"

"I believe so," Koenma replied. "And if that's all, I'll have to be getting back. George has been getting on my case lately."

"Of course, sir. Have a safe trip back!" Botan wished cheerily.

"Yeah, er, thanks for coming to clear that stuff up," Harry added.

"Not a problem. Let's just try and keep this whole thing on the down-low, right?" Koenma requested once more, and then popped silently out of existence.

"That's a lot quieter than apparation," Harry observed.

"It helps that he doesn't have a body to transport," Botan explained. "And even if he did, he's had seven centuries to figure out how to teleport silently."

"Seven centuries?" Harry repeated incredulously. That little child was older than the Flamels!

"Mm-hmm," Botan confirmed, turning around to look out the back door. "Oh look, they're coming back!"

Genkai strode in calmly as Yusuke staggered in behind her. "Oh? You've come already? Did you speak to Koenma yet?"

"Yeah, he just left," Harry said.

"Yes, and I must be going as well," Botan suddenly announced. "It was good seeing you all again. You work hard, Yusuke! The others are busy training too."

"Ha!" Yusuke grinned with his trademark smirk. "You tell them I wish them all the luck, 'cause I'm still going to cream Kuwabara into the ground when I get back."

"You're such a child, Yusuke," Botan sighed. "Good bye Master Genkai, so long Harry." She skipped out the door and hopped down the steps out of view.

Genkai had them all settled down for another round of tea with Yusuke once more set to the task of manifesting his Spirit Energy into a solid form.

"What is he training for exactly?" Harry inquired.

"His Spirit Awareness. That's your new talent, by the way. Your ability to see the Spirit Energy of those around you, as well as how you navigated the forest yesterday without being attacked is proof of your consciousness of the energy emitted by the soul.

"The dimwit here is currently only aware enough to gather his Spirit Energy into bursts of energy, while a friend of his has enough control to create and use it as a sword. Of course, with his bullheadedness, Yusuke will likely never be able to do the same. But by increasing his understanding of his own flow of energy, he might be able to increase the number of bullets in his arsenal, as well as gaining the ability to utilize my Spirit Wave technique. One can only hope.

"It figures that after all my tests that emphasized the importance of Spirit Awareness, I'd end up with a student who has no appreciation for the skill."

"Yeah, well, at least you didn't end up getting a demon for a student that would've killed you right after learning your powers," Yusuke shot back.

"I'm getting the feeling that you've led a very interesting life, Yusuke," Harry observed. "Possibly even more so than mine."

"Eh, only for the past year or so," Yusuke waved off. "Before that I was just the worst punk of Sarayashiki Junior High. Gotta say though, fighting demons is a lot more interesting than just beating Kuwabara's face in everyday."

Harry shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever understand that kind of feeling," he shrugged. "I've never been particularly fond of fighting for fun."

"Well then you have the right skill," Genkai offered. "With your awareness come two main uses – manipulation of your energy for offensive purposes, and sensing other's energy for defensive purposes. If you follow your instincts from now on, you'll likely never be caught in an ambush ever again, human or otherwise."

"Huh, that seems useful."

"Indeed," Genkai stated dryly. "Unfortunately, I'm quite busy for the next few months making sure this brat will survive the tournament he had been so kindly invited to. You are welcome to join us for as long as you can stay. I'll give you tasks to perform each day and perhaps some advice if I'm in a good mood, but you'll mostly be on your own. Is that understood?"

"Of course," Harry agreed. "I'm very grateful for all this," he added firmly. Genkai didn't seem the type to take on students at a whim, so while he didn't know why she was apparently making an exception for him, he was nonetheless thankful.

"Very well, you might as well try doing what this boy is failing miserably at. Come along, slacker. We're going back outside to do something you actually have some hope of succeeding at."

Harry was left behind in the temple with his task while Genkai and Yusuke left for training once more.

Making a cup, huh? Harry wondered if it'd be anything like conjuring with magic. The thing was, with magic, he wasn't exactly aware of the purposeful manipulation of his magic to create an object. His wand was responsible for that task while his mind visualized the end result.

Perhaps?

Harry took his glasses off and concentrated on the green glow of his body. There was a slow but steady flow of the energy around his body with occasional wisps of it escaping and dissipating from his skin. Focusing, he tried to imagine a decent chunk of energy leaving the flow for him to mold into a different shape.

However, much like the small dissipating wisps, the chunks would dissolve as soon as they were forced out of the current. Trying to remove a larger mass only resulted in a small explosion, not unlike the occasional backfired spells during the early months of spell learning at Hogwarts.

Apparently Spirit Energy was unstable when static. But how else was he to use it then?

Harry huffed irritably and conjured a mirror to crouch in front of it to get a better look at his Spirit Energy flow. What exactly could he do with it?

This time, instead of tearing away a chunk of energy, he extended his arm out and tried to imagine the flow expanding outwards like an inflating glove. It was a bit hard to see the three dimensional effect in a two dimensional mirror, but there was no doubt his arm's green blur started to enlarge as he squinted in the mirror.

The change was stable as long as he kept his mind focused and the current strong, but how could he use this? He was suddenly reminded of a few early transfiguration exercises when they learned to re-picture objects as if they could be remolded like clay. Instead of creating something completely new, he really just needed to reshape his already existing energy.

Harry brought his hand palm up in front of him and pointed his fingers upwards to create a cup-like shape. If he forced his aura to first keep that shape, then pictured it flowing down from the edges, and finally moved his fingers to pinch it towards the side, the energy's beginning and end from his index finger was almost like holding a cup by its handle.

For a minute Harry could only stare at his apparent success, feeling almost giddy. He had never learned anything so quickly since his first ride on a broom. It was surprisingly easy to manipulate this Spirit Energy of his. Of course, six years of visualization practice at Hogwarts probably didn't go amiss.

As he was thinking this, however, the cup started to shrink in towards his fingers, unable to be maintained so far from its source in so strange a shape. Scowling, Harry firmly pictured the original cup's size and pushed the green glow back in place. So it wasn't quite like doing magical transfiguration. With transfigurations, it was all or nothing. You either failed the spell or succeeded. Sure, there were the mediums of how long your spells lasted, but there wasn't anything you could do to change that after the spell was cast. This Spirit Energy manipulation was more like defensive spells where a shield such as Protego or curse like Crucio needed to be maintained through a constant feed of magic.

Down from his high, he suddenly worried if his creation could hold liquid. It certainly didn't look very solid.

Harry sighed and awkwardly reached for the teapot, attempting to pour with his less dexterous left hand. He dipped a little too far, a gush of tea almost flooding the cup which wavered with the new weight. Concentrating on maintaining the image of a cup, the shape stabilized.

Success! Could he drink from this? Cold tea probably wouldn't taste very good, though, even if he did like this strange Asian tea.

A grumble from his stomach snapped him out of thought, the sudden distraction also causing him to drop the visual in his mind, the cup snapping back to its normal flow around his hand and cold tea spilling on the floor.

A Scourgify was on the tip of his wand when the wet spots began to spark and sizzle. A few seconds later, the liquid had evaporated, leaving behind scorch marks on the wooden floorboard. Harry stared, his hunger forgotten.

Bloody hell. That can't be normal.


"Man, don't you find it strange having a wizard in your home right now?"

"You hardly should be worrying about him right now, dimwit," Genkai retorted from her place beside him. The two of them were in a grassy field, both upside-down with a single finger over a needle, using a tightly concentrated point of Spirit Energy to balance on the sharp points.

"Aw, come on, Grandma," Yusuke grinned. "You can't tell me it didn't shock you to find out magic is real."

Genkai simply grunted in response.

"Although, I gotta say, this Harry guy looks pretty weak," the teen thought aloud. "Like I could knock him out with a single punch. I guess wizards don't really do fist fights, huh? You think I could beat him in a fight?"

"It matters little," Genkai finally spoke. "He looks to have some experience in fighting, but he has no warrior mindset. The boy would be better off ignoring his Spirit Awareness and going back to a normal life."

"So why'd you offer to train him, then? I remember Kuwabara once said you could turn down lower a person's spirit sense – couldn't you do that for him?"

"Don't be ridiculous. A spirit sense is not so simply blocked. Doing so could easily result in complications in both the soul and the physical body." She pointedly ignored the first question about why she agreed to train him, pushing herself off the needle into the air where she did a half flip to put herself right-side up.

"Prepare yourself," she suddenly shouted, pointing a finger at her student like a gun.

"What? Hey, hold on!" Yusuke started to panic slightly, extending his free arm to maintain balance as his legs scissored in surprise.

Genkai, of course, paid no heed to his protests and an explosion rang through the clearing, Yusuke blown off the needle from the impact.

"Cheh, pathetic," Genkai evaluated. "Get up; we'll have to do it again."

"God damn it, Grandma, you old hag."


"What do you want?"

The small red demon shifted nervously in place, his tail twitching behind him. "I've got some pretty valuable information that I'm sure the committee would be interested in hearing," he simpered to the Toguro brothers who stood guard outside the conference room.

"Oh?" the younger, but significantly larger, demon of the Toguro brothers asked in a deadpan voice. "I'll be the judge of that," he said, his elder brother snickering from his perch on his sibling's shoulder as the pathetic lower-being hunched over in a cowardly show of 'respect.'

"Of course, of course," the red demon quickly agreed. "But you know, I'm not sure information like this should be said so openly, you see, and of course, there's a matter of payment. It's pretty dangerous intel I picked up in a pretty dangerous location, you see," he hemmed and hawed, his large ears wagging at the sides of his head.

"I assure you that you will find us far more dangerous," the younger Toguro calmly declared. "Where did you find your information?" he asked, generously allowing the demon to keep the actual information to himself a bit longer.

"The Dark Forest on Genkai's land. I overheard a series of very interesting conversations there…" he trailed off in a sleazy attempt to sound like he was holding something tantalizing just out of reach.

"Genkai. What do you think, Brother?" the younger's deep voice rumbled.

The elder Toguro cackled a little through his long, limply curling hair that partially obscured his face. "I think we should just kill the thing already, dear Brother."

"That might upset our employer," the younger Toguro countered. He stood silently judging the red demon a few moments longer through his thin sunglasses before raising a hand up to knock on the door behind him. "If they decide what you have to offer is useless, I don't know what they'll order me to do to you," he cautioned in his low, monotone voice. It wasn't a threat. Toguro was an employed demon with a generous salary, after all. Any violence he might need to commit on the red demon would be purely business.

The information broker just smirked. There was no way they wouldn't be interested in Genkai's newest student, considering who her other human was. And seeing as the team of humans and traitorous demons was still short a member…


"Koenma, sir, you have a letter," an ogre announced as he walked into his boss' office.

"What is it now?" Koenma groused, stamping his approval through a tall stack of papers. "It better not be another complaint from City of Oranges. I'm not going to approve of them growing human world oranges in Spirit World."

"Uh, no sir, actually, it's from the committee for the Dark Tournament."

"What?" Koenma dropped his stamp and quickly stood on top of his chair, leaning over his desk to stare at the ogre. "What do they want? They've already invited their guests, I've already signed the papers necessary as owner of the guest team, and the location is the same as every year. Everything else they take of themselves."

The ogre, having no answer to give, handed the letter over.

Koenma tore it open and quickly read it through, then read it a second time, hands trembling. Slumping down, papers flew everywhere as he knocked a stack off the desk.

"My dad is going to kill me."

A/N: And so the insanity begins...

To make things clear, since Kingdark has brought the issue up already, this story will NOT BE SLASH. In fact, there probably won't be any romance involved at all except the occasional references to Kuwabara/Yukina, Yusuke/Keiko, Ron/Hermione, and Harry/Ginny. In other words, I'm sticking to canon relationships and not making any new ones.

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Thanks so much for showing interest!