Yoko-Mama
I do not own Harry Potter or Yu Yu Hakusho. I have messed around in their worlds, dragging their characters into my sandbox. The characterization is not perfect, but hopefully not so terribly off that I cause strokes.
So, now you've seen why I said read at your own risk. Happily, the inspiration has not left me for this yet, and in fact, I have an ending in mind. And it likely won't be more than 2 more chapters. It did take quite a bit longer to get this chapter out than last, and that is partly due to my feeling that it should match the previous two in length. That caused a delay of 5 months, and little extra in the length of the chapter to show for it. So, I'm posting it anyway. It's a bit more than half as long as the previous two, but hopefully not any the worse for the lack of length.
I tend to be reclusive in regards to communication, but I do read all the comments and even reply to PMs I feel are in need of answering. However, I am an introvert naturally, sometimes to the point of hermetism, thus I guard my private time jealously. I still try to be polite though. I am Canadian, after all.
PS - Yes, you all finally get to find out what happens to Harry during the 'Hogwarts Years'. Plus, a bit of news from Europe in general, Reikai (Spirit World)'s take on how Voldemort died and it's repercussions, and a bit of not so subtle foreshadowing.
* O * O * O * O *
Obon Festival
"Kuronue slow down!" Kurama called after his son as he raced up the steps to the shrine, his yukata loose at his knees from his long strides.
"Oh, let him run, Shuichi." Shiori chided her son, giggling at how serious he was acting about Kuronue's wellbeing.
"I don't want him out of sight, mother. You don't know how much trouble he can get into if given half a chance."
"I'm sure you were the same way." she responded dryly, unaware of just how accurate her statement was. Kurama forced his cheeks not to redden.
The feeling of a wave of energy sweeping over him wiped the embarrassment away as his head snapped to where he'd last seen his son. Kuronue stood at the top of the steps, frozen as though he'd hit an invisible wall, and Kurama he could see a faint ripple in the air around him. Definite signs of a barrier.
Stifling a curse, he was up the remaining steps and pulling Kuronue back before his mother even noticed anything was wrong. Turning his son to face him, he took his face between his hands and looked him over.
"Kuronue? What's wrong, are you ok?"
"Mama?" His voice trembled slightly as his small arms wrapped around Kurama's neck tightly. Kurama stood and propped the eleven year old on his hip as easily as he had when Kuronue was three.
"What's wrong?" Shiori asked as she finally reached the top steps of the shrine grounds.
"I don't know yet. He seems to have hit a barrier." Kurama answered. He was more focused on calming his son, who seemed shaken, if physically fine.
"But we've taken him to temples before. We were just here for New Years." Shiori replied, confused as to what could be different this time.
"Excuse me!"
"I don't know. I'd like to take him home and make sure nothing affected him. He's never encountered a barrier before." He said, turning to head back down the stairs just as quick footsteps approached them.
"Excuse me, honored visitors!"
Kurama turned back to make an excuse to go, but was cut off by the young monk who had arrived.
"Is this the boy the one who triggered the barrier?"
Kurama's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What barrier?"
"The barrier identifying one can manipulate natural energy and of the age to be trained to use it."
- o - o - o - o -
"So they say that he can use this natural energy to manipulate the world around him, and they want him to train at the temple with other boys of his age located on Mt. Hiei in Kyoto."
Hiei raised an eyebrow at the location but didn't comment, yet.
"Did they say why Kuronue was almost stunned by the barrier?"
"Apparently when the first barrier stopped him his Youki reacted, which triggered the ward against invading youkai. It was a very uncomfortable experience and he was quite upset by it, but he wasn't harmed."
Hiei nodded. "Did they explain the first barrier?"
"Since it's so common for the Japanese to visit shrines at least once a year, the barriers are set to detect the natural energy of those over eleven, when the energy is developed enough, who have not yet been trained to use it. Apparently the energy reacts differently once you start training. Then whoever is on duty looks for the person identified by the barrier and explains things to them." Hiei hmmed to himself, then shot him a sly look.
"So if Mt. Hiei is where the boys are trained in the use of this energy, where are the girls trained? Or are there no females with this ability?"
Kurama remained silent.
"Yoko," Hiei's lips twitched in amusement, "Where?"
Kurama turned his head away, refusing to look at his partner as he mumbled his answer.
"Mt. Kurama."
Hiei snickered, then dashed away from the irate fox that started chasing him.
* O * O * O * O *
Return to Sender
"Yoko, what's this?"
Kurama looked up from his papers to see the object Hiei was holding out for inspection. It was rectangular, about the size of a large letter, a cream color like vellum or parchment instead of paper, and sealed with a crest in red wax on one side.
"I don't know." he replied, holding out a hand for the object.
"I found it in the closet. It was sticking out of one of your boots." Hiei said, handing the thing over.
As soon as it was in his hand, he remembered the feel of it, recalling deftly and soundlessly removing it from the mail slot and slipping it into the pocket of the coat he'd been wearing before heading straight back to Japan.
"Ah, I remember. When I went to England, the house that woman had lived in was being besieged by owls." He held up the letter, "They were apparently each trying to deliver one of these."
"So what does it say?"
"I never actually checked." Kurama shrugged, "I only really grabbed it on impulse. I wasn't about to stick around for an unknown mystery and spend more time away from home."
Hiei's demeanor towards him became almost noticeably more pleased (to him at least, he highly doubted anyone else would notice) at his admittance that he hadn't stuck around to try and find anything more about their son's previous family, although he likely could have.
"So, are you going to?"
"Open it?" Kurama asked, "Why not."
Taking a look at the front of the letter, it was addressed in bright green ink in fancy calligraphy instead of plain type. The address said:
Harry Potter
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging, Surrey
England
"I wonder who this Harry Potter is. It didn't appear to be anyone else living in the house from the way the resident was acting. I can't be sure, though. I didn't actually get a name." Kurama commented as he opened the letter and pulled out several sheets of thick, stiff paper.
Quickly looking over the contents, with Hiei leaning into his space to read along with him, they found an invitation to a magic school in Scotland, and a list of required materials to attend.
"They take a train?" Hiei commented, looking over the train ticket included with the letter.
"Apparently," Kurama said, glancing at the ticket, "9 3/4, what an odd numbering system."
"The connected Torii portals make much more sense." Hiei replied.
"Yes, well they don't seem to have anything that would be feasibly connected in their country. Torii in Japan are fairly accessible and uniform."
"What is a 'wand'?" Hiei asked after a moment.
"Essentially, it's a stick." Kurama said, "More specifically a short thin pointer of some sort. Some of the professors at University used laser pointers, or 'wands' during presentations."
"Why would a student going to a magic school need one of those?"
"I haven't the slightest idea, Hiei."
"Plain black robes?" Hiei murmured next, sounding incredulous, "Like bathrobes?"
"I very much doubt it," Kurama replied, suppressing an amused snort, "Likely something closer to Yukatas."
"Dragonhide or similar? Dragonhide?" Hiei commented next, vaguely incredulous. Kurama shrugged.
"I don't know if it's just called that, or if they have vastly different types of dragons than the one you use."
Hiei snorted in response. "I would hope so, I pity the person trying to kill and skin a dragon of darkness flame, let alone actually trying to wear it's skin if they do."
The discussion continued in that vein for another half hour, and while it was an amusing diversion, ultimately the two thought very little on it and the letter was relegated to a drawer of miscellaneous papers in a filing cabinet.
* O * O * O * O *
Look Ma, No Hands
"Very nice, Kuronue."
Hiei nodded along with Kurama's words, adding his approval for their son's progress. The newly turned twelve year old had spent the second and third terms at the Mt. Hiei temple learning to control his powers. While he'd had to catch up, having missed the first term (April-July), he'd quickly gotten a handle on it and was now near the top of his class.
As he returned home for the summer break, between late July and early September, he showed his mom and dad his progress. Sitting on the floor, breathing steady but relaxed, he focused his mind on what he wanted done, and then reached out to the world to make it happen.
Kurama and Hiei both were impressed as their son sat, calm and quiet, and proceeded to change the shape and color of his clothing, as well as that of a few small wooden objects he'd brought home to practice with. Then he followed by having the same objects float around his head like a miniature solar system.
At his parents' approval, he could no longer contain his excitement. The items dropped to the floor and he hopped up and gave a quick exuberant hug to both.
"Next year we'll be learning about banishing spirits and raising barriers!" he exclaimed.
Kurama and Hiei both smiled at their son's excitement. Neither was aware of that particular set of skills would be needed years later, and would be quite urgently called upon as a favor to a former employer.
* O * O * O * O *
Old, New, Borrowed, Blue
"I refuse."
"Hiei, be reasonable." Kurama argued with his longtime partner. The fire demon was being frustratingly stubborn, especially as it concerned his family.
"She should not be marrying that fool. I refuse to participate in such ridiculousness."
"Kuwabara proposed and Yukina accepted. There's not a lot we can do about it. It's entirely their choice."
"It's absurd. He's a human, and she's barely past her childhood. They won't ever have children, and even if he lives to be a hundred and ten, she will barely be a young adult."
Kurama barely restrained throwing his hands into the air in frustration. He knew, while the arguments his partner brought up were valid, that they weren't his real concern. Other than how it may feel for Yukina to have her spouse grow old and die as she remained young, anyway. Hiei was mainly worried about how this would mean that Kuwabara was tied to his only sister. While he may have grudgingly accepted the former delinquent as an acquaintance and team-mate in the past, he had no desire to be associated with him closer than that, especially not through his precious twin.
"So, are we going?"
Kurama and Hiei both turned to face their nearly teenaged son. He looked at them both impatiently. He was as tired as his mom at his dad's stubbornness and really just wishing to know for sure one way or the other.
He tilted his head to the side as an idea came to him. His eyes narrowed in amusement as he passed the thought on to his parents silently.
I could always turn his hair blue to match Auntie Yukina. You know the wedding tradition, 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue'. Her old blue hair color borrowed for his new color.
Something seemed to catch in Hiei's throat, before he turned away, his shoulders visibly quivering although he didn't make a sound. A moment passed as both redheads watched, bemused. Hiei eventually cleared his throat.
"Fine." He said, and promptly walked away.
"Oh finally!" Kurama exclaimed, pulling Kuronue into a hug. "Thank you!"
Kuronue snickered into his mom's shoulder and hugged him back.
"Anytime, mom."
* O * O * O * O *
International Incidents
"Did you hear about the international Incident concerning Reikai?"
Kurama stared at Yusuke for a moment. It wasn't that he thought his friend was unintelligent, but it was still strange to hear phrases like 'international incident' coming out of his mouth.
"I'm afraid I must have missed it. What's going on, and where?"
Yusuke snorted, crossing his arms, now reminding Kurama entirely too much of when he was still a cocky teen. "Apparently some magic types in England are stirring up trouble. Mad cult leader from a few decades ago used some kind of soul splitting ritual and managed to avoid their reapers for more than 10 years after some vigilante group killed him."
"How is this an international incident, then?" Yusuke grinned and leaned forward, getting into telling the story.
"Well, turns out that he hid out in Albania after he was killed, but that wasn't really what caused the issue. He managed to use some other ritual to stick himself back into a body, or make a new one, something like that." he shrugged, not seeming to care about the specifics. "But, after that, he starts going all over Europe getting his old cult members back together, and making attacks on various communities. No one but the magical types in those communities would care, really, but it turns out that it's still a Reikai matter, since he died and returned to life by illegal means, and he's still got his own soul sitting around in pieces."
Kurama felt a sliver of unease at the description, but couldn't say why.
"Last I heard, Junior's having a bit of a fit about it. Reapers aren't meant for the kind of battle conditions they'll meet if they're sent after the guy, and no one else is able, or allowed, to handle rogue souls without special dispensation, and specific skills besides. And you know, knowing how to fight. That's why no demons can go, even if we're best suited to the job, all things considered!"
"It sounds like a headache. Let me know if you know more about this. If he's already branching out into Europe, who knows how fast he'll move closer to home." Kurama asked of his former colleague.
"Sure thing. Botan still keeps Keiko 'n me updated when she comes around."
"Thank you, Yusuke." The man waved him off.
"Nothing to it. Heh, that reminds me, say hi to your boy for me, I haven't seen him since the wedding. Kazuma was still griping about the hair colour trick when I saw him last week and it's been almost a year already."
Kurama laughed at the reminder, and smiled warmly at the thought of his son, currently away finishing the third trimester of his third year at Mt. Hiei. He'd been so excited the year before, getting to work on exorcism and barriers, thinking it would let him explore in his astral form more safely. It turned out that those powers didn't work while out of his body.
"Maybe when Kuwabara has cooled off some, we'll ask if he would be willing to show Kuronue some Reiki tricks. Even if Kuronue doesn't have the ability, maybe it will sooth Kuwabara's ruffled feathers a bit."
Yusuke snickered, "Sure, maybe."
- o - o - o - o -
True to his word, Yusuke, and occasionally Keiko, called and gave him updates (and gossip, in Keiko's case) on the Reikai goings-on.
Kuwabara grudgingly agreed to see if Kuronue was capable of using Reiki the next time he was home from school. He warmed up a bit more to his nephew when it turned out that he was.
Other than wanting to keep a watch on a potentially volatile situation, however, Kurama didn't think much about the issue. He was unaware that it would become a much more personal problem in the not so distant future.
* O * O * O * O *