Wow, guys. I am so sorry it took me so long to update. I totally didn't mean to go this long, but I've been really busy, between school and work and theatre and GSA...it's COMPLICATED!!
But for everyone who was so patient with me, thanks SO much, and here's chapter 3!
In the cool darkness of their room in the Leaky Cauldron, Hiei watched Kurama sleep.
After hearing the news of their decision to attend the wizarding school, Dumbledore had happily ordered a large dinner. Shortly after the meal, Kurama had winced suddenly, putting a hand to his stomach. Dumbledore had apologized for keeping them up—'Typical nigen. Always apologizing;' Hiei thought. He'd said nothing aloud, but took Kurama's arm and helped him back to their room.
Kurama hadn't bothered to undress, he'd just had a brief argument with Hiei about who should get the bed—both nominating the other—and, after Hiei threatened to sleep outside in a tree, reluctantly took the bed. He'd fallen asleep almost immediately.
Hiei sighed. Though he'd never admit it to the redhead's face, he was worried about his friend. Usually when Kurama was hurt, he'd be hurting for a few hours, and then he'd sleep it off and be fine. This time, Kurama had slept for almost twelve hours, but still hadn't recovered.
He remembered what Kurama had said about the poison on Kuronue's blades. He scowled. Why, out of everyone they'd ever faced, did everyone have to pick on Kurama mentally? Genbu teasing Kurama's human form, Roto threatening Kurama's mother, Gama and Touya mocking Kurama's humanity as well, Uraurishima reverting the kitsune back to a, well, a kitsune, and Karasu...
Hiei's scowl deepened. Of the Tantei, he was the only one who had even a slight idea what Karasu had done to Kurama. And even with that, he didn't know the details. 'Although I'm not exactly sure if I want to;' He amended. But he was Kurama's best friend, after all, and naturally he'd listened to the trembling redhead's story. By the end of it, Hiei was sorely tempted to tell Koenma to resurrect Karasu, merely so that he, Hiei, could kill him again. 'Slowly and painfully, too.' He'd kept that to himself as well.
Sighing again, Hiei turned his gaze to the window. It was a full moon tonight, he noted wryly. If nigen legends held true, this was the night that werewolves ran free. He searched his mind for a similar Makai race. There was the Youkai-Ookami, demon wolves. Except, he remembered, they were wild at all times of the moon cycle—not just the full moon. But they did get the most power when the moon was full.
With a curiosity that he never would have voiced aloud, he wondered just what kinds of things they would see at this wizard school. They didn't get a chance to find out much from Dumbledore before Kurama softly apologized and asked if he could be excused.
The kitsune in question murmured something in his sleep, turning over. Hiei's eyes snapped back to him automatically. The movement made Kurama's peaceful expression twist into a slight wince, and he moaned softly.
Reaching over without thinking, Hiei brushed Kurama's bangs back from his face. "Shh;" He soothed. "It's alright."
Kurama's face relaxed, his lips curving into a small smile, and he slept on.
Hiei pulled his hand back, looking at it. Then he scowled. "Hn;" he snorted, knowing the redhead couldn't hear. "Kitsune no baka."
"He's late."
Kurama smiled down at his shorter friend. "He's only human, Hiei." The previous night's rest had regenerated him, and he'd been able to shower and dress without pain. He knew enough about healing to know to be cautious, and had kept his movements to a minimum in order to conserve strength.
Hiei glared at him, tapping his foot irritably. "I don't care if he's human, youkai, or in between. He's the one who told us to meet him here, he should be on time."
Kurama looked at him in awe. "I think that's the most you've ever said in one sitting."
Hiei crossed his arms and looked away. "Stupid fox."
A rush of displaced air and a small gasp from Kurama made him turn back.
Dumbledore had appeared in the middle of the alley, just near the door to the Leaky Cauldron. "Good morning, gentlemen;" He said cheerfully "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Urgent matter, something about mutant teapots. Can you imagine?" He chuckled; obviously expecting them to find it as funny as he did.
Apparently, they didn't. The two demons regarded him with raised eyebrows and skeptical expressions.
He cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I was saying. Well, we're going to need to get you two your school supplies, now won't we?" He began rummaging through his pockets.
Hiei glanced up at Kurama. "What the hell is he doing?" He said telepathically.
"I have no clue;" was Kurama's honest answer.
"Ah! Here it is!" Dumbledore announced, drawing their attention back to him. He gave them each a piece of paper. "Here you are. These are lists of everything you'll need to buy."
"Er...Professor? We don't—"
Dumbledore waved his hand. "Don't worry, my boy, all expenses will be taken care of."
"No, it's not that." Kurama interjected. "The problem is that Hiei and I don't speak English."
Dumbledore blinked. "Hm. Well. I hadn't thought of that."
Hiei's left eye twitched ever-so-slightly.
"Out of curiosity, Professor;" Kurama said, voicing Hiei's mental question. "Just how have you been talking to us?"
"A language charm, of course." Dumbledore explained. "As I told you, I had been expecting our Japanese representatives, so I had already cast the spell on myself."
"I see." Kurama glanced at Hiei. Their eyes met.
Dumbledore watched them with interest. They seemed to have a code language of sorts, that required no words or obvious signals. Hiei moved his right hand slightly. Kurama responded by tucking some of his hair behind his ear. Hiei adjusted his scarf, and Kurama blinked once. Hiei nodded almost imperceptively.
"Do you think it would be possible;" Kurama said, looking back at Dumbledore; "to put such a spell on us so that we could communicate with our fellow students?"
"An excellent idea." Dumbledore agreed. He took out his wand and pointed it at them.
At the sight of something resembling a weapon pointed at him, Hiei dropped automatically into a defensive stance, one hand on his sword, unconsciously moving in front of Kurama.
Kurama put a hand on his shoulder. "Hiei, it's alright."
Reluctantly, Hiei took a normal standing position, never taking his eyes off the wand.
"Sorry about that." Kurama murmured apologetically to Dumbledore. "He's a bit high-strung." He added, pointedly ignoring Hiei's glare.
Hiei blinked. "Kurama. Listen to yourself."
"What?" He jumped. "We're not..."
"Speaking Japanese;" Dumbledore supplied calmly.
"When did you...?"
"While you were immersed in your mental argument." Dumbledore beamed. "Well, now that you can speak, I think it's time we went to the bank."
An hour later, they emerged from Gringotts. Kurama still looked slightly nauseous. "Next time;" He said as soon as they were back in the sun. "We're walking."
Hiei smirked. "Can't handle the spins and flips, fox?"
Kurama turned faintly green. "Oh Inari;" He groaned.
If it wasn't beneath his status, Hiei would have laughed.
Dumbledore, on the other hand, did laugh, earning himself a glare from Kurama. "Well, gentlemen, you have your lists. You remember how the money system works, right?"
They nodded.
"Alright, then. I have to get back to the school. I've arranged someone to take you to the station to catch the train, alright?"
They nodded.
"Well, I'll see you at school. You'll keep out of trouble, won't you?"
They nodded.
"And you'll take care of each other and all that?"
They nodded.
"Cater to each other's every need?"
They started to nod, and then glared.
He laughed. "Just making sure you were paying attention. I'm off." He waved his wand and disappeared.
Hiei sighed. "I thought he'd never leave."
"That's not very nice." Kurama said, hiding a smile behind his hand. He put the bag of money in his pocket and looked at Hiei. "You have the lists, right?"
"Hn." Hiei fished them out of one of the barely noticeable pockets in his cloak.
"Good." Kurama took it. "Well, what should we do first, robes or books?"
"Dealer's choice." Hiei said, imitating Kurama.
Kurama looked at him, an almost annoyed look on his face. "Hey. Whether you like it or not, it's going to basically be just us for almost ten months. So you're going to have to tolerate me, got it?"
"Hn." Right back at you.
Kurama sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I'm just stressed out, I guess. I'm worried about Kaasan and Yuusuke and the others."
"Hn." Hiei grunted. "Not as worried as they probably are about you."
Kurama smiled slightly. "I suppose you're right."
Kurama sank gratefully into the chair their waiter pulled out for him. "I'm beat."
"Hn." Hiei agreed, pulling out his own chair with a glare towards the waiter. There were bags all around them from the three hours of shopping.
"Still, it was fun, wasn't it?" Kurama leaned forward, resting his chin in his hands. "I liked the bookstore."
"Liked" was an understatement, Hiei thought. Kurama had bought four more books than had been on the list, for "light reading", as he'd put it. He settled for giving the redhead a skeptical look.
"Are you still sore about the robe thing?"
Hiei's look molded into a scowl. "HN;" He snarled.
Kurama sighed. "It wasn't my fault, Hiei."
Flashback
"Is anyone here?" Kurama called curiously, entering the robe store.
"Just a moment, dear!" A woman's voice answered. A few moments later, a plump, elderly woman came out from the back room. "Oh! New faces! How nice. I'm Madame Malkin."
"A pleasure;" Kurama answered smoothly. "My name is Kurama, this is Hiei."
"Oh, he's adorable!" Madame Malkin cooed to Hiei. "Hello, dear!"
Hiei glared at her with such an intensity that she actually gave a little jump.
She turned back to Kurama. "Is he your younger brother?"
Kurama looked at her in amazement, then promptly burst out laughing.
"Shut up, fox!" Hiei snarled.
"I...can't...help it!" Kurama gasped.
"Well, you do look a bit small for sixteen, dear." Madame Malkin confessed.
"Stop it!" Kurama whimpered through hysterical laughing. "I...can't breathe!"
Hiei scowled at him.
Kurama, when he could breathe again, calmly explained Hiei's age and situation to Madame Malkin—"vertically challenged", he said.
Madame Malkin apologized profusely, but the damage was done.
End Flashback
"Hn." Hiei muttered.
"Well..." Kurama gave him a small smile. "It was sort of funny."
Hiei glared at him.
"Oh, fine." Kurama sighed. "Be that way."
"What's next on the list?" Hiei said, changing the subject.
"Um..." Kurama glanced down at the slightly rumpled piece of paper. "We got everything, actually. I wouldn't mind getting a pet, though."
Hiei shrugged. "Whatever."
The Diagon Alley Pet Store was a dark, almost creepy place. When they entered, Kurama almost unconsciously took a step closer to Hiei, who was glancing around uneasily. Cages lined the walls. A young witch with frizzed hair was painting her nails behind the desk.
A faint whimpering caught Kurama's sharp ears. Bending down near one of the cages, he found himself looking into soft silver eyes. "Oh, you poor thing;" He murmured. He turned to the witch behind the counter. "Excuse me—ma'am? What kind of animal is this?"
She glanced over. "That? Shadow fox. Pretty common in the Arctic. They're not that useful for practical things, but they're cute and loyal, and I'm told they're great spies."
"I see." Kurama held his hand near the cage. The fox reached out a paw, putting it against the wires, crying softly. Kurama's heart went out to the poor creature. He knew what it was like to be caged. "I'll take it. How much?"
"Fifteen galleons." The witch said absently.
"Done." Kurama opened the cage door. The little black fox promptly jumped into his arms, making a sound similar to putting. "Affectionate, aren't you, kitsune kage?" He stood up, holding it.
"Kurama." Hiei's voice caught his attention. "I think you'd better take a look at his."
Kurama followed his friend's voice to the bird cages.
Hiei's eyes were fixed on one cage. Inside it was a medium sized bird, bright green, with red, yellow, and purple feathers on it's head and tail. It's eyes were closed.
"Inari on the mountain;" Kurama breathed. "Isn't that...?"
"Suzaku's bird." Hiei confirmed. "This bird is of the Makai. I recognize the ki signal."
"Do you think...?"
Hiei nodded. "We're going to need to be able to send messages to Koenma. A bird like this can get through portals."
"That's true." Kurama leaned close to the bars. "Murugu?"
Hiei glanced at him.
"I think that was her name." Kurama shrugged. "We'll just have to see if she answers to it." He tried again. "Murugu?"
The bird opened her eyes. They were nearly human, a deep crimson. "How do...you know my name?" Her voice was raspy, obviously she hadn't spoken in a long time.
"A guess;" Kurama answered. "Do you remember us?"
She eyed them suspiciously, and then shook her head. "I don't remember anything. I woke up one day and I was here."
Kurama nodded. "I see. You remembered your name, though?"
"Yes." She whispered.
"I have a proposition for you." He said. "Would you like to get out of that cage?"
Her eyes brightened. "Very much!"
Kurama smiled, then turned back to the witch at the counter. "Miss? We'll take this one, too." He looked back at Murugu. "I'm Kurama, by the way. This is Hiei."
Hiei looked at her. "We're going to need you to carry a message to Japan."
And, that's the end of Chapter 3!
I didn't do a huge long thing with them trying wands, because almost every YYH/HP crossover I've ever seen has done that, and I think it's kind of boring after a while.
Big thanks go out to DarkYaoiFox, Megaotaku, Curry, Lady Starlight2, Fairren, TargetGirl, black fox, Oya, Talon and Skittles, Dizzy Away, Nanashi Kage Enjeru, Bloody Cross, Itsuko-chan, The Sixth Shinobi, and NekoT' Nuerotic1' Sammiegirl15. I love you guys!
Special thanks to my wonderful beta-er, Niyali, who didn't beta this chapter but is awesome anyways!!
Chapter 4 Preview:
Harry rolled his eyes. "You're pathetic, Ron! You see a pretty girl and you go crazy!"
"But you should have seen her, Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "She was gorgeous!!"
Hermione sniffed. "You're doing it again. You only pay attention to girls if they're good looking."
"I pay attention to you, don't I?" Ron countered.
She glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, I just—Hey!" He jumped up and looked out the window. "That's her! That's the girl!"
Dun dun dun! Please review!!