Daisuke kept getting suspicious looks for the next three weeks. It was frustrating, to say the least.

Finally he had enough.

"Cousin, either you tell people the truth or I will," said Daisuke.

Harry had explained months ago why he didn't want to announce that Daisuke was his cousin. It seemed the cold stares had changed his mind.

"Fine," sighed Harry.

The next morning Harry enlisted the help of Padma and Parvati Patil, both of which were renowned gossips. (Harry would sometimes go up and ask the Gryffindor twin what the latest gossip was. Usually when he was bored.)

In less than a day, the entire school had heard the rumor that the Japanese transfer was directly related to Harry Potter. For the next three days Harry confirmed the rumor, and the number of glares sent towards Daisuke and Harry dropped drastically.

Of course it did increase the smugness that Draco Malfoy let off. Learning that the boy-who-lived was actually a pure blood only increased his rather annoying traits.

So in retaliation Daisuke decided to burst his bubble. He had noted an odd name in the trophy room, and when he reworked the letters, discovered Voldemort's real name.

Tom Marvolo Riddle. When Daisuke reworked the letters, it spelled out 'I am Lord Voldemort.'

One owl to the goblins later, and Daisuke discovered something else that had been well hidden from everyone.

Voldemort was a hypocrite of the worst kind. He was a half-blood, the same kind of wizard he claimed were worthless.

Christmas. There had been another attack. Hermione felt positive that Malfoy was behind it, despite the things Daisuke discovered (and Harry did less translating than usual to explain).

Still, Harry was looking forward to Christmas for a change. This year he was heading back to Japan with his cousin to spend Christmas with his family.

(He had talked to the house elves to hold his presents until after he came back. The twins had given him a place where he could open them with Daisuke in peace.)

"So Daisuke, what will you be doing for Christmas?" asked Hermione.

"We visit temple. Pray for good year and then go to local festival," said Daisuke.

"I didn't think you celebrated Christmas," said Ron.

"We don't. It's considered a holiday for lovers in Japan. But there are enough Christians in Japan that it's still a holiday. They hold a festival at the temple to celebrate the Winter Solstice."

"Well what do you plan to do for New Year's?" asked Ron.

"Ron, New Year's in Japan isn't until February," said Harry in exasperation.

"Blimey! How did you know that Harry?" asked Ron.

Harry held up a book. It was a list of Asian cultures and holidays.

"Since I found out my other aunt was Japanese, I bought a book on their culture. Saved me a lot of headaches," shrugged Harry.

Upon seeing Hermione's look, Harry handed it over. She was soon lost to the world.

"I'll get you some books for Christmas 'Mione," said Harry.

Daisuke and Harry were on the train, discussing what they would do once they reached home. Emiko had promised to pick them up from the air port so they wouldn't suffer wizard travel. It was too cold to fly, even with their cloaks.

Of course Emiko promised to let them fly over the ocean with warming charms.

It didn't take long for them to fall asleep. When the train stopped, they woke up with a start. They promptly grabbed their trunks and headed out.

Neither of them noticed the red haired woman who followed them until they heard a commotion at the security station.

"Ma'am, you need a ticket to pass."

Harry slowly turned and saw something that would change how he felt about Dumbledore forever. He had long suspected that the old man had an unhealthy interest in his life.

And now he knew it to be true.

For standing there, about to be arrested was Molly Weasly. Ron's mother. The only one who could have convinced her to go into a muggle airport was Dumbledore. And nothing short of the headmaster would have convinced her to actually follow him.

They quickly went through the airport and onto the plane. Daisuke looked at his cousin in concern.

"What is wrong cousin?" asked Daisuke.

Over the past few months, Daisuke had improved his English a great deal. Now most people could understand him when he asked something. The only time he spoke his native tongue was when he was alone with Harry or with the ghosts.

Harry on the other hand, rarely used the charm anymore. He had gotten to an intermediate level of speaking Japanese. The only way he could really improve his ability was to speak with his family.

"That woman at the air port. I know her."

"Who was she? She looked familiar."

"Molly Weasly. The twin's mother."

"...Why was she there? I thought you said pure bloods rarely go into someplace mundane?"

"I'm fairly certain she was there on orders to follow me. And there is only ONE person who she would listen to without question."

Daisuke looked outside and said absentmindedly "An old man with horrible taste in color combinations?"

Harry looked up from his book.

"How the hell did you know that?"

Daisuke pointed outside.

Harry looked through the window which his cousin had left open. There, on a very fast broom was Albus bloody Dumbledore. How he managed to stay up in the air without dying of oxygen deprivation mystified him. And wasn't the air much colder at this altitude? Harry stared in complete shock.

From what he could tell, his headmaster was flying right beside him without a hint of discomfort. Which made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Harry had a sinking suspicion what was going on.

"I'm heading to the loo. Be right back."

Daisuke nodded, and continued staring at the bizarre sight outside.

Once Harry closed the door to the tiny bathroom, he took out something he wanted to show his aunt. It was a blood red feather that he picked up after his the Quidditch game where he nearly fell to his death.

He sat down and concentrated. The feather was his like wand, (which was securely locked in his trunk and out of reach) an extension of himself. He could do this.

A spell formed in his mind. He had no idea what it did, but he trusted whatever source provided it.

"Finite Incantatem Maxima!" he whispered.

The feather flared once before it vanished. Harry didn't feel anything different, so he left the loo. Daisuke gave him an odd look.

"Old man gone."

Harry looked. Dumbledore wasn't there anymore.

"How did he vanish?"

"There was this weird blood red light that hit him like lightning, and when it cleared he wasn't there anymore."

"I wonder what that was about?"

"What did you do?"

"Remember all those feathers I picked up from when my wings first came out?"

"Yeah?"

"I used one to cast a spell. It works just like my wand, only the feather vanished when I cast the spell," said Harry.

"So we have an untraceable means of casting spells over the holidays?"

"Well I do. You're Japanese, so you wouldn't be picked up by Ministry sensors anyway. Plus your government is more lenient to underage magic use."

"True. I've been using magic for five years now, and they haven't bothered me about practicing at home once."

Sixteen painful hours later, they were in Japan. Emiko promptly picked the boys up and by the time they were home made sure they managed to make it to their beds. Jet lag was a nightmare for cross-continental flights.

The next morning both boys were awakened by the not so subtle hint of their beds caving in. Emiko's joke was in full force. Fortunately for them, they hadn't lost their edge while in the boarding school. Both of them jumped out of their beds fast enough that they were almost tangled up by their covers. Two minutes later and both were dressed and ready for the day.

She beamed at them.

"I'm so proud of you two! Five months at that school and both of you are still as fast as ever!"

"We've been jumping off the balconies so we could keep our edge. And running outside the Forbidden Forest does wonders for our speed," said Harry, wiping his eyes.

She frowned at them.

"We had our ropes tied securely to the banisters," said Daisuke quickly.

(Harry still wasn't used to someone actually caring whether he lived or got hurt.)

They went downstairs and had breakfast. Once that was over they told them all about their time at Hogwarts. Daisuke briefly touched on his difficulties with the language, while Harry demonstrated his improvement.

After that they went outside. Daichi and Emiko wanted to see if they had in fact managed to bring out their wings. Harry went first.

He went deep inside his core and found the thread that he needed. It had become almost second nature to bring them out. At first it had been somewhat painful, but that pain was nothing to what Vernon Dursley used to inflict.

Blood red wings, roughly fifteen feet wide appeared in a flurry of feathers.

Daisuke was next. He went inside his core, and found the tendril he wanted. It was easier than before, when he had to concentrate for at least fifteen minutes to bring them out.

His wings were nearly fourteen feet wide, but appeared to still be growing.

They beamed at them both. They were the youngest in the family to develop their wings to the extent that they could bring them out on command. Normally the boys in the family had to wait until they reached the age of fourteen to bring them out. The year they came of age.

Since they could bring them out, it meant that both were ready to begin their training into the family magic.

Much to his surprise, the Niwa clan specialized in sealing magic. They had mostly practiced their craft by sealing away the power contained in art made by their rival clan, the Hikari. By that didn't mean they limited themselves.

Over the years, the family had gathered the most extensive collection of sealing magic in Europe and Asia. Harry practically dove into the library. Daisuke was right next to him. Since they had managed to bring out their wings, Daichi deemed them ready to learn from the library.

Since there was no way they could read all the volumes in the scant two weeks they had, Harry found books that he would definitely read while at school.

They were encouraged to read the books. So Daichi told them to owl them with the book they finished and they would send the next one back.

Between the two cousins, it was likely they would devour the library long before they came of age.

Harry had to get help putting on the yakuta properly. This was his first visit to the temple, and he was excited. Not only would he be learning more about the culture, but he would get to go to a festival!

Harry went up the steps two at a time. Emiko smiled as she watched his enthusiasm. No one would be able to tell that half a year ago the boy had been timid and unsure of himself.

Now he was a bright boy who was clearly happy about his life.

Once he received the blessing of the temple, Daisuke and Harry went to play at the festival. Both had been given enough money that they could enjoy themselves for a while.

Daisuke found the first game. It involved throwing circles around the prizes. While Harry was good at catching small objects, he was terrible at throwing them. Which is probably why Daisuke had better luck. They walked away with a small owl and rabbit doll. Harry picked the next game. The boys managed to catch a single fish each.

"Hey Dai, look! A takoyaki stand!" said Harry.

"You like fried octopus?"

Harry grinned at him.

"Why not? I like trying new things...except natto."

Daisuke laughed. It turned out Harry had a sixth sense for delicious food. He zeroed in on at least four different stands that had great food.

However neither boy tried the natto.

Christmas morning came and went with only one difference. Emiko let the boys sleep in and didn't bother with the traps. Both were quit surprised, but didn't comment. They spent their vacation reading from the library and helping Emiko clean their rather large art collection.

Which was when Harry found the swords. One was silver bright with a small pair of moons on the hilt. The other shined like gold, but wasn't made from it. It had small suns on the hilt.

Emiko looked them over and promptly knew what they were.

"The legendary Celestial swords. If I remember right, we got those as payment for sealing the magic of some idiot who kept killing people."

Harry picked up the one with the moon on it. Daisuke picked up the one with the sun. The two swords began to glow brightly in their hands.

Emiko looked impressed.

"Looks like you two will have more than magic lessons when you come home," she said brightly.

"Why?" asked Harry suspiciously.

"Those swords are a pair. Alone, one might be able to take out a minor ward or shield...but combined they can cut through any magic."

"Any magic?"

"Any magic. According to legend anyway. We haven't been able to test the story."

The two looked at each other and nodded.

"We can test it," they said in unison.

They returned to Hogwarts to find the rumor mill going at full force. Over the holidays the Gryffindor ghost and a boy named Justin was hit by the force that attacked Mrs. Norris.

Fortunately, the boys were officially not suspects for the attack. It was well known by now that Harry was fond of Sir Nickolas and had no quarrel with Justin. Plus the attack happened while they were far, far from Hogwarts.

Alas, since they were away from the school they missed Lockhart having his ego handed to him by Snape.

They actually felt sorry for missing that.

Every weekend they had to spare, they practiced with the swords inside a room they discovered. While they were a bit...enthusiastic about the entire idea, it was clear that they needed someone who knew how to wield a katana properly.

So they placed their new swords in their trunks until they could take actual kendo lessons.

Three more attacks occurred over the next few months. Fortunately there were no fatalities...yet. However, there was something that bothered Daisuke about the attacks.

While he could accept there was a creature doing all the damage, he had a hard time believing that there were no fatalities. Which lead him to examine the attacks closer.

Hmm...each attack happened when the victim was alone, and relatively unobservant. In each case the victim was petrified...but how? The spell to do such a thing is well beyond any student and the teachers have no motive to do it. Unless...

Daisuke looked at each piece of evidence found at the attack sites.

Water, camera, ghost, glass, and of course there was the rather interesting piece of ice crystal that later melted. Which all lead him to one thing.

Reflection.

That was when it hit him. Whatever was petrifying the students wasn't doing so intentionally. It was a result of a reflection. And from what he could gather of Salazar Slytherin, they were likely dealing with some sort of snake. He was a reputed Parselmouth.

That thought had Daisuke immediately seeking Hermione Granger, the only person he knew who practically had the library catalog memorized.

"Hermione-chan," asked Daisuke, "what sort of snake lives for hundreds of years?"

"What?"

Daisuke took a calming breath and repeated his question, trying to keep his English steady.

"What kind of snake could live this long?" repeated Hermione.

She worked out the clues herself, and her eyes widened.

The two headed straight to the library. Hermione promptly looked through the books and found something.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?" asked Daisuke.

Hermione looked through them and found what she was looking for him.

"Here it is! The basilisk!" said Hermione excitedly.

"That picture is wrong you know," said Daisuke.

"What?"

Daisuke looked through his bag and found a book. It was from the family library. Inside the book was a picture of a beast with the combination of a snake and a rooster.

"What is this?"

"From family library. Bestiary Seals and how to break them."

Hermione clearly wanted to read the book, but her desire to find the mysterious Monster of Slytherin outweighed her bookworm self.

"Basilisk: King of Serpents. Can kill with a glance...Spiders flee before it...Can live hundreds of years... This is the monster!"

Daisuke nodded.

"I figure as much. Salazar was a Parselmouth, which meant he preferred snakes over other magic creatures. And it made the most sense out of all the other creatures out there."

"While it does make sense, how on earth did you figure it out?" asked Hermione, curious.

Daisuke looked embarrassed, "My mother loves crime shows for some reason. Most likely because of her pride in our family's business. She encouraged me to think like a detective often."

"What is your family business?" asked Hermione.

"I have no idea. All I know is it involves art, a high standard of physical ability, and locks."

Hermione scrunched her face in confusion before she replaced the book. Daisuke noted with interest that she had torn a page out of it, and said nothing.

She reached into her bag and took out a small mirror. Daisuke took out something from his bag as well. They walked carefully around the corridors, keeping half an ear out for something slithering.

It was Daisuke who heard the voice first. It didn't sound human at all.

"Must...kill... Must...rend! I smell humans!"

He froze, and then grabbed Hermione's arm. Five seconds after he practically slammed the door closed, they heard something slithering on the ground outside the door.

Hermione's eyes widened in shock.

"How...?" she hissed.

"I asked my Grandfather over break whether we had any bloodline heritage in our family, and he mentioned that we had a knack for snake tongue...and taking care of magical creatures, like unicorns."

She gave him a look.

"And yes, I have heard the bit about parselmouth being the sign of a warlock, but frankly I could care less. Back home, it was considered a good thing."

"Why?"

Daisuke gave her an odd look.

"There are many legends of celestial dragons taking the form of snakes to sunbathe near small ponds and lakes. And there are a few tales of snake speakers who gained the favor of these dragons by being in the right place at the right time."

Once Daisuke was reasonably sure the creature was gone, they left the room. They looked around and saw no sign of the serpent.

They immediately headed to the common room to tell Harry of their findings.