O.K. Just in case any lawyers are bored enough to surf this site, looking for law breakers, I do not own anything recognizable from Harry Potter or +Anima. They belong to their respective owners. Anything you don't recognize as canon is mine.
Possible OOC in some minor characters.
Thank you for waiting. Now, on with the story!
The Anima were half-dragged over to the Slytherin table by Nancy and her friends, Sarah and Nick. As they sat, the people around them shifted ranks, some moving closer, and many scooting further away. A few didn't move, but regarded the Gryffindors with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. They all ignored this, and continued talking about tomorrow's classes. No-one there saw Malfoy walk over to the Gryffindor table, though it was barely recognizable as that, so many others were there.
Finally, the food was all finished, and bells were chiming, calling all students to bed.
Sighing with regret, they parted, promising to meet at breakfast. The four of them walked to the Common Room, where several people cornered them.
"When are we meeting on Saturday?"
"Are we going to play… tag again or something else?"
"Is it really a Muggle game?" Husky turned to face this last person, a fifth year boy with curly brown hair. Cooro and Nana answered the others.
"Yes. Why, is that a problem?" he asked, feeling defensive. The boy looked at face and laughed.
"No, no! Of course not! It's just; the Muggle Studies teacher is having us do a report on Muggle games. So…" He stopped, looking awkward. Cooro turned and beamed.
"You wanna come? If you do, feel free! It's not a club or anything, we're just playing!" The boy smiled in response.
Later that night, after Fred and George congratulating them for managing to get the Slytherins to admit Muggles weren't scum, they all went to bed. Nana found Hermione fuming in the dormitories.
"What's wrong, Hermione?" She turned to her, a scowl on her face.
"Those dumb boys are going to do something stupid, that's what!" That was all she would say of it, so Nana shrugged and went to sleep. Later, she was awoken by the sounds of someone creeping through the room. Sitting up, she saw it was Hermione, pulling on a dressing robe and walking out. Quickly dressing, Nana followed. When they reached the Common Room, Hermione turned in surprise as Nana enquired, "You're going to tell me what's going on now, right?" Hermione blushed.
"Malfoy challenged them to a duel, and Harry and Ron accepted. They can't be out this late, or we'll lose so many points!" Nana giggled.
"Then we'll wait together!" She plopped down next to Hermione, but jumped up again.
"What is it?" Hermione looked at her in confusion as her face went from shock to bewilderment to amusement.
"Cooro just jumped out the window to the dormitories. He wanted to fly around. And... He's calling for me to come out." Nana looked over at her. Hermione sighed.
"Can you get him back inside? I'll have my hands full with those two," she asked beseechingly. Nana nodded, and, walking over to a window, leaped out, wings growing out as she went. Hermione went to the window, watching the two black-winged Anima fly for a moment, then walked to her chair and sat down to wait.
Nana smiled as the night air washed over her. Nothing was as nice as this. Cooro flew over, laughing.
"You came! You came!" he cheered, waving his arms around. Nana stuck out her tongue.
"You're acting like I wouldn't have! But, we need to get inside before someone sees us. Technically, we are out of bounds, no-one's supposed to be outside the Common Rooms after ten. Come on, we'll fly later!" Nana grabbed his arm, trying to pull him inside.
"A few more minutes, please?" Cooro had mastered the puppy-dog look, and Nana was not immune.
"Fine. But only a few minutes, okay? And be careful, we can't be seen!" She wasn't sure he heard, as he flew toward the towers with a whoop. She followed, listening for anyone around. Nothing, however, she did hear Hermione arguing with Harry and Ron in the Common Room. Hoping she could handle it, Nana caught up with Cooro, who was sitting on the top of the Astronomy Tower, waiting for her. She gestured toward Gryffindor Tower.
"Time to go, we can fly later." He sighed but didn't argue. They flew to their windows, entered and were asleep within a few moments.
Next morning, Nancy met them all in front of the doors, along with Padma Patil and Ernie MacMillon, both looking a bit uncomfortable with the Slytherin, but still making conversation. Sitting down at the Ravenclaw table, they were joined by Hannah Abbott and Justin Flinch-Fletchy. When it was time for class, the Ravenclaws came with them, and they all sat together. Hermione sat by Nana, as far as she could be from Ron and Harry. Neville looked like he had had a horrible night. Cooro went straight over to him.
"Neville! Are you okay? I'm so sorry you fell!" Neville, for his part, looked startled.
"I- I'm fine. Thanks for catching me yesterday. Um… Is it true you're an Anima? Someone said so at breakfast… What is that?" Cooro was beaming as he explained. McGonagall walked in. She looked over them all, not even vaguely surprised that they were so mixed. The class began, and when it came time to practice, she called Cooro up to her desk.
"I understand that you have permission to fly as you need to, but please refrain from doing so at night. Mr. Filch heard you yelling, and I do not want you disturbing the other students. Understood?" He nodded, thankful that Nana hadn't been noticed.
"Now, I heard about your study group, and I ask that if you are going to be practicing your spells, please ask a teacher. Spells aren't generally allowed on the grounds, but your group appears too large to use any classrooms," she was almost smiling at this. He nodded again, and she sent him to his seat, where Husky already had his match ready for him.
Charms was spent with finally trying out a spell, one to make the color of something change. They were given blue plates, and told to turn them red. Cooro's turned purple, Husky managed to make his green, with no idea how, and the others got varying degrees of success. Hermione's turned scarlet at her third attempt, Harry's had a red splotch shaped like a lion in the center, and Ron's was mutated into a large mushroom. Neville's didn't change. Flitwick told them to practice over the weekend, and they were dismissed.
Lunch was a mixed affair, with several other students walking back and forth between the tables, with the teachers observing. Nancy and the other Slytherin first years who had joined in the games yesterday joined the Gryffindors on the way to the dungeons, talking loudly even when the rest of the class entered a moment later. Malfoy looked very annoyed, especially when Pansy Parkinson walked over to Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil.
"Um… can I sit here?" They looked up, surprised, but quickly moved over to give her room, and pulled her into the conversation. Snape walked in, and the room went silent. He looked them over, a bit startled that the Slytherins were sitting with the Gryffindors like they'd been friends for years. He quickly got them started on a potion to cure colds, and the talking resumed. When class was over, the Potions Master was once again astounded. The potions were the best a first-year class had ever been able to come up with. Nana and Hermione's were perfect, Hermione's because she was, well, Hermione, and Nana due to her cooking skills. Senri had made something completely different from the assignment, as had Cooro. Senri, it turned out, had run out of armadillo bile without enough time to get more, so had improvised with cobra venom. Snape took a sample to see if it would do any good. Cooro's, instead of being a thick muddy potion, was a watery green. The Potions Master raised an eyebrow.
"What is this supposed to be?" Cooro looked at his creation, then glanced at his friends. Husky's eyes were narrowed, and Nana mouthed "You didn't!" The rest looked confused. He grinned up at the teacher.
"It's my own recipe. I wouldn't drink it if I were you." Snape gave the Potion another look.
"And what does it do? Did you even attempt the assignment?" Cooro's smile, if it was possible, grew.
"Nope!" Everyone in the vicinity sweat-dropped.
"No points for the day. Now, dispose of this." He walked away, and didn't see him pour the entire potion into a large flask and hide it in his bag. Harry noticed, though, and wondered about it as they were released and sent to dinner. They walked with most of the Slytherins and Gryffindors, and it was too loud to talk privately. They split into smaller groups as they sat. He was going to ask as Cooro and Senri both dug into the pork chops, but Ron got there first.
"What was that potion you made?" Cooro looked up.
"Just a pick-me-up for when I fly too high, where the air's thin. Only works for me, though…"
"Why does that potion only work for you, anyway?" Harry slipped in, hiding his curiosity as he looked at his dinner.
"Has crow feathers as a focus in it. Probably would work for other crows, but I don't know of any here, so that's that." Accepting this, the rest of dinner was spent in discussion of tomorrow's plans. The Slytherins went to their table half-way through, and talked with a sixth year girl that looked like she would as soon kill you as look at you. Harry and Ron looked worried, but Cooro said brightly, "She looks nice!" No-one commented.
They went to the dorms, and Husky turned to Cooro. Nana had followed them to their room, and sat on an un-occupied bed.
"Did you have to make that in class? You lost the points for the whole day!" Cooro looked perplexed.
"But you don't like the smell. Where was I supposed to make it?" This threw Husky for a moment. Nana giggled.
"Don't worry, Cooro. Just be more careful next time. What if he had tried it? You said it was only for crows, what if it poisoned him? Or…" Here she giggled again.
"What if he changed into a crow?" Cooro joined in the laughs, and Senri smiled. Husky began to grin, and finally they were all hooting with the picture of their teacher flapping around the dungeons. Harry poked his head in, did a double-take at Nana sitting there, and fell in, with Ron following him. They both looked up sheepishly as they were abruptly silent.
"Um… Yes?" Surprisingly, this was from Senri. They looked at him in shock, then back to the boys.
"We were wondering what was so funny. We could hear you from our room." Husky grinned a bit at that. The walls were thick here, they must have been very loud. Or Harry and Ron had been eavesdropping. Hmm….
"We were discussing what could have happened if Snape drank the potion. Nana suggested he might turn into a crow." The two intruders laughed a bit at the image. After a few awkward seconds in silence, they left, followed by Nana. Anticipating the day ahead, they all went to sleep, and were out within seconds.
Next day dawned bright and early. Cooro and Senri woke with the Sun, and Cooro wasted no time waking Husky in the most efficient way possible: Jump on him and yell loudly. This had everyone else in the Common Room and on the way up the stairs when they came out, Cooro sporting a round bump on his head and pouting. Nana shook her head at them, while the others looked at them, confused. No explanation was offered, leaving the three of them to figure it out themselves. At breakfast, many people came to greet them, asking about the game later. Husky got a bit impatient as they were continually blocked from eating.
It's only a game! I'm hungry, dang-it! Finally, they sat down and ate, quickly so they could get it all down before someone else came to the table. A large group waited outside for them. After talking with several kids, Husky quickly explained Kick-The Can (Potion Bottle), with Cooro jumping in now and then, and the game was on. There were several mishaps, including a sixth year summoning the can and a third year hiding too close to the Whomping Willow, but all went exceptionally well. The Muggle Studies class showed up, taking notes, but only the Gryffindor boy from the day before and the teacher actually joined in, the rest preferring g to sit in the shade. It was hot. \
Lunch rolled in, and the Great Hall was packed with the sweaty students. After many fetched their homework, they all trooped back out, this time sitting under the trees or by the castle, working together on assignments that had seemed to long to tackle alone, but were easy in the group. The older students helped as well, suggesting books for reference and different ways of trying the spells to make them easier. Fred and George volunteered to run inside and ask permission to use spells, and a few moments later, Filch's yelling was heard. Cooro ran up to see what had happened, and fell over laughing at what he saw. There were the twins, conjuring up whatever came to mind in the Entrance Hall. They were illusions, but Filch didn't seem to know that, and was running around trying to chase them out. As Husky and Senri ran up, followed by Nana and Harry, several of the 'creatures' ran out the doors. A dozen crows flew at Cooro, who was still in the air, and he chased them around a the towers. Husky went over to the twins, and spoke to George.
"If you get in trouble, we all get in trouble." George grinned, and Fred answered.
"Not a chance. The note says we have permission to practice any spells from class. This is what we're working on in Charms. Besides, it doesn't specify where we have to practice. Here you go," he said, and handed him a piece of parchment.
I, Minerva McGonagall, hereby give permission to any students within the study group to practice any spells pertaining to classes for the weekend. She seems to be vague on purpose, Husky thought as he pocketed the sheet and walked back to the others. Fred waved his wand, and a griffon sprouted from it, flying up the stairs. Filch ran after it, still shouting. Many other students had come up to see what the commotion was, and most were laughing. Somehow, Filch never came to give Fred and George detention, though Snape did show up.
"What do you think you're doing? Magic is forbidden on the grounds." He looked at the varied students, picking out several Slytherins among them, working with classmates. Cooro was the closest to him.
"We have a note from Professor McGonagall, sir," He said, and held it out. The Potions Master examined it closely, as if trying to see if it was a forgery. But eventually, he handed it back without a word and left. The Professor in question, McGonagall, did come, looking over them. The students continued working, though a bit nervously. She walked out amongst them, and helped a bit, more like the older students than a teacher. When she reached the twins, both looked up from the Ravenclaw second year having trouble with changing a button.
"Nice illusions, but the wand work could use some improvement. Keep practicing." And she walked back to where Cooro and Husky were working with Nancy and Nick on History of Magic homework.
"Congratulations, you are the first to have all four houses in a study group without cursing," was all she said before walking off. Cooro grinned, and Husky shrugged, both turning back to the others.
"Who was that seventh year you were talking with yesterday? The others looked scared." Nancy looked up at Husky's question, then looked to see if anyone was close enough to hear. Nana could, and probably would, but she didn't know that, and began to speak.
"Some older students threatened us, saying we'd get hurt if we hung out with you guys. She came up and said if any of us were hurt or threatened us again, they'd answer to her. She looks scary, but she's really nice! The same thing happened to her in her second year, so she doesn't like the others getting away with it." Nick shook his head.
"It's nothing. Now, who won the battle?" And the studying went on. Eventually, it became too dark to see, and they went in for dinner. Snape glared at them. At least, he tried. It's hard to glare when most of them are staring at you, especially Senri. He never seemed to blink. McGonagall smiled at Cooro and the others as they walked in, all carrying some form of schoolwork, most of which was finished.
Dinner itself passed quickly, but most of the students lingered at the tables, talking and laughing, more united than they had been since the Founders had created the oddly-named school. Finally, Dumbledore stood up.
"As much as I regret it, it is time for bed. You all have ten minutes before lights out, I am afraid." Pandemonium broke out as they all scrambled to say goodnight, grab their things, and leave. When they were safe in their dorms, Cooro and Nana both jumped out their windows, ignoring their friends warnings to stay inside. Nana, for her part, was also ignoring the shrieks of her room-mates, the ones who were crushing on her friends. They met on the top of the tower, and without any words, they both flew toward the forest, joining with the night creatures in the air. They stayed out longer than before, never saying a word, until Nana gestured toward the castle, and they both left. Neither noticed they were being watched the entire time.
Sorry it's shorter than usual, but this is where I wanted it to end, regardless. So… yeah.