I own neither Harry Potter nor Yu Yu Hakusho.

o.*.o.*.o.*.o.*.o.*.o

Albus was tired of waiting. Goblins had never been the most courteous of creatures, but the Headmaster really had other things to do than to wait in this empty room, however richly decorated it may have been. He could have been in his office, contacting Charlie Weasley about the preparations that needed to be made in the Forbidden Forest to host the dragons of the first task for example... Or he could have been answering the letters the Board of Governors had sent him concerning the potential show of favouritism to his "cousin"...

But he couldn't complain, not if he wanted the goblins' help.

The door of the room opened and an old looking goblin in a fancy dark red tailcoat entered the waiting room. His long white hair was attached in a low ponytail tied by a black ribbon.

"Dumbledore, I am used to seeing you in this library. I am much less used to you requesting my authorization in order to consult our oldest and rarer manuscripts."

The goblin's tone sounded pleasant enough, if you ignored the undercurrent of suspicion that made his words sharper and the slightest bit colder. Narnuk was one of the friendlier member of his race, and by chance he was an old acquaintance of Albus, as well as the director of the goblin race's General Library. The two had met numerous times, and it was thanks to him that the Headmaster had access to some of the archives of these secretive beings that were goblins. Albus' love for knowledge had opened many doors for him during his life, and it had often been useful. It was his hope that it would once again serve him.

"Narnuk, it is good to see you again my friend."

"Usually the polite thing to do, for wizards in any case, is to go through the Goblin Liaison Office for these sort of requests."

"I know you dislike having to deal with the Ministry, as do I. I had hoped to spare us both the trouble it would surely bring. The Ministry is not known for its efficient and organized administration as you know..."

This brought a cynical smile on the elder goblin's face.

"Why would you do research on summoning Albus? Especially with all the work you must have right now with the Ministry's new brilliant idea."

"You know me Narnuk... I always have subjects that I like to research in my spare time. I may not have much of it at the moment, but this is a project I have been working on for quite some time... I will not put it on hold for a whole year because Minister Fudge's popularity is dropping."

"Why demon summoning?" Said Narnuk, his suspicion not lessening.

"My research hasn't been about that per say, I lack the materials to research it in depth at school or in my personal collection anyway. No, it was about summoning and banishing charms, their mechanics and how it could be linked with long distance invocation as well as that of living creatures. Demon summoning could not be ignored. While rare, it may allow me to understand better how conjuration from another plane of existence works."

Albus saw Narnuk relax. Not much, but it looked like he had decided to trust him for the time being. The old wizard knew that he would still have to be careful. A single mistake could ban him from this library for the rest of his life.

"I understand Dumbledore. I will ask that you show your notes to me or to the librarians before you leave every time you come here. There are some informations that are not for the wizards' eyes to see, consider yourself lucky."

"I am honoured."

"This needs to be made official. You will need to sign a contract."

"Of course."

Albus only hoped that Kurama would acknowledge his efforts and that he would be willing to repay him one day... With some luck the yōkai would get attached to Harry. The boy usually managed to attract attention and to surround himself with the most unusual friends and protectors. He simply had that sort of charisma, though he was totally unaware of it, and Albus hoped that it would work on yōkai as well...

o.*.o.*.o.*.o.*.o.*.o

Yusuke spat out some Makai flies that had entered his mouth the moment he had opened it to curse. Hiei looked back from where he was, a few feet in front of him, and raised an eyebrow, complete with the mocking smile and all...

"You are lucky those are not poisonous."

"Shut it Hiei."

"Now now Detective... You shouldn't talk to me like that... Seeing as I'm the only one who cares enough to guide you to Senuma's place."

"Yeah right... Act like we're going there only because I want to. As if it wasn't obvious that you're worried about Kurama too."

"He is able to take care of himself."

"Are we talking about the same fox here? The one with self-sacrificing tendencies? 'Cause I'm not sure I'm seeing the resemblance with the one you're describing."

Hiei emitted a grunt that could have meant pretty much anything and kept on walking. Still, Yusuke hoped the fire yōkai was right... And as far as they knew all the people Kurama would sacrifice himself for were in Japan, so the fox shouldn't have to resort to that any time soon. Now if Kurama could avoid finding someone who would wake his protective tendencies... This really shouldn't be too much to ask for.

Speaking of the fox, it really was a shame that he wasn't with them at the moment. He would have been right at home in this jungle, and it would have made this little trek a whole lot easier for them. But then, they wouldn't be doing this trip if the kitsune hadn't disappeared.

This was the first time Yusuke came to this part of the Makai, and really the combination of steep, rocky mountains and dense jungle growing over every rocks, with roots of all sizes ready to trip you, was a pure nightmare. Using their natural speed was out of the question too, the jungle made it simply impossible... Yusuke guessed that this whole environment was just like their fox friend in a way, age old, not necessarily fast (as fast as them anyway) yet able to work around it by restraining the enemy's movement, calm and unmoving yet the danger could come from anywhere around them... Yusuke had seen some animals, and it was obvious that they could survive some of the worse yōkai the ex-delinquent had met... Yusuke was not at all certain that he could win a fight against some of these animals... One of them sure, especially if Hiei bothered to intervene, but not a whole pack of them. Not that he wasn't powerful, but he wasn't at Yomi of Mukuro's level yet, and these things he had seen probably were.

"Are we there yet?" Asked Yusuke plaintively.

"What are you? A four years old?"

"I'm a very tired S-class yōkai whose patience is running low."

"I'm surprised Detective... You almost sounded intelligent just now."

"What, want a translation? I'm tired, pissed off, and annoyed at the whole situation! There. Better?"

"Certainly. It would have been bad if the fox had rubbed off on you. Your woman might not have recognized you."

"So funny Hiei... Seriously, are we there soon?"

The fire yōkai did not bother answering him, and Yusuke suspected that it was to piss him off even more. He might not have been the brightest of their group, but his instincts told him he was a form of entertainment for Hiei (who was probably as sick as he was of this jungle). His instincts were rarely wrong. Kurama had once told him during one of his numerous visits at his ramen stand that these same instincts could almost pass off for intelligence. Yusuke had told him he would pay his meal double.

Hiei did not turn to face him when he finally deigned to give him an answer.

"You're in luck Detective. We're here."

Hiei had apparently stopped in front of a very normal cliff.

"We are?"

"Are you deaf as well as dumb?"

Yusuke ignored the insult. He was used to it coming from Hiei by now, and if they had truly arrived then he had no reason to be irritated any-more. The more relaxed part of his personality won over the rude and aggressive one.

"Yeah, yeah... I'm dumb. Nothing I've never heard before. So, where is this Senuma guy?"

"Senuma is a woman."

"Sounds like a guy's name." (1)

"Don't say that in front of her if you want to live."

"What... Is she as strong as Mukuro or something?"

"Or something. Now stop blabbering and follow me."

The moment the fire yōkai said that, he walked straight into the cliff whose surface seemed to ripple around him like water. Small burst of power that looked almost like electricity appeared between the liquid rock and the skin and clothes of the yōkai, and surrounded him. It looked as if he was being scanned by it somehow, and Yusuke was starting to think that it was perhaps a bit too freaky for him. He followed anyway. Freaky would not kill him and they needed to see that Senuma, and fast... Kurama's mother had held it together for a whole week, but now she was in a constant and absolute panic since the end of those seven days.

Yusuke walked into the wall, and had a strange sensation, like he was walking through a dense and freezing wall of water. He got the strange feeling that he was being examined, foreign yōki testing his own, like inquisitive fingers testing the limits of his aura, patting this sort of "outer-skin" that was pure energy.

When he opened his eyes he was in a cave lighted by candles, with a strong smell of incense and smoking herbs. His yōki strangely seemed locked, and reflexively it began trashing uselessly... He had too much yōki to restrain it to his body alone, and already he was feeling the strain. He hoped they wouldn't stay long. At the far end of the cave was a woman that radiated power, so much that Yusuke felt like the first time he had met his yōkai ancestor, taking into account the difference in power between them at the time. Like an ant in front of a giant. But this power was absolutely calm, with not even an ounce of fighting intent, and with her intelligent and wise eyes on them the young man knew he was in front of a sage.

She was sitting among cushions, her extremely long black hair spreading around her and over the folds of her simple white kimono. Her ageless eyes were white and misted over, and Yusuke knew at once that she was blind. She was beautiful he supposed, but she didn't look real... She looked like an apparition right out of a ghost story from the era of lords and samurai... Which she probably was all things considered.

"Hiei, it's been a long time."

"Senuma."

For once Yusuke felt happy to let Hiei do all the talking.

"You are here for your missing friend are you not?"

"How?"

"Rumours travel fast, especially when they concern one as famous as Yōko Kurama."

"We came asking for your help." Confirmed Hiei. "You are well known for your abilities to locate someone no matter how far away they are."

"How will you pay me then?"

Asked the woman as she took a bowl in which laid many unknown leaves. She made it float in Hiei's direction. The fire yōkai lighted them up with a finger without complaining, and smothered the fire with his hand immediately afterwards. A bitter smell a bit reminiscent of coffee and tobacco invaded their nostrils as a thick blueish smoke escaped the bowl. Senuma made it float back to her and deeply breathed in the smoke before sighing in satisfaction. Hiei presented a small satchel and opened it. A soft, very familiar light, was shining inside. Yusuke had seen them before, Yukina's tears... After they had rescued her. He knew this pale golden light, different than the Tear Gem Hiei wore around his neck. Yukina had cried for Kurama, knowing it might help him. Senuma's eyes widened. How did she know what Hiei was holding? Yusuke didn't know but it only served to prove her abilities in his eyes.

"Surely you are playing a prank on me..." She whispered.

"It shows you know nothing about me. I. Don't. Do. Pranks."

Yusuke disagreed, but if Hiei wanted to pass off as serious in front of strangers then he was free to do so.

"This is too much payment."

"For one search yeah. But we need you to be on the lookout for as long as the fox isn't found."

"Fine."

Hiei closed the satchel and threw it to her after a moment of hesitation. Senuma caught it despite her obvious blindness and gently put it on a cushion.

"Do you have anything of Yōko Kurama with you?"

Yusuke reached into his pocket and took out a hair-tie with a few bright red hair tangled up around it. It was a hair tie Yusuke had seen Kurama use a few times, though he guessed Kuwabara had seen the fox with his hair tied up more often then him, and for good reasons. Kurama usually tied his hair in a ponytail when he was working, and Kuwabara had probably seen him wearing it very often when the older red-head had tutored him through high school. Yusuke had as well during the pre-exam period. The fox had had too much work to do, he had wanted to get the highest marks possible to make his family proud. Because of this he hadn't gone out a lot, and around the same time Yusuke had not bothered reviewing since he hadn't expected to pass anyway, and he planned on dropping out, and so, because Kuwabara was very busy as well, and Hiei too in the Makai, Yusuke had ended up bothering Kurama by going to his house a lot (Kuwabara needed to stay concentrated since learning wasn't as easy for him as it was for the fox). During these visits Kurama had always been wearing this hair-tie. It was red, probably a few years old already, and not nearly as elastic as it must have been once, but Kurama only ever used that one. In that he wasn't girlish. He liked being fashionable with his clothes, Yusuke had noticed that the moment he had met him, but when it came to his hair the older yōkai wasn't a sissy. His hair were long to hide his weapon and probably also out of familiarity since he wore it long in his past life, like many other yōkai in fact. It wasn't a fashion statement, Yusuke knew that much, it simply was useful, and also felt like home to the exiled kitsune.

The hair-tie floated away from his hand and into Senuma's pale ones. She didn't even look at it but brought it near her heart and closed her eyes. A white ghostly light surrounded her, brighter around her hands, and escaped the cave in tendrils going through the walls.

She stayed like that for a long long time... At one point Yusuke even left the cave to smoke and let out his yōki, and found out that night had fallen. Sure, they had arrived in the late afternoon, but this was ridiculous.

It took perhaps four hours of absolute silence before Senuma opened her eyes again. Hiei even threatened him a few times with his sword to make sure he stayed silent in order to not disrupt the woman... But when she finally did, she was swaying and looked even paler than before. Yusuke didn't let her the time to speak.

"Did you find Kurama?!"

"N... no..." It was obvious such a long meditative state had taken a lot out of her. "I only managed to figure out where he wasn't."

"Oh yeah, real useful." Spat Yusuke. Hiei silenced him by raising his hand.

"Which was?"

"The Reikai and the Makai... You can search as much as you want is these realms you will not find him. Your fox obviously never left the human world."

"But we didn't feel him anywhere!" Shouted Yusuke, exasperated.

"Well, your world is big is it not? Are you saying your ability to sense things covers thousands of miles like me?"

Her tone was mocking.

"How come you could not find him?" Interrupted Hiei before this whole thing could evolve toward insults.

"There is at least one kekkai, if not more surrounding him."

"So what, he's hiding from someone?" Said Yusuke more calmly than before.

"Or someone is hiding him," was her answer.

"What do you mean?" Asked Hiei.

"You should know, shouldn't you? Being an ex-bandit and thief. Some kekkai affect the mind of the person they are supposed to imprison."

"How do you know about him closing his mind to me?"

"I guessed... You have a Jagan yet you have not found him? That was unlikely, unless the fox was actively hiding. And considering the fact that I was unable to detect his yōki then it could mean that he is suppressing it as well. If you do not believe he is missing out of his own volition, then perhaps he is caught in a kekkai that influences his mind in a such a way that contacting you is impossible. Those kekkai are rare, but I have heard of such occurrences."

Hiei swore and Yusuke, though he wasn't sure he had understood everything, wanted to do the same. It didn't sound good. At all.

"You have no idea at all where he could be in Ningenkai?" Insisted Yusuke, sounding perhaps a bit desperate.

"None. I can barely tell he is there at all... It is like a distant presence, a flavour floating in the energies of the human world... But it is a general impression, I can't tell where he is precisely. You might want to inspect the different places in the world where such kekkai exists. There are a few, but it should still be feasible rapidly enough."

And if Koenma agreed to help with the search for a bit longer then it would go even faster... All-right, they now had a plan of action.

"As for the less legal kekkai of such type... You might miss them. I suggest that you get ready for a time-consuming search." Added Senuma almost as an after-thought.

Or it might not be fast at all...

This was going to be a long treasure hunt wasn't it?

o.*.o.*.o.*.o.*.o.*.o

Kurama read over the chapter on animagi again and let out a long suffering sigh. Nowhere was it said how you became one. So far he had only managed to find books on the regulations that went with being an animagi, and Kurama had never been one to concern himself with regulations... He had planned on acquiring his animal form unnoticed by any form of authority. Also he didn't know how long he had until he was free of Voldemort and back in Japan, how long until he lost access to Hogwarts' library...

He did want to come back home... But he also wanted to learn as much as he could while he was here. And he might not be a thief any-more (for now), but he liked to be prepared and to have the most unexpected and diverse set of skills possible. Changing shape was certainly unexpected and surprising, having a wand and being able to use it could prove to be invaluable in a fight. Wizardry might even provide a solution for his slow ageing! He had been looking into the ageing potion the twins had talked about. Perhaps it would allow him to masquerade as a normal human for the rest of his family's life.

He closed the useless book in front of him and put it on his bedside table, carefully pushing away the burning candle that repelled the darkness of the room. He got up as silently as he could, and found his shoes easily. He was putting the left one on when a groan and the sound of shifting sheets made him pause. The bed to his left creaked and the thick curtains opened revealing Harry. The boy's pale hand groped blindly over his own bedside table until he caught his glasses. His sleepy bespectacled eyes fell on a fully dressed red-head.

"Kurama? What are you doing?" Whispered the raven-haired teen, whose hair was even more of a mess than usual.

"Did I wake you?" Asked Kurama softly as well.

"No... I wasn't sleeping well."

To Kurama it looked like the boy hadn't been sleeping well for weeks. He had gathered the teen had a tendency to have nightmares frequently, but he also seemed worried for some reason. He talked about it to Hermione and Ron, Kurama had seen them whispering urgently before, and Harry wore a grave and anxious look when they did, but whatever it was they talked about was not something they told others, not even Neville or Ron's brothers.

"So..?" Asked Harry again.

"I..." What was the better solution... Lying or telling the truth? Somehow Kurama knew the boy would not fall for an excuse like going to the toilets. "I wanted to go the library."

"At this hour?"

"What better hour to enter the Restricted Section?"

There... He was telling the truth. This should convince Harry to trust him. Not immediately sure, but with time and well timed – and edited – honesty he would be allowed to know the boy's secrets, making it much easier to protect him.

Harry looked at him wide-eyed.

"Are you serious?!"

"Harry, I have heard about a few of your adventures... This is nothing compared to them!"

"You're going to get caught!" Whispered Harry worriedly.

"No I'm not, don't worry. I'm going. I can't sleep and I had been planning on going there at some point anyway."

This made it clear to Harry that Kurama would not change his mind. He saw the tall red-head get up, and without warning or much thoughts Harry got out of bed and put on shoes.

"Harry?"

"I'm not letting you go out alone. You have nothing to hide yourself, and no way to detect the teachers coming."

A look of surprise broke the usually calm countenance of the foreign young man, and Harry felt a petty sort of pride at that. He knew he should not, he really had no reason to overreact like that to a simple change of expression on the older boy's face, but Kurama was usually so hard to read, like there was nothing more to him than what he was showing... He was perfectly proper. If you talked to him for only a little while you would have nothing to say about him. Or perhaps a few dozen of compliments and admiration filled comments, but nothing that really stood out... Harry was noticed for his curiosity and his fiery temper, Ron for his tendency to spout stupid but also funny remarks, and Hermione was remarkable for being a bookworm and a know-it-all but also kind and driven. Kurama... Kurama was nice, polite, calm, patient... Nothing made a ripple on his perfect exterior... He was distant. How were you expected to approach and become friend with someone who had no apparent weaknesses? How when it felt as if you were not of any use? Harry guessed the only reason they had managed to get as close as they were to Dumbledore's cousin was because he had been unfamiliar with the wizarding world. He had needed Hermione's knowledge, but also a quality of Neville that Harry couldn't quite figure out... His kindness? His shyness? But Harry and Ron...? They didn't have much in common with Kurama at all... Harry had been a bit frustrated with his inability to get a genuine reaction out of the older boy. So to see him surprised by his decision to accompany him was like a small victory to the teen.

"But if we are caught you will be in trouble too..."

Harry grinned and took his invisibility cloak and the marauders' map out of his trunk.

"With these we won't get caught at all. This is an invisibility cloak, and this map here shows every single person in the castle. It will warn us if anybody is coming our way once we are in the library. But only then. I won't try walking with my nose on a map in the middle of the night."

"They look precious." Said Kurama, awed. "Where did you get these objects?"

"The cloak belonged to my father. The map was created by him, my godfather and their best friend."

Kurama looked... pleased?

"I'm honoured that you would show me something of such importance to you."

And this was a sincere answer Harry realised. Kurama had understood that among Harry's friends, few knew of the map and the cloak. Harry had more or less acted on instinct... He hadn't planned on showing them to Kurama any time soon, but the red-head's thankful and happy smile prevented him from regretting his rash decision. No doubt Ron and Hermione would give him an ear-full the next day, but it still made him wonder if perhaps this meant that he was actually making a new close friend. It only seemed right that it was with Dumbledore's cousin of all people.

The moment the two young men were ready they left the tower. Walking under the same cloak silently took some getting used to... Harry was more accustomed to doing it with Hermione and Ron, they had more or less perfected this art by then. But Kurama was not as comfortable with this setting as Harry's two best friends, and they walked on each other's feet a few times. The task was also made harder by the fact that they used only the light of Harry's wand, and Kurama who was behind him saw a lot less, shadowed as he was by Harry's back (however small Harry may have been, it didn't help all that much).

Their toes were a bit sore when they finally reached the library, though they counted themselves lucky to not have met any of the ghosts or teachers in the halls.

Harry let himself be guided by the older boy, through the book-filled paths of the darkened library, and it struck him that Kurama knew exactly where he was going, even though he hadn't been at Hogwarts for long. The red-head knew what he wanted and had memorised the exact setting of the place they were breaking in. They stepped over the rope that separated the Restricted Section from the rest of the library, and Harry heard Kurama mutter something like "Overly lax security... Who are they actually trying to keep out of here?" and he couldn't agree more. He had no trouble sneaking in in his first year when he was searching for informations on Nicholas Flamel, and he had only been eleven back then.

As Kurama started searching for whatever he was looking to begin with, Harry opened his map and muttered "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." It could be true for all he knew... Well, they were up to no good, that much was clear... But just what were they up to exactly?

"Hmm... Kurama?" He still made sure to whisper.

"Yes?"

"What are you searching for?"

"A mean to become an animagus."

Harry turned in shock toward the dark silhouette of the Japanese boy.

"That's highly advanced magic isn't it? You aren't even our level yet!"

"I have confidence in my ability to learn, and if anything I'm a perfectionist, so it should ensure that everything will happen as I wish it."

"It's good to have your sort of confidence..."

Muttered Harry as he unfolded the map, searching for their two points in the library. He felt his heart stop and he threw an eye over his shoulder to look at Kurama again, who had now taken out a large dusty tome out of one of the lower shelves.

"...Kurama...?"

"Yes?"

"Your name on the map..."

Perhaps he shouldn't have mentioned it... Usually when someone hides their true names it is for good, and dangerous, reasons. Harry was all alone with Kurama, and he had seen no teachers nearby on the map. If Kurama decided to do something, to hurt him, there would be no one to help him... Too concentrated on this sudden realisation, he completely missed the way Kurama tensed for a millisecond when he looked at the map, having come closer to see it better.

He didn't miss the soft chuckle.

"What?"

"You look as if you met a ghost or a serial killer..." Answered Kurama without hiding his mirth.

"It isn't funny!"

"Sure it isn't." Agreed Kurama with a soft understanding smile that looked simply vexing to Harry.

"Then why is your name different?!"

"Why "Shuichi" Minamino? My full name is Shuichi Kurama Minamino, like you are Harry James Potter. I know it's more of a western custom, having a second name I mean, but I think my hair betrays the fact that I have foreign blood on both of my parents' sides. And you have to admit, "Shuichi" is a bit hard to pronounce isn't it?"

"Oh. Then "Kurama"..."

"Is my second name, but I decided to use it while in England instead of choosing a western name like so many Asian people do. Japanese like to keep their own name and I am no exception."

Harry was feeling a bit stupid by now. Now that he thought about it more thoroughly he doubted Dumbledore would have missed an important detail such as his cousin lying about his own name. He tried to picture himself called James for a whole year and grimaced.

"Then do you prefer that we call you Su-ee... Shueech-..." Nothing to do, he was not doing the sounds right.

"No. Please no." Intervened Kurama. "I'd rather not hear my name butchered like that. You pronounce my other name a lot better. Can I return to my search?"

"Uh.. Yeah, please..."

"Thank you."

Harry had the feeling Kurama was laughing at him internally. But aside from embarrassment he was also feeling a strange sense of "belonging". Here they were, him and the new student, doing something twice forbidden (being out after curfew and being in the Restricted Section), and Kurama's friendly teasing allowed them to relax... They were sharing a moment of fun without Ron and Hermione. Harry had always been with at least one of his two best friends, and he could not remember the last time he had shared a secret with anybody else. Before Hogwarts he had had no friends, Dudley and his parents had scared them all away, and in Hogwarts well... It was the first time in forever that he actually got to learn something about someone on his own, because he wanted to. It felt gratifying. He looked at his map and felt relieved to note that the closest teacher was two floors under them and no ghosts were in their vicinity.

"Ah-ha!"

Harry jumped in fright and shot an evil look at Kurama.

"Make more noise, why don't you!" He hissed.

"Sorry." Said the other, looking utterly unapologetic. "I found the book I wanted, here look."

This was one big book... Harry had no idea why it needed to be so big if it was only to teach the how of becoming an animagus. Kurama answered his unasked question when he opened the book, revealing the historic part of the tome. Kurama then began to flip the pages, showing a part about potion making and the role and effects of each components and where to find them... There was even an entire chapter dedicated to the animal and its link to the animagus' personality. Harry was entranced. This book was probably the very same one his father and Sirius had used to become animagi. Suddenly the idea of watching Kurama attempting it without himself participating as well seemed bitter to the orphaned Harry...

"Say..." Began Kurama. "I might need to help with the translation of the more difficult words and with finding the ingredients, and I can't exactly ask the teachers to help me with that. How does becoming an animagus sounds to you? Would you do it with me? Of course, it would have to be a secret, but I'm sure you can keep them."

Harry's bright green eyes met delicately slanted eyes of the exact same colour in stupor.

"I..."

Suddenly Harry was feeling very emotional. The excitement and the gratefulness he felt was hard to contain. He gulped to unlock his voice.

"That would be great... Brilliant even!"

He was rewarded with one of the purest smile he had ever seen on the Japanese boy's face. Then a slow disappointment began to build up.

"But I can't hide it from Hermione and Ron..."

No doubt his two best friends would be saddened if he didn't trust them with such a huge secret and if he didn't suggest that they try as well. But Kurama didn't look put off at all, and actually seemed to think about it.

"Then how about this, we read the book a bit just the two of us, try to figure out if it's feasible, and if it is we suggest that they try it with us. Hermione would be a great help with all the difficult parts such as potion making."

Harry felt his mouth stretch in a wide smile and he nodded enthusiastically. The sound of steps close by interrupted them, and left them momentarily rooted on the spot in fear, until Harry reacted. He turned off the light on the tip of his wand with a muttered incantation and seized his map and cloak just as Kurama closed the book and brought it close to him. Harry threw the cloak over both of them. They held their breath, and saw professor McGonagall appear from behind a shelf of books. Harry paled when he remembered her terrifying anger in his first year after she had discovered him and Ron in the halls after curfew. Kurama paled for a different reason, she didn't trust him, and if she found him in a forbidden section of the school in the middle of the night with the only student the side of the Light couldn't afford to lose... Her trust in Albus would take a hard hit, leaving Kurama himself even less protected. They didn't move a muscle, lest they made a noise. She frowned at the darkness, right where they were hiding, and Kurama concluded that she must have seen the light of Harry's wand. He tried to push back the thoughts of their impending doom.

She marched on them, and they put their backs to the shelves, flattening themselves against the books, hoping all the while that they wouldn't make one of them move... She looked around in suspicion, then looked at the shelves behind them, her eyes unknowingly piercing through them. She apparently saw nothing out of ordinary, nor the missing book (but Kurama hadn't expected the teachers to remember all the books that were supposed to be in this section of the library), and she left the way opposite to the one she came from.

The two young men under the cloak did not dare let out twin sighs of relief, and after sharing a common look they left the library and rushed back to the Gryffindor Tower. When they returned to bed, Kurama fell asleep almost instantly, but Harry had a much harder time, consumed as he was by giddy excitement.

o.*.o.*.o.*.o.*.o.*.o

(1) Senuma: I found that name when I was searching for a rare and rather ancient one, but it was always a man's name (a samurai, soccer players...), so while I can't say for certain that it is only masculine, I think it's still a safe assumption.

AN: A little warning, the exams are coming up soon so I won't have a lot of time to write in the coming weeks. I'll try to update as soon as possible of course, but as I said in the very first chapter, I'm a bit busy this year, so I can't promise anything but that I will do my best.

All reviews are welcome of course, and thank you all for following this story :)