"On sanmaji handomei kiriku."

The spell itself was laughably easy for someone with Tsuzuki's kind of firepower. His stance relaxed and easy, Tsuzuki might have been mistaken for a professor looking for some time alone to be with his thoughts; hands in the pockets of his jeans, his robes fluttering open as he gazed unseeingly out of a window.

But then, as it would have been extremely obvious to the passing observer, the swirl of power and magic that leaked tangibly from his tall form was an indication of anything but.

Takashi stood company with him, Kyo and Hisoka having to play the part of new students settling in their dorms. It should have been likewise for the two; new professors settling in their own new apartments. But Tsuzuki does have the reputation of being the strongest onmyouji in the Shokan; Takashi and Kyo running a close second. So an illusion charm was easy enough to manufacture, not to mention the fact that it seems as though wizards don't know how to conceal auras.

And that night, their first night in Hogwarts, the two 'professors' made sure that no matter what, their identities would not be so easily revealed.

They summoned the ghosts.

When Ami had first told them of wandering yuurei in this land, they had been skeptical at first. On a logical level, it was believable. But on another level, that level where you were really honest with yourself, they hadn't believed her.

Ami had settled that easily enough. She brought them to a little rundown house somewhere out in Bath. The house had been abandoned for nearly 50 years, gaining the reputation of severe haunting. To the Shinigami's unpleasant surprise, the rumours were correct. The ghost of a woman, murdered in her sleep, haunted the house of her family and refused to leave. The Shinigami would have been happy to help her out of her misery. No matter how much a yuurei might wail and howl that they must seek revenge or find a loved one, the Shinigami knew that true peace could only be achieved by sending the spirit on. They had seen the looks of rapture on the spirit's face countless times mere seconds before it was banished, finally accepting death and letting go of the living world.

But, as Ami gently reminded them, they had no jurisdiction there. True, at one point, they might have to banish a spirit in the course of their special assignment here but it had been made clear that under normal circumstances, banishment by the Shinigami was expressly forbidden. No one wanted a 'civil war', so to speak, to break out between the Lands of the Dead.

But nobody said that they have to tell the ghosts this little tidbit.

Ami had warned them that Hogwarts had one of the highest numbers of ghosts so the Shinigami had to take precautions. Ghosts, no matter how well the Shinigami concealed their auras, could spot a god of death immediately. It had not failed to escape their notice that one or two professors had commented on the lack of ghostly attendance during the welcoming feast. It was apparently a tradition in Hogwarts for the ghosts to join in the welcome.

"On sanmaji handomei kiriku."

They waited perhaps for around ten minutes, the silence broken only by the rhythmic chanting of the summoning spell. Slowly, with the faint traces of terrified wails, the ghosts came.

Like cold mist, the ghosts seeped through the walls, clearly fighting the pull of the spell. Insubstantial hands scrabbled ineffectively for any sort of purchase, their wails reaching a crescendo as with one last chant, the room flared a bright purple.

Where there had only been two, 'living, breathing humans', the room was now packed with spirits.

Reflecting the moments of their deaths, the Shinigami could practically tell by sight alone how old some of the ghosts were just by their clothes. From what Takashi could make out, some of them had to be at least 200 years old already.

"I'm sorry, but could everyone please be quiet?" Tsuzuki was unfailingly polite and gentle but he might as well have threatened them with eternal purgatory; that was how fast silence fell.

Huddled together in fearful masses, the ghosts stared in wild-eyed fright as Tsuzuki and Takashi tried their best to project a presence as unthreatening as possible.

"First of all, let me assure you that none of us here seeks to banish you," Tsuzuki continued.

The silence stretched for eternity until finally, a tall, skeletal ghost detached itself from the throng and hesitantly floated forwards. The ghost had on wizard robes of a fashion that might have been the rage a few hundred years back. It was stained with liberal amounts of silver blood. Tsuzuki tried to control his grimace. Judging by the ghost's aura and appearance, it had not been an easy death for him.

"I am the Bloody Baron." The voice was a harsh whisper, cold knives rusted with age and disuse and countless years of misery chained to the place of his death.

Takashi and Tsuzuki both bowed in respect, introducing themselves and after a moment's hesitation, the Baron bowed back.

"Can you introduce us to the rest of your friends please?" Takashi smiled.

The Baron eyed him shrewdly, maybe thinking that it was only a ploy. Ghosts had the innate ability to know that by granting their names, they were essentially giving the other person power over them. The Shinigami knew for sure that was why the Baron had given them the name wizards had bestowed upon the gaunt ghost instead of its true name.

"We are not oath breakers," Takashi said mildly.

Clearly reluctant but seeing no other way out of it (the room had been sealed by barrier wards preventing the ghosts escape), the Baron made the necessary introductions. A particular ghost, a poltergeist in fact called Peeves, caught Takashi's attention. Poltergeists were a form of onryo or angry ghosts, the difference being that poltergeist released pent up mischief that bordered on outright menace. Takashi made a mental note to keep an eye on that one. Despite its cowed look (Peeves bowing his head meekly while absentmindedly playing with a water balloon), there was that hint of mischief simmering in its eyes. Kyo had absolutely no patience for any type of onryo, his policy being 'get them before they get you'. Besides, the other professors had warned them of Peeves. Even if Kyo might not banish Peeves out of pure irritation, he might join in the mischief-making instead.

After the round of introductions, Tsuzuki quickly got to the point. After some explaining and clarifying, it basically came down to this;

All we're here for is to get rid if this Voldemort guy by whatever means necessary. So don't go around telling anyone about us and we'll leave you alone. Yes, we did promise that we won't banish you but if our mission is jeopardised, all bets are off, got it?

The ghosts were only too happy to agree.

                               **************************************               

For the first time in his long and illustrious Hogwarts' career, the feast could not end soon enough for Harry. He chewed impatiently, nearly choking on his peas in his haste and saved by a timely thump on the back from Hermione. When the other Gryffindors around them were busy interrogating the newcomers, Hermione hissed in his ear.

"I thought you were supposed to act like you've never seen them before! You're making people suspicious!"

Harry quickly gulped his food and sneaked a glance at the High Table. Sure enough, Snape was giving him the evil eye and even Dumbledore had a solemn blue gaze fixed on him. Muttering an apology to Hermione, Harry resolutely kept his eyes on his plate, only occasionally throwing in a word or two. Kyo, Harry was rather irritated to notice, was a great actor. He gave no sign at all of having met before, much less spent a birthday with him. If anything, he was quite charming, throwing a wink in a blushing Lavender's direction and eagerly asking Hermione on the history of the school. As Hermione launched enthusiastically on the abridged version of 'Hogwarts; a History', the others groaned and complained good-naturedly that it was too early for a history lesson. Hermione seemed to have forgotten her initial suspicions as well when Kyo proved to be the attentive listener to her recital.

The boy Hisoka though, (who with his wheat-gold hair and large luminous eyes were as un-Japanese looking as Ron was) kept quiet throughout the meal. He offered no small talk nor engaged in any. He ate his food quietly, albeit a brief scowl crossed his face when Kyo absently stabbed a piece of chocolate fudge cake which had mysteriously appeared along with the chicken and Yorkshire puddings.

To the collective Gryffindors' amusement, Hisoka rapped Kyo's knuckles sharply with the handle of his knife and turned a pointed look at Kyo's indignant "Hey!"

"You'll spoil your dinner," he said in a bland voice.

Kyo pouted which caused half of the girls to sigh happily. "Takashi always lets me have some!" he whined pathetically.

"Do I look like Takashi?" came the mild question.

Something must have tipped off Kyo that now was the perfect time to back off as Harry knew without a doubt, nothing could have normally stood in the way of Kyo and anything remotely chocolaty.

"Ah, right. Of course you don't," Kyo answered cheerfully enough. "My Takashi would have been perfectly happy to do other things with that cake besides eating it and-"

"Idiot."

"That was my hand!"

"I noticed."

Harry's housemates laughed at the interaction between the two Japanese. It was more than slightly amusing to see the younger boy berate the older one. Only Hermione (and Harry because he was sulking a bit over the fact that he had to pretend to not know Kyo) watched them with a small frown marring her forehead.

"Excuse me, Kyo?" she interrupted them.

Kyo and Hisoka broke off their banter, the older boy blinking at her bemusedly. "Yes?"

"You mentioned a, uh, Takashi?" Hermione stumbled a bit over the name. "Is that the same as Professor Matsumada?" she waved at the High Table. Said Professor was currently engaged in small talk with Professor McGonagall.

"Yeah, the same Takashi," Kyo smiled. "Why?"

"Oh, the way you were talking just now," Hermione blushed faintly, "It sounds like you two are really close friends. . ." she trailed off hopefully.

Kyo waved a negligent hand. "We're very close," Kyo replied seriously.

"And here we go again," Hisoka muttered under his breath.

"He's my love slave."

The same girls that had sighed happily at every small pout of Kyo's collectively spat/coughed their respective pumpkin juice/mashed potatoes. Hermione's fork clattered on her plate and Ron turned a fire-engine red.

"Your. . . .love slave?" Hermione repeated weakly. It took all of Harry's restraint to not end up in fits of giggles at his friends' bewilderment.

"Kidding," Kyo deadpanned.

                               ****************************************

After the feast, Hermione explained to Harry and Ron and by default, Kyo and Hisoka, that the three of them were assigned by Dumbledore as the two Japanese's guides. The new fifth year prefects took care of the awkward first years as Hermione efficiently herded the two through the crowd, Harry and Ron following obediently in her wake. Hermione and Ron took in the usual 'Ooh' and 'Aah' as they moved through the halls, revealing Hogwarts in all of its moving portraits and enchanted suits of armours glory with all the pride of a mother showing off her newborn. That is, Kyo did the ooh-ing and aah-ing. Hisoka merely raised an eyebrow. Harry didn't think that anything could shake the boy's unflappable air. It gave the boy the presence of someone older beyond his years.

The moving staircases were a particular delight to Kyo which resulted in Hisoka forcibly pulling him from one which was leading off straight into empty air. After a sharp word from Hisoka, Kyo pouted and followed along obediently.

The common room was a mass of confusion as the first years were sorted out. The other returning students had scampered off for bed, the feast making even the rowdiest sleepy as it did every new term. Kyo and Hisoka were informed that they were to share the sixth years' boys dormitory which had been duly enlarged to accommodate the newcomers. Waving a goodnight to Hermione, Harry and Ron led the two to their room, pausing to show the location of the showers.

Seamus, Dean and Neville were already inside, Neville bemoaning the loss of Trevor as usual. Harry noted with some surprise that Kyo's and Hisoka's beds had been placed side by side right next to his. Harry's hopes to have a quiet talk with Kyo were dashed though. Seamus and Dean seemed eager to make the Japanese's acquaintance as Hisoka had politely rebuffed their advances, claiming tiredness. Even as Hisoka disappeared behind the hangings of his four-poster bed after changing into long-sleeved pyjamas in the bathroom, Dean finally found a kindred soul in his love of football. Kyo and Dean spent a good twenty minutes arguing about West Ham's chances in the English Premier League.

It took a gruff reminder of lights out from Ron before the football fanatics finally let the argument to rest. The light plunged out, darkness descending onto the room as various bodies sighed and wiggled to get comfortable. It took some time before the last whisper and muffled laughter died down and even longer before sleep claimed them.

Harry kept his eyes open, staring off determinedly into the velvety blackness of the  hangings around his bed. It must have been around midnight before he felt it safe enough to get out. Wincing as his feet hit the cold stone floors, Harry padded over quietly to Kyo's bed. Carefully drawing aside the closed red hangings, Harry was taken aback as he realised that the bed was empty. A quick check showed that Hisoka was sleeping in his. Harry quickly shook Ron awake and bleary-eyed, Ron followed him out of the dorms.

They didn't have far to look. Standing by an armchair some distance away from the cold hearth of the common room was Kyo. He was clad only his flannel pants and a t-shirt, gazing out of a window.

 As Harry and Ron, who trailed behind rather nervously, made their way to Kyo's side, the older boy turned and smiled in welcome. Before Harry could say anything, Kyo put a finger against his lips, indicating quiet and cocked his head to the side, listening attentively to something. Puzzled, the two boys exchanged questioning glances but waited in silence nevertheless. A few moments later, with the soft pattering of slippers on stone, Hermione descended down the girl's staircase, a robe wrapped snugly around herself.

Seeing the three waiting boys, she stumbled to a halt and stared back with wide eyes.

Still not speaking, Kyo raised his hands, something white clutched in it. Ron and Hermione looked alarmed, stepping back instinctively with Ron clutching Harry's arm rather tight. Harry though, knew what it meant.

"Wards?" he asked quietly.

Kyo nodded and flicked his hand out. Ron and Hermione visibly flinched as the pieces of paper flew out. They watched in incomprehension as the talismans stuck to the walls, crosswise on both sides of the rooms and just over the top of the Fat Lady's portrait.

There was a brief blue glow from the talismans and Harry knew that the wards, silencing and repulsion, had been activated. The wards flaring to life seemed to be a signal as Kyo finally let a huge smile cross his face. Harry grinned back and was immediately folded into a giant hug.

"Surprised?" Kyo asked laughingly.

"You bet!" Harry grinned. "You could have told me though. I almost got a heart attack seeing you and Takashi in the Hall."

"That would have negated the purpose of it being a surprise now, wouldn't it?" Kyo chided gently and Harry only grinned wider in reply.

"Er- hey, Harry?" Ron prodded him nervously.

Harry turned and with a wide smile, beckoned his two best friends closer. "You guys, I want you to meet a good friend of mine, Kyo."

                               **********************************************

The Great Hall that morning slowly came alive, first, with the industrious cleaning from the house elves, then, the slow of trickle of students and professors; from the studious and bright-eyed, to the downright grumpy. Harry happened to fall somewhere between the bright-eyedness of Hermione to Ron's bear-like grumpiness. Hermione found the hours after dawn the best time for studying while Ron found it a sin worth purgatory to even mention the words 'dawn' and 'studying' in the same breath.

It was a common sight to the students of Hogwarts to find the trio sitting down on the same bench, bushy-haired Hermione buried in a thick tome, Ron blinking stupidly into a jug of pumpkin juice as he tried to figure out which was the bacon and which was the eggs while Harry ate his porridge with a decidedly absent air. Harry didn't really mind waking up early in the mornings. He was used to it at the Durselys. But that didn't mean that he liked it. At best, he was functioning on normal human levels while his brain had vague, fond notions of curling up in his warm bed in the dormitory.

That particular morning, the trio were joined by two new heads; one coin-bright and the other, a head of hair as dark as Harry's yet pointedly tamer than the Boy-Who-Lived's. Harry indulged in a moment of jealousy that Kyo could make his hair lie so neat like that. Maybe I should grow my hair longer as well, he mused to himself as he added more honey on his porridge. He had a vision of himself at 18, hair long and falling rakishly into his eyes. He felt a sharp stab of pain as the image reminded him of another man who had long, black hair.

Sirius.

No, not right now.

"'S'indecent it is," Ron mumbled from Harry's left. He waved a knife dripping with jam in Kyo and Hisoka's direction. "Why on earth are you two so bloody chipper at 7.30 in the morning?"

Hisoka's lips twitched into the barest of a smile. "We've been up since 6am," he said coolly as he helped himself to some dry toast. He took Kyo's silent offer of butter with a slight nod of thanks.

Ron gaped, jam knife temporarily forgotten. "What the hel-"

"Ron!"

"Sorry Herm," he apologized hastily, "Er, what the heck were you doing up at 6 am?" he goggled.

"Exercising," Kyo replied cheerfully when it seemed that Hisoka had deemed the question beneath his notice. Hisoka was studying his buttered toast with a frown and in a decisive motion, bit savagely into it, crumbs flaking.

"Idiot," he muttered.

"Tsuzuki?" Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"That idiot," Hisoka confirmed with a roll of his eyes. "He woke up late again."

Hermione finally tore her eyes away from A Hundred and Two Curses You Never Knew and Never Should Have Bought This Book For! to look curiously in his direction. "Professor Tsuzuki?" she asked with some surprise. "How do you know he's late?"

"That," Hisoka made vague motions over his shoulder and sure enough, through the open doors of the Great Hall, Tsuzuki sprinted in, robes fluttering open in his wake and he collapsed dramatically over the chair he sat in last night. Takashi didn't even look up as Professor Mcgonagall clucked disapprovingly, only to wave a chocolate muffin in Tsuzuki's direction. The trio saw bemusedly that Tsuzuki managed to inhale the muffin while still draped all over his chair like that.

"How did you know?" Hermione insisted.

Hisoka smiled that same, bare-twitch-of-the-lips-smile which Harry was quickly realizing as his most expressive look. Well, that and the ferocious scowl that is. He was nearly as good as Snape, the only difference between them the distinct lack of malevolence in the young boy's face.  "Magic," Hisoka replied vaguely.

Unsatisfied by that answer, Hermione opened her mouth to grill him some more but was interrupted by the morning's usual owl delivery. It was a hubbub of confusion as various owls sought out their mail recipients and made good use of various breakfast tidbits. Hedwig wasn't one of them that morning but then, Harry had no one to correspond to anyway now. . .he doubted the Order would bother communicating with him as in the summer. He was at Hogwarts after all, the safest place in the wizarding world. And even then, as the owls departed, the hubbub was raised again as a bird never seen before in the Hall flew in.

Students whispered and pointed, awed eyes tracking the ghostly white bird that flew in a straight arrow. The bird was small, barely the size of a dove with a long, three-forked tail. Even the professors watched the avian creature interestedly. With no hesitation whatsoever, the bird flew to the Gryffindor table and alighted upon Hisoka's shoulder. Fresh whispers broke out. The bird, not to mention the fact that it was a kind unknown to the wizards, was glowing softly. Harry smiled. He knew what the bird was. A messenger and tracker.

Hisoka tilted his head to the bird's which oddly enough to the entire Hall's amazement, appeared to be whispering in his ear. After a few minutes of Hisoka nodding between pauses, he reached up and with a gentle coo, the bird hopped onto his outstretched hand. Ignoring the curious looks, Hisoka leaned forward and gently breathed on the bird. With many gasps, the students and professors watched in awe as the bird shimmered and dissolved into nothingness.

As almost everyone broke into fresh whispers at their first sight of Oriental magic (as one Hufflepuff claimed it to be), Kyo asked Hisoka rather disinterestedly, focusing more on the blueberry muffin he was slathering with strawberry jam.

"Who was it from?"

"Shiina-san," Hisoka grunted. "She said to say hi and don't forget to visit her once in a while."

Kyo mumbled an affirmative as he turned the muffin this way and that.

"What the hell was that?!" Ron breathed.

Even Hermione forgot to scold Ron for swearing as she herself was leaning forwards, eyes shining brightly.

"Yes, what was that?" she asked excitedly. "How did you do it? Was it an illusion? A conjuration?"

"That's just basic onmyoujitsu," Kyo said as he continued scrutinizing his muffin. "That was a messenger bird."

"What's on-omy," Hermione frowned. "What do you call it again?"

Kyo scooped up the tiniest dot of strawberry jam and with the delicate care of a brain surgeon, dabbed it on to an obscure side of the muffin. "Onmyoujitsu," he repeated. "What we call the magic we use. It's based on spiritualism." Glancing over and seeing Hermione practically bursting with more questions, Kyo quickly added, "You'll learn more about it in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Takashi is helping Professor Lupin with that class and you can ask him then. He's much better at explaining it than I am," he assured her.

Hermione sank back in her seat, obviously disappointed at having to wait. Ron decided to attack his eggs, finally recognising them while it was Harry's turn to lean forwards.

"Kyo?" he frowned. "What on earth are you doing with that muffin?"

Kyo looked up with a grin. "This, my newly-made friend, is my masterpiece," he declared proudly and raised the muffin higher. "See the way the jam is just nicely so, the delicious red a brilliant contrast with the deep blue of the berries. And the pale gold of the corn is the canvas by which I paint this masterpiece!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione blinked.

Hisoka sighed.

Kyo popped the muffin in his mouth with a relish.

Gulping it down with some pumpkin juice, he smiled widely. "And it's delicious too!"

"Japanese sure are weird," Ron muttered to his sausages.

                               **********************************************

Harry stared down at the paper in his hand with a feeling akin to dread. No, it was dread. Dread and pure horror. The paper, printed neatly with emerald green ink, was his new schedule. And his new schedule clearly stated that on Tuesdays and Fridays, he would be having Potions.

Potions.

With Snape.

Trembling, whether in anger or fear, he wasn't sure, Harry quickly made his way to the High Table and skidded to a stop by Dumbledore's chair. The aged Headmaster raised bushy eyebrows and seeing the paper clutched in a death grip in Harry's hand, released a soft sigh.

"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore smiled. "I see you've gotten your schedule."

"There's a mistake," Harry said frantically, his brain refusing to accept what he read. "I got Potions listed and I'm not supposed to. I only got an 'E' for it and Professor Mcgonagall said that Sn-Professor Snape only accepts 'O'. . ." he trailed off.

Dumbledore was shaking his head slowly. "I'm afraid that your schedule is correct Harry," he said gently. "Professor Snape has kindly agreed to make an exception for you this year and if you do your work well, he will allow you to continue on in the seventh year. After all, as Professor Mcgonagall told me, you're interested in becoming an Auror, correct?"

"Yes, no, I mean-" Harry waved his schedule around vaguely, suddenly aware that most of the professors were listening in. Snape sat in his usual seat, face turned resolutely forwards with a menacing scowl. "Professor Snape and I don't get along," he went on stubbornly, "and I hate Potions! I'm willing to give up on becoming an Auror sir!" he finished desperately.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes were gone and even his long beard seemed to droop as he placed a gnarled and wrinkled hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm afraid that it is not an option Harry," he said softly. "You must take that class. It's for your protection," he added, seeing Harry about to protest.

The word 'protection' clamped his mouth shut faster than any sort of persuasion would. He stared unblinkingly into Dumbledore's eyes and knew this was a fight he would not win. So they think he needed a keeper? It wasn't enough was it, having been told that your one and only purpose in life is to kill or be killed, now he has to spend the rest of his two years here with Snape, the same Snape who loathed him and vice versa just for his protection? To willingly spend time with the man who was responsible for his godfather's death as much as he was?

The schedule was crushed, mangled in his tightened grip. The blazing green of his eyes dulled to a blank, opaque glass even as every line of fury in his face smoothened out leaving his face as blank as his eyes. Harry may not have realised it but his empty look hurt Dumbledore more than any furious tirade would have. The aged hand was lifted reluctantly away from a boy who did not feel nor welcomed the touch.

"I understand sir." Harry backed away, not even aware that Snape had turned a fraction of an inch, eyeing him carefully under the shadows of a glare. "I'm sorry to bother you," he said flatly and ignoring the helpless look in the Headmaster's face, made his way back to the Gryffindor table. His House, and the others, were whispering curiously, wondering at the exchange that had left their Headmaster looking so old and Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, so frighteningly emotionless.

Harry spent the remainder of breakfast ignoring Ron's attempts to cheer him up and Hermione's soft tutting that everything would work out in the end.

Kyo and Hisoka, wisely perhaps, said nothing.

                               **********************************************

His first class that morning was Care of Magical Creatures at 8.30.  Kyo and Ron were walking with him, Kyo opting to join Harry while Hisoka had reluctantly made off with Luna Lovegood. The eccentric Ravenclaw had shown up at the end of breakfast and insisted that the stars had decreed that she was to be Hisoka's guide to steer him through the murky haze that was his aura. Hisoka seemed rather taken aback that the girl wasn't put off one bit with his unresponsiveness and scowled even further when Luna announced that his aura was darkening even more.

"I'll show her a dark aura," Hisoka had mumbled underneath his breath. "I'll show her an aura so dark and she can stuff it u-"

"Don't be rude Hisoka," Kyo had laughed gently.

And so it was that Hisoka following Luna with his scowl unabated to Ancient Runes while Hermione went off for Advanced Arithmancy. Kyo, Ron and Harry then made their own way to Hagrid's hut where, as Ron explained to Kyo, the class usually takes place. Mostly due to the account that any creature Hagrid brought to class was likely to end up damaging school property and students alike.

"Tsuzuki's going to help Professor Hagrid with this class," Kyo announced casually. It got the effect he was aiming for. For the first time since breakfast, Harry's blank gaze finally lifted as he asked Kyo curiously, "Tsuzuki? He's Hisoka's. . .?"

"Yeah," Kyo smiled wryly. "Amazing how different they are and yet they still managed to stay together all this time."

Ron piped up from Harry's left. "Eh? Hisoka and Professor Tsuzuki?" he frowned. "What do you mean?"

Kyo smiled brightly. "Tsuzuki is Hisoka's love slave!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right," he mumbled, unconvinced.

"My mother told me that liars go to bad places," Kyo pouted and Ron looked even more confused and wary. Harry had to fight back a chuckle at the looks Ron kept throwing Kyo. He knew that it was hard for Ron to accept what Kyo said as the truth because of the way he said it. It had shocked himself quite a bit when he found out that Kyo and Takashi were married. After all, it wasn't everyday that you walked in to find that your two guy friends who had volunteered to do the dishes as he cleaned the living room making out enthusiastically in your own kitchen.

Takashi had took the time and trouble to emphatically assure Harry that no, they do not think of Harry that way.

Ron risked a glance at his watch, clearly unnerved by Kyo's continued jesting on what a cute couple Hisoka and Tsuzuki were (Hisoka was only 16 for Merlin's sake! And Professor Tsuzuki was at least 25!) and said, in a rather grateful tone, that they'd best hurry up as they were going to be late for class.

Harry quickly grabbed Kyo and pulled him along, Ron trotting by his side. "C'mon," he threw over his shoulder to Kyo who wasn't exactly making the effort to hurry up. "We don't want to be late on the first day!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Kyo snickered. Tsuzuki is never on time. He won't give a damn that we're late."

As it turned out, Kyo's prediction was only half right: Professor Tsuzuki wasn't late, having actually gotten there before them. But he didn't seem to care about their tardy arrival. If he even noticed. He was deep in an argument with what had to be the strangest looking man that Harry had ever seen.

At first glance, he looked like another human, an Asian like the rest of the new-comers, but then Harry saw the black and white striped tail that twitched ominously behind the smaller man.  The other students (as it was a NEWT level class, the Houses were all mixed together as according to their results and chosen subjects. Thankfully, no Malfoy in this class) were gathered in a nervous bunch some distance away from the two who were clearly arguing. They eyed the furiously lashing tail nervously and a Hufflepuff squeaked as the tail thumped hard on the ground in agitation. The odd-looking man was glaring up at Tsuzuki, saying "You idiot! I'm not somebody's science fair project. This is what you summoned me for?!"

"Byakko, come on. Play along, will you?" Tsuzuki pleaded. Violet eyes that reminded Harry of the best iris in his aunt's garden seemed to fill with tears. The other man, the one that he had called 'Byakko,' flinched visibly. With another start, Harry realised that Byakko's eyes were a deep red. If it wasn't for the warm ruby color, it would have been an uncanny resemblance to Voldemort's.

Byakko backed a step away, looking around frantically as Tsuzuki, who was in all rights a professor, sniffed, his strange violet eyes getting even bigger and even more watery.

"Alright!" Byakko yelped. "I'll do it! Just-" he flapped a hand full of sharp nails in Tsuzuki's face, "Stop doing that!"

In the blink of an eye, the pouty, tearful face was gone and Tsuzuki was grinning unabashedly. "Thank you! Byakko!"

Byakko groaned and rubbed his forehead wearily. "I keep on falling for that!" he muttered to himself.

Ron, who had edged forwards eagerly at the sight of Byakko's tail, leaned over to Kyo, whispering from the side of his mouth. "Is Professor Tsuzuki always like that?"

Kyo grinned. "You have no idea."

At his voice, Byakko snapped his head up and looked straight in their direction. Seeing Kyo, Byakko perked up and waved a hand eagerly. "Hey, Kyo!"

Stepping out from Harry's side, Kyo smiled back and sketched a deep, respectful bow. "Byakko-sama. It's good to see you again looking so well."

"Okay people, settle down," Tsuzuki cut in and earned a glare from Byakko. "Well, as most of you already know, my name is Tsuzuki Asato – or rather, Asato Tsuzuki to use the Western convention for names. As a part of the Asian-Europe Cultural Exchange, I've agreed to help out your usual professor of Magical Creatures." There was a smattering of curious murmurs from the class. An impish grin crossed Tsuzuki's face before he managed to school it into a serious look. As if it were possible for him to really be serious. Tall and slender, his rumpled suit coat hung from his frame, clearly visible under the half-open black professor's robe. With his tie half-undone and chestnut-brown hair falling into his amused eyes, he hardly looked the part of a professor. Yet there was also a certain confidence about him. Tsuzuki might not be regulation material, but he had obviously taught squirming teenagers before, and he didn't find them at all threatening.

"Professor Hagrid has kindly allowed me to take the first class as he has a family emergency with his, ah. . .brother, Gwarp?" Tsuzuki stumbled a bit over the name and Harry and Ron exchanged grins. Knowing Gwarp, they could pretty well guess what kind of an emergency it was. Hopefully, Hagrid would come back in relatively one piece.

"Because of the short notice, I haven't been able to locate an appropriate English-language text book for this class. As a result, we're going to just have to wing it. Okay, now, who can tell me what the six realms of existence are? And Kyo-kun, I'm afraid you'll have to sit this one out. No fair using your prior class work." Grimacing, Kyo subsided. His hand had just begun to twitch upwards when Tsuzuki had cut him off. The other students exchanged glances, but no one was willing to volunteer.

"What. . . not even a guess?" Tsuzuki chided them. "Now, I have to tell you that the six realms we're going to be discussing today are, indeed, drawn from Eastern traditions, so it isn't too surprising that none of you have heard about them. But that doesn't make them any less real. At the lowest level, we have beings in Hell. This is the worst of the realms, where the inhabitants are racked by torture. Second is the level of hungry spirits. These are called Preta in Sanskrit; Gaki in Japanese.

Next is the realm of Animals. This includes not only PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Animals and Livestock"livestock, but many of the lesser magical creatures that you've been studying in earlier classes. Then comes Asuras. This is again a SanskritPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Asura or Asuras" term. Asuras is the realm of evil, and is filled with anger. The fifth realm is that of Humans.PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Humans"PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=Deva or Devas" And sixth is Devas, the realm of heavenly beings filled with pleasure. Just as humans have the capacity for both good and evil, so do the inhabitants of Devas. They also belong to the world of suffering, for they grow old and die, even though their lives can be immeasurably long. Some say that because their pleasure is greatest, so too is their misery." Tsuzuki's violet eyes skipped over the sea of faces in front of him, noting with amusement that some of the students were already on the point of dozing off on the grass.

"Does anyone have any ideas as to what comes after the six levels of existence?" He pointed at one of the girls seated on the ground across from Kyo and Harry. "What about you, young lady. Got any ideas?" Mutely, she shook her head, then blushed a bright pink when the professor winked at her.

"Mr. Potter, any thoughts?" Tsuzuki's question seemed harmless enough, but Harry felt Kyo tense infinitesimally beside him.

Shrugging, he decided to hazard a guess. "Death. Oblivion." he tossed out. Cedric, Sirius. Sadness flashed across the professor's handsome face.

"Not quite." he replied gently. "If all goes well, the soul breaks free from the cycle of death and rebirth, and attains enlightenment." Harry felt himself go rigid. Had Kyo and Takashi talked to Tsuzuki about. . .? It seemed as if his words were intended specifically for his ears, as a comment on his problems. But before he could explode into tears, or fury, or whatever it was that his numbed brain was fumbling for, Tsuzuki had moved on, humor again brightening his features.

"Since it would be next to impossible to bring an example of a being that has attained that highest state to this class, I've got the next best thing. My friend here, Byakko, is a Devas. Specifically, he's what's called a Shikigami in Japanese. You might say that this puts him on par with a lesser god. He is the Guardian of the West, and his specialty is the control of the atmosphere in general, and winds in particular. In some traditions, he's also known as Koumokuten, but it can get really confusing -" He waved the strange man with the striped tail forward.

Byakko yawned hugely, displaying rows of pearly white – and extremely sharp looking – white teeth. "Gods, Tsuzuki," he groaned. "You must be ChiJou's most boring lecturer. Why don't we just show them?" And with that he transformed.

Gaping with disbelief, Harry found himself in sudden retreat, stumbling back over the grass, Ron squeaking beside him, right along with all of his fellow students. Well, correction. Almost all of his fellow students. Kyo didn't seem surprised that in place of a muscular but still admittedly small, human-looking man, a massive white tiger now dominated Hagrid's front lawn. It yawned again, this time uncurling a surprisingly red, long tongue and fanning out whiskers that were easily as long as a human. The whole class gaped in disbelief as Tsuzuki eyed them owlishly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, clear surprise on his face. "Byakko isn't scary at all! Don't you think he's cute?"

Harry had to shake his head and wonder about what kind of person would actually find a humongous white tiger that could probably swallow him whole and still feel hungry, cute.

Pale, tiger lips curled into what was obviously the cat's equivalent to a smirk.

"Roar."

                               ******************************************

Kyo was still sputtering with helpless giggles when he and Harry arrived at the trio's normal meeting place under the shade of an old tree on Hogwart's vast lawn. Ron had wandered off after class, mumbling something about finding Hermione and asking whether giant tigers actually do exist. The Asian boy threw himself down on the grass, and gave his amusement full rein. Harry found an answering grin twitching his lips as he sat down cross legged beside the other. Not that he got the joke. There was just something so infectiously cheerful about Kyo that it was hard not feel better in his company. It was a decidedly better mood to be in than the rushing silence he had nearly drowned in earlier this morning.

Harry squinted against the weak glare of the September sun, spotting a familiar looking figure approaching them across the expanse of grass. After a second look, he concluded that it was indeed Hisoka. The way he strode along, eyes fixed on the ground, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans with his thin shoulders hunched under the black robe that flapped – open – around his frame, was unmistakable. Harry nudged Kyo. "Hey, isn't that Hisoka?"

Kyo sat up, ignoring the bits of grass that clung to his dark hair and robe. "Sure is." He waved vigorously. "Hey, Hisoka! Over here!"

The other boy gave no indication that he had heard the shout other than to alter his course by a fraction so that he was now headed for the inviting shade of the big tree. When he arrived, he simply stood silently, staring down at Harry and Kyo with still, closed-off features. Kyo let the thinly disguised hostility roll off his back with practiced good humour.

"And where is the lovely Ms. Lovegood who had so graciously offered to show you around and clean up your aura, hmm?" Kyo leaned back on his elbows, a mischievous grin lighting his face.

"I left her at the girls' lavatory." His low, monotonous voice gave nothing away, but Harry had a sneaking suspicion that the smaller boy had been told to wait, and instead had seized the opportunity to ditch Luna. Harry felt a twinge of guilt. Not that Loony Luna was his favorite person at Hogwarts, but after the events of the preceding year, Harry had at least learned to respect her.

"Ah, hah," Kyo was saying, nodding wisely as though there were special significance to Hisoka's words. Green eyes glared at him.

"It's not that I have anything against her, it's just that she never shuts up. My shields are pretty strong, but there are limits, Kyo." he snapped irritably.

Surprised, Harry blinked. He would never have thought of Luna as the babbling sort. Some of the other girls, sure. They seemed to develop diarrhea of the mouth whenever there was a cute boy around, and Hisoka definitely qualified in that department. In fact, with his slight, graceful form, he looked more like a girl than some of the female students did. That train of thought promptly derailed when Harry noticed that the Japanese boy was so tense that he was practically vibrating.

"Hisoka. . . ." The amusement was wiped from Kyo's features as well, replaced instead with genuine concern. "Are you okay?"

Hisoka nodded shakily. "Yeah. It's just going to take me a little longer than I thought to tune my shields. Some of these Western wizards are strong projectors." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "It's given me a headache." the boy complained.

Catching Harry's puzzled frown, Kyo took it upon himself to explain. "Hisoka is an empath. Normally, his shields are good enough to keep out pretty much anything, but Hogwarts isn't exactly the normal world." Hisoka growled something under his breath that sounded like 'You can say that again.' Whatever it was, Kyo apparently caught it because he gave a snort of laughter.

Harry though, goggled at Hisoka. "You're an empath? Is that like a telepath?"

"One's about emotions, one's reading your mind," Kyo shrugged. "Hisoka here is a pretty strong empath. And something of a telepath as well."

"Sure, talk about me as though I'm not here at all," came the sardonic reply.

"I will if you'll hush up," Kyo said cheerfully.

Harry watched the younger boy with new respect. He wasn't sure if such a talent could be considered as magic but he had never heard of empaths in the magical world before. There were Seers and Trelwaneys aplenty but the subject of empathy or telepathy never really came up, so far as he could remember. Maybe 'cause we have Occlumency and  Wingardium Leviosa for it? Harry wondered bemusedly. Hermione would know. Then he froze inwardly as he realized, can he tell what I'm thinking about right now?

Hisoka must have noted his sudden, stricken expression because he shook his head faintly and sighed with the faintest hint of exasperation. "Believe me, I don't find it fun diving into people's mind. People tend to broadcast out to me instead. It's noisy as hell and gives me migraines. I try my damn best to make sure I don't read anyone. And damn it, that Luna girl really gave me a good one."

 Kyo shifted a bit. "Not to change the subject or anything, but you had Defense Against the Dark Arts, didn't you?"

Harry felt his pulse quicken with interest, shoving aside the worry of having his personal demons played out like a movie to someone he barely knew. Dark Arts was definitely something he understood. Hisoka rolled his eyes before answering.

"Yeah. Takashi tried to explain the principal behind the making and use of fuda. I don't think a single person in the room had a clue what he was talking about. Even I didn't follow half the stuff he was saying, and I've been studying omnyoujitsu for years." The blond boy pulled up a blade of grass and proceeded to methodically tear it to bits. His voice hadn't varied from the same monotonous style of delivery that he used for everything, but Harry was beginning to think that he was catching on to the more subtle signs. This time, he felt exasperation, and a grudging affection behind the words. Dimly, he felt respect bubbling up for the wheat-haired boy. It must have been hell for him, discovering that he was an empath and to feel everything that anyone felt. It would have probably driven Harry insane. He didn't need empathy to know that the Dursleys hated him.

Kyo slipped down to lie flat on the cool earth. He snickered. "You think that's bad, you should have seen Tsuzuki. He lectured our class on the six states of being. And he summoned Byakko to illustrate the realm of the Devas."

"He what?!"

Kyo glanced at the other boy, drawling with lazy – but wicked – good humor. "It could have been worse. He might have summoned Suzaku." He burst into laughter at Hisoka's stiff glare.

"That is so not funny. Do you have any idea what the repair bill would be for this place?" The blond's lips tightened into a line that declared firmly 'I am not amused, and don't you try to change my mind about it.' If anything, Kyo laughed harder.

His mirth had subsided to the point where he could breathe again when he spotted Harry's look of growing confusion. Since there was no way that Hisoka was going to explain, he took pity on the English wizard. "It's like this," he said, sitting back up. "Tsuzuki has the ability to summon some pretty impressive beings. Suzaku is a phoenix."

"Oh, like Fawkes?" At his reference to the ever-changing creature, a puzzled frown came over Kyo's mobile features. After a moment, it cleared.

"Oh, you mean the little one that shares Dumbledore's office." He shook his head. "Well, no, not exactly. Suzaku is more of a. . .well. . .an 'archetype,' I guess you could call her."

Huffing impatiently, Hisoka interrupted. "What the idiot is saying is that Suzaku is big. That Fawkes of Dumbledore's is a kitten compared to Suzaku. If Tsuzuki summoned her, here, he'd be spending the rest of his life paying for the property damage. A very long life. And the idiot hasn't finished paying off the bill from the last time."

Kyo howled with amusement. "No kidding! Tsuzuki means well, but he's a walking disaster area!"

The blond boy shot him a glare loaded with annoyance, but opted to ignore the comment. From observing Hisoka through breakfast, Harry had pretty much concluded that 'irritated' was Hisoka's normal state of being. But when Kyo leaned over and whispered something in his ear, a smile of unsurpassed sweetness flitted across the younger boy's features, gone so quickly that Harry would have thought that he had imagined it, were it not for an echo that lingered in his lovely green eyes.

"Yes, he is that, isn't he?" Hisoka murmured softly. "He really is wonderful. Sometimes."

Kyo snickered, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like 'romantic. . .' Then he dropped down so that his head landed squarely in Hisoka's lap.

It was hard to say who was more surprised; the younger blond, or Harry. Both of them were staring with essentially identical stunned looks at the grinning boy who lay stretched out, legs neatly crossed at the ankles. Kyo crossed his eyes in an attempt to look upside down and backwards at Hisoka. Hisoka stiffened, gathering himself up as his cheeks flushed with what had to be anger rather than embarrassment at the familiar contact. "Shiozaki Kyo," he stated icily. "What do you think you're doing?"

The mischief in Kyo's expression transformed itself. He caught Hisoka's hand and pressed a soft kiss to his palm. "Distracting you." The gentle reply was tender, and Harry was not surprised to hear Kyo begin humming that lullaby again as he relaxed back into his impromptu pillow. The same odd change stole over the other boy's features, and some of the tension leached out of his thin shoulders. He allowed his free hand to brush lightly over Kyo's hair, smoothing it back from his forehead.

"Idiot," Hisoka sighed. The word lacked the forcefulness it had held earlier.

"Hmmm." Kyo grinned sleepily, eyes drifting shut. "Am that."

"You didn't sleep well, did you?" The soft accusation still had a bit of Hisoka's normal bite to it. His slender fingers combed through the dark hair again, gentle as a butterfly's kiss, barely disturbing the strands.

"Nope." Kyo yawned hugely. The humming had stopped, although he kept his grip on the other's hand. A faint smile twitched his lips when the trapped fingers tried unsuccessfully to wriggle free. Hisoka rolled his eyes and gave up the struggle.

Watching them, Harry realized that he didn't have a clue what to do. Their interaction was both intimate and casual at the same time, the kind of behavior that only seemed natural between people who had a long history together. He would almost say they acted like girlfriend and boyfriend – except that they were both boys. And Hisoka was supposed to be married to Tsuzuki while Kyo to Takashi. Was there some sort of secret/public affair going on? Do Tsuzuki and Takashi share this sort of intimacy as well? Confused, Harry blinked, and found himself meeting Hisoka's steady, knowing gaze.

"Kyo is very good with his emotional and mental shields," Hisoka explained softly. His trapped hand was relaxed in Kyo's loosening grip even as his other hand continued the gentle brushing. "He's shielding me in turn with a silence of sorts."

"Oh," Harry replied awkwardly. "That's uh. . ." he gestured vaguely. "That's nice but. . ." he trailed off, a blush staining his cheeks. "Is it necessary to have that close of a, er, contact for your empathy to work?" he stammered.

Hisoka's lips curved in that rapidly familiar slight smile. "It's more effective," he conceded. "That and Kyo is just a big baby," he sighed. "He doesn't like being away from Takashi too long." It was so softly spoken that Harry almost missed it. Did he imagine that look of wistful longing and sadness in Hisoka's bright green eyes?

"Harry! Have you seen -" Hermione's exasperated shout reached his ears just as he was about to ask Hisoka what he meant exactly. The quick patter of her footsteps stopped dead just a few feet behind Harry, who could make a decent guess as to why. It wasn't every day that you found two handsome guys together, one seated and the other laid out, like the dot and line of an exclamation point. And, especially not holding hands. . .  Hermione tore those treasonous thoughts from her mind, instead fixing Hisoka with a glare that could easily match him for bad temper. "Kurosaki!" she barked. "Why did you take off on Luna? Aside from the fact that it was rude, Hogwarts is no place for a stranger to be wandering around in without a guide."

Technically, the blond youth ought to have been at a disadvantage with the girl towering over him. It didn't stop him from glowering up at her as an equal. "You told me to go with her to class." he snapped back. "Class was over."

Uh, oh. The Irresistible Force meets the Immovable Object. This ought to be interesting. . . .  Harry thought irreverently. Hermione's determination had bowled him over on enough occasions that he found himself rooting for Kyo's friend.

"Fine." she answered. "You promised to attend Professor Snape's Potions class with Luna in ten minutes. If we hurry, we can find Luna on the way before class and you can apologize." The way she planted her fists on her hips indicated that she would accept no arguments. Hisoka's shoulders shifted subtly, acknowledging that he had agreed to go to Potions. But at the same time he made no move to get up.

"I can't. Kyo just fell asleep." The hand that had been toying absently with the other boy's hair the entire time settled protectively on his forehead. True enough, Kyo was sprawled in envious slumber, seemingly to have done this a number of times before. Looking closely, Harry realized that the faint lines of tension he had barely noticed earlier was gone, smoothened out by sleep.

"Besides, we're not attending these classes for credit," Hisoka went on calmly. "It was agreed that we could go to any class we like to, as long as it's with our guides. I can go to Potions any other day."

"You can come to mine tomorrow," Harry offered helpfully. He ignored the sudden cold that trickled down his back; he knew for sure that Hermione had leveled her glare at him. "I can use all the support I can get."

Hisoka nodded in agreement and apparently deemed the conversation over. Shifting slightly so that he could lean back against the tree trunk comfortably, Hisoka went on brushing Kyo's hair. Hermione was nonplussed. It wasn't often, in fact, hardly ever, that a fellow student actually stood up to her when she had one her best 'I know what's good for you and don't you argue with me' look.

The silence might have turned awkward if Ron hadn't chosen that moment to turn up. His tie was askew in the collar of his robe, and his red hair mussed, indicating that he had been in a hurry to get to their customary meeting place. He stopped dead at the sight of Kyo and Hisoka, his fair cheeks flaming a color that rivaled his hair. Unexpectedly, his gaze shifted sideways to Hermione, and the blush deepened. Harry lifted an eyebrow in silent wonder.

Is it what I think it is. . . .?

"Well, come on and join us then—"

"Quietly," Hisoka interjected.

"—quietly," Harry amended and patted the grass next to him and Hermione and Ron took up the invitation.

Carefully arranging her robes, Hermione glanced at Hisoka, carefully avoiding Kyo. "Is he. . .okay?" she blushed. "I mean, is it jet-lag or—"

"He couldn't sleep last night," Hisoka shrugged. "He has this regrettable tendency of letting his insomnia get out of control. Better for him to get as much sleep as possible."

"Oh."

"So, Hisoka," Ron shifted uncomfortably and risked another of those blushing looks at the sleeping Kyo and a quick sneak at Hermione. Harry's suspicions were quickly deepening. "Is. . .uh, I thought Tsuzuki was supposed to be your. . .uh. . s-s-sl. ."

"Love slave?" Hisoka asked mildly.

"Er. . .yeah," Ron stammered.

Hisoka only smiled mysteriously and refused to answer.