I got 37 reviews (does a happy dance). I honestly didn't think this story would be this successfull. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Here is the next chapter.
To everyone who picked it up, I apologise for the misspelling of Blaise Zabini's name. I'm usually pretty good with his name and I had it when they spell it 'Zambani', or worse, make him a girl. But it was late when I was finishing the chapter so I was tired.
To Memories-of-the-Shadows, no, I did not know that. Thank you for heading off that plot-hole.
I personally had fun making the book list. I'm glad it made some of you laugh.
To those who asked, Crane is sorta like Kurama; not a hanyou and not a full-blooded youkai, but something...else. Kinda a possession-type thing.
For those who wondered, wonder no more! The behemoth HAS. BEEN. NAMED!
BTW, for those who wanted it, What Came Before is now up in the M-rated section. I've already started incorporating that plot with this one in this chapter.
Che!
Classes started the day of arrival. Potential students were expected to arrive at 10:00am to settle in and have their physical examination before lunch. The first class of the day was started at 1:30pm and went until 5:00pm, leaving an hour-long break before dinner at 6:00pm and curfew at 9:00pm. From there, classes would start at 8:00am until lunch at 1:00 and continue until 5:00pm, dinner at 6:30pm and curfew at 10:00pm.
Crane couldn't say he particuarly liked the timetable, but he found it acceptable since they would only had five hours of a specific class to catch upwith.
His first class was 'Runes' in a large, airy room with single desks in six neat rows, white-wash walls and polished would panneling and posters relating to varius runes and discoveries about them. The desks were also clearly labelled with each student's name.
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Ten minutes before class started, Crane was found by his teacher sitting at his designated desk and engrossed in reading 'Intermediate's Guide to Runes', his other books and writing materials placed out of the way around the desk but still readily within reach and his Runes materials in a small carry chest situated tidily beneath his chair.
Shanna Stone, a Shade with long sidhe scarlet hair and vibrant mahogany-brown eyes, could understand why this one had caught Alucard's attention faster than any student in all the time she had known him, and that was going on 400 years!
This one would be very powerful and dangerous if allowed to grow to adulthood. He attracted attention from those who understood power better than any stupid little wizard; which was to say every paranormal being except wizards. She had also heard from Shino that Haruaki had sent the boy's medical file and his own notes on him straight to Sesshoumaru; something unheard of from a potential.
Five minutes before class was to begin, Crane hadn't moved for anything but to turn a page and Shanna had settled behind her desk to observe her students.
As the students flowed into the room, sharp brown eyes took in the potentials and immediately identified those who would be accepted and those who would not. There were twelve in her class of sixth years, eight witches and wizards from all around the globe and four who most definitely weren't human.
Shanna was momentarily unsettled when the four non-humans each paused when they caught sight of the Black boy before moving on cautiously, treating him like a large predator.
None of these four were exactly from weak or peaceful races. The girl, Klocia, was half-Cabyll-Ushtey, half Phouka, reputed to sometimes eat humans on both sides of the family and both declared 'Dangerous Creatures' by the Wizard Ministries. One of them, who could have passed as Crane's brother or twin, was a sidhe royal from the Unseelie court and seventh in line to the thrown; his name was Cald, or Calder or something. The other two were a male nekomata of around average youki level and a bat chimera from the Western clans of the Makai.
The second last person to enter the room also paused before actually approaching Black; a Spanish boy who showed a great deal of natural talent as a powerful Necromancer, if her magic senses were correct.
She settled back to watch the interaction, noting how the other four non-humans were also subtly listening into the conversation.
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Crane turned the page and glanced over the diagram before moving to the writing.
"Black."
Crane flicked a glance up and back to the book.
"Zabini."
'What do you want?' remained in the air between them.
"Why are you here? From the way you have acted previously, one would assume you would have preferred to remain with you brother and…friends."
Crane shrugged, still reading. "Assumptions lead to mistakes more often then not. Besides, one does eventually grow bored with being ignored."
"Ah."
Zabini wandered off to his seat as the bells tolled the start of class.
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Crane was coiled up on his dormitory bed in his small dormitory room, clad only in his boxers. Every locking and warding spell he knew was caste on his door and window so he could retreat into his mindscape for his little chat with Kuronue without fear of someone interrupting.
Phasing into his misty mindscape, Crane glanced around, noting that there were now tree-shadows just out of sight and florescent will-o'-the-wisps darted through the vapour and shadowy tree limbs.
Padding forward through the blue-green grass, Crane finally found the part on his mindscape Kuronue had made his own.
It was a tree; a tree of indeterminable species that was some thirty feet around the base and mottled with so many knots and knolls that that there wasn't a smooth expanse on the entire trunk. The large pale trunk rose up in and massive umbrella formation, darkening the expanse beneath its mist-wreathed boughs where only the will-o'-the-wisps darted.
It was between two of this tree's massive roots that Crane found his other, curled up into a tight foetal position, his wings cradling his body and quietly keening to himself as he slept.
Any lingering irritation faded from conscious thought.
Crane leapt daintily down into the small grassy enclosure and settled down against a large knoll to watch his other sleep.
While not one for crowds, Crane knew that Kuronue had a subconscious need for a single constant companion. Before Crane had been Youko Kurama, before Youko Kurama had been Taisho and before Taisho had been Madara; it was just the way he was.
This need for companionship was something Kuronue had unknowingly impressed into Crane, even whilst still dormant; hence the mortal boy's attachment to Gary, Sirius and, to a lesser extent, Walburga and Luna. Possibly even Neville.
But for some reason, it never extended to Ron and Hermione.
In a way, Crane was grateful that he had Kuronue. While a loner by nature, Crane didn't like being alone.
There was a song - a muggle song – that had touched him at a subconscious level, it suited them so well. He didn't remember the name of the artist or the song itself, but he remembered the chorus.
An almost bitterly sad smile twisted his lips as he reached out and traced the jaw-line, breathing out the words to his sleeping other.
Kuronue relaxed slightly under the barely-heard words, drifting into a deeper slumber.
It was a promise from the mortal to the demon. One that he knew he could keep.
He didn't want to be alone and neither, he knew, did Kuronue, so he bound them tighter together, entwining their souls closer together so if one of them died, the other wouldn't have to keep living alone.
'No / You'll never be alone / When darkness comes / I'll light the night with stars / Hear my whispers in the dark / No / You'll never be alone / When darkness comes / you know I'm never far / Hear my whispers in the dark.'
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Crane was woken from his trance a few minutes before dinner would begin when a light body pounced on his stomach.
Glancing at his wind-up clock, the boy scratched the behemoth behind the ears.
"Thank you, Neko-Chan."
The violet behemoth mewled and rubbed against his hand affectionately.
Officially, Crane had named the behemoth Shyam; a Sanskrit name meaning black, dark and/or beautiful. Kuronue had agreed that it was a fitting name and Shyam hadn't objected. Crane had always taken naming things seriously; the name of his snowy owl, Hedwig, was a Germanic form from Hadewig, meaning battle or female warrior. He had never settled for naming something anything less than was suited for it.
Unfortunately for the behemoth's pride, Crane had already mentally dubbed him 'Neko-Chan'.
Stretching the kinks out and feeling too lazy to really dress up for dinner, Crane grabbed a pair of faded jeans and an oversized button down dress-shirt, pausing long enough to run a brush through his loose knee-length wavy hair, and was out the door without bothering to put on shoes.
Turning down the corridor, he didn't realise that the two potentials he had just passed had run into a wall because they were two busy staring after him in shock.
If he had looked back, he would have seen the glamour flicker to reveal a pair of young incuba.
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Crane was used to people staring, so he didn't pay it any mind when he entered the dining hall and found a table where he could sit with his back to a corner, giving him a decent view of the room and making it nigh impossible to sneak up behind him.
He was presently joined by Luna, who asked him how class was, and, surprisingly, Blaise Zabini and a blood-red haired girl in the heavy-skirted, autumn-brown uniform of Durmstrung (an acquaintance of Zabini's) called Morvina Redfern. They were just deciding on their choices from the menu when a smooth, velvety contralto spoke from between Zabini and Luna.
"Would you mind if I joined you for the evening meal?"
Klocia, he thought her name was. She had been seated two desks back and two to the right. If his memory was correct, she had been one of the students who had been watching him closely. She had the welsh dark complexion with straight, silky dark hair almost as long as his own and big black-brown eyes. She was what was called exotically beautiful these days, he supposed, by human standards. He knew Ron and Gary would be drooling by now, but he couldn't bring himself to be attracted to this tall, slender beauty.
He waved her to the seat between himself and Morvina.
"Sure. Have a seat. It's not like anyone else is coming."
Klocia smiled and settled gracefully into the proffered seat, dark eyes heavy-lidded and seductive.
"Thank you. I am Klocia Glastyn."
Crane's eyes snapped up at the surname to regard the girl beside him warily. Now that he was looking for it, he was able to see the tapered tips of her ears.
The Glastyn, according to British folklore, was one of the Manx cousins of the waterhorse, Each Uisge, who haunted the sea and lochs, as opposed to the not quit as dangerous Kelpie who lived in flowing water. In horse form, it was known to lure the unwary onto its back and carry them into its watery home and eat them, rejecting only the liver. Its skin was said to be adhesive since it was nigh impossible to tear oneself of once on its back. There was a particularly gruesome tale of one taking awake seven little girls for dinner. If killed, it was supposed to turn into 'starshine', a jelly-like substance thought to be all that remains of a falling star.
It was truly surprising how closely related youkai were to true fairies and fey.
"Indeed."
The rest of the meal was spent in relative silence, though he did notice her choice of meal was black pudding.
Ick.
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Deep in the Northern Makai, a sudden howl of laughed tore through a complex made of caves in a canyon wall.
Startled, many bat chimera poked their heads out of their dwellings, curious as to what could have been in that missive that had their Lady in such a good mood.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE HE ACTUALLY PULLED IT OFF!!" The voice cackled happily.
Many of the older chimera had a sinking feeling it had to do with their Lady's errant little brother.
The Lady was scary when it came to Kuronue.
Note: The Kelpie, Glastyn, Each Uisge, Phouka and Cabyll Ushtey are really from British folklore and are horse-shapeshifters. Only the Phouka isn't a waterhorse, rather it has a similar function to a Brownie or Boogle.
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