Foxes, Wands, and Fire

By KitsuneGirl911

Chapter 9: Professor WHO?

Disclaimer: Roses are Red, Kurama's eyes are Green, The person who owns Yu Yu Hakusho is not me (or mean)… Roses are Red, Puu is Blue, I don't own Harry Potter so don't sue…

(People seem to like the disclaimer…Is it really that good?)

I took some (haha) liberties with class material… I hope you don't mind? I fast-forwarded a bit for classes and material covered for the sake of the plot: this story only covers one year of Hogwarts, though it isn't, by any means, going to be rushed or cut off…

"EnglishBlah" means Japanese speech

(Used when talking in total Japanese around others)

'blah' means thought speech/telepathy

'blah' is personal thoughts

Also (blah) gives the translation of something left in Japanese.

((AN: blah)) author note… yeah

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Harry and Ron were surprised at the outcome of the two exchange students' sorting.

"But Shuuichi was so nice on the train!" Harry exclaimed, "He should've been in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff even!" Their next thought was,

'How did he get into Slytherin?'

The boys' conversation was cut short as Dumbledore stood up and commanded silence.

"I have one more announcement before the feast. I would like you to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher…" He gestured at someone from the teachers' table to stand up. Kurama gasped silently.

'I was right! Kuro might not be a demon anymore… But that's him!' Kuronue flashed a smile at everyone and then bowed. This caused the same students who sighed over Kurama to swoon again. Dumbledore continued,

"Meet Professor Kuronue."

"I can take it from here Headmaster… In case you're wondering, yes, I am not from around here. From Japan in fact." he paused. "Now, I must add that those of you who have been to Hogwarts before will note that the DADA classes are quite different this year. Don't worry though, I assure you it's a change fro the better." He smiled again and sat down.

As Dumbledore wrapped up his speech with the usual warnings and whatnot, Hiei gave Kurama a slightly concerned look. Then he followed the Shocked fox's gaze and saw the new DADA professor. As he stared at him he noticed some resemblance to the form that the demon god took when they were fighting the Meikai. A rival then. Hiei began glaring at this supposed 'Kuronue' with mistrust.

After a few seconds Kuronue noticed this and glared right back with even more intensity than even he could manage. Being slightly taken aback, Hiei stopped glaring and looked away. It wasn't long before Kurama noticed that Kuronue was looking in his general direction while he had been staring at him like a fool. He quickly turned his head and let his hair mask his slight blush that was rapidly spreading. Kuronue shifted his attention to the red-haired exchange student.

'He reminds me so much of Kurama… I wonder what happened to him…'

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Bamboo stabbed through most of his body, blood gushing out copiously; he knew he would not survive this. His pained eyes stared at Kurama, he hoped everything he wanted to say could be seen in their depths. The answering pain in his partner's eyes told him everything he needed to know. And it was enough.

"Go! Kurama, run!" Kurama took one last look at his best friend and partner dying and turned tail and fled with all he could, clutching the mirror they had stolen like a lifeline. And that was all he knew before the blackness took over him and he let his spirit go.

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While all of this nostalgia was going on inside his head, his eyes remained blank. No one knew the torment that was in his soul… Kuronue was broken from his reverie by the feeling of someone's eyes on him, trying to bore inside. He took a very quick glance at the short transfer student, but he had turned to glare at the person sitting across form him. Realizing which direction it was coming from, he turned to see- Snape, the Potions Professor, trying to read his mind. Kuronue almost laughed. As if a human could do such a thing. However, it would soon be noticed that he wasn't touching his food, so he began to eat, easily fending off the probing of his memories.

When the feast was over, the prefects for each house led the first years to their respective dormitories. Hiei and Kurama rose to go with the rest, but one of the prefects noticed and told them to follow Dumbledore, who would be waiting for them outside the doors, where they first came in. Kurama nodded and thanked him, Hiei followed silently.

The first thing they noticed upon seeing their headmaster up close was how much his eyes twinkled merrily behind his half-moon spectacles. It was slightly annoying.

"Ah, I hope you enjoyed the feast?"

"Yes, headmaster."

"No need for such formalities, call me Dumbledore."

"Alright then… Dumbledore, why have you called us here?"

His eyes twinkled more, and behind Kurama, Hiei twitched almost imperceptibly.

"I assume you noticed quite an age difference between you and the other first years, hm?" Kurama stayed quiet and let him continue. "To correct this problem, I have gotten you two Ageless Bracelets. And I'm sure you're wondering what they are…" Dumbledore produced two dull silver and gold bracelets from one of his sleeves. "These will give you the outward appearance of children of the age of most first years. All you do is put them on, the change occurs automatically. When you take them off you will return to your current age. Here." He handed them each a bracelet, and they tried them on. Instantly, the size of the bracelet shrank to ensure it wouldn't fall off. "I assume you'll need a guide to your dormitory…"

"If that man assumes anything else I'll-" Hiei snarled, only to stop short. "What happened to my voice?"

"Ah yes, when I said outward appearance, it included your voice as well. It wouldn't do to have a mismatched voice; it would only draw more attention than necessary, and therefore defeat the purpose of the bracelets."

Kurama laughed at Hiei's expression, which in turn made Hiei smirk at Kurama's own voice. The kitsune pouted.

"I sound even more like a girl… I did not miss this age."

"Ah, it seems your guide has arrived. Meet Professor Snape, teacher of Potions class and head of Slytherin house." Kurama bowed slightly, and Hiei nodded curtly.

"Well, hurry up." The two demons turned students followed after him, through winding halls and down spiral staircases. The air grew colder, and then they were in the dungeons of the castle.

"How… Fitting." Hiei commented. Snape didn't react, not even to ask for a translation. Good, this Snape was someone who respected privacy. The head of their house stopped in front of a bare, damp stone wall.

"Cattus oculus."

Hiei raised an eyebrow, but then a door concealed in the wall slid open. He hadn't sensed it due to the overall heady amount of magic in the school. He frowned, wishing he could get used to it soon to be able to sort things out correctly. Then again, he would probably adapt sometime within the next hour.

The Slytherin common room was a low-ceilinged, dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and high-backed chairs. It seemed more… homey… compared to the rest of the castle's annoying cheeriness. Snape gestured towards a short hallway.

"Your rooms are down this hall." he informed them, before taking his leave.

As it turned out Kurama and Hiei shared a room with none other than… Draco Malfoy.

"My love!" There were practically hearts in his eyes.

Kurama sighed in exasperation. Someone seemed to be taking all his usual good luck lately…

"Let's get things straight, right here, and right now." Hiei growled menacingly. Draco looked slightly scared from the tone of Hiei's voice, though he bravely tried not to show it. "He doesn't want your pathetic affections, and he never will, end of story. Got that?" Draco nodded. "Good. And don't try anything while he's asleep either."

Kurama would have chastised Hiei for his scaring the child, but in this case it was warranted. He collapsed on his bed, exhausted from a long day of new experiences. Hiei simply sat on the end of his own bed, glaring at Draco.

"Hiei, he's never going to be able to sleep if you keep doing that."

"Hn." Nevertheless, he did as asked.

Kurama closed the curtains around his bed, creating pitch darkness within them, though he could still see. He could see better than usual for it was close to the full moon. Ever since he had been in his Youko body during the Dark Tournament, he had kept reverting to it on full moons. Something in his Youko senses had set him off tonight, from the teacher that called himself Kuronue. He had jumped to the conclusion that he was his old partner, but now he wasn't so sure…

It was going to be a long night.

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Their classes were certainly interesting, Kurama decided, even after their first day, which was mainly getting introduced to things. Of course in only one class did any of their teachers actually teach them anything; Professor Binns, a ghost, started teaching the history of magic as soon as class started. He had a boring, droning kind of voice, but Kurama was interested in what he said anyway, he'd always loved history. Hiei however, slept, only waking up to answer the occasional, 'Are you awake?' or 'Answer the question, Mr. Jaganshi.' Herbology, was obviously Kurama's favorite class, and he could sense the strong magic plants in the other greenhouses that he'd have to check out later.

It turned out that Snape obviously played favorites; he tormented Harry for not knowing questions he wouldn't have known even if he was wizard-born, and then turned around and was polite to every Slytherin student. Their charms teacher, Hiei was pleased to know, was even shorter than he was. McGonagall was their Transfiguration teacher, but unlike Snape she treated everyone with the same level of harshness… except for that bushy-haired girl they met on the train, who had excelled in everything so far. But Hiei and Kurama were not far behind.

They had mastered channeling their energy with their wands, instead of just using their energy on its own, which would have given them away. Koenma had been sending them updates through the owl system (or hawk in Hiei's case, several students scooted away in fear at the fierce bird's first appearance).

The whole issue with the new DADA teacher was far from being resolved; Kuronue had been out the first two days of classes, a substitute who taught straight from the book was their teacher for those days.

But today was the day. The fourth of September, tonight the moon would be at its fullest. Kurama was on edge as soon as he stepped outside to head for his next class, Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. He could sense something entirely too familiar… But Dumbledore wouldn't be so foolish as to…

"Professor Kuronue, as yeh know, has been gone for the first two days o' classes. He was off gettin' these-" Hagrid stepped aside to gesture at a pen of what, at first appearance seemed to be regular foxes. That is, all regular foxes save one that had two tails. "They're from Japan, and they're called kitsune."

Kurama gasped quietly.

"This man is either a fool, or very, very brave." Hiei noted.

"But Hagrid, isn't this dangerous?"

"Nothin' to worry about, the only two-tail is a male, they're less crafty than the females."

"But still-" Kurama knew that to be false.

"An' Professor Kuronue was kind enough to place a bunch o' spells to keep them here." Kurama remained silent. Hagrid gestured for everyone to step forward; Hiei did so, but Kurama didn't. "Now, don' worry, they aren't goin' to hurt yeh." Kurama stepped forward, into their line of sight. He supposed they hadn't noticed him because of the wards on their makeshift 'cage' (if it could even be called that). Kurama tried not to notice them all staring at him and getting excited, choosing instead to stare at the nearby forest that was off-limits to students. He could sense all kinds of powerful creatures that were probably the reason it was forbidden. Good, he would be alone when he transformed.

"How do you know the males are 'less crafty'?" Kurama couldn't help asking, "Did Professor Kuronue tell you so?"

"Eh… No, he didn't… But he's been causin' the least trouble outta the bunch."

"I see." It must mean he had the most to hide, most likely a plot to escape.

"Now, as I was sayin', kitsune are a Japanese spirit fox, with curiosity and troublemaking as their main thin' they're known fer… The more tails they have, the stronger they are, with nine tails at the most." And he continued on in that vein.

Class went without incident, that is, until Hagrid finally noticed the kitsune staring at Kurama.

"Er, Shuuichi… You might wanna back up a bit, they seem to have taken an interest in yeh…"

Kurama was glad to comply. Unfortunately, the kitsune followed him as best they could within their confines. It was barely soon enough for Kurama that they had to make their way to their next class.

This time, in DADA, they finally had their regular teacher, Professor Kuronue. When Kurama and Hiei walked in Kuronue shot a slightly curious look at them, but focused on class.

"As I said before things will be a bit more interesting this year, than just book reading… How will that ever help you in life?" He shook his head. "And I apologize for my absence. To make up for it, I have procured a boggart for you to practice some a basic spell on. Now, a boggart will show your greatest fear, and feed off of your emotions. But it can only feed off of negative emotions. In this case, laughter can be the best weapon- It's a simple spell, just think of a way to turn whatever the boggart becomes into something that will make you laugh. Boggarts aren't dangerous, as long as you know the spell. Right, now," he set his wand down, careful not to actually use the spell, "just picture in your mind what you're going to do, and then, once focused, simply say 'riddikulus'in a nice, clear voice." He paused, letting information sink in. "Who wants to go first?" everyone stepped back save for a boy named Neville, who wasn't paying attention to what everyone else was doing, too busy trying to get his mind wrapped around what he was going to do. "Ah, Neville?"

"P-Professor?"

"Why don't you go first?"

"B-B-But-"

"Don't worry, if anything goes wrong, I'm here." Neville nodded in the resigned way people sentenced to the gallows did. "Ready?" Neville nodded again, hesitantly. "One, two, three." The door to the wardrobe flew open, and out stepped… Snape, glaring at Neville for all he was worth. Neville shook a bit, but then raised his wand and in an uncertain voice, shouted:

"Riddikulus!" And at once the boggart-Snape was wearing the same clothes his grandma wore, a ridiculous birded hat, and a green dress. Everyone (except Hiei) laughed uproariously. Kuronue was one of the ones laughing hardest.

"Gods, that guy creeps me out… Okay, next student-"

And on it went. Hiei sat it out, knowing that his fear was to do with Yukina, and he'd rather not see her like that, fake or not. Kuronue gave him a sour look and a bad grade, but he didn't budge. Eventually it was Kurama's turn.

He reluctantly stepped in front of the boggart, knowing exactly what he'd see. The boggart paused, then transformed into a bat demon that looked almost exactly like their teacher, only covered in hundreds of puncture wounds bleeding profusely. He was shouting something in a language none of the kids could understand, but it was making Kurama's eyes start tearing up.

Hiei understood him quite well, as the language was an older Makaian dialect. "Traitor. Traitor. Traitor!" Was all he would say, but it had a profound effect on Kurama, who hadn't been able to think of a way to make this funny. Luckily, Kuronue rescued him, taking Kurama out of the boggart's sight, but unfortunately put himself in the fox's place.

His eyes widened as the boggart shifted into his own worst fear. It was Kurama from the old days, a proud silver-haired Youko, smirking at him with treachery in his eyes. He gave a barking laugh that chilled everyone's spine. Kuronue raised his wand and used the spell, turning the boggart into a small fox plushie. No one laughed. Kuronue sealed the wardrobe once more, turning away from the class as he fought to not cry out in anguish.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione wondered if something interesting was up with the three foreign people. Hermione got the look she usually had when she got a hunch. It was off to the library for her then…

Kurama struggled to control his tears; he knew Kuronue was who he thought now… But he still couldn't control his emotions. Class would be over in about a minute, so he could manage…