AD IS A MOMMY! lol. No, seriously, I just got a new pet: A SNAKE! Ooooh, he's so cute! I named him Noah Snape (the Sexy Beast) Voldemort -last name- the First. XD My sister helped me with the middle names. Noah's still a baby but he's already over a foot long. My mom is ranting about signs of the devil and such. Lolz. I love Noah so much just for that...

Sorry for the wait. Lots of shit happened in real life. Trouble with friends, mid-terms. Yeah. The usual. Oh, and I went to see Dir en Grey (best jrock band ever) live and that was one of the best nights of my life. Lol. Well, I've updated, at any rate. Decent length chapter, too. Plenty of Harry/co and random humor to go around as well. Ayumi and Malfoy meet for the first time and trust me, first impressions last a life time. Lolz. Oh, and Kuronue is very amusing this chapter, though I wonder what I have done to his character's canon personality...? Lol!!!

REVIEW ANSWERS ON LJ. Much neater that way.

Please check out KamaKaze no Kage 's account on DeviantArt. She's made so many fan arts for me in a comic about IMM. ;.; She rocks and deserves a lot of love!

OH. Please note that some people that aren't there in HPatHBP will be here in this story, just for sanity's sake. More notes on this at the bottom of the next chapter.


"What the hell is this?" asked Mika as she stared at the large, circular metal object in the palm of her hand. It was solid gold, weighed a ton and had strange symbols on it.

"Money, apparently," answered Ayumi. She looked at the small paper note that had been in with the pouch of money. "Let's see. That'll be a Galleon. The silvers ones are Sickles and the bronze are Knuts. It takes twenty-nine Knuts to equal a Sickle and seventeen Sickles to equal a Galleon." She scowled. "And here I thought we were leaving math behind us forever."

((It's shiny...))

'Do not go kleptomaniac on me, bat boy. I'll materialize you right here and let those wizards burn you on the spot.'

((AWWW! But it's SHINY!))

Mika dropped the strange coin onto a dirt covered part of the cobblestone path and ground it into the mud with her heel. Picking it up, she smirked.

'And the shiny is gone.'

((SHINY NO!))

:Oh, dear god.:

"I'm going to ignore that bout of pointless action and sort the money a while," Ayumi said, rummaging in the bag. She stopped. Looking up, she had a slight smile on her face. "Hey. You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Mika bit her lip. "Does it have to do with somehow imploding my brain without leaving me a vegetable?"

"Uh, no."

"Then, no. What's your thought?"

"Ladies love to shop and considering we're ladies, we're going to love shopping with the wizards," Ayumi said slowly, her smile mounting to a grin. She fingered a silver sickle. "And what does a shop-savy lady bring with her when she goes on a massive buying spree?"

Uh. "I don't know," Mika replied.

/That only proves that you're not female./

'SHUT YOUR MOUTH!'

Ayumi flipped the coin and caught it, her face lighting up. "We get ourselves some male packmules to carry our loot!" she exclaimed.

:...she is not talking about us, is she?.:

Mika grinned evilly. 'You bet your muzzle she is.'

:IT'S NOT A MUZZLE!.:

'Breathing cannister, whatever.'

:...just forget it.:

#Ayumi may be right about you two needing to have someone carry all of your needed items during this trip, but don't forget, Mika,# Kurama began, serious. #We can't just pop out like you want us to. What if someone sees us?#

Mika furrowed her brow. Looking around, she saw that the gateway to the Leaky Cauldron had closed back up ('Crap, how are we getting back?!') and even though the street wasn't necessarily crowded, there weren't many places to suddenly throw out three and a half full grown men out of her mind.

/Three and a half?/

'Yeah. And a half.'

/Do you always have a death wish?/

'Uh huh. Too bad wishes are never granted.' Mika looked over to her right. Now that she was actually inside, she noticed several things she had not seen before. There were many signs—MOVING signs—with strange messages on them. These posters covered many of the buildings. The few people that were shopping looked sober and withdrawn as they carried on their business. Mika wondered if wizards were allowed to be cheerful.

#They're under the constant threat of annihilation from a dark overlord, remember?#

'Oh yeah. I guess that explains it,' Mika murmured softly to them. She turned to look at a strange store that seemed to be selling potions or elixirs of some sort when she noticed something. Her face lit up. 'AN ALLEY!'

:Shit.:

"I'll be right back after I relieve myself," Mika announced as she walked casually towards the narrow break in between the buildings.

Ayumi smirked and leaning against the shop wall, counting the money. "Don't get lost," she replied.

Mika grinned and slipped into the shadowy entrance. Once she was successfully out of view of the street, Mika closed her eyes.

'Okay, gents, here's how it's going to work: two of you go with me, two of you go with Ayumi.'

/Why would it be necessary to go with either of you?/

'Cause we have the paperwork, you don't.'

:Bitch:

'Love you too.'

#What if they have some kind of protection spell up?#

"We'll find out and see, then," Mika said. With that, she focused her energies.

Outside, Ayumi had successfully divided the money into two shares. If she and Mika split and the guys were split between them, their shopping experience wouldn't take so long. She mentally hoped to not get stuck with Hiei, considering they would most likely set the whole neighborhood on fire. Suddenly, she felt a large burst of psychic and then demonic energy. Wincing, Ayumi hoped it would not be big enough to alert the wizards. At first, her hopes were granted and no one seemed to be interested in the flare of energy, but then something else got their attentions...

"YOU LITTLE WENCH!"

"OW! THAT'S MY FOOT!"

"Get the hell away from me."

"WHERE AM I?"

Ayumi cringed as the sounds of disorder filled the tense air. Several passing wizards froze in alarm, but Ayumi waved them away, smiling as friendly as she could.

"Sorry, those would be my friends—,"

Kuronue came out of no where and slammed into her. Ayumi gasped and fell over. "OW!"

Freezing, Ayumi screamed as a horrifying thought came to her. Kuronue...bat...ears...SHIT! "Kuronue, get down—!"

Kuronue looked up at her, surprised. Ayumi blinked. The long ears she had expected to see were gone. Instead, there were two ordinary, very-human ones. Kuronue's hair was still held up a pony tail, both long and purple, and he was still wearing his T-shirt and jeans. Other than that, he looked ordinary.

"Uh," she heard Mika say. "You two okay?"

Looking up, Ayumi saw Mika and the other three standing there. Karasu looked rightfully pissed off and the other two looked annoyed. Karasu still had his mask and long over coat. Kurama and Hiei both looked the same as well. Then why did Kuronue...?

"Did you clip him?" Ayumi asked, warily pointing at Kuronue's head.

"No," Mika answered, staring pointedly at the bat demon. "Hey, Kuro, didja notice that your ears shrunk?"

Kuronue paused and then slowly lifted his hands. He touched the side his head where his normally-long ears had been. His eyes widened.

"AHHHHHHH, I'M MUTATED!"

"Kuronue," Kurama began, sighing. "You're not mutated."

While Kuronue screamed on, Mika asked, "What's wrong with him, then?"

"I do believe our rings were specially designed," Kurama replied with a strained smile.

Ah. Mika grimaced and looked away. "How bloody thoughtful of them." She turned to Kuronue, who was currently beating on Karasu in his panic, and said, "Oi! Calm down! You're not dying!"

"BUT I'M UGLY!" he wailed.

"You just noticed now?" asked Karasu, his patience thinning by the second. He threw the hysterical bat from him and straightened his jacket. "This is as degrading as it's ever going to get, so let's get this over with."

"No, I guarantee it'll get worse," Ayumi vowed, standing. She shook the money pouch, which was now relatively smaller. "Mika, this is yours. Now, let's divide up and get shopping before we get arrested."

"I have a better idea than just two of us going with one of you girls," Kurama interrupted. He continued to say, "If Hiei and I gather your books and paper materials, Ayumi and Kuronue can go and get robes and trunks, and then Mika and Karasu can get the remaining items, like potion supplies and cauldrons. Then, we can meet up and get you two wands. It will cut our work much shorter that way."

"Why do I have to baby-sit the brat?" demanded the outraged Karasu.

"Why do I have to baby-sit the demented one?" cried Ayumi.

"How in the name of Diapered Princes did you memorize what we needed to get?" asked Mika.

Silence.

Hiei raised an eyebrow. "Are you using his name as a way of exclamation now?"

"Was the only thing I could think of," Mika muttered, kicking at an imaginary rock.

Kurama sighed again. "Are we in agreement with that plan?" he asked. Most of them nodded, save for Hiei and Karasu. "You two are the minority, so we'll go with it," Kurama said. He quickly divided the money again into three piles. He kept one for himself and the other two went to Mika and then to Ayumi. "This is a large amount, so we should be alright, money wise."

"Now we just have to make sure we don't cause an inter-magical war," Mika said, scowling. "And I'll be the one to get blamed for anything if you guys screw up."

"After this is over, can we fix my ears?" whimpered Kuronue, touching his head gingerly.

Ayumi rolled her eyes. "Let's get going, bat boy!" She grabbed his arm and began marching in the opposite direction. They were soon lost behind the crowd and arrangements of shops.

"Well, come on, Dracura," Mika said, glaring at Karasu.

"That's Dracula, Mika," Kurama said as he turned to follow the glowering Hiei into an obvious book shop.

"WHATEVER!" Mika cried. She crossed her arms and said, "I say we ditch." Silence greeted her. She looked up and saw Karasu already several paces ahead of her. "HEY!"

"Hurry up, brat," was all the reply she got.

Growling, Mika gathered her money pouch and ran after him.

&&&&&& Ayumi and Kuronue &&&&&&

Pushing their way through the thicker parts of the crowd, Ayumi and Kuronue moved at a quick pace. Actually, it was more of Ayumi pulling Kuronue quickly. The bat demon was still whining continuously about his sudden ear loss.

"...I look so UGLY!" he wailed as they sidestepped a cauldron cart.

Ayumi rolled her eyes. "You look human."

"WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?"

Stopping, Ayumi glared at him. "Watch it, bat boy," she threatened.

Kuronue whimpered and tugged at his earlobes. Throwing her arms up in disgust, Ayumi stormed ahead. To the right, she saw a sign that said "Madame Malkins Robes." She mentally sighed with relief. At least it would not be that difficult to find their necessary items. She turned her head.

"Hurry up, Kurone. It's right—," she stopped. Starring blankly, Ayumi stood frozen as the sight in front of her hit with realization. An empty space greeted her. Kuronue wasn't there!

"WHY MUST LIFE ALWAYS BE MY PERSONAL HELL?!" Ayumi screamed, shaking her fists upward towards the sky. She didn't even care that several shop goers viewed her with mild wariness. Kicking angrily at the air, she cursed several times, mostly profanity directed towards demons and baby kings. Finally, after inhaling deeply, she was able to calm down.

Alright, there's a lost bat demon in the crowd who has no respect for social or private boundaries, Ayumi thought. She rubbed her forehead wearily. It could be worse. Gotta remember this could be worse.

"Screw him, I'm getting my bathrobe," she muttered. It was incredibly lucky that both she and Mika were of the same clothing size, so she'd just be able to get two of everything. She turned and pulled the shop door open. The stale scents of fabric and linen greeted her. The shop itself was relatively tiny. Ayumi wondered if she would grow claustrophobic during her stay inside the building. Then she focused on the important issues ahead of her...including the group of people standing right in front of her.

"...really? Planning on getting some of your Death Eater friends to get us, are you?"

Ayumi hesitated behind a large red robe that was on display and observed the scene. It seemed there was a trio of two boys and one girl facing off a cold looking mother and her teenage son...and then there was the poor shop keeper in between both sides, trying to keep the peace. The leader of the three teenagers was a black haired youth who was defiantly talking to the mother and her son. The defining superior look on the blond haired son immediately made Ayumi root for the trio's side.

"...reunited with Sirius before I am reunited with Lucius," the cold mother finished, restraining her son. Her words had an instant effect and the black haired boy raised his arm, which was holding a similar stick to what Moody had before. The girl next to the black haired boy was pleading with her friend to stop.

Tension was building and Ayumi wanted her bathrobe. With an indifferent air, she walked towards the two groups. She looked past their surprised faces and spoke to the shopkeeper. "Can I buy robes here?" she asked.

The shopkeeper leap up, obviously glad to have the situation distracted. "Ah, yes! I just need to finish with Mr. Malfoy and I'll set you up," the anxious woman said.

Mr. Malfoy, it seemed, couldn't have cared less. He yanked the half-fitted robe over his head and dropped it onto the ground carelessly. "I don't believe I want these anymore, Mother," he announced coldly. His mother seemed to agree.

"We don't need to shop in the same store as scum do," she added, casting a glance over the enraged trio. Ayumi felt her neck bristle.

"If you're talking about me too, lady," Ayumi began, crossing her arms. "I don't appreciate it, 'cause if you don't like the customers, don't even bother coming in the door."

Mrs. Malfoy shot her a look of contempt, as if disgusted. The younger Malfoy sneered at Ayumi. "No one asked your opinion, Squinty," he snapped.

The urge to cast his horrible bleached hair into flames almost consumed Ayumi. Fighting that urge, she simply glared back. "I didn't respond to any request of my opinion. I just stated it," she replied, coolly. "Now, please get on your way, you're making me late."

Malfoy became enraged, but his mother's iron grasp on his shoulder kept him silent. The two left the shop, leaving a bitter aftertaste in the store's air. Ayumi sighed once the door slammed shut and turned to the shopkeeper. "Gimmie what's on this list," she began, handing the calmer woman her school list. "Only double of each, 'cause I'm shopping for my friend as well."

The red head of the trio stared at her, grinning. "Nice job!" he said, as the shopkeeper went around the back to retrieve materials.

Ayumi blinked as she sat up on the stool. "Eh?" she asked.

"You stood up to Malfoy. Nice."

The girl of the group seemed a little paler after the run-in with the rude mother and son, but smiled as warmly as she could towards Ayumi. "I'm Hermione Granger and he's Ron Weasley," she said. Ayumi then noticed the black eye. Strange...

"I'm Ta—I mean, Ayumi Takei," Ayumi said, bowing her head. She laughed at their surprised faces. "Sorry. We have different ways of greetings in Japan."

"You're from Japan?" asked the black haired boy, surprised.

"Uh huh. Didn't my squinty eyes give it away?" asked Ayumi, rolling her eyes. "I would've punched the kid, but I'd rather not cause some kind of international war."

The black haired boy shook his head, frowning deeply. "Malfoy's a git. We're not all like him," he said.

"That's good to hear. Say, what's your name again?"

"Oh. Harry Potter."

Ayumi let her jaw drop, ignoring the shopkeeper who was holding up her lax arm for measuring. Of all the luck she had, she just HAD to find the "target" first. Ayumi sighed, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. Today was just not her day.

"Um, are you okay?" asked Ron.

"I'm fine. Just..." Ayumi laughed weakly, trying to brush off her initial reaction. "I know about Hari...like, the whole savior thingy. It's not really big in Japan, but we do hear some things." Like reports from creepy baby kings from the Underworld...

Harry paused. "Ah," he said, suddenly indifferent. Ayumi felt bad, as she saw his once vibrant green eyes seem to darken.

"But," she quickly added. "I would never had noticed unless you said your name. Ha, I'm not real observant."

Her laughter seemed to do the trick and Harry seemed a little more relaxed. As Ayumi allowed the woman to measure her back, she noticed Hermione staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Sorry!" cried Hermione, turning red. She laughed nervously. "I'm just surprised to see a foreigner here of all places. Are you sightseeing?"

Ayumi shook her head. "Nope. My friend and I are here to study at Hogwarts," she replied.

"You're transferring in?" exclaimed Hermione, her eyes wide. "It's so irregular!"

Ayumi laughed weakly. "Tell me about it. Before I got the letter, I had no idea magic schools existed."

Ron gave her a strange look. "Then why are you here if you never heard of magic?" he asked, suspicious.

SHIT! Ayumi laughed quickly, looking sheepish. "Ah, of course I've heard of magic! I am a witch after all. I was just, well, home schooled by Master Genkai instead. I just didn't know there were such large organized systems for teaching magic."

"Oh," Harry said, apparently accepting her excuse. "Is that Master Genkai your teacher?"

"Yes," Ayumi said, vaguely sure she wasn't lying. Genkai had once offered to teach her as well as Mika, but Ayumi only had one class in total. That was enough to make her realize it was relatively safer (and less painful) just to train by herself. "My friend who is with me, Mika, she is Genkai's student, too. She's way better than I am, though."

Hermione looked excited. "What type of magic did you learn? Is Eastern magic different than Western magic?" she asked.

Ayumi made a face. "Oh, shit, is there a difference?" she asked, wary.

"Well, I would imagine so."

"Uhhh...well, I guess that means me and Mika are screwed."

Ron scratched his head. "Well," he began. "What magic did you do in China?"

"Ron! She's from Japan!"

"Ah, sorry!"

Ayumi laughed. "S'okay." She paused. "I suppose you could call my magic...ah, elemental?" she said, trying out the strange word. "Hmm, that's not right. This translator ring sucks at getting it right sometimes."

"What can you do, specifically?" asked Hermione.

"I can make things catch fire spontaneously."

Ron and Harry's faces lit up. "Wicked!"

Hermione scowled at them. She then turned to Ayumi. "Well," she began, her voice sympathetic. "Don't worry too much. You'll probably be given a crash course on Western magic once you're at school. If you really hit a slump, just ask me or Harry."

Ron gave her an indignant look. "Hey! What about me?" he cried.

Staring pointedly at him, Hermione said in a sarcastic tone, "Windgardium Leviosa?" Ron turned bright red and simply fumed quietly.

"There," announced the seamstress. She took the robe off of Ayumi's shoulders and said, "Now, you wanted two of these, correct?"

"Yes," Ayumi replied. "My friend is the same size as I am. We wanted to save time and just get two of the same."

"Where is your friend?" asked Harry.

"Oh, probably causing WWIII while destroying half of the street."

The three stared at her, wary. Ayumi sighed. "I usually have volatile friends," she finally said, slumping her shoulders. "Actually, not volatile. More like spontaneously destructive psychos with a vicious case of ADD."

"Ah." All three teenagers did not look that sure of the safety of the area anymore.

Ayumi sighed again. Then, she turned to Harry, smirking slightly. Time to become the actress I've always wanted to be, she mentioned to herself. "So!" she exclaimed, sliding off the stool. "While she makes a double of my order, care to tell me about yourselves?"

&&&&&& Kuronue &&&&&&

"Excuse me!" Kuronue said, cheerfully. He smiled at the man he almost ran into and then kept walking forward. Inwardly, he was quite proud of himself. Mika and Kurama had demanded he learn something they called human mannerisms, as the two of them had gotten quite irritated with the bat demon the last time they all went out in public together. Okay, so he had broken a few statues in the park and then scared some little kids pretty badly, but it wasn't THAT awful. Then again, he was often rewarded for behaving nicely and sometimes got treats like TV Time. So, he did his best to be mannerly and polite even as he walked the streets of wizards and their magical shops.

Kuronue knew, as he gazed up at the sights around him, that behaving nicely for a reward was not the only benefit he would receive for acting as the humans did. Although he did not care for saving any world or keeping international peace, he did like keeping tabs on Mika, especially when on an adventure like this. Also, it was fun. Grinning, Kuronue watched the various shops as he walked along the path. There were so many opportunities to steal a few pretty items or make off with that wizarding gold used as currency. If Mika ever ran out of money, Kuronue knew he and Kurama would easily be able to get more, considering these wizards seemed to have no sense of hiding their valuables.

While pausing to admire some shiny wind charms outside a small booth, Kuronue let his mind wander. He wanted more excitement than just meandering, but he knew he had to keep the peace. Otherwise, he'd get serious flak for it.

Oh, how much we have changed, eh, Youko? Kuronue thought, smiling wryly as he toyed with a flashing pinwheel. To think he, the great thief lord Kuronue, was at the beck and call of a sixteen year old HALF-LING. He should have been back in the Makai, he and Youko both still inflicting terror on the wealthy lords and taking up their spoils. Instead, he was living off of a little girl's energy and watching daily cartoons on TV while munching on flaky things called cereal. Kuronue could not help but chuckle softly. However, Fate is what makes us. I suppose this has always been meant to be, with or without that one anomaly...the one-in-a-million-chance that so happened to be the human I fear we've all become unhealthily attached to...

"...good sir and ma'am, have you tried a glimpse at our humble house of wonderous jokes and playful fun?"

Kuronue looked up, surprised. He spotted the source of the echoing voices and blinked. Opposite of him and one shop down was a dinky looking shop that was absolutely swamped with visitors. Two flaming headed boys stood outside the shop, dressed the same, and with mirroring voices shouted out to the passing shoppers.

"Just found ten crates of Skiving Snackboxes in the back," cried one of the boys. Both looked exactly the same with few differences in their voices.

"Half prices on all marked items, just for today!" said the other.

Kuronue would have wiggled his ears to listen closer, but realized his usually long ears were missing. Sighing pitifully, the bat demon walked over in the human fashion to hear the two shopkeepers better. Both humans continued to call out to the growing crowd and more and more young wizards swamped the entrance. Suddenly, Kuronue was intrigued.

"Hi!" Kuronue said cheerfully, stepping up to the two boys.

The red headed boys never missed a beat. "Hello, good sir!" cried one. He held out his hand. "Welcome to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!"

Kuronue stared at his hand and tilted his head in mild curiosity. "There's nothing there," he pointed out.

Both boys hesitated before bursting into hysterical laughter. The other brother grinned. "Oi, that's priceless!" he said, laughing. He held out his hand as well. "Don't you know how to shake a hand?"

"But, why?" There was no real point in it.

"Are you a foreigner?"

"Yup."

The first boy 'tsked.' "Of course you don't know, then. Here," he said. He reached out and grabbed Kuronue's hand (Kuronue briefly had an urge to hit the boy for touching him, but he was also curious to see where this was going). "And shake," the boy finished. He shook Kuronue's hand up and down. "It's how we say hello."

Kuronue got it. "Oh! It's like bowing!" He laughed and shook back. "Hello! I'm Kuronue."

The boy raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You must be oriental then. The name's Fred."

"And I'm George," the other boy added.

"And together we run Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!" both finished with matching grins.

Kuronue smiled back. These two were interesting. "What do you sell here?"

George scoffed. "What do we sell here?" he echoed. "Why, we're the only shop in Diagon Ally with the most superb pranking and joke supplies wizardkind offers!"

"Pranking?"

"You know, fool a pal with a Shield Hat, or Nosebleed Nougat which can get you out of a sticky situation like work or class. We've just started and look at the crowds!" Fred exclaimed, sweeping his arms towards the overflowing shop. "We're the hottest thing in the city, thanks to these," he added, tapping his skull. He grinned wider. "Imaginative creativity will take you places. Remember that, kid."

Kuronue smirked. Oh, he knew about thinking wildly. "I know what you mean."

George looked the demon over, interested. "Say, what brings you here, anyway?" he asked.

"Going shopping for my friend. She's going to Hog...war...tuhs." Stupid names...

"Ah! Hogwarts!" Fred sighed.

"Best place there is," George replied.

"To learn."

"To pull pranks."

"To pick up all the tricks you'll ever need."

Kuronue grinned. "Cool!" Maybe going to "school" would be fun after all.

Fred nodded. "So, you like pranks?" he asked.

"You bet! I remember one time me and my friends put Makai stink bugs in Yusuke's bed. Though," he said. "I think the most fun we have is when we'd blow up things like Furbies outside of Master Genkai's windows at night. It wasn't that bright of an idea, considering she'd come after us with machettes, but we had a real blast doing it!"

Both brothers stared at Kuronue, their eyes displaying their shock. Then, both slowly relaxed, grins mounting their faces. "Oh," began George, grinning wickedly as both he and his brother slung their arms around Kuronue's shoulders. "I do believe—"

"—this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," ended Fred.

Kuronue smiled and clapped his hands. "Whee! New friends!"

"Gotta love these foreigners," Fred said. He and George led Kuronue back to the shop. "Now, we need an expert's opinion: would exploding candy on sticks or toilet paper that disintegrates when touched by human hands be more amusing?"

Tilting his head, Kuronue grinned again. "Definitely the candy!"

Somewhere in the Underworld, Koenma was crying.

&&&&&& Mika and Karasu &&&&&&

"NO!"

"BUT I WANT IT!"

"I DON'T CARE! I SAID NO!"

The pet shop keeper watched in mild amusement as Mika and Karasu tugged viciously on a small metal crate containing a tiny owl, which hooted miserably in the ruckus. With a growl of rage, Mika tugged back so hard, she slipped backwards—the crate staying in Karasu's grip. Karasu chucked the cage back onto the table behind him.

"WHY DID I EVEN AGREE TO COME IN HERE?" he shouted. Indeed, they had already finished their part of the shopping list. They should have been headed towards the entrance of Diagon Alley to meet the others, but Mika had seen the pet shop earlier and had demanded to step inside. "The last thing we need is a pet to take care of when you're about to go into a magical school!"

"But it says I'm allowed to have a pet! It can be an owl, a cat or a toad!" Mika insisted. She got up and glared. "I want an owl! They're so cute!"

"Mind your father, dear," the shop keeper said, hoping to calm the two down.

Both demons stopped and stared at her in utter horror. They looked back at each other and then screamed in unison.

"EWWWW!" Mika cried, beating at her ears. "I DID NOT JUST HEAR THAT ACCUSATION! I JUST DIDN'T!"

"The day I spawn a disgrace like her is the day Enma gets up off his ass and fixes all wrongs of the universe!" Karasu howled.

"I beg your pardon, then," the shocked woman replied, slightly disturbed.

Mika, after banging her head against the wall to rid herself of the previous thought, sighed. "But I really want a pet. I miss Sachi already," she said, referring to her dog at home in Japan. She looked down at her feet and looked as pitiful as she could.

Karasu's eye twitched. "Aren't a crow, bat, midget and fox good enough?" he asked, sarcastic.

"You won't let me pet you."

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I WON'T!"

"Please, can I get something? Pleaseeeee?" Mika begged. Her eyes began to water as she gazed up at her demon companion. Her bottom lip wavered.

Needless to say, Karasu was creeped out. His eyes narrowed, but he did not say no. Instead, he growled and pushed past her. "Fine, but I decide what it is," he said. "Wait outside until I bring it out."

"YIPPIEEE!" Mika cried, leaping up like an ecstatic child. She ran over to the door of the store. "You rock, Karasu!"

-FIVE MINUTES LATER-

"You bastard."

"Hey, I told you I would have final say," Karasu replied, not even bothering to look at the enraged half-ling at his side. They were seated on a bench outside an ice cream parlor, that was apparently closed. They had both Mika and Ayumi's cauldrons resting near their feet, as well as several bags of potions and miscellaneous ingredients that still lingered on the list of supplies.

Mika held up the tiny cage in her hands and stared pitifully at its contents. "But...it's ugly," she finally said, wrinkling her nose.

"What a coincidence. You two will get along great, now, won't you?"

Karasu narrowly dodged Mika's foot that swung out at him. His eyes hinted that he was grinning. "A toad is the perfect pet for you, Murasaki."

Indeed, the tiny green creature that stared at its new master pitifully was a toad. It wasn't the ugliest toad ever to grace the earth, Mika had to admit, but in the end, it still was a toad. Mika was always one to agree that what on the outside didn't matter nearly as much as what was on the inside, but there was something else that bothered her about the tiny amphibian in her care.

"Ayumi will NEVER let me live this down," she whined, starting to hop on and off one foot.

Karasu chuckled evilly. "Well, this'll cheer you up: I certainly won't let you live this down either."

"OF ALL THE THINGS, WHY A TOAD?!" Mika screamed, launching a fresh attack at her demon mentor. "WHY DID I EVEN LET YOU PICK FOR ME?"

"Do you have a naturally bad memory, or are you just retarded?" Karasu asked, dodging.

"MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE I HAD FOUR GROWN MEN PLAYING TARGET PRACTICE INSIDE MY CEREBRAL MEMBRANE!!"

Several people walking past stopped and stared at the two demons, who were having their own private war on the side of the path. Mika managed to drop kick Karasu and then, feeling it was justified, jumped up and unmercifully stomped onto his stomach. Karasu, the wind knocked out of him, gasped and managed to swing his leg into Mika, who tumbled to the side into a display of pottery. Several wizards shouted in surprise and the usual sound of adults chiding rowdy children filtered past Mika's ears

"...should learn self-control!" she heard an older witch exclaim.

"First the father of this bitch, and then a delinquent," Karasu began, livid. He sat up and shook his fists towards the alarmed crowd. "DO I LOOK LIKE A GOD DAMN HUMAN TO YOU?"

"More like a sub-species," Mika replied dryly, her heart beating rather fast. "Stop shouting things like that, seriously."

Karasu glowered at her, but just stood up. He picked up two of their bags and stormed off towards the end of the row. Mika stared at him, shocked at his obedience and surprising speed. Hopping to her feet, Mika grabbed the remaining bag and her toad's cage. She started to hurry off after the quick crow demon, but hesitated. Staring down remorsefully at the cage, Mika sighed.

"I got a good second chance at getting affection," Mika said softly to her new pet. "So, I guess I should give the same to you."

The toad stared back, its large eyes shining glossy black back towards her. It made a throaty sound. Mika sighed again. "Time to chase the fleeing black mass of death," she murmured. "Come on, Hiki."

Thus, she and Hiki (a reluctant participant, but he came along nevertheless) rushed along the path and followed after Karasu.

&&&&&& Ayumi &&&&&&

Inhaling deeply, Ayumi let the heavy door slid shut soundly behind her. She smiled contentedly, proud of her achievements. Not only had she gotten what she was assigned to get, she had also found out just who their supposed target looked like, without really even trying to! She was able to get to know the boy, even a little bit, and understand a little more about the wizarding world, even if it did include crazed magic warlords.

Suddenly, her smile dropped as she remembered that tiny inkling in the back of her mind.

"Where did he go?" she moaned, clinging to her shopping bags pitifully. She knew Mika wouldn't be that angry, considering Mika herself had probably lost Karasu somewhere, but Ayumi was very nervous. What if the Bat spilt the wrong information? No, she decided, looking around. He wasn't that stupid and he just acted silly to get attention. But what if he exposed his demonic heritage by accident or took the translator ring off?

WHAT IF HE STOLE SOMETHING?! she thought, her eyes wide. Ayumi had seen the huge bank in the center of the alley and knew full well that the gigantic site had not gone unnoticed by the two demon thieves. Kurama might have had some self-control, but Kuronue had very little experience while amongst humans, especially magical ones. They were all in unexplored and possibly dangerous territory.

"Well, he won't be found if I just stand here," Ayumi muttered. She turned and began down the one end of the street. Maybe the demon had wandered back to one of the others. That would be a little bit more acceptable than him attacking a wizard or stealing from a magical bank.

The streets were a little more crowded towards the end of the row. Namely, there was a large crowd that seemed to be massing around one single shop. Ayumi stopped and read one of the brilliantly colored posters outside of the shop, thankful for the translator ring.

"...U-No-Poo?" she repeated, suddenly wary of the translator ring's functionality. Then again, foreigners were weird.

Above the noise of the crowd, Ayumi heard a voice. She stiffened and listened closer to the voice before deciding it was as familiar as she was thinking it was.

"...wouldn't believe how fast this stuff is selling. I mean, the Ministry has made huge orders. Who would have thought we'd be making money!"

"Hahaha! That sounds like a good thing. Is it?"

Ayumi grit her teeth and cracked her knuckles. She marched to the other side of the alley and found the specific demon she had been looking for. Kuronue was standing around, apparently getting to know two orange haired twins, and appeared totally at ease. She would have to change that little fact.

"OI!" Ayumi yelled, slamming her fist into Kuronue's unprotected back. The bat demon yelped and spun around. His face paled.

"Ayumi...!"

The said psychic glared up at him, enraged. "I just spent the last hour getting insulted by bratty punks, shopping for two people and then looking for you. And here you are, strutting around doing absolutely nothing of importance!!"

Kuronue waved his arms, trying to divert her anger. "I did do something important! I made some friends!" He motioned towards the mildly interested twins. "Here's Fred and George. They own this shop place and we got to talking about funny things."

Ayumi did not apparently care for his excuse. "We have to go get the trunks and then meet with the others! You stupid brat!" Ayumi shouted, grabbing the demon by his humanized ear. "COM'ERE!"

"AH, PAIN!" Kuronue cried.

"YOU'LL GET WORSE, BUDDY, SO SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND WALK!"

Fred and George looked at the departing duo and then back at each other.

"And here I thought Muggles were the loony ones," George whistled.

"How about that?" Fred asked, both raising their eyebrows in synch. Shrugging, the two turned and re-entered their busy shop.


LOL Oh, did I have fun with THIS chapter. Hehehe. Hiki shall eventually win Mika's heart, but cause them all untold aggravation. Lol. Thinking of Neville, anyone? Oh, and Treavor and Hiki will meet...and that's all I'm going to say for now. LMAO. XD The next chapter is a continuation of this one, with Kurama and Hiei meeting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, some interesting Wand results and then Mika catches up on some reading...

ANs
-Harry/Malfoy/Narcissca dialogue shamelessly edited from book scene. xD There will be few scenes that I will relate to the real book 6, but most of them will be original, so don't worry.
-Hiki means "toad." Mika was never quite original, now was she? lol
-"Hari Potaru" is what Mika and Ayumi will undoubtedly translate Harry's name as. They'll get it eventually, but it's quite funny for now. Ronu, Hirimoni...lmao.
-Koenma, my darling, just what were you thinking, sending these loons? Ahh, irony.
-lmao. I love Kuronue. He's like some cute cuddly animal in the zoo that likes being fed and will beat the hell out of pedestrians for some peanuts. Lolz.
-moment of seriousness with Kuronue...well, I should mention now that all of the characters will be revealing some inner emotions throughout this story. Kuronue has another reason for staying with Mika than most think, Mika has a serious issue with her future to work out, Karasu suddenly gains a conscious, Ayumi continues to berate her weak abilities, Hiei (of course) is being emo about everything and Kurama also has some issues with his family and his future. Yes. I seem to love mixing humor in with sickening drama, don't I? Lol. Oh, and Mika makes a HUGE revelation about her powers (shadow) that I totally forgot to mention before. XD There is a reason why Mika controls shadows and it's definitely not what you guys are going to think...
-again, Furbies. They'll come back again. My words on the matter: poor Harry. xD

...OMGZ lol. I still can't believe I actually got a snake. Haha, when he gets bigger I'm going to sick him on my tiny friend Justin and watch Justin scream in horrified agony. xD To put this in further perspective, Justin is the one I based Ralph on. XD Oh, I am terrible... BTW, please keep Justin in your hearts. He just broke his wrist when he fell of a swing-set the other day. It was not pretty, but he'll be fine. Oh, the dangers of living in suburbia, eh? xD

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