Previously…

"I think it's a shame that there is so much inter-house dislike," Kurama mused. Hermione looked at him with a new admiration. Those had been her thoughts exactly from her very first year at Hogwarts.

A shadow suddenly passed overhead, and everyone looked up to see a huge flock of owls come streaming into the Great Hall and dropping down to various students.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Yusuke cried.

"Mail," Harry said casually. Hermione glanced at the large clock that hung on the wall behind the teacher's table.

"We had better hurry and finish breakfast," she said tersely, "or we'll be late on our very first day."

Dokkou: Chapter 10. This one is sort of short, but i was running low on ideas. Regardless, I hope you enjoy reading it, even though I personally don't think it's very good...

First Classes

The first class of the day for the Gryffindors was double History of Magic. Harry and Ron moaned about it the whole way to Professor Binns's classroom.

"Oh do stop complaining!" Hermione said irritably. "History of Magic isn't that bad if you bothered to pay attention."

"And why would we do that?" Ron snorted. "Sorry, Hermione, but we don't want to be bored into early graves." Hermione let out a noise of disgust and stalked into Professor Binns's classroom. She specifically sat all the way at the front of the room, away from Harry and Ron. The door cracked open again, this time admitting a group of Ravenclaws and a few stray Gryffindors. Hermione didn't even look up as she set parchment and quills on her desk, ready to take notes.

She heard a scraping noise as the desk next to her was occupied. She blinked and looked up.

Kurama looked back at her with a smile and a genial wave. Hermione waved back, blushing slightly. She looked away, and noticed that she and Kurama were the only ones sitting in the front row. Yusuke and Kuwabara were both sitting over by Ron and Harry.

A ghost suddenly floated through the blackboard.

"Alright, class, open your books to page 180," Professor Binns said in a voice like a vacuum cleaner. "We will be reading about and taking notes on the Great Mountain Imp Wars. Now, the wars began in 1546 in an isolated mountain range off the coast of…" his voice was already having its expected effect. Barely five minutes later, all around the room, students' heads were dropping on the desks and eyes were closing. Harry and Ron were already doodling on scraps of parchment, and Yusuke and Kuwabara were on the verge of falling asleep.

Hermione gritted her teeth and kept her eyes glued to professor Binns's pearly, translucent form. Every now and again, she bent over to scribble some notes on her parchment.

Once, she finished writing and set her quill down. But the scratching noise of a busy quill kept going. Hermione blinked and looked around.

In the desk beside her, Kurama was intently writing notes on his parchment. He had already filled half the paper. He looked up at Professor Binns with rapt focus, drinking in every single one of the ghost's words. Hermione was so stunned that she tuned Professor Binns out for almost a full minute before jerking back to reality and quickly resuming her focus on the teacher. She carefully kept her eyes on either her paper or the ghost, but she was unable to tune out the persistent scratching of the quill beside her. Once, she stole a peek over at Kurama's paper and her face grew hot.

He had already finished a whole page of notes! And he was starting on the second!

Incredible, Hermione thought, writing a sentence about Duvriat the Deadly. He's actually still awake—and taking notes, no less! I've never seen anyone besides myself… Her thoughts were interrupted when a tiny ball of parchment landed right in the middle of her paper. Hermione blinked and glanced at Kurama. He was staring at Professor Binns with rapt interest. Hermione quietly unfolded the ball and found several sentences of neat, small, cursive writing which read:

I had no idea that imps had an uprising in the 1500s. It's quite fascinating.

He was trying to start a conversation with her. If it had been at any other time, Hermione would have been overjoyed to be talking with him. But they were in the middle of class right now. Hermione frowned and scribbled on the back of the note:

It is, so you should pay attention instead of wasting time writing notes.

Hermione crumpled the paper up and casually tossed it on Kurama's desk. He subtly swept it beneath his desk and unfolded it. His eyes scanned over it and he quickly wrote something on it. Hermione felt her heart give an extra large beat. He was writing back! What on earth was he going to say?...

Plip. The crumpled ball bounced on Hermione's desk. She grabbed it and unfolded it:

Ha ha, I suppose you're right. But I can send notes and take notes simultaneously, so I thought I could hold a pleasant conversation with you.

Hermione sniffed and wrote:

That sounds quite impossible, taking notes and sending notes at the same time. Even so…you're the first person I've seen beside myself actually taking notes in this class.

She tossed it back. Barely ten seconds later, the crumpled ball sailed right back at her.

That's really too bad. I imagine this class could be much more interesting if Professor Binns just put a bit more effort into it. And yes, I can take and send notes at the same time.

Hermione scowled and wrote back:

I don't believe you.

Kurama's reply:

Is that because you yourself can't take and send notes at the same time?

The delicate cursive words brought a horrible realization to Hermione: in the five minutes they had been passing notes, Hermione hadn't been paying a single ounce of attention. Hermione let out a squeak, sent a quick glare at Kurama, and hurriedly struggled to catch up on Professor Binns's words. About thirty seconds later, a small paper ball landed on her desk. She irritably ripped it open and read:

Relax, Hermione, I've copied all the notes. I can give them to you at the end of class.

You cannot have copied them all! Hermione wrote angrily.

Don't believe me? Fine. Here. Four neatly folded notes landed on Hermione's desk. She unfolded them and scanned their content in disbelief. They were pure notes on the Great Mountain Imp Wars in neat, clear cursive. Hermione glanced at Kurama. The red-head was busily writing down what Professor Binns was saying. Hermione stiffly tossed a note back.

I appreciate you letting me borrow them. I'll give them back A.S.A.P.

Very well.

Hermione didn't reply, and Kurama didn't press her. She was feeling slightly numb. Not only was there someone who bothered to listen to what Professor Binns said, but he could take notes even faster than her! Was he a genius? Did the other exchange students also possess incredible intellect and intuition?

A spit bubble from Yusuke's wide-open mouth suddenly popped, but the black-haired dimwit just slept on and drooled copiously on his blank parchment.

No, Hermione mused as drool dripped onto the floor, I'm pretty sure that Kurama is just special. This is going to be interesting.

History of Magic ended, much to Yusuke, Kuwabara, Harry and Ron's relief.

"Goodbye, Hermione," Kurama said once they were outside the classroom. "Feel free to return the notes whenever you need to."

"Thank—thank you, Kurama," Hermione said. Kurama gave her a short wave and walked away, his long red hair flowing out behind him. Hermione waved back, a small smile crossing her face. Kurama's notes on the Great Mountain Imp Wars were clutched to her chest.

As soon as Kurama was out of earshot, Ron marched up to Hermione and demanded, "Were you passing notes in class?"

"That's none of your business," Hermione said curtly as she strode off to the dungeons, a.k.a. Potions class. Ron angrily followed a foot behind. Harry sighed and beckoned for Yusuke and Kuwabara to follow. The five of them walked off together to their next class.

Ron and Hermione bickered all the way to Potions class. When they rounded the final corner, Harry moaned: the Slytherins were already assembled by Snape's classroom. As he and the others entered the room, Harry looked around for one person in particular. He, Ron and Hermione sat in the very back row.

He should be here, Harry thought with a frown. So where… There was a sudden intake of breath beside him and an elbow dug into Harry's arm. He looked around and his stomach constricted.

Hiei was sitting barely four feet away, staring straight ahead at the blackboard. He hadn't stirred as Harry, Ron and Hermione obliviously sat next to him. They hadn't noticed Hiei because 1, he was very small and thus easily overlooked, and 2, he was sitting in the shadow of a large cabinet near the end of the table.

Harry turned his eyes away and let his breath out. As long as he didn't draw attention to himself, he wouldn't feel too awkward…

"Hiei! There you are!" Yusuke exclaimed brashly as he sat next to Hiei. Kuwabara sat next to Yusuke. Hiei turned his steely red gaze to Yusuke.

"What are you so disgustingly cheerful about?" Hiei grunted. Yusuke stretched his arms behind his head.

"Oh I just had a great little nap in History of Magic class," Yusuke yawned. "What were you doing?"

Harry blinked and looked at the table. "Herbology."

"Did you have fun?"

Hiei's eye twitched as he thought back…

Flashback

"Welcome to Herbology," a short, dumpy-looking witch said the class of Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. "We will be working in greenhouse three today so follow me…" she led the class to a large greenhouse. Hiei walked at the very back of the group, all alone. Occasionally, people glanced back at him, but one glare from him had their heads snapping forward.

They entered a greenhouse. A long table with dozens of potted flowers sat in the middle of the room.

"Now, I want you all to partner up," Professor Sprout said. Immediately, everyone moved away from Hiei. A few minutes later, everyone had a partner except…

"Jaganshi!" Professor Sprout barked. "Where is your partner?"

"I don't have one," Hiei drawled. "I guess I'll have to work alone."

"Absolutely not," said Professor Sprout curtly. "This assignment requires groups of at least two people. Jaganshi, pair up with Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Parkinson." Hiei scowled, but forced himself to stand over by Malfoy and that girl who looked like a pug, Pansy Parkinson. Malfoy and Pansy looked back at Hiei with equal distaste.

"Now, your assignment is to take the seeds from the pods of these Scattershots," Professor Sprout announced. "But be warned: the seed pods also act like Venus fly traps, and they are sensitive to heat, so don't keep your hands in the pods for too long." Hiei mentally groaned as he gazed at the flower before him. The Scattershot flower looked like a white lily with red streaks down the middle of the petals. Right in the center of the petals were about three small, yellow, round seeds. The safe retrieval of the seeds was the point of the assignment. The flower looked perfectly innocent, but all too often, the innocent-looking things were the most dangerous. Hiei wished that Kurama was here.

"Begin!" Professor Sprout barked. Hiei looked at the flower. Then he glanced at Malfoy and Pansy.

"Well?" he said, arching an eyebrow. Malfoy folded his arms in disgust.

"I'm not going near that thing," he sneered. Hiei gave a sigh of irritation. If only he could use his super speed—he would have the seeds in a split second. But he knew it would look far too suspicious. Guess he was doing this the old-fashioned way.

Hiei carefully extended his hand to the seed pod. The flower suddenly let out a hiss, and Hiei jerked his hand back. Malfoy and Pansy snickered, causing Hiei to scowl.

Alright. I guess we're doing this the hard way. Hiei clenched his fist. Perhaps if he subtly set the flower petals in fire… he raised his hand toward the plant, a tiny ball of heat gathering in his palm. The Scattershot straightened and stiffened.

Carefully…

Hiei's hand was five inches from the closest petal. Malfoy and Pansy watched intently. The flower was an inch away when it happened: the Scattershot drew back with a loud screech. The petals pulled back, exposing sharp grey barbs. A second later, all the other Scattershots in the room swung around and bared their barbs at Hiei. Pansy and Malfoy shrieked and dove away. Hiei froze where he stood and stared at the flower uneasily.

"Oh dear," Professor Sprout said shakily. "Ah, Mr. Jaganshi, no sudden movements… just back away slowly…" Hiei took a deep breath and inched one foot back.

At that moment, the Scattershots fired the barbs at Hiei like bullets from a gun. Hiei's instincts snapped to life. He bent, rolled, flipped and cart wheeled out of the way of the spines. His back pressed up against the glass wall of the greenhouse just as the thorns stopped shooting. Hiei was in a very awkward position; both his arms and one leg were raised up high, centimeters from the sharp barbs buried in the wall. His head was cocked to the side; an inch away were three thorns piercing the wall. He slowly let his held breath out. It was silent enough in the greenhouse one could hear a pin drop.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear," Professor Sprout blustered, hurrying through the students. "Hiei, are you alright?" Hiei peeled himself off the wall and lowered his arms and leg. A sharp pain lanced through his chest. He looked down and saw two thorn heads poking through his black robe.

"I'm fine," Hiei mumbled, jerking the thorns out.

"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital wing?" said Professor Sprout hesitantly.

"Positive," Hiei said. He strode toward the now barb-less Scattershot flower as Professor Sprout said, "Those were quite some acrobatics you did just now... how did you learn that?"

"A lot of practice," the demon replied dismissively. He stared down at the Scattershot. It hissed weakly. Hiei ignored it, shot his hand inside the pod and pulled it out a second before it snapped shut. He came toward Professor Sprout and dropped three yellow seeds into her hand.

"Am I done now?" Hiei said grumpily to the looks of amazement that beat down on him from very side.

"Oh, Herbology was alright," said Hiei vaguely. "It would have gone a lot better if Kurama had been there…"

"Alright, class, settle down," a familiar cold voice rang out. The class fell silent as Snape strode up the middle aisle to the front of the room, his black robe billowing out behind him.

"Let's not waste time," Snape sneered. "Do not assume that we will be concocting some primitive potion just because this is your first day back. Today you will be working on a potion called the Elixir of Sepia. It is a poison that, when drunk, attacks the nervous system of its victim. The poison causes the victim to writhe and twitch until they die from exhaustion. Not a potion for the faint of heart." His black eyes rested on Neville as he said this. Neville gulped. "Now get to work," Snape said coldly. "Instructions are on the board." And with that, he swept into his office.

To Harry's relief, there was absolutely no contact between himself and Hiei. In fact, Hiei completely ignored all of them, including the puzzling stares he received. These stares were not ones of dislike, like the ones Hiei had gotten that morning, more like awestruck—at least from the Slytherins. Harry wondered why, but thought it best not to ask.

When the bell rang and class ended, Harry and the others gathered their possessions together, talking and preparing for their next class. Harry straightened in time to see Hiei disappear out the door with a gentle whisper of his black robe. Harry frowned slightly and glanced at his friends. Ron, Hermione, Yusuke and Kuwabara were all chatting together. Harry shouldered his bag and hurried out the door. He looked around and immediately spotted Hiei heading down the hallway. Harry took a deep breath and quickened his pace. The sooner he confronted these emotions, the sooner he would be at ease. When Harry was about 10 feet behind Hiei, he opened his mouth but before he could say a word Hiei spun around and said irritably, "What do you want?"

Harry froze, his nervousness flowing back.

"Well, I—I'm going in this direction too…I'm going to Divination…Er, where are you going?"

"History of Magic," Hiei replied, allowing Harry to hesitantly draw up next to him.

"Oh…that class is really boring," Harry said randomly.

"Like all the classes I've had so far," Hiei grunted. He turned and continued down the hallway. After a moment, Harry trailed after him. He swallowed then said, "Is there something bugging you?" Hiei glanced at him with a frown. Harry went on nervously, "Because, well, you seem really angry… is Malfoy causing you trouble? Or…um…" he trailed off, feeling too uncomfortable to continue.

Hiei sighed and said softly, "No, Malfoy isn't causing me too much trouble…even if he was, I can handle him. I'm angry because I have to be here." He waved at the castle around them as they walked down the corridor. "I don't belong here with all these hum—people. There are better things I could be doing."

"Better than learning magic?" Harry said in wonder.

Hiei snorted. "Of course. What good is being able to pull a rabbit out of a hat when you're facing a deadly enemy?"

"Magic isn't all parlor tricks," Harry said evenly. "There are spells that can torture, control, and kill people in seconds." He wondered why he was telling Hiei this—surely he should already know this?

"I'd rather rely on my sword," said Hiei stiffly as they rounded a corner. "At least then you guarantee cutting something off."

"Have you….killed something with a sword?" Harry asked uneasily. Hiei opened his mouth, about to talk about some of the larger demons he'd murdered, when he suddenly imagined what Kurama would say if he found out about their conversation: "You told Harry about how many things you've killed?! What were you thinking!?"

"No, I've never killed sentient being," Hiei lied evenly. "But…I'd just prefer having a sharp sword in my hand than a little stick."

"I see," Harry said softly. Hiei's answers were only manufacturing more questions in Harry's mind: like, if Hiei was a real wizard, why did he prefer a cutting weapon to a wand that could do hundreds of spells? And why did he seem to know so little about magic? What kind of wizard was this little guy? Well, Harry consoled himself, maybe they teach things really different at Japanese magic schools.

"Have you ever killed anything?" Hiei asked conversationally. "I've heard about your active past…did you ever have to resort to slaying someone?"

"No," Harry replied starkly as the two passed a group of Hufflepuffs going in the opposite direction. Upon seeing Hiei and Harry, they drew in closer to each other and started whispering. Hiei and Harry ignored them.

"You didn't have fun growing up, did you?" Harry said abruptly.

"No. How could you tell?"

"Well, I've never seen you happy or smiling, not even around your friends…did…someone close to you die when you were young?"

Harry knew he was in big trouble as soon as he words came out of his mouth. Hiei spun around and glared at Harry with red eyes full of hatred. Harry flinched back, and even though the demon was shorter than him, he suddenly felt as though he was facing a giant about to squash him.

"That is none of your business," Hiei spat. "Just leave me alone if you know what's good for you." The demon turned and stalked down a hallway, leaving Harry shuddering with dread. For several moments he was frozen, then he shook himself and looked around in confusion. He had no idea where he was. Where was he even going again? Oh yeah…Divination…Harry blinked when he realized he had totally passed the corridor that lead to the Divination Tower while he had been walking with Hiei. He turned around and hurried up the hallway, cursing his absent-mindedness. And now he was going to be late for nothing. He had talked with Hiei hoping to get to know him better and feel more comfortable when he came near the little demon. He had only succeeded in alienating Hiei even more.

Kuwabara stared pensively out the window of the Divination Tower. The Gryffindor students were milling about in the small room, waiting for the trapdoor in the ceiling to open and allow them all to enter Professor Trelawny's classroom. Kuwabara didn't mind waiting. He was looking at the grassy lake shore with glazed eyes, imagining himself and Yukina having a private picnic together… with sandwiches and soda… potato salad… maybe some rice balls…

"I don't get it," Ron muttered from beside Yusuke. "Where the heck is Harry? He left the class before us; he should have been here by now."

"Hermione is going to be late too," Yusuke said, glancing around the room.

"Nah," Ron replied. "Hermione quit this class a long time ago. She thinks it's a load of tosh. Which it actually is." Yusuke's acute hearing suddenly picked up the sound of heavy breathing and labored footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Here comes Harry," Yusuke said out loud. Ron looked around to see Harry emerge from the circular staircase, panting.

"Where were you?" Ron said impatiently to his friend.

"Sorry, I was talking to Hiei," Harry said breathlessly. Yusuke and Ron stared at him in alarm.

"You were talking to Hiei? About what?" Yusuke said curiously.

"Oh this and that," Harry sighed. "I was trying to make friends with him…it didn't really work."

"Give Hiei time, he'll get used to you," said Yusuke casually. At that moment, there was a click above their heads, and a silver stepladder descended from the trap door. The students filed up into a shadowy, stuffy room full of tables, chairs and puffy cushions. Ron and Harry sat at a table together as usual. Kuwabara and Yusuke sat on a couple of cushions in front of them.

"Welcome, class," a misty, mysterious voice floated out. The class looked around to see a tall, skinny woman dressed in draping shawls and glittering jewels emerge from the shadows. "Ah, how wonderful to see you all in one piece," Professor Trelawny said dreamily. Her magnified eyes flicked at Harry, who held back a scowl. Yusuke and Kuwabara frowned. Trelawny suddenly caught sight of them and swooped over, crying, "You must be two of the four new students from China. No wait!" she closed her eyes and held her hand up at Yusuke and Kuwabara. "From Japan. It must be quite nice there. I understand there are a lot of Seers there, yes?"

"I don't know," Yusuke shrugged.

"Hm. I believe your names are…" she held her hand up again "…Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara, is it not?" Most of the class oohed and aahed. Harry and Ron scowled at each other. No doubt some other student had already informed her about the newcomers.

"May I see your palm, young man?" Trelawny said to Yusuke. Yusuke held his hand out, palm up. Trelawny took it and delicately traced the lines on the skin.

"Goodness, you have a very violent future, Mr. Urameshi," she tutted. "Very violent indeed…I see…oh dear Lord…" she looked up at Yusuke pityingly. "I see you are going to cause great trouble to the people around you. Keep your temper in check, my dear boy." She patted his hand sympathetically and swooped away. The class sniggered as Yusuke glowered and sat back on his cushion.

"Now then class, today we will be reading dreams. That is, find answers by discussing shapes and forms you have had in recent or memorable dreams. Now I want you to split into pairs and…"

"MAN that was boring!" Yusuke said loudly as he, Kuwabara, Ron and Harry hopped off the last stair and made their way to the last class of the day, Defense against the Dark Arts.

"Tell me about it," Kuwabra groaned. "I was about to fall asleep."

"Hey, wait up!" Harry panted to the two of them. He and Ron hurried to catch up to the two Japanese students. Ron and Harry were amazed that Yusuke and Kuwabara still had energy after the long descent down the staircase; in fact, they didn't even seemed fazed.

"Geez, you two are slow," Yusuke said as Harry and Ron drew up to them, breathing hard.

"You're one to talk, Yusuke," an amused voice said behind Yusuke and Kuwabara. Kuwabara jumped and they both turned around.

Kurama was standing right behind them with a small smile.

"Where'd you pop up from?" Yusuke said in a slight surprise.

"Potions," Kurama replied. "It was quite interesting, only the teacher, Professor Snape, didn't seem to approve of me."

Ron wrinkled his nose. "Don't worry about it; he doesn't like anyone who isn't a Slytherin."

"That's extremely prejudiced of him," Kurama frowned.

"Yeah, but since when has Snape ever cared about someone's feelings?" Harry said bitterly.

"It's really too bad," Kurama said sadly. "He obviously did not have a happy childhood."

"Oh why are we bothering to talk about Snape?" Ron said loudly. "Kurama, what class are you going to next? We just got out of Divination."

"What a coincidence!" Kurama said brightly. "I'm going to Divination right now. And I believe Hiei has that class with me as well. Knowing him, he's already there. I'd better catch up with him before he causes any trouble. Have fun in Defense Against the Dark Arts." And with that and a wave, he hiked past them toward the Divination Tower.

"And you have fun in Divination; try to fall asleep quickly!" Yusuke called after him.

"The stairs are hell! Pace yourself!" Ron yelled at Kurama before he vanished around a corner.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione said pensively as the five resumed their journey. "I wonder if that new teacher, Professor Umbridge is any good."

"I guess we'll find out," Harry said.

Dokkou: Hm, that chapter took pretty long for me to write, even though it was so drab. Hey guys, loyal fans and reviewers, I hate to say this, but the next chapter might take a lot longer to write. I have this habit of writing like five chapters early, that way I'm set for the next five times I update, which is exactly every two weeks. This chapter was the end of my chapter reserve, so now I'm writing on the fly, so to speak. In other words, the next chapter might not be posted on time. I'll try to hurry for you guys, but not if it means making a bad chapter. I'm a perfectionist, after all. Just sit tight, the next chapter will be worth the wait.