A/N: Obviously, I own none of the rights to either of these series. Those belong to J.K. Rowling and Haruichi Furudate, along with whatever publishers, producers, etc., are involved with both series.

That night she had dreamt of the tent. Of the countless hours listening to names on the radio, hoping not to recognize any of them. Of the locket. Of Ron leaving. But this time Tetsurou was there with her and Harry, making everything better.

She wouldn't wish that on anyone, but now it was happening, in a way. His life was in danger because of her.

Hermione sighed, turning her spoon slowly in her cereal. Kei walked in and gave her a disturbed look. "Why do you look like someone just killed your dog?"

"I've never had a dog."

"Right. You're a cat person." Kei rolled his eyes. "Stop avoiding the question or I'm going to go get your mind-reading cat from outside."

"The bond doesn't work that way. At least, not yet." She sighed. "It's nothing, really. I'm just worried about everyone being in danger, and mad at myself because it's all my fault. I'm beginning to understand how Harry felt, which is ridiculous."

"Oneesan…" Kei slumped into the chair across from her. "No matter what happens, we knew the risk when we told you we could stay. You didn't hide that from us." He poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"I know. But… just because I told you doesn't mean that you realized it, that you understood…"

"Are you trying to insult my intelligence, Hermione-neesan?" Kei was looking at her with one eyebrow raised.

She sighed and shook her head.

"Good, because then I would have to doubt yours." She rolled her eyes. "Mom knew what she was doing when she asked you to stay. I supported her then, and I still do. When times are tough, family should stick together and be honest with one another. I'll support you, and you'll protect me. I know you will."

"That's a lot of trust, Kei-kun."

He shrugged, "You planning on running away from us?"

"No. Never."

"Then we're good."

Hermione knew that Kei meant every word, but it was still difficult not to feel guilty. She sighed, then decided that a topic change was in order. "Since it's hard for Tetsurou and I to be apart, I'm going to Tokyo with him this morning. You'll have to show Neville the gym by yourself."

"Tch." Kei glared at her for a second, "Fine. But you owe me."

"And what exactly will I owe you? It's not like this will be a big deal."

"I'm going to get roped into something with those idiots, I know it."

"Oh, how horrible. You'll have to play the sport that you voluntarily signed up to play." Hermione picked up her bowl and went to go rinse it in the sink. "My heart bleeds for you, Kei-kun, it really does."

"It should."

Hermione went back to slowly eating her yogurt, "Well, while you do that I'm going to meet Tetsurou's parents, who have every right to hate me since I'm endangering their son's life. Forgive me if I'm not sympathetic to your plight."

"You'll be fine. You're a war veteran and a victim of prejudice. It's a social faux pas to hate either of those."

"That's so reassuring." She threw the dish towel at him. "If they're anything like their son, they won't exactly care about social faux pas."

"There is that." Kei sighed, "The longer you wait the worse it will get, though."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at her cousin, "I'd rather live in denial of that fact, thank you."

Kei flicked a piece of cereal at her, but thankfully it fell short. Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up. "I'm going to the tent to make sure they didn't kill Malfoy in his sleep."

"Are you really that worried for him?"

Hermione shrugged, "More worried about the trouble it would cause, honestly." Hermione slipped from the room as Kei laughed.

When she got to the tent flap she thought about knocking, but then decided against it. If anyone was changing she doubted they'd be in the common area. She opened the flap…and was greeted by a shirtless Tetsurou. There was a slight distortion around his chest, right where her scar was located. At least he was getting better at glamours. Her soulmate was sitting backwards on a chair, wearing his usual red shorts and the now ever-present dragon fang necklace alongside the galleon necklace Bill had given him.

"Miss me?"

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Not that the sight wasn't…pleasant, which he definitely knew by his smirk, but it was hardly what she'd expected.

"Malfoy said he wanted to see the bond mark this morning. I figured why put on a shirt if I'm just going to have to take it off again."

"And so no shirt."

"It's all for your viewing pleasure, love."

"I'm flattered, really." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You should be."

"Where are the others?"

"In their rooms. You weren't lying when you said this was a nice tent." He paused, looking at her closely, "Your dreams…how much was real?"

"Pretty much everything except for you being there, to be honest."

Tetsurou was silent for a few seconds, then his voice was quiet, "I wish that part had been true, too."

"No!" Hermione closed her eyes in pain, "this is bad enough, Tetsu. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, much less you."

A flap opened, and Hermione turned to see Malfoy there, glaring at the both of them. "There aren't silencing charms, so we can hear you, you know." He walked a few steps, then froze when he saw Tetsurou's back. "Granger…when, exactly, were you going to tell me the ridiculous size of your mark?"

Hermione blinked, honestly bewildered. "I haven't been able to research any of this, Malfoy. Is size important?"

"Of course you don't know." He sneered at her, "It's another indication of how ridiculously tightly you two are bound. It's no wonder you were in pain yesterday over the separation. I do notsuggest being separated further than you've already done, especially this early in the bond."

"It's a good thing we rearranged the schedule today then." She sighed, then turned back to Tetsurou, "Now will you go put a shirt on?"

"I suppose." Tetsurou stood up and stretched. Hermione's eyes widened, and she looked away with a blush. He was ridiculous. "See you in a minute, love." He winked at her and strode out of the common room.

"I certainly wasn't expecting someone like that to be your soulmate, Granger."

"What do you mean by that, Malfoy?" She eyed him warily, waiting for the insult.

"He's no Weasley, that's for certain."

Hermione glared at him. "There's nothing wrong with the Weasleys, or anything wrong with Tetsurou, Malfoy."

"Sure, whatever you say." Malfoy strode past her, "I'm off to make sure that your uncle gets to work, but have fun with the in-laws, Granger." That…ferret. If he kept this up, she really would hit him again.

Tetsurou walked back out then and made eye contact with her for a brief second, then they both winced in pain. Tetsurou started laughing. "You actually hit him?"

"He deserved it."

"You did good for someone your size, but if you ever want someone to teach you how to properly throw a punch, I'll gladly volunteer."

"I tend to curse first, now, actually."

"Spoken like a true witch." He smirked at her, but then Hermione noticed what he had changed into.

"Do you own anything besides black t-shirts and red shorts?"

Tetsurou laughed, "Why bother? I've always felt like these were appropriate for all occasions." She looked at him skeptically. "Of course, there's also my jersey for tournaments and my school uniform."

"Those hardly count."

"Well, Mio, I suppose you'll just have to wait until tonight to see if I own anything nicer."

The date. Right. She'd honestly forgotten about that with all her nervousness about meeting his parents. "Should I bring a change of clothes?"

"We can always come back here, no worries. Charlie-san said to just shout for him whenever we were ready, so…" Tetsurou took a deep breath, but Hermione elbowed him in the stomach before he could do anything.

"He did not mean that literally. Which room is he in?" Tetsurou pointed and she went over to it, knocking the wood next to the flap.

"Be right there!"

Hermione turned and gave Tetsurou a pointed look, but all he did was shrug. "How was I supposed to know that a knock would suffice when the man specifically said to shout?"

She rolled her eyes as Charlie stepped out from behind the flap, then passed her four strips of dragonhide. "I included two more for Kuroo-san's parents. Figured you could work on the portkeys while he's doing potions."

"Thanks, Charlie. Will do."

"Ready? We're all keyed into the tent's wards, so we can just apparate from here."

Tetsurou put his arm around her shoulders, "Hold on tight, love. I promise not to drop you. At least, not on purpose."

"You splinch me and I will never let you live it down."

"That's hardly fair, Hermione. As far as I know, of the three of us, you're the only one who has splinched someone."

She glared at Charlie while Tetsurou laughed. "There were extenuating circumstances."

"Sure there were." Tetsurou winked at her. "Let's just hope I'm a bit better at it than you are, why don't we?"

Hermione quickly put her arms around Tetsurou's waist as she felt the familiar tug at her navel begin, then stumbled only slightly when they landed behind a house. Charlie landed beside them a second later. A cat hissed at them and then scurried over the fence.

"You have a cat?"

"Nah, that's Kenma's. Likes to come over into our yard a lot, though. We have the better shade."

Charlie looked around for a second, then turned back to them. "It looks like the Akaashis already put up some wards. I'm going to go get Bill and come back so that he knows the apparition point and can work more on the wards at some point today. I'll be back a little before one o'clock to accompany Kuroo-san and Kenma-san to practice." The two of them nodded and Charlie disappeared under a strong disillusionment charm.

"Come on inside. I know you're nervous, but I promise my parents won't bite."

Hermione nodded slowly, taking his hand and following him toward the door. "Well, as long as you promise."

He grinned at her, then opened the back door, calling out "Tadaima!"

Hermione swallowed. She had won a war, for Merlin's sake. She could face this.

A woman with short black hair looked up from the notepad she was reading in the living room. Files and various packets of paper were scattered all around her. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Hermione. "I see you have a guest. I'll go get your father so you can introduce us both properly." Hermione almost winced at the carefully neutral tone of the woman's voice. At least it wasn't openly hostile.

"Arigatou, okaa-san."

The woman eyed them for a few seconds longer, then disappeared around the corner.

Tetsurou squeezed her hand, then led her over to stand by the couch. Hermione fidgeted as they waited, but Tetsurou's mother soon appeared with her husband.

"Okaa-san, Otou-san, this is Hermione Granger-san, my soulmate. Hermione, these are my parents."

Hermione gave an awkward bow, "Yoroshiku onegai shimasu."

His father gave a small bow in return, but Tetsurou's mother just gave a stiff nod. Hermione winced at the slight.

His father smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. "We appreciate the precautions you are taking to ensure our son's safety."

His mother sniffed, "We do not appreciate their necessity."

"Okaa-san—"

"It's fine, Tetsurou." Hermione cut him off, determined to let his parents vent. "It ismy fault."

Tetsurou glared at her, "It is not your fault that that insane woman has followed you to Japan."

Hermione shrugged, looking down at the floor uneasily, "But you wouldn't be in danger without me."

"I also wouldn't have my soulmate. I quite like being with you, Hermione." He sighed, then turned to his parents who had been silently watching the exchange. "Perhaps we could have lunch together? I plan to spend the morning brewing, and Hermione will be helping me."

"That would be acceptable." His mother nodded tightly.

Tetsurou tugged at her hand and Hermione quickly followed him to escape down a hallway. They stopped in front of a door with a volleyball poster on it. "Hermione…"

"Don't, Tetsurou. Mothers worry. I understand. Let's just…forget about it for now?"

He nodded warily, "Alright, but you'll just have to face her again at lunch."

She shrugged, "I can understand why your mom hates me, Tetsurou, though I appreciate that you father is at least trying to be friendly. It's ok. Let's focus on doing things that will help protect you, alright?"

He analyzed her for a few seconds, then sighed and opened the door. "Well, welcome to my lair. It's not much, but…" he shrugged, "it's mine."

She followed him inside and immediately started giggling. One side of the room was muggle friendly—his bed, weights, and an exercise mat laid out on the floor. The other side, however…one whole wall was covered with some sort of potions station. Three different cauldrons were set up, along with some scales and copious shelves and cabinets filled with ingredients. Next to that was a bookshelf that was practically falling apart from all the science and potions texts that were shoved into it haphazardly and spilling onto the floor.

"I suppose you can't invite many friends over?"

"Just Kenma. And occasionally Bokuto or Akaashi, but that's not too common since they don't live that close by."

Kenma was sitting on the bed, playing a videogame. There was a large bruise on his knee, though it didn't seem to be bothering him. Tetsurou poured the next ingredients into the cauldron. The bruise paste would be finished soon, either way.

Hermione smiled softly at the memory, "You would do anything for Kenma-san, wouldn't you?"

"Of course." Tetsurou sighed rubbing the back of his head, "I do wish these memories weren't giving you a stockpile of blackmail, though."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't make me want to use it, then, if these memories are so horrible." As if being nice to one's friend was something worthy of blackmail. She walked over to the potions shelf, perusing the ingredients that were surprisingly well organized. Some of them were unfamiliar to her. "Karasu-tengu feathers?" She read the label on a beaker stuffed with small black feathers.

"Yeah, there are some ingredients that are more commonly used in Eastern potions because it's easier for us to get them. Karasu-tengu feathers would be one of those."

"What are they for?"

"Eh, typically potions that alter appearances, though sometimes they can be used with healing potions or potions that act like minor jinxes." So somewhat of an all-use ingredient. Tetsurou was already starting to pull other ingredients down that he would need for his first potion.

He motioned toward the bed, "I don't have a chair, but feel free to work on the portkey stuff there—I'll probably be using all three of the cauldrons once I get started."

Hermione nodded and went over to sit on the bed. It felt awkward, more awkward that it ever had when she sat on Ron or Harry's bed, but she supposed that was because the boys always shared a room, so it felt less…personal. Or it could just be because Tetsurou was her soulmate.

"Relax, Mio." Tetsurou was leaning on the potion's counter watching her. "I know my mom has you on edge, but in here its just two people working on potions." He paused, smirking, "Unless you want to use that bed for something else?"

"Tetsurou!"

"I thought you might want to take a nap." He held up his hands in a defensive gesture but was grinning mischievously.

"Right." She rolled her eyes, "Just start your potions, Tetsu. No more suggestive comments."

"Hai, hai." He gave her one last grin, then went to the shelf to grab a book, she assumed for reference with a potion.

At that, Hermione turned to her own work, pulling out her wand and the dragonhide that Charlie had given her. There were multiple steps with each bracelet, starting with the sewing charms Mrs. Weasley had taught her to form four automatically resizing bracelets. Then she had to picture the Japanese transportation ministry and cast the portkey spell. Finally, she layered each bracelet with every protective charm that she could. All in all, it took about ten minutes per bracelet, and she was beginning to feel drained when she cast the last ward.

She holstered her wand with a sigh.

"Pepperups are in the bottom shelf of the bottom right cabinet if you need one." Tetsurou called out from over his shoulder, focused on stirring the cauldron in front of him. The other two cauldrons appeared to be simmering, waiting for their next stage.

"I think I'll be alright, but thanks."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged. "Could you come prepare the slugs for me?"

Hermione wrinkled her nose. Those were disgusting, but it had to be done. She set aside the bracelets and walked over to the counter, eyeing the bucket of slugs with distaste. Tetsurou had a book set in front of him with instructions, so Hermione took a clean dish and sighed before beginning to squeeze the juice from it.

"Aw, so you arewilling to juice slugs for me, thanks, love." Tetsurou threw a smirk at her.

"Did you ask me to do the most disgusting thing on purpose?"

"Maybe."

"If you weren't brewing a delicate potion right now I would kick you."

"Then I guess it's lucky for me that I am brewing a delicate potion." Another smirk, then he glanced at the cauldron closest to her. "That one looks like it's almost ready for the next step. Once you finish the slugs, could you sprinkle in those nettles and give it five slow counterclockwise turns?"

"Sure." Thankfully he only needed three slugs juiced, so Hermione quickly finished that task, then cleaned her hands off with a scourgify. Tossing in the nettles and stirring were both easy steps, but Tetsurou soon had another task for her. After that they fell into a rhythm of brewing, each step so precise that it required their full focus.

Hermione had never worked with someone like this. In Snape's class she could never trust Ron or Harry, or Merlin forbid one of the Slytherin's they'd been occasionally forced to partner with. Tetsurou, though… he obviously knew what he was doing. And he trusted her to do the tasks properly, as well. It was refreshing, and…relaxing. For once, she could just focus on the task at hand and not have to worry about her surroundings or the future.

All too soon, however, the moment was ruined by Tetsurou's father knocking on the door and calling out to them that lunch was ready.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews everyone! As always, I greatly appreciate all of your feedback and support!

BrownEyesAngel & MWolfe13: I'm glad y'all are looking forward to the surprise of the plot! They definitely do their own wizarding things, as well. There will be a lot more exploration of magical Japan :)

And yeah, I love Draco, but he's a little shit most of the time.

.Leo- Thank you! I'm glad you've enjoyed my version of the soulmate bond and magical Japan! I've spent a lot of time building those out, so it means a lot that people find them interesting.