Chapter Six: Sin, in the Original Packaging.

Draco woke the next morning feeling warm and generally satisfied with the world. Kiyoshi had his face nuzzled into the curve of his neck, one arm wrapped around his waist. His breath was warm on his skin.

He let himself lay there for a few long, blissful moments before he turned over and was nearly blinded by sunlight filtering through the window. Draco grimaced, and made to pull his blanket over his head, but a large, strong hand yanked it back down. "Mister Malfoy," Came a deep, familiar voice.

Draco sat upright very quickly. "Professor Snape!" He gasped, then looked down at Kiyoshi, who was pulling the blankets around him and staring in confusion. "I—" Draco shook his head to clear it. "It wasn't—I mean—"

"You're going to be late for your classes if you don't get out of bed," Snape said coldly, then strode out of the room.

"We have Professor Wolf again today," Draco said as he slid out of bed and adjusted his robe self-consciously. Kiyoshi looked at the floor, uneasy. "I won't let him do anything to you this time," Draco went on firmly. "I know his secret. I bet he doesn't want Dumbeldore to know about him and Professor McGonagall." Kiyoshi blinked, then moved his hand over his mouth to cover a smile. He looked down at the floor again, still smiling, then glanced shyly back up to look at Draco through his long black eyelashes. Draco reddened and hurried back to his own room to dress.

***

Professor Wolf seemed calmer, more sedate the second time Kiyoshi came to class. He gave the lesson with a heavy-lidded look and a satisfied smirk. Draco watched him carefully all through the class, waiting for him to make a move to do harm to Kiyoshi, but it seemed that the only thing he was interested in was the book they were reading, Blood and Roses. Kiyoshi sat up straight in his chair, pointedly looking out the window. Harry was scribbling furiously in his notebook.

Hermione was, for once, not paying attention to Professor Wolf's lecture. She was looking through a thick leather book, occasionally leaning over to squint at the tiny print. Draco watched her for a moment, then quickly averted his eyes as Wolf took notice of her and stepped quietly over. The class went silent as he leaned over her shoulder, his eyes scanning the page, and Hermione took no notice.

Wolf reached around her and scooped the heavy book up off of Hermione's desk. The poor girl jerked and stifled a squeal, then flushed scarlet as Wolf stuck a thumb in the pages and looked at the faded cover. "The Lamia," He read aloud, arching an eyebrow. "Interesting choice. Among all of the so-called mythical monsters, the lamia, a water-dwelling snake with a human torso and wing-like fins, is one of the few whose existence has neither been proven nor disproven." He set the book gently back down on Hermione's desk. "Try again, Miss Hermione."

Blushing, Hermione bookmarked her page and shut the thick tome. Wolf straightened with a smile and moved to the front of the class. "Miss Hermione, interestingly, leads us to our next lesson." He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote A history of beast-human relationships in literature: Bestiality? while saying, "You've all heard of the tale of the maiden who fell in love with a beast. Do you suppose it's possible?" He turned to face the class. "For a human to fall in love with something so purely animal?" He frowned when the only response he got from the students were blank stares. "Let me give you another example. Girls—the centaurs in the forbidden forest—"

Most of the girls in the class made disgusted noises. Wolf grinned, flashing unnaturally sharp and white teeth. "I can see your opinion of them is less than favorable. Boys?"

There was a short silence, then a pug-nosed boy in the back of the classroom said, "It depends on which end is the animal, Professor." His comment was followed by loud snickers from the other boys in the class and groans from the girls.

Wolf shook his head, his smile fading. "Turn to page eighty-four in your literature books, please."

***

Draco sat across from Kiyoshi at lunch, watching his friend stare sullenly at his food. "Aren't you going to eat anything?" Draco asked. Kiyoshi glanced up at him and smiled sadly, then shook his head. Draco leaned forward and pushed a roll towards him. "You've got to eat, Kiyoshi. You need your strength. Please?"

Kiyoshi's shoulders moved in a sigh, and he picked up the roll. Draco smiled as Kiyoshi smelled it, then took a tiny bite. He put the roll down on his untouched plate.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Great Hall, Harry watched this exchange suspiciously. Hermione was poring over her book on one side of him, while on the other, Ron was actually eating his lunch. Harry looked over at Hermione as she paused to read over a certain paragraph. "Have you found out anything?" He asked.

Hermione looked up. "Not really," She admitted, shutting the book. "I don't think he's a water monster, Harry."

"He's a demon!" Harry flared, causing a few students at their table to stare. Blushing, he lowered his voice. "Maybe he isn't a water-monster, but I know he isn't human. There must be a reason he's here at Hogwarts."

"You'd think that after all the mishaps they've had, you'd think they'd stop hiding valuable things here," Ron said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Harry shot him an irritated glance.

"I suppose you haven't found out anything about him either," Harry said coldly.

Ron was spearing chicken onto his fork. "The Sorting Hat—" He began, then stuffed chicken into his mouth.

Hermione made a face. "You'd better swallow that before you go on. I don't have a mind to see how well you chew, though it would be funny to see you choke."

Ron made a show of chewing and swallowing, then cleared his throat. "There're rumors that when Kiyoshi first came to Hogwarts, they tried to put the Sorting Hat on him, in private."

"But he isn't a First Year," Harry interrupted.

Ron shrugged. "Don't ask me why they did it. Anyway—what they're saying is, when they put the Sorting Hat on his head, all it did was scream until they took it off." He nodded as his friends' eyes widened. "The House leaders were so spooked, none of them wanted to take him in. They had to draw straws, and Snape lost."

"Are you sure he didn't lose on purpose?" Harry hissed. "What if Snape's conspiring with Kiyoshi to—to take over the school, or—or what if Kiyoshi's really Voldemort in disguise?!"

Several heads jerked in their direction at the mention of Voldemort's name. Ron elbowed Harry in the ribs. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do you think everyone is You-Know-Who in disguise? Look at him, Harry." The three of them looked across the room at Kiyoshi, who was blushing and giggling at something Draco was saying. The term "Evil power-crazed disembodied dark wizard" didn't exactly spring to mind when one saw his lithe frame and feminine features. Harry set his jaw. "Well—both their names have an 'o' in them," He said desperately. Ron and Hermione looked at each other, then rose to leave. "Wait!" He cried.

"Get a grip, Harry," Ron said over his shoulder.

Harry sputtered for a moment, then slumped back down into his seat. He looked back over at Kiyoshi, his emotions boiling. "I see your plan now," He growled. "Act innocent. Surround yourself with powerful friends. Then move in for the kill." People sitting near Harry moved away uneasily. He took no notice. "I'll stop you, Kiyoshi Kamagaki, just like I've stopped everyone else. You're no different from the others, but I—I am the boy who lived!" He laughed triumphantly, then strode out of the Great Hall.

Kiyoshi watched Harry curiously as he caused quite a scene on the other side of the Hall. Draco turned around in his seat and followed his gaze. "Fool," Draco spat, then turned back to his friend. "We still have a half an hour before our next class starts," He said, trying not to blush as Kiyoshi smiled at him. "Let's go back to the Dorm."