Hee, thanks for the reviews, guys, I really appreciate it! ^-^ *beams* I lurve you all. I'll try to make my chapters longer, Phobia, and I'll try to get that 2% right, Sango-chan94549! ^-^ Glad you all like the story so far!
Oh yeah, and I got another question: **Why am I putting Kurama and Botan together?** Umm . . . well, I just like the couple *grins and sweatdrops* But don't worry, any romance in here will be low key and can be interpreted in different ways; like some people may see it as romance and others just see it as two friends. *nods some*
Oh yeah . . .
WOOOOOO!!! 30 REVIEWS!!!! YIPEEEEEEEEEE!!! *dances* THANNNKK YYYYOOOUUUUU!!! ONWARD HO TO 50!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, I don't own anything. Tee hee.
*~Chapter Four~*
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall. An' Professor Genkai's students."
"Thank you Hagrid. Follow me, students." The woman's face was incredibly stern, her wrinkles etching her face into a permanent frown. Yusuke grinned; he was going to have fun tormenting this one.
"Follow me, students."
They trailed behind the Professor as she strode across the stone floor, all of them marveling at the size of the castle. The hallways were wide enough to fit Yusuke's entire apartment, and the ceilings seemed to stretch on forever, torch light casting eerie shadows across the stone walls. The dull roar of other students chattering echoed eerily as they approached an empty chamber of the hall, leading them to believe they were the only students who took the little boat ride. They all crowded together in the empty chamber, a bit uncomfortably, the Detectives and company towering over the first years, well, all except Hiei and Yukina.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall started, "Before the start-of-term banquet, you will be shorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because-"Yusuke tuned her out, looking around disinterestedly. *Well, at least it's better then the school back home.*
"This means you, Mr. Urameshi." He blinked.
"What?" A few giggles emitted from behind him. McGonagall glowered. "Please wait quietly." She snapped to the rest of the students, then turned and left.
"For Kami's sake, Yusuke, we're in the school for five minutes and you've already gotten on a teacher's bad side." Botan breathed angrily.
"Yeah, I really thought she was going to bite my head off." The punk said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. There were a few more giggles.
McGonagall reappeared minutes later. "Form a line and follow me." They all did as told and exited the chamber, walked back across the corridor, through a pair of massive doors, and entered the Great Hall.
Thousands of candles illuminated the place, floating in midair over four long tables where the other students resided. The tables were decorated with golden plates and goblets, all empty, glowing dully in the dim light. Yusuke saw Kurama's hand twitch and snickered. The teachers sat at a grand table at the head of the hall facing the students, watching the new arrivals with assuring smiles, or, in the case of Professor Snape, a disinterested glare. McGonagall led them to the top of the hall. Hundreds of faces stared up at them, and Yusuke unconsciously smoothed down a strand of hair.
The woman placed a stool in front of the line first years, and on top placed an old, frayed, and incredibly dirty hat that looked like it belonged in a witch's Halloween costume set. There were a few beats of eager silence, then, a large split ripped across the tattered cloth, wide like a mouth, and the hat began to . . sing?
The melody was soft and smooth, filling the hall with it's words of wisdom and advice of unity between the houses. The students in the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves; apparently, something was amok with the song. The group of first years and detectives didn't notice as they stared at the hat in utter awe, some of them chanting to themselves that never again would they eat what they ate before bed if it was going to give them these kinds of dreams. When the hat finished, a burst of applause erupted from the students, then slowly died to become fragile silence once again.
"When I call your name, sit on the stool and put on the hat to be sorted." McGonagall barked, then unrolled a long parchment and began to read:
"Alan, Terry!" A chubby boy fell out of line and nervously jogged towards the stool, sitting down and pulling the hat on. It had just barely touched his head when a booming voice announced:
"HUFFLEPUFF!" A roar of cheers erupted from the table on the right as the boy scuffled to sit down.
"Bailey, Maryanne."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Barton, Alan."
"RAVENCLAW!" And so on it went, until the only ones standing in line were the detectives, Botan and Yukina. They all glanced around uncomfortably.
"As a special treat this year." The group turned to see man stand from the table behind them, his silver hair cascading down his back, vibrant blue eyes twinkling youthfully under a pair of spectacles. "We have received exchange students from Japan, courtesy of Professor Genkai." The hall erupted into a flurry of questions and comments. Dumbledore waved his hand, silencing them. "They will be entering as fifth years, and I expect you to treat them with the hospitality and respect Hogwarts is known for."
"Jaganshi, Hiei." McGonagall read and Hiei stepped forward, scowling at the students and the woman. Yusuke could tell she was not looking forward to teaching this particular bunch.
Hiei pulled the hat over his spiky hair, and it remained only a few moments before yelling: "SLYTHERIN!"
The Slytherin table erupted into cheers, but anyone who tired to congratulate the demon received a glare that could kill small woodland creatures.
"Koorime, Yukina." The ice maiden stepped forward and sat down, placing the hat on her head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" More cheers throughout the hall.
"Wow, Koenma really got creative with the last names, didn't he?" Yusuke said sarcastically and Botan giggled. McGonagall shot them both a glare.
"Kuwabara, Kazuma."
"Oh, man, now everyone's going to know my first name." The red head grumbled as he pulled on the hat. Yusuke couldn't help but laugh. He looked ridiculous with the tiny hat on this huge figure.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Minamino, Shuichi." Kurama stepped forward and placed the hat on his head. However, unlike the others, he was not sorted immediately.
Actually, the time stretched and the hat just sat there. A few whispers could be heard from different students in the crowd. Yusuke nudged Botan.
"Did he break it?"
"Remember Yusuke, it has to judge for Shuichi and Youko." She whispered back.
Suddenly, the hat's mouth opened and it shouted: "GRYFF-" But the words died on its fabric lips. The hat's mouth puckered in concentration.
"SLYTH-" But once again it stopped, seeming thoroughly perplexed. McGonagall cast a glance back at Dumbledore, who just smiled and tipped his glass to her.
"Oh, let's just put him in RAVENCLAW!" Cheers erupted as Kurama walked to his table and sat down, all girls within the vicinity blushing and stammering. Yusuke rolled his eyes. *Girls are the same everywhere*
"Reikai, Botan."
Botan nervously put the hat on her head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" Yusuke swallowed hard as his name was called, suddenly nervous, though he couldn't really understand why.
He sat down on the stool and placed the hat on his head, the tattered rim falling over his eyes. A small voice purred in his head.
/Ah . . .loyal, trustworthy. . .not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, though . .definitely not a Ravenclaw . . ./
*Hey, watch it hat-boy!*
/Maybe a HufflePuff?/
*Put me in that girly house and- *
/Ooh, a bit of a temper . . .maybe a Slytherin . . ?/
Yusuke fumed. This hat was really starting to piss him off. *Listen you pile of crap, there's no way I'm going to be in the same house as Hiei-*
/No, not a Slytherin . . .too much devotion and compassion . ./
*Compassion?! What the?!*
/Yes, has to be a-/
"GRYFFINDOR!" Yusuke ripped the hat off and threw it back on the stool, storming towards his table. *Stupid hat . .compassion . .I'll show him compassion. . .* The hat chuckled to himself. He had always enjoyed a little pre-sorting torment, especially with people like Yusuke.
The Gryffindor table broke into cheers as Yusuke approached, the boy sitting next to Kuwabara and Harry. "Well, that was fun." He muttered.
A beaming Dumbledore got to his feet; arms open wide, as if he were trying to embrace everyone in the room. "Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would just like to say: Tuck in!"
To Yusuke and Kuwabara's amazement, the plate in front of them began to fill with roasted meats, warm bread, crisp vegetables and flasks of a strange orange juice. The two nearly melted into their seats from the sweet aroma floating from the food in clouds of luscious steam.
"Sweet!" Yusuke exclaimed, grabbed his fork, and dug in. *This place might not be so bad, after all.*
Kuwabara suddenly stopped eating, a chill prickling down his spine. He froze, eyes shooting up and darted around. *It's the tickle-feeling again.* His gaze came to halt on a floating silver figure before them, the form was dressed in elegant manner of a lord.
"Urameshi, do you see that?" Kuwabara demanded quietly from the boy next to him, his eyes never leaving the pale silhouette. Yusuke glanced up, then continued to shovel food in his mouth.
"Kuwabara, it's a ghost. We've seen them before, remember?" Before Harry, Ron or Hermione could ask where their previous encounter with ghosts had occurred, the silvery figure bowed deeply.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington-"
"Everyone calls him Nearly Headless Nick." Ron added through a mouthful of cornbread, the ghost giving a defeated sigh.
"Why do they call you-" Before Kuwabara could finish, the ghost grasped a handful of his hair and yanked. His head swung like a door on a hinge, tearing completely off save for about an inch of skin.
Kuwabara squeaked in surprise while Yusuke continued to devour his food at an alarming rate.
Something catching his eye, Yusuke paused for a moment and smirked. A ghost at the Hufflepuff table was eyeing Botan strangely, and circling her occasionally. Yusuke snickered at it's confusion and Botan's apparent inability to ignore him, trying unsuccessfully to concentrate on the questions directed toward her from the other students. *Oh well, her problem, not mine.*
When they were well into the meal and the noise level began to creep up, Dumbledore rose once again. Everyone stopped talking and turned their eyes to him.
"Now that we are digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of you attention for the usual start-of-term notices." The headmaster said. "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can now be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.
"We also have a change in staffing this year. We are very pleased to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was a round of polite applause.
"Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on-" He suddenly broke off and looked at a now standing Professor Umbridge, who emitted a "Hem, hem." It became clear that she intended to make a speech.
Dumbledore blinked in surprise, then sat down and looked up at the woman attentively. The other teachers were not so good at hiding their alarm.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Said Umbridge. "for those kind words of welcome." Her voice was high and breathy, and Yusuke immediately recognized it as a trait of most of Kurama's fan girls.
"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say. . ." And Yusuke was gone, leaning back to look disinterestedly at the ceiling, which seemed to be the night sky itself, the white glimmers of stars flickering occasionally. As the speech wore on, Yusuke saw other students begin to do the same, even Kurama growing glassy eyed in the wake of Professor Umbridge's droning voice.
After what seemed like eternity, Umbridge sat and Dumbledore continued about tryouts. Hermione, Ron, and Harry began to chat about the 'ministry', but Yusuke remained in his state of elected ADD. Suddenly, the hall was abuzz with activity as students stood and prepared to leave. Yusuke got to his feet and followed Harry and Ron towards were he presumed he would be sleeping.
***
"Come on, Urameshi, time to get up." Yusuke rolled over, mumbling something before falling back asleep.
"Urameshi, wake up!"
"Leeme alone, Keiko, I'll go to school tomorrow . ."
"Who's Keiko?" Harry asked the exasperated Kuwabara, who was trying to wake the near-dead Yusuke up. The four boys, including Ron, were all rooming together. Upon arriving at their old dorm, Harry and one of their previous roomies, Seamus, had engaged in a nasty word duel. Ron and Harry had both vouched to move after that, and it just so happened that Kuwabara and Yusuke were roommate-less.
"Urameshi's girlfriend."
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Yusuke suddenly sprung to life, jumped out of bed, and was now pummeling the larger boy mercilessly. Harry and Ron watched, sweat-dropping.
"Come on, you guys, we have to get to breakfast." Yusuke stopped pounding on Kuwabara, yawned, and returned to bed.
"Nah, I think I'll skip today." Ron and Harry blanched.
"Yusuke, you can't *skip*."
"Sure I can. It's easy. I lay here and sleep. End of discussion."
"Yusuke, you CAN'T *skip*! This is Hogwarts! You lose House Points and get detention for skipping!"
"Well, I'll just *skip* detention and I don't know what the hell 'House Points' are, so, what's the problem?" Ron sighed and shook his head as Harry opened his mouth to explain.
"Oh, fine, if you're going to cry about it, I'll go." Harry grinned and Kuwabara looked at his watch.
"You've only got five min-"
"Let's go!" They were now looking at a fully dressed Yusuke, his hair slicked back and a cocky grin on his face. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Harry and Ron blinked.
"But-but you were . . ." But Yusuke was already gone, letting his rumbling stomach lead him towards The Great Hall.
"Is he always like this?"
"Nope. Usually he's worse."
***
The detectives and co., disregarding the fact that houses were supposed to sit at their own tables, had gathered at the Gryffindor table, much to the other students' surprise and dislike. McGonagall apparently assumed this would be the case and was prepared with all their schedules, which Koenma had so thoughtfully planned out for them.
"Binns, History of Magic first." Yusuke grumbled, stuffing a piece if buttered toast into his mouth. There was a round of "Me too's" from Ron, Hermione, Botan, Yukina, Harry, Kuwabara, Kurama, and a "Hn" from Hiei.
"Wow, we all have the same class together?" Hermione wondered aloud in disbelief, "But we are only supposed have that class with the Ravenclaws. Hiei, you're a Slytherin!" Hiei didn't respond, just glared at her.
"Maybe the other classes were too full." Ron suggested through a mouthful of sausage. "Maybe this was the only place they could fit them in." Hermione shrugged, clearly troubled about the arrangements.
They soon found out that they had many of their classes together. Harry realized with something between happiness and dread that Yusuke and Kuwabara were in every single one of his classes, Kurama, Hiei, Yukina and Botan in six out of eight.
Hermione hadn't stopped mulling. *This is strange, I don't think I've heard of anything like this before . . .*
"Earth to Hermione." She blinked and glared at Ron, who was waving a hand in front of her face. "Come on, we're going to be late to class." She stood, gathering her books and schedule, still pondering the bizarre situation as she started towards class.
Yusuke began to head in the opposite direction.
"Yusuke, where're you going?"
"Forgot something in the dorm." The detective called back over to the wizard as he headed in the opposite direction of the dorms.
"Uhh . .the dorms are that way . . ." Yusuke turned and grinned.
"Oh yeah."
***
Kurama groaned as the ghostly teacher drifted through the chalkboard, announcing the start if class. He glanced around the room one more time, just to be sure. Nope. No Yusuke or Hiei.
"Where's Urameshi and the shrimp? You don't think they got lost, do you?" Kurama sighed.
"No, knowing Yusuke, he's probably on the roof of the school asleep or trying to find a way into the girls' dorm, and knowing Hiei he's probably inspecting the dark forest." The fox caught a sight of Botan out of the corner of his eyes and chuckled. She was positively fuming, her eyes boring into the chalkboard so intensely there was concern it might spontaneously combust. Kurama could practically see the thoughts darting through her head.
*Yusuke Urameshi, on the FIRST day of one of the most IMPORTANT missions in his LIFE, decides to SKIP CLASS?! I'll KILL him! What was Koenma THINKING, picking HIM for Spirit Detective?! UGH! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM . . . !*
Kurama laughed quietly, then returned his attention to the lesson taking place. To his dismay, he realized the criteria they were teaching was within his thousand years of life, and therefore he could almost repeat the Professor's words verbatim. He was soon bored.
Kuwabara, who was sitting next to him, passed over a clip of parchment. Kurama blinked at it, quickly recognizing the crisscross board of tick-tack-toe. He raised an eyebrow, scrawling a message to the older boy.
~You really should be listening, you know.~ Kuwabara grinned, then wrote back in his chicken-scratch handwriting.
~Nah, I'm sure you can fill me in later.~ Kurama smiled, then marked the center square with a large 'X'.
***
Yusuke sat on the roof of the school, breathing in the cool air. It had taken him a while to find the roof because of the swiveling and constantly changing stairways, but he eventually got there. He felt a little guilty for not acting on his promise to Harry, but hey, he hardly knew the kid. Plus, nothing was going to get him to go to a stuffy classroom on such a beautiful day. No way, no how.
Yusuke sighed in contentment, resting his head back against the warm rock of the castle's deck-like roof. He was soon fast asleep.
He never noticed the eyes watching from far away.
*********
Cheeto: Woo! That was a long chap! Like 10 fricken pages, me thinks. ^-^ Hope that's better, Phobia.
Aren't you guys proud of me! I figured a way to put them in different houses and still keep them together! ^-^ Hope you guys are happy with my choices. Oh yes, and I am very aware the Koorime, Reikai and Jaganshi are not really our loveable characters' last names, but they needed some and I pulled those out of the air. Hey, like anyone at Hogwarts is going to speak Japanese! ^-^;
Well, gotta make this quick, so see you next chap! It should be up around Sunday or Monday! Maybe Saturday if I'm lucky!!
Review please! ^0^
Oh yeah, and I got another question: **Why am I putting Kurama and Botan together?** Umm . . . well, I just like the couple *grins and sweatdrops* But don't worry, any romance in here will be low key and can be interpreted in different ways; like some people may see it as romance and others just see it as two friends. *nods some*
Oh yeah . . .
WOOOOOO!!! 30 REVIEWS!!!! YIPEEEEEEEEEE!!! *dances* THANNNKK YYYYOOOUUUUU!!! ONWARD HO TO 50!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah, I don't own anything. Tee hee.
*~Chapter Four~*
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall. An' Professor Genkai's students."
"Thank you Hagrid. Follow me, students." The woman's face was incredibly stern, her wrinkles etching her face into a permanent frown. Yusuke grinned; he was going to have fun tormenting this one.
"Follow me, students."
They trailed behind the Professor as she strode across the stone floor, all of them marveling at the size of the castle. The hallways were wide enough to fit Yusuke's entire apartment, and the ceilings seemed to stretch on forever, torch light casting eerie shadows across the stone walls. The dull roar of other students chattering echoed eerily as they approached an empty chamber of the hall, leading them to believe they were the only students who took the little boat ride. They all crowded together in the empty chamber, a bit uncomfortably, the Detectives and company towering over the first years, well, all except Hiei and Yukina.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall started, "Before the start-of-term banquet, you will be shorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because-"Yusuke tuned her out, looking around disinterestedly. *Well, at least it's better then the school back home.*
"This means you, Mr. Urameshi." He blinked.
"What?" A few giggles emitted from behind him. McGonagall glowered. "Please wait quietly." She snapped to the rest of the students, then turned and left.
"For Kami's sake, Yusuke, we're in the school for five minutes and you've already gotten on a teacher's bad side." Botan breathed angrily.
"Yeah, I really thought she was going to bite my head off." The punk said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. There were a few more giggles.
McGonagall reappeared minutes later. "Form a line and follow me." They all did as told and exited the chamber, walked back across the corridor, through a pair of massive doors, and entered the Great Hall.
Thousands of candles illuminated the place, floating in midair over four long tables where the other students resided. The tables were decorated with golden plates and goblets, all empty, glowing dully in the dim light. Yusuke saw Kurama's hand twitch and snickered. The teachers sat at a grand table at the head of the hall facing the students, watching the new arrivals with assuring smiles, or, in the case of Professor Snape, a disinterested glare. McGonagall led them to the top of the hall. Hundreds of faces stared up at them, and Yusuke unconsciously smoothed down a strand of hair.
The woman placed a stool in front of the line first years, and on top placed an old, frayed, and incredibly dirty hat that looked like it belonged in a witch's Halloween costume set. There were a few beats of eager silence, then, a large split ripped across the tattered cloth, wide like a mouth, and the hat began to . . sing?
The melody was soft and smooth, filling the hall with it's words of wisdom and advice of unity between the houses. The students in the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves; apparently, something was amok with the song. The group of first years and detectives didn't notice as they stared at the hat in utter awe, some of them chanting to themselves that never again would they eat what they ate before bed if it was going to give them these kinds of dreams. When the hat finished, a burst of applause erupted from the students, then slowly died to become fragile silence once again.
"When I call your name, sit on the stool and put on the hat to be sorted." McGonagall barked, then unrolled a long parchment and began to read:
"Alan, Terry!" A chubby boy fell out of line and nervously jogged towards the stool, sitting down and pulling the hat on. It had just barely touched his head when a booming voice announced:
"HUFFLEPUFF!" A roar of cheers erupted from the table on the right as the boy scuffled to sit down.
"Bailey, Maryanne."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Barton, Alan."
"RAVENCLAW!" And so on it went, until the only ones standing in line were the detectives, Botan and Yukina. They all glanced around uncomfortably.
"As a special treat this year." The group turned to see man stand from the table behind them, his silver hair cascading down his back, vibrant blue eyes twinkling youthfully under a pair of spectacles. "We have received exchange students from Japan, courtesy of Professor Genkai." The hall erupted into a flurry of questions and comments. Dumbledore waved his hand, silencing them. "They will be entering as fifth years, and I expect you to treat them with the hospitality and respect Hogwarts is known for."
"Jaganshi, Hiei." McGonagall read and Hiei stepped forward, scowling at the students and the woman. Yusuke could tell she was not looking forward to teaching this particular bunch.
Hiei pulled the hat over his spiky hair, and it remained only a few moments before yelling: "SLYTHERIN!"
The Slytherin table erupted into cheers, but anyone who tired to congratulate the demon received a glare that could kill small woodland creatures.
"Koorime, Yukina." The ice maiden stepped forward and sat down, placing the hat on her head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" More cheers throughout the hall.
"Wow, Koenma really got creative with the last names, didn't he?" Yusuke said sarcastically and Botan giggled. McGonagall shot them both a glare.
"Kuwabara, Kazuma."
"Oh, man, now everyone's going to know my first name." The red head grumbled as he pulled on the hat. Yusuke couldn't help but laugh. He looked ridiculous with the tiny hat on this huge figure.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Minamino, Shuichi." Kurama stepped forward and placed the hat on his head. However, unlike the others, he was not sorted immediately.
Actually, the time stretched and the hat just sat there. A few whispers could be heard from different students in the crowd. Yusuke nudged Botan.
"Did he break it?"
"Remember Yusuke, it has to judge for Shuichi and Youko." She whispered back.
Suddenly, the hat's mouth opened and it shouted: "GRYFF-" But the words died on its fabric lips. The hat's mouth puckered in concentration.
"SLYTH-" But once again it stopped, seeming thoroughly perplexed. McGonagall cast a glance back at Dumbledore, who just smiled and tipped his glass to her.
"Oh, let's just put him in RAVENCLAW!" Cheers erupted as Kurama walked to his table and sat down, all girls within the vicinity blushing and stammering. Yusuke rolled his eyes. *Girls are the same everywhere*
"Reikai, Botan."
Botan nervously put the hat on her head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" Yusuke swallowed hard as his name was called, suddenly nervous, though he couldn't really understand why.
He sat down on the stool and placed the hat on his head, the tattered rim falling over his eyes. A small voice purred in his head.
/Ah . . .loyal, trustworthy. . .not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, though . .definitely not a Ravenclaw . . ./
*Hey, watch it hat-boy!*
/Maybe a HufflePuff?/
*Put me in that girly house and- *
/Ooh, a bit of a temper . . .maybe a Slytherin . . ?/
Yusuke fumed. This hat was really starting to piss him off. *Listen you pile of crap, there's no way I'm going to be in the same house as Hiei-*
/No, not a Slytherin . . .too much devotion and compassion . ./
*Compassion?! What the?!*
/Yes, has to be a-/
"GRYFFINDOR!" Yusuke ripped the hat off and threw it back on the stool, storming towards his table. *Stupid hat . .compassion . .I'll show him compassion. . .* The hat chuckled to himself. He had always enjoyed a little pre-sorting torment, especially with people like Yusuke.
The Gryffindor table broke into cheers as Yusuke approached, the boy sitting next to Kuwabara and Harry. "Well, that was fun." He muttered.
A beaming Dumbledore got to his feet; arms open wide, as if he were trying to embrace everyone in the room. "Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would just like to say: Tuck in!"
To Yusuke and Kuwabara's amazement, the plate in front of them began to fill with roasted meats, warm bread, crisp vegetables and flasks of a strange orange juice. The two nearly melted into their seats from the sweet aroma floating from the food in clouds of luscious steam.
"Sweet!" Yusuke exclaimed, grabbed his fork, and dug in. *This place might not be so bad, after all.*
Kuwabara suddenly stopped eating, a chill prickling down his spine. He froze, eyes shooting up and darted around. *It's the tickle-feeling again.* His gaze came to halt on a floating silver figure before them, the form was dressed in elegant manner of a lord.
"Urameshi, do you see that?" Kuwabara demanded quietly from the boy next to him, his eyes never leaving the pale silhouette. Yusuke glanced up, then continued to shovel food in his mouth.
"Kuwabara, it's a ghost. We've seen them before, remember?" Before Harry, Ron or Hermione could ask where their previous encounter with ghosts had occurred, the silvery figure bowed deeply.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington-"
"Everyone calls him Nearly Headless Nick." Ron added through a mouthful of cornbread, the ghost giving a defeated sigh.
"Why do they call you-" Before Kuwabara could finish, the ghost grasped a handful of his hair and yanked. His head swung like a door on a hinge, tearing completely off save for about an inch of skin.
Kuwabara squeaked in surprise while Yusuke continued to devour his food at an alarming rate.
Something catching his eye, Yusuke paused for a moment and smirked. A ghost at the Hufflepuff table was eyeing Botan strangely, and circling her occasionally. Yusuke snickered at it's confusion and Botan's apparent inability to ignore him, trying unsuccessfully to concentrate on the questions directed toward her from the other students. *Oh well, her problem, not mine.*
When they were well into the meal and the noise level began to creep up, Dumbledore rose once again. Everyone stopped talking and turned their eyes to him.
"Now that we are digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of you attention for the usual start-of-term notices." The headmaster said. "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can now be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.
"We also have a change in staffing this year. We are very pleased to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was a round of polite applause.
"Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on-" He suddenly broke off and looked at a now standing Professor Umbridge, who emitted a "Hem, hem." It became clear that she intended to make a speech.
Dumbledore blinked in surprise, then sat down and looked up at the woman attentively. The other teachers were not so good at hiding their alarm.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Said Umbridge. "for those kind words of welcome." Her voice was high and breathy, and Yusuke immediately recognized it as a trait of most of Kurama's fan girls.
"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say. . ." And Yusuke was gone, leaning back to look disinterestedly at the ceiling, which seemed to be the night sky itself, the white glimmers of stars flickering occasionally. As the speech wore on, Yusuke saw other students begin to do the same, even Kurama growing glassy eyed in the wake of Professor Umbridge's droning voice.
After what seemed like eternity, Umbridge sat and Dumbledore continued about tryouts. Hermione, Ron, and Harry began to chat about the 'ministry', but Yusuke remained in his state of elected ADD. Suddenly, the hall was abuzz with activity as students stood and prepared to leave. Yusuke got to his feet and followed Harry and Ron towards were he presumed he would be sleeping.
***
"Come on, Urameshi, time to get up." Yusuke rolled over, mumbling something before falling back asleep.
"Urameshi, wake up!"
"Leeme alone, Keiko, I'll go to school tomorrow . ."
"Who's Keiko?" Harry asked the exasperated Kuwabara, who was trying to wake the near-dead Yusuke up. The four boys, including Ron, were all rooming together. Upon arriving at their old dorm, Harry and one of their previous roomies, Seamus, had engaged in a nasty word duel. Ron and Harry had both vouched to move after that, and it just so happened that Kuwabara and Yusuke were roommate-less.
"Urameshi's girlfriend."
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Yusuke suddenly sprung to life, jumped out of bed, and was now pummeling the larger boy mercilessly. Harry and Ron watched, sweat-dropping.
"Come on, you guys, we have to get to breakfast." Yusuke stopped pounding on Kuwabara, yawned, and returned to bed.
"Nah, I think I'll skip today." Ron and Harry blanched.
"Yusuke, you can't *skip*."
"Sure I can. It's easy. I lay here and sleep. End of discussion."
"Yusuke, you CAN'T *skip*! This is Hogwarts! You lose House Points and get detention for skipping!"
"Well, I'll just *skip* detention and I don't know what the hell 'House Points' are, so, what's the problem?" Ron sighed and shook his head as Harry opened his mouth to explain.
"Oh, fine, if you're going to cry about it, I'll go." Harry grinned and Kuwabara looked at his watch.
"You've only got five min-"
"Let's go!" They were now looking at a fully dressed Yusuke, his hair slicked back and a cocky grin on his face. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Harry and Ron blinked.
"But-but you were . . ." But Yusuke was already gone, letting his rumbling stomach lead him towards The Great Hall.
"Is he always like this?"
"Nope. Usually he's worse."
***
The detectives and co., disregarding the fact that houses were supposed to sit at their own tables, had gathered at the Gryffindor table, much to the other students' surprise and dislike. McGonagall apparently assumed this would be the case and was prepared with all their schedules, which Koenma had so thoughtfully planned out for them.
"Binns, History of Magic first." Yusuke grumbled, stuffing a piece if buttered toast into his mouth. There was a round of "Me too's" from Ron, Hermione, Botan, Yukina, Harry, Kuwabara, Kurama, and a "Hn" from Hiei.
"Wow, we all have the same class together?" Hermione wondered aloud in disbelief, "But we are only supposed have that class with the Ravenclaws. Hiei, you're a Slytherin!" Hiei didn't respond, just glared at her.
"Maybe the other classes were too full." Ron suggested through a mouthful of sausage. "Maybe this was the only place they could fit them in." Hermione shrugged, clearly troubled about the arrangements.
They soon found out that they had many of their classes together. Harry realized with something between happiness and dread that Yusuke and Kuwabara were in every single one of his classes, Kurama, Hiei, Yukina and Botan in six out of eight.
Hermione hadn't stopped mulling. *This is strange, I don't think I've heard of anything like this before . . .*
"Earth to Hermione." She blinked and glared at Ron, who was waving a hand in front of her face. "Come on, we're going to be late to class." She stood, gathering her books and schedule, still pondering the bizarre situation as she started towards class.
Yusuke began to head in the opposite direction.
"Yusuke, where're you going?"
"Forgot something in the dorm." The detective called back over to the wizard as he headed in the opposite direction of the dorms.
"Uhh . .the dorms are that way . . ." Yusuke turned and grinned.
"Oh yeah."
***
Kurama groaned as the ghostly teacher drifted through the chalkboard, announcing the start if class. He glanced around the room one more time, just to be sure. Nope. No Yusuke or Hiei.
"Where's Urameshi and the shrimp? You don't think they got lost, do you?" Kurama sighed.
"No, knowing Yusuke, he's probably on the roof of the school asleep or trying to find a way into the girls' dorm, and knowing Hiei he's probably inspecting the dark forest." The fox caught a sight of Botan out of the corner of his eyes and chuckled. She was positively fuming, her eyes boring into the chalkboard so intensely there was concern it might spontaneously combust. Kurama could practically see the thoughts darting through her head.
*Yusuke Urameshi, on the FIRST day of one of the most IMPORTANT missions in his LIFE, decides to SKIP CLASS?! I'll KILL him! What was Koenma THINKING, picking HIM for Spirit Detective?! UGH! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM . . . !*
Kurama laughed quietly, then returned his attention to the lesson taking place. To his dismay, he realized the criteria they were teaching was within his thousand years of life, and therefore he could almost repeat the Professor's words verbatim. He was soon bored.
Kuwabara, who was sitting next to him, passed over a clip of parchment. Kurama blinked at it, quickly recognizing the crisscross board of tick-tack-toe. He raised an eyebrow, scrawling a message to the older boy.
~You really should be listening, you know.~ Kuwabara grinned, then wrote back in his chicken-scratch handwriting.
~Nah, I'm sure you can fill me in later.~ Kurama smiled, then marked the center square with a large 'X'.
***
Yusuke sat on the roof of the school, breathing in the cool air. It had taken him a while to find the roof because of the swiveling and constantly changing stairways, but he eventually got there. He felt a little guilty for not acting on his promise to Harry, but hey, he hardly knew the kid. Plus, nothing was going to get him to go to a stuffy classroom on such a beautiful day. No way, no how.
Yusuke sighed in contentment, resting his head back against the warm rock of the castle's deck-like roof. He was soon fast asleep.
He never noticed the eyes watching from far away.
*********
Cheeto: Woo! That was a long chap! Like 10 fricken pages, me thinks. ^-^ Hope that's better, Phobia.
Aren't you guys proud of me! I figured a way to put them in different houses and still keep them together! ^-^ Hope you guys are happy with my choices. Oh yes, and I am very aware the Koorime, Reikai and Jaganshi are not really our loveable characters' last names, but they needed some and I pulled those out of the air. Hey, like anyone at Hogwarts is going to speak Japanese! ^-^;
Well, gotta make this quick, so see you next chap! It should be up around Sunday or Monday! Maybe Saturday if I'm lucky!!
Review please! ^0^