DISCLAIMER: This author does not claim possession of Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter.

Chapter 18: And the Mystery Deepens

The moment they stepped into his office, the headmaster began to speak.

"No doubt the owls will be assailing me within a few hours. The situation will be deemed too dangerous for any of the students to remain at Hogwarts, and no doubt it is true. Most of the guardians will want one of two things: their children back or extreme precautions to be taken for the safety of their children. As your-" he gestured towards the Spirit Detective and co. "-cover has been utterly demolished (for a very good reason, I assure you), there is nothing else to do but to disclose the truth that you are, in fact, the school's new security team. It cannot be helped, even if many of the guardians will think entrusting their children to other children (forgive me, but that will be their perception) is the most cracked decision I've ever made. Undoubtedly I will be advised to go to St. Mungo's for a check-up on my mental health."

"Cuckoo, cuckoo..." Thia softly sing-songed, completely unaware that she was doing so.

Everyone stared and sweat-dropped. A sparkle appeared in Dumbledore's blue eyes, Kurama looked like he wanted to laugh, Hiei was on the verge of rolling his eyes, Kuwabara and Yusuke gave her a 'Yeah, sure, you're not crazy' look, Ron gave her a look that was half frightened and half disbelieving, Harry gave a short, uncertain laugh, and Hermione had her brow furrowed.

"Uh... Oops? Sorry, bad habit. I- uh, never mind," she said sheepishly, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. They looked at her a moment more, and then turned back to Dumbledore. He was quickly serious.

"But the problem that this all boils down to is this: the three of you were fighting with them. I am sure that you learned that style of fighting from Professor Genkai, although the point of her presence was merely to inform during your lessons with her. My only hope is that no one remembers that detail."

Seven of them nodded (Hiei muttered a 'Hn') and then they all (Dumbledore included) exited the office, though the three original students had no idea that they were going down to the dungeons.

"PUU!" the little blue wonder squealed panickedly as it barreled down the corridor at its top speed, and launched itself into Yusuke.

"What the hell?!" the said person yelped.

"Hey look!" yelled someone down the corridor. The eight students and the headmaster soon saw what the target of the comment was. Or rather, who it was.

"BOTAN?!" Sure enough, the blue-haired girl came speeding towards them, her black robes streaming behind her. It was fairly odd to see her in something that actually matched the myths about her profession as a grim reaper.

"Hey, Harry, what model do you think it is?" Ron asked, motioning to the 'broom' that Botan was riding.

"Uh... Cleansweep? I dunno. Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen."

"Boys," Hermione sighed. "Look closely at the end of it," she pointed out. However, as Botan stopped in front of them, her 'broom' disappeared into nothingness, which was proof enough for both boys that it wasn't as it had first seemed.

"Headmaster, there's an emergency!"

Yusuke opened his mouth to let loose a 'Did they run out of your hair dye?' joke, but was swept into the office once again before he could even start it. Well, that and the fact that Puu was perched upon his favorite spot once more- Yusuke's head. Oh, annoyances.

"Hey, Botan, why's Puu with you? Isn't he supposed to be with Kayko or something like that?" asked Kuwabara.

"It was urgent! Puu had to deliver something to Genkai, and she had to nurse him back to health, because those overseas flights really aren't good fo-"

"Get on with the story, Botan," Yusuke interrupted. Knowing Botan, a thirty second story could be stretched out for a whole lot longer than it was worth listening to.

"If I didn't make it, then at least Puu would have a chance to get here. Three members of the Order were attacked in Knock- I mean, were attacked about a half an hour ago. Kingsley's nursing a few bruises, and Remus is a bit worse for the wear, though it could be because it's about that time of the month-"

"Whoa, too much info!" Yusuke and Kuwabara exclaimed in unison.

"He's a werewolf! Don't- You-" Hermione tried to explain. She, Botan, and Thia looked like they wanted to strangle the two.

"BOYS," the three sighed in exasperation. The group in question (er, excepting Hiei) all opened their mouths to protest, but were silenced by a gesture from the headmaster.

"Yes, so Genkai was also among them, and she managed to ward off the attackers without too much attention being drawn to the fight. Before she got rid of the last one, though, he revealed that another attack would be taking place today, here at Hogwarts," the grim reaper finished.

"Ah. Unfortunately, the attack has already occurred, and I highly doubt that another one is on its way. Was the mission successful?" Dumbledore asked, and Botan nodded.

"Genkai will be making a full report as soon as she gets back, but she said to tell you that-" the blue-head's voice dropped dramatically low, "-it's been sold already."

Confusion reigned.

And then Snape shot into the room. The room lost the eerie, dramatic silence that Botan had created with her statement, and Snape's heavy breathing was heard by everyone. He looked a bit disheveled, though running can do that to a person.

For Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the sight of a tousled Snape was utterly appalling, and completely out of character for him.

"They've...been...dissolved. Again," he panted.

"No matter, Severus. We have already gained the information that we need. Thank you for the warning. Mister Filch will have to be informed of the mess."

Had he been a lesser person, Snape would have had a 'You've got to be kidding me' face on. However, he only nodded and exited the room.

"Is anyone else wondering what the mission was, where they went, and what was sold?" Yusuke asked as they loitered around by the lake.

"No, Yusuke. Botan's answer was completely sufficient," said Thia seriously.

"Maybe for you-"

"Idiot, I was being sarcastic. So, who's going to review the facts for us?" she asked.

Heads snapped towards Hermione.

"All right. Who was involved? Genkai, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Remus Lupin. Oh, and some mysterious attackers. What happened? They were attacked. When did it occur? Over half an hour ago. Where did it occur? Knock-something. Why did it happen? I think it's safe to assume that they were investigating the Object. Or, at least, trying to see if it had been sold. Or were selling it," Hermione finished.

"And now we need to find out what that Knock-something is. Any clues?"

"So bossy," someone muttered, looking at Thia.

"Knock... Sounds a bit like-"­

"Knocksville," interrupted Kuwabara, who was just throwing together any old thing. (a.n.: I am fully aware that it's a real place in Tennessee, and it's spelled Knoxville.)

"-Knockturn Alley," Harry said, not seeming to hear the carrot-haired one.

"What kind of place is Knockturn Alley?" Kurama asked.

"Dodgy sort of place. Supposed to be a good place to get a lot of Dark Arts materials that you can't get at Diagon Alley," was Ron's explanation. "It's really creepy. I'll eat my shoes if You-Know-Who's not hiding out near there."

No one needed to say that this was the type of place that Hiei might one day like to check out. It was mutually understood.

"Knockturn Alley, then. What we need, then, is what the Object is." Hermione thought for a moment.

It was Thia who all of a sudden said, "For all we know, the Object that was sold was a snot green stuffed monkey that Dumbledore can't live without. There aren't any clues at all. Or at least any that Dumbledore and Botan gave us."

With that statement, the rest of the group fell silent, and stayed that way until someone got impatient.

"Your stupidity is amazing. The thing that was stolen enables its wearer to travel between worlds, and it was sold to one of Tsurin's men. Obviously," Hiei burst out, shocking nearly everyone in the vicinity. "If you couldn't figure that out, it's a wonder you got this far."

"Calm down, Hiei," Kurama admonished.

"Yeah, it was your turn to speak. We were just waiting."

The short fire demon stared at Thia's grin.

"So. Who's up for research?"

Author's Notes: I'm so sorry that my updates have become so sporadic! My excuse: I'm entering high school in September and I've been putting my summer reading off for too long... I'm such a procrastinator.

And just so you know, I fully intended to make this chapter extremely serious. If I failed, it's because my sense of humor can't stop getting in the way (for which I am eternally grateful). That and the fact that one of the fanfictions I'm reading at the moment is hilarious and I'm so giddy I can't write straight.

If you hate bad news, skip this: My infernal family is making me go on vacation once again. (I will have my revenge, mark my words.) And this time it'll be for the entire month. I have no idea how many idiots I will have to withstand this time (sounds harsh and a bit Hiei-ish, I know, but it's the truth), but I have no doubt that someone will be given a fatal injury by the time the month is over. Vengeance shall be mine... But anyway, hopefully I'll be able to present you with a sufficient amount of chapters when I get back. Hell, I might even finish this fic on vacation. (Hope so.)

Well, anyway, review, please! I'll need a pick-me-up when I finally get home.

Responses:

Mike the Great- I'm desperately trying to come up with their [Ron, Hermione, and Harry] weapons, but my imagination just won't work when I tell it to. Thanks for reviewing!

DarkMystic-Thank you!

xKitsunex-Minnesota, huh? How was it? I'm looking forward to those long reviews!!!

Rose-I also happen to do the hair-behind-the-ears thing. Oh boy, the YYH gang in LOTR costumes... hysterical laughter... calms down Yeah, I think that Sirius would definitely be in one of the dementor-induced-dream-thingies. Wow, I really screwed that sentence up. Um, my novel: It's a bit more complicated than this, but here goes: She's the coldest of killers and the highest-ranking of spirits. However, when Kana is defeated by a human, has her powers stolen, and is thrown into the Human World, you can bet she wants vengeance. Throw in a few sarcastic (and one blind) elves, an exiled prince, a flirt, a mysterious Hiei-like ex-gang member, Faith's Wanderer (who also happens to be an ex-gang member), and another one of those cryptic, annoying, want-to-kill-the-idiot-who-said-it prophecies, and you've got my potential novel.