Harry Potter and the Guardians of Death
Chapter One: Assistance
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Yami no Matsuei.
A/N: Please be aware that although this is a crossover with one of the more obscure titles of anime, I will be explaining everything relevant about said anime. For those of you who already know the YnM storyline, please be patient as I explain it to everyone else. Also note that this follows the anime version of YnM, NOT the manga version, because I am more familiar with the anime.
A/N2: I understand that it's hard to keep track of Japanese names, so I'll let you know right now: Asato Tsuzuki (known as Tsuzuki) and Hisoka Kurosaki (known as Hisoka) are the only names you really need to know. Otherwise, just know that the other Japanese names are of people who do odd jobs in the world of the dead. ::grin:: 'Mkay?
Warning: HIGH POSSIBILITY OF SLASH! YnM has slashy undertones to its storyline, so watch out for that.
4 Privet Drive, England. Wednesday, August 25, 1996. 5:06 PM
It was pouring with rain on Privet Drive; assuredly a relief from the previous summer's drought, but the bane of Harry Potter's existence. He lied listlessly on his bed in the smallest bedroom of Number Four, gazing at the droplets of water on the window as they gave in to gravity, trickling down the glass until they disappeared below the sill. He would much rather be outside — maybe jogging. Hermione would have said that he wanted to run because it was the physical equivalent of running away from his problems, or some such nonsense.
He sighed almost unnoticeably as the gut-wrenching heavy metal music penetrated the wall between his and Dudley's room. He just wanted to run away from the noise. He didn't understand the concerned letters written to him by Hermione and Ron, and to his surprise, Ginny and some girl named Luna Lovegood.
They kept telling him that it wasn't his fault… whatever "it" was. He also had to wonder at their constant allusions to Sirius: that he wouldn't want him to wallow in guilt. They acted as though he was dead!
Speaking of Sirius, Harry hadn't received a letter from him yet. He supposed he was just busy; running away from hordes of aurors out for his blood could cause a delay in correspondence.
Anyway, enough about that. Harry's eyes brightened as an owl appeared at his window, carrying a letter that bore the Hogwarts seal. He let the poor bedraggled creature in, accepting the letter and allowing the owl to rest in Hedwig's cage, as she was out delivering his letters to Ron and Hermione. The envelope was heavier than normal for the start of term notices, causing Harry to grow nervous and excited at the same time. Obviously, the letter carried his OWL results.
Harry wasn't sure what to expect. The exams had been a blur, and although he remembered the material he learned, he couldn't quite recall the actual lessons. He frowned for a moment, and the returned his attention to the envelope in his hands.
He turned it over and broke the seal, unfolding the envelope with reverent anticipation. He thumbed through the usual notice and the list of supplies, before finding an official-looking parchment.
O.W.LExceeds Expectations. Results for Harry James Potter
Subject Practical TheoryAstronomy Poor Acceptable
Care of Magical Creatures OutstandingOutstanding
CharmsOutstanding Exceeds Expectations
Defense Against the Dark Arts OutstandingOutstanding
DivinationDreadfulPoor
Herbology Exceeds Expectations Exceeds Expectations
History of MagicN/A Acceptable
Potions Outstanding Outstanding
Transfiguration Outstanding Exceeds Expectations
Total: 14 out of 17 O.W.L.s
Class Rank: 7
Harry blinked. Now that was strange — he thought he should have done much better on the Astronomy practical exam and much worse in History of Magic. The utter failure of Divination, however, he had anticipated.
He set the results sheet aside and focused his attention on the next object of interest: the supply list. More specifically, the booklist. He had learned early on that the best way to estimate the abilities of a new DADA professor was to examine the textbook they chose. Harry snorted at this thought, Ron's voice resounding in his head. 'You're turning into Hermione!' Ignoring the Ron-voice, he scanned the list for the Defense book, and then stared, dumbfounded, at the list. A Guide to Summoning by Asato Tsuzuki? Well first off, he couldn't even pronounce the author's name, though it looked Asian, possibly Chinese or Japanese. And as for the subject matter… did it mean summoning demons, or something like that? Harry negated this with a shake of his head: this was Defense Against the Dark Arts, not How-to-Get-Yourself-Killed-by-the-Dark-Arts.
Ah, well, the new professor was bound to be better than last year's.
Harry blinked. Come to think of it, he couldn't really remember last year's professor. He attributed this to lack of sleep and auditory overload, and promptly set about going to sleep, his pillow pulled over his head to block out the dreadful pounding of Dudley's "music".
Summons Bureau, World of the Dead. Friday, August 20, 1996. 10:56 AM
In the Summons Bureau in the World of the Dead, three young men and one older man were loitering around in a meeting room, waiting for Asato Tsuzuki to arrive.
"He's late," said Seiichiro Tatsumi. Hisoka Kurosaki nodded, gritting his teeth at his partner's tardiness.
"Boss, I'd like to file for a new partner," he told the older man. The boss grinned indulgently.
"Sorry, Hisoka, but you're stuck until one of you retires." Hisoka sighed and slunk into a chair, frowning.
He had been a shinigami, a guardian of death, for a little over six months, now. Likewise, it had been six months since he had been murdered. He had signed up for the role of a shinigami in order to get revenge on his killer, but that plan had fallen through when said murderer went even more insane and attempted to kill (again) Hisoka's partner, Tsuzuki.
Since then, jobs for shinigami had been scarce, because there weren't as many people resisting the call of death. That was the job of the shinigami: to find out why spirits slated for death had remained in the world of the living, and fix the problem. It involved quite a bit of bloodshed…
…but Hisoka didn't like thinking about that.
"I bet he's out getting Wakaba-chan to buy him food," Yukata Watari snickered. Hisoka had to smile; Tsuzuki's sweet tooth was infamous, and the Boss, Watari, and Tatsumi especially enjoyed depriving him of sweets.
Tsuzuki walked through the door, munching on a cinnamon roll. He looked around curiously.
"Was there a meeting?" he asked innocently. The four others in the room exchanged an exasperated glance.
"Yes, Tsuzuki, there was," the boss said, looking as though he was about to explode.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Tsuzuki asked, looking hurt. Hisoka sighed.
"I did tell you, several times."
Summons Bureau, World of the Dead. Saturday, August 15, 1996. 12:45 PM
"Hey Tsuzuki, the boss has got a job for us," Hisoka called to his partner, who was reading a magazine and eating a slice of pie. "We're supposed to have a meeting in a few days to discuss it."
"Sure thing, Hisoka!"
Summons Bureau, World of the Dead. Tuesday, August 17, 1996. 3:00 PM
"Hey, Tsuzuki, don't forget about the meeting in three days, it's very important," Hisoka called to Tsuzuki as they passed each other in the halls.
"I won't!"
Summons Bureau, World of the Dead. Thursday, August 19, 1996. 2:22 PM
"Tsuzuki, meeting tomorrow at ten, don't forget!" Hisoka told his partner. Tsuzuki was sitting on a couch watching T.V. and eating a strawberry shortcake.
"Got it, Hisoka."
Summons Bureau, World of the Dead. Friday, August 20, 1996. 9:35 AM
"Tsuzuki, where are you going? We've got a meeting in less than an hour!"
Tsuzuki merely nodded blearily and walked out of the room to find Wakaba.
Summons Bureau, World of the Dead. Friday, August 20, 1996. 10:58 AM
"Oh. Yeah." Sighs were heard around the room. The boss shook his head, before turning serious.
"Anyway, I have a job for you, Hisoka, Tsuzuki," he said importantly, gaining even Tsuzuki's attention. "Long term. You have heard about the Dark Lord's rise in Britain, correct?"
"Shouldn't the British authorities be handling this one, sir?" Hisoka asked, frowning.
"Their only competent guardians of death are helping the Americans with something high profile, so they've called us in to help," Watari clarified.
"Quite," the boss continued. "As I was saying, this so-called Dark Lord has been tampering with the registry of spirits. Because of his control over Dementors, he has been preventing the spirits of his victims from leaving the world of the living."
"What do you want us to do?" Tsuzuki asked. "If he's using Dementors, we can't bring those spirits back, and if we tried, we'd be obliterated in the process." The boss pulled out a photo, one of a scrawny-looking boy.
"This is Harry Potter," the boss said. "He is prophesized to defeat Voldemort or die trying. Your job is to make sure he doesn't die trying."
"Him, defeat this almighty dark wizard?" Hisoka said sarcastically. "I think we'd have a better chance facing the Dementors."
"Looks can be deceiving," Tsuzuki said. He inspected the picture. "Hey, isn't he that new shinigami's old godson?"
"Who is my godson?" asked a voice from the door. A tall black-haired man stood in the frame with an air of mischief about him that was dampened by the dullness of his eyes.
"Tsuzuki and Hisoka's new mission," Tatsumi said, showing the picture to the man. His eyes lit up as he recognized the boy in the photo.
"Can I go with them?" he asked the boss, hopeful.
"Not quite yet, Black," the boss said with an almost imperceptible wince. "According to the British guardians, he's managed to damage himself pretty badly in the psychological department. He's completely blocked out most of the incidents last year, except for a few fuzzy recollections of lessons. It wouldn't be wise for you to show up and possibly cause more damage." Black looked crestfallen. The boss nodded to himself. "This meeting is adjourned. Tsuzuki, Hisoka, you leave in five days. Tsuzuki, try not to be late, this time." Tsuzuki and Hisoka rose and followed Black as he left the room. Black gazed sadly at the two shinigami.
"Don't worry about it, Sirius," Tsuzuki said, placing a hand on Black's shoulder. "We'll report everything."
"Keep him safe for me," Sirius said grimly, nodding at Tsuzuki and Hisoka before heading down the hall.
"Hey, Hisoka," Tsuzuki said after Sirius had disappeared around the corner. "Let's go get some food."
Platform 9 and ¾, England. Monday, September 1, 1996. 10:57 AM
Harry grinned as he spotted Hermione and Ron in the crowd on the platform, and wove his way through the sea of trunks and cages to give Hermione a hug and clap Ron on the back. They looked surprised to see him.
"Harry, there you are!" Hermione said, looking relieved and annoyed at the same time. "You were supposed to stay at your house and wait for the Order to pick you up and take you to Hogwarts by portkey!" Harry gave her a blank look, wondering what on earth she meant.
"Uh, sorry Mione," he said. "Slipped my mind. So, how have your summers been? All you write about in your letters is whether my staying alone could damage my psyche and whatnot. It got a bit annoying after a while… Anyway, let's find a compartment!" Ignoring the confused looks on his friends' faces, he led the way onto the train, finding an empty compartment within a few moments. As Hermione and Ron sat down, still staring at him, Harry shifted uncomfortably.
"What?" he asked at last. "Is there something on my face? You guys have been acting really strangely."
"Harry, didn't what happened last term affect you at all?" Hermione asked in disbelief. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"The O.W.L.s, you mean? Yeah, I was worried at first, but I got the results over a week ago… Fourteen out of seventeen, in case you were wondering. I actually got O's in Potions."
"That's great Harry!" Hermione yelped, before quieting down at the look Ron shot her. "But that's not what we meant…"
"You know, the Department of Mysteries… I guess you don't want to talk about that, though," Ron said. "Forget I mentioned it." Harry shrugged and pulled from his trunk a packet of Exploding Snap cards.
"Want to have a game?" Harry asked cheerfully, unwrapping the packet and shuffling the cards. He was dealing them out when a knock on the compartment door interrupted. The door slid away to reveal a dark-blond-haired boy about their age. He wore Muggle clothes, and inspected them with green eyes unnervingly similar to Harry's own.
"May I sit here?" he asked, after giving the trio a quick inspection. "Everywhere else is full." Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, and Harry nodded.
"Are you new here?" Hermione asked. "You don't look like a first-year."
"I'm a transfer from a Japanese school," the boy said. "My name's Hisoka Kurosaki, I'll be in sixth year." Hermione nodded understandingly.
"I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. We're sixth-years, too." Harry was relieved when Hisoka didn't react to his name aside from the acknowledging nod that he had also given to Ron as Hermione introduced them.
"From Japan, are you?" Harry asked. "Do you know anything about our new Defense professor? He assigned us this strange book…"
"Yes, about summoning," Hermione agreed, looking excited. "It's by a Japanese author… Ah-sah-toh something-or-other…"
"Asato Tsuzuki," Hisoka supplied, "but you'll be calling him Professor Tsuzuki, because he's the one who's teaching. He's a friend of mine." Hisoka rolled his eyes at the last sentence.
"Then you'd know a lot about summoning!" Hermione said, her eyes shining as they did whenever she found a particularly informative passage in a book. "What is it? Is it summoning spirits? Of course that's strictly regulated by the Ministry…" Hermione chattered on, Hisoka answering questions where he could get a word in edgewise. Ron and Harry shrugged to each other and dealt a new hand of Exploding Snap to themselves.
Hogwarts Express, Scotland. Monday, September 1, 1996. 5:17 PM
Hisoka didn't feel like waking up the three sleeping teenagers who shared his compartment just yet. The girl had exhausted him with her incessant questions; not that he minded questions in general, but after a few months as a shinigami, he came to realize that the less was known about him, the better.
He had also come to realize that attachment was just as bad, and that his own personal rule of not allowing himself to become close to anyone but Tsuzuki (which he was, for all that his partner annoyed him) had already been broken. He was starting to like the trio, especially Harry, whose real personality (the one he exhibited before the forced amnesia; Hisoka had done a background check) reminded Hisoka somewhat of his own. Ron was vaguely reminiscent of Tsuzuki: they both had the same eating habits.
"Attention students, we will be arriving in Hogsmeade in five minutes." Hisoka sighed and leaned over to shake Harry, Ron and Hermione awake.
"We're almost there," he said. "You might want to change into your uniforms." Hisoka had changed a while ago, while the trio was still asleep. Hermione scurried out to find an empty compartment in which to change in, and Hisoka stared out the window as Ron and Harry fumbled around for various articles of clothing hidden in the unorganized depths of their trunks.
A few moments and the four students were all dressed appropriately and slightly apprehensive as they drew closer to the cluster of lights that was Hogsmeade Village. At long last, the train drew to a stop, and Hisoka and the trio made their way out into the crisp night air. Hisoka didn't flinch as he spotted the Thestral-drawn carriages, but did stop to pet one of them as Hermione pointed out Hagrid, who was supposed to take Hisoka and the first years across the Lake to Hogwarts Castle. Hisoka nodded to them, and sighing, made his way over to the huge man, who took one look at the sixteen-year-old among eleven-year-olds and gave Hisoka a boat of his own, whereas the littler ones teamed up four-to-a-boat. Hisoka ignored the jealous frowns of the children, and barely reacted when the boats magically set off all at once.
He did have to admit, though, that the castle was breathtaking at night. The children and Hisoka followed Hagrid up the massive front doors of the castle, and Hagrid knocked once, causing the doors to rattle in their hinges. A strict-looking middle-aged witch opened the doors, looking down at the first-years through a pair of pince nez.
"Thank you, Hagrid, please go and take your seat in the Great Hall. I will take things from here," she said. Hagrid complied immediately, causing Hisoka to assume that this was Professor Minerva McGonagall, the stiffest teacher in the school, according to Ron.
McGonagall ushered the children and Hisoka into the Entrance Hall, closing the doors behind her.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall said. "I am Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor. As you enter the Great Hall, you will be Sorted into four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin…" Hisoka tuned her out, having heard this speech from the trio already. He resumed his attention when McGonagall called his name, gesturing for him to come up and speak with her.
"Well, Mr. Kurosaki, it has been quite a while since we have had a transfer this late in their education," McGonagall said, ignoring the nervous chattering of the first-years. "You will be called into the Great Hall and introduced after the first-years have been Sorted, but there will be no allusion to your relationship with Professor Tsuzuki."
"Relationship, Professor?" Hisoka asked, his amusement showing only in his raised eyebrow. McGonagall looked slightly flustered.
"Yes, well… you understand what I mean, do you not?"
"Of course, Professor," Hisoka replied, straight-faced.
"Good. First-years, follow me, please!" McGonagall continued, leading the children into the Great Hall with all possible speed. Hisoka chuckled to himself after the doors to the Great Hall shut.
"Ne, Hisoka, what's so funny?" asked a voice from behind. Hisoka whirled to make eye contact with the purple irises of his partner. Tsuzuki was dressed awkwardly in violet dress robes that brought out his eyes.
"McGonagall," Hisoka said simply.
"I didn't think she was so funny when she yelled at me for taking the last cinnamon roll this morning," Tsuzuki said, fidgeting in the robes. "I can't wait 'til this mission is over, so that I can get into my trench coat again. Although, I am glad there's no tie to go with dress robes…"
Great Hall, Hogwarts. Monday, September 1, 1996. 6:02 PM
"I don't see Hisoka, do you?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as the last first-year was Sorted.
"He's probably still in the Entrance Hall," Hermione replied knowledgeably. "They might want to announce him… same as Professor Tsuzuki." True to Hermione's theory, Hisoka walked into the hall a moment later.
"We have a sixth-year transfer student joining us from Japan," McGonagall said before whispers could start (it didn't stop them, unfortunately). "I expect you all to treat him with courtesy and respect, no matter what house he is Sorted into." McGonagall consulted the roll of parchment which contained the names of those to be Sorted. "Kurosaki, Hisoka."
Great Hall, Hogwarts. Monday, September 1, 1996. 6:04 PM
Hisoka headed to the front of the hall, ignoring the whispers of the students as he placed the Sorting Hat on his head. (Again, he had been informed of the process by Ron, much to Hermione's dismay; she thought it should be kept a surprise.) He almost jumped as he heard the small voice inside his head. Almost.
"Well, well, what have we here?" the Hat said. Hisoka sighed. "A guardian of death, is it? I've heard of your kind… I never thought I'd be Sorting one, though. Now let's see… a very sharp mind, dedicated to your work… and a thirst for revenge, too, I see."
"I need to be in Gryffindor," Hisoka told the Hat mentally. "For my mission. I need to be able to watch over Harry Potter when Tsuzuki can't."
"Ah, yes, young Potter… he was as difficult to place as you are. Well, since it's Potter… GRYFFINDOR!" As the last word was shouted to the hall, the table on the far left erupted in cheers, led by the trio. Hisoka gave small smile and went to sit by Ron, who had left a seat open for him.
Great Hall, Hogwarts. Monday, September 1, 1996. 6:09 PM
The commotion died down as Professor Dumbledore rose. "Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few start of term notices for you, before we being our feast. First, I must again stress that the Forbidden Forest is, indeed, forbidden to all students. Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to inform you that the list of prohibited items has been extended to include anything from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. And finally, we have a new Defense Agains—"
The student body's attention snapped to the doors of the Great Hall, which had suddenly opened, causing a brown-haired young man to fall to the ground — he had obviously been leaning against the doors.
"Baka, Tsuzuki…" Harry heard Hisoka mutter quietly, fixing the indisposed man with and exasperated glare.
The young man, who Harry could now identify as Asato Tsuzuki, looked sheepishly around the room as he stood and dusted himself off. Dumbledore, smiling, continued with his speech.
"Ah, yes, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Asato Tsuzuki," Dumbledore said, gesturing to Tsuzuki as the young man cheerfully strode up to the Staff Table and seated himself in the only empty chair: between Snape and McGonagall. There was scattered applause around the hall, but Harry noticed Hisoka merely rolled his eyes. "I am confident that this year's professor will be a dramatic improvement from the last," Dumbledore continued, glancing quickly at Harry. Harry frowned. What had been so bad about last year's professor? "And now, I believe it is time to start the feast!"
"Finally!" Ron said, reaching for a plate of barbeque ribs.
Defense Wing, Hogwarts. Tuesday, September 2, 1996. 12:34 AM
Hisoka shook Tsuzuki awake, ignoring the man as he groggily moaned about Hisoka's disregard for his professor's welfare.
"Mou, Hisoka, whaddaya want?" Tsuzuki whined, as Hisoka tossed the new Defense professor a dark-colored cloak.
"We have to patrol, remember?" Hisoka said, cinching his own cloak at the neck with a brass clasp.
"But it's midnight…" Tsuzuki said, sulkingly pulling on the cloak Hisoka had thrown at him.
"We'll stop by the kitchens, all right?" Hisoka said, much to Tsuzuki's joy. "Although how you can possibly eat any more food is beyond me, especially after that display in the Great Hall at dinner." Tsuzuki had, true to his habits, eaten just about everything in sight, including various tidbits from Snape's plate when the greasy-haired professor wasn't looking.
"You're so mean, Hisoka," said Tsuzuki, straightening his cloak as he stood. "What's the point of the cloaks, anyway? They make me look like a girl…"
"You act like one, that's why. The cloaks will keep us hidden from Filch and any other authorities who would protest to a student patrolling the corridors. They've got notice-me-not charms on them, according to Dumbledore." Tsuzuki could be such a child sometimes, for all that he was almost a century old.
The unlikely duo left Tsuzuki's private chambers and emerged into the corridor.
"Split up?" asked Hisoka.
"Nah, I need someone to talk to," Tsuzuki said with a grin.
"This isn't a social time, Tsuzuki…"
End Chapter One: Assistance.
A/N3: So, what do you think? Please review and give me input!
Tidbits of Japanese:
Shinigami: literally, god of death, but in YnM, also translates to guardian of death.
-chan: a suffix used for a person you know really well; usually for a girl. Hence, Wakaba is Wakaba-chan.
Ne: this has multiple uses, usually used at the end of a sentence, where is has the equivalent of "…right?" or "…isn't that so?". At the beginning of the sentence, it takes the equivalent of "well".
Mou: an interjection, approximately equivalent to "hey".
A Note on the O.W.L.s: Because it is necessary for Harry to become an auror, I made sure he had the grades to be in Snape's NEWT class, hence the double O's in Potions. In the 5th book, I can't recall mention of a practical exam for History of Magic, and I don't think there would be a need for one, so the practical for HoM is non applicable.
A Note on Harry's Amnesia: I thought this would be an interesting twist to the story. It is possible for traumatic events to trigger a person's psyche to block out parts of that person's memory. Thus, Harry has forgotten almost everything from the previous year, mostly stuff that caused the most stress: Umbridge's detentions, being banned from Quidditch, the DA, the entire Department of Mysteries fiasco, etc. Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and the others from the wizarding world have not noticed this yet, but because of Harry's constant slips, it's bound to happen soon.
A Note on Sirius: While he will continue to be a part of the story, acting as a shinigami in the Japanese Summons Bureau in the world of the dead, it's important for you guys to know that he is indeed dead… for one thing, you can't be a shinigami unless you're dead…
… so, class, what does that mean for Hisoka and Tsuzuki, hm?
Please review!