-Chapter Five, Plants and Potions-
"Not sure if it'll be safe for you in here," Professor Sprout gestured to greenhouse four's clear glass door.
Kurama smiled calmly. "I'm sure I will be fine."
"Alright, but keep your wand out," Professor Sprout whipped out her own and dug in her robe's pockets for something, frowning, she came up empty, "I'm sure I had the keys...wait here while I go back to the office..."
Kurama was on the verge of nodding when his fox impatience caught up with him. He was extremely interested in the "dangerous" plants these wizards had been able to grow and confine, and knew it would take her a good 15 minutes to go back across the grounds, get the keys, and come back.
"Let me try something," he stepped up to the door and bent down on one knee so he was level with the lock.
'This is pitifully simple...I thought the greatest magic school in the world would be more well-guarded'
Judging by the spirit energy he could faintly sense around the lock, the Alohomora charm wouldn't work. No matter. He wasn't called the King of Thieves for nothing.
His emerald orbs scan the ground beneath him, and he picks up a small, thin stick. Inserting it into the lock, he sends a small amount of energy to the stick to make it stiff as steel, and wiggled it around for a few seconds before a satisfying click was heard. Smiling calmly, as if picking a magical lock was something he did everyday (that wasn't true, in a sense, he hadn't picked a magical lock for 16 years), and pulled open the door.
Professor Sprout double-blinked. Shock was written all over her expression, but Kurama acted unfazed.
"What did you do?" she finally found her voice.
"I picked the lock."
"But that was magically sealed, boy!"
"I know."
Giving him a wary glance, the professor strode into the greenhouse, beckoning for Kurama to follow.
--
"WHAT?! I thought classes were canceled for today!"
"Well, they simply UNcanceled the last two of the day, I suppose," Hermione said, gathering the books she'd need and stuffing them into her bag.
"This sucks...this just sucks..." Yusuke muttered, "And I can't even skip..."
Hard to skip school when you literally live there. Besides, if he did manage to skip, Kurama would have his head on a stick.
"Skip?" Harry blinked, also gathering his books, "How did you skip at your last school?"
"Didn't live in the actual school," Yusuke said, sounding irritated, "Ma was drunk most of the time, so she didn't care, or didn't notice, when I skipped."
It usually hurt like hell when she DID notice, though. Throwing things at his head...
"What about your dad?" Ron asked, diving under a chair in the common room to get one of his books.
Yusuke snorted, "Dead."
There was an uncomfortable silence (for Harry, Ron and Hermione anyway) as they traipsed down several staircases, through hallways and such, to get to the Transfiguration classroom.
--
A vine gently crept along his shoulder, slowly wrapping around his upper arm. Its grip was firm, but not tight or constricting at all. Kurama felt as if the plant was greeting him warmly.
"Just slap them if they get rough," Professor Sprout said over her shoulder.
Kurama tilted his head slightly to one side, gently stroking the vine on his shoulder with the adjacent hand, "With all due respect, professor, these are very gentle plants, if you are gentle back to them."
"Gentle? Boy, plants don't have feelings. I can't blame them for being hungry, but I can't let them hurt me, or anyone else."
Kurama coughed pointedly, his eyes resting on the vine on his arm, which was shivering slightly as he stroked it. It reminded him of Kuwabara's cat purring.
--
Yusuke snorted as he slid into his wooden seat and whipped out his wand.
Like Kurama, his spirit energy was way too much for any wand of Ollivander's to handle. However, the Japanese wand maker (who Kurama reluctantly told he was a fox demon, but wiped his memory afterwards), who understood Japanese mythology about kitsunes and was able to custom-make a wand for Kurama, was not able to do the same for Yusuke because of his mixed blood. So, the detective had to have the Japanese wand maker collaborate with spirit world craftsmen to make his wand. 11 ½ inches, hard and inflexible (how befitting), made of redwood with a core of his own hair.
Professor McGonagall looked around at her students as the bell rang and began explaining the Morphing Spell...
Yusuke drifted off, bored. He fiddled with his wand in between his fingers, thankful for the overly tall person sitting in front of him, wondering what it was that made Kurama so shaky. He really hadn't lost that much energy...
He swore under his breath so no one would hear. He wanted to talk to the kitsune about what happened, but these stupid classes had to start. Oh well...there was only one more class after this one...
"Mr. Urameshi!" Professor McGonagall snapped, tapping her wand sharply on his desk.
"Yeah. What?"
The professor narrowed her eyes at him menacingly. No one disrespected her like that!
Yusuke was quite unfazed. He'd had worse...
"Mr. Urameshi, please demonstrate the Morphing Spell for the class."
Several students clapped their hands over their mouth to hide their snickers.
Yusuke took a quick glance at the chalkboard to see what the incantation was, then raised his wand over the pebble on his desk.
"Mores!" he said, almost lazily, concentrating on a pile of sand in his head (just to give them something a little harder to clean up later).
The rock glowed a bright yellow. As the small light dimmed...a pile of sand was revealed.
Professor McGonagall looked surprise, then smiled slightly. "Very good. Who would like to be next?"
--
It was the second...no, third...shock Professor Sprout received today.
1.) A 16-yr-old took on three dementors, and won.
2.) Same 16-yr-old boy picked the magical lock on greenhouse four.
3.) The SAME boy was...well, she didn't know what to call it...taming? The dangerous plants!
They seemed to submit to him, a few even showed what could only be affection, wrapping themselves gently around his fingers and arms and "playing" with his hair.
Kurama knew these were demonic plants. Only they would have "feelings" like this, and only the rarer species. He knew he shouldn't be demonstrating his skills so openly...he mentally kicked himself after picking that lock. With all this magic in the air, his demon blood seemed to be a bit more restless than usual. Well...Dumbledore knew what he was, being an old friend of Koenma's, the prince had immediately sent for Kurama and Yusuke, his two best, since Hiei was busy in the Makai, and wouldn't have taken this mission anyway.
--
Yusuke snorted, pocketing his wand and throwing his book bag over his shoulder. Everyone but him had been given homework, being as he was the only one to successfully complete the charm. In one try, no less.
So he was glad for that. But the next class was potions, and ever since Maze Castle Yusuke had had something against dungeons and the like. Not to mention, he already despised the teacher, and was planning very evil things to do to Snape in his evil head...
Why did he hate Snape? He ran into the wizard on his way to Transfiguration. Pushed past him without a second glance, and had five points taken off Gryffindor, and then another five for muttering some profanity in Japanese under his breath. Snape couldn't understand the language, but he decided the boy must be insulting him, so out the window went five points.
The only consolation at this point was that Yusuke had won twenty points for completing that Morphing Spell on his first try.
Harry, Hermione and Ron were in the year ahead of him, so they couldn't show him the way. He just followed the other Gryffindor 5th years to the dungeons, and took a seat. They weren't working with partners today.
Yusuke snorted lightly at the dungeon. Dark, stony...and, well, dark. That's it. There was a desk up front with a chalkboard beside it, but that was it, really, aside from the students' tables and chairs.
A tall man swept into the room. Pale skin, black robes, and greasy black hair. The cliché picture of evil.
Yusuke fought to keep from bursting out laughing. Everyone was scared of this guy?
--
With some help from Kurama, Professor Sprout quickly finished feeding the plants, and neither of them even got so much as a scratch. Kurama wanted to stay, to study these human-grown demonic plants, but needed to prepare for his class the next day, and so he reluctantly left with Professor Sprout. The door locked automatically when closed from the outside, so not only was there no danger of locking yourself in; he didn't need to display anymore thieving skills to relock it.
"Professor. Which class would the fifth year Gryffindors be in right now?" Kurama asked, purely out of curiosity.
"Potions, I think, with Severus Snape," Professor Sprout said.
Kurama nodded. He had a deep dislike for the man, but he controlled his emotions too well to let anyone else know that. Snape also seemed to hate Kurama...it was odd. Kurama swore Snape had dropped hints that he knew something of Kurama's demonic origin, but the fox refused to believe it without further evidence. He trusted Dumbledore to keep it a secret, even from the rest of the staff.
--
Yusuke rolled his eyes at the potion ingredients Snape had poofed onto the board. He warned them this was going to be difficult, but all Yusuke had to do was follow the directions, and nothing would go wrong.
He was gonna show this teacher up, make him hand out points to Gryffindor, and then put his little plan into action.
Yep. Yusuke nodded, glancing at the board again, then down at his potion. He smirked. Wow, when he wanted to, he could really do well. The potion was supposed to be a light, airy blue, and guess what Yusuke's was? Light, airy blue, that's what.
Meaning, he was finished. Now...to do the evil, evil deed he'd planned on...
-End Chapter-
Yusuke is forced to study, and that's why he's doing so well. He's really not that stupid if you think about it...but there's also a reason why I'm making him do so well, to help the plotline along...and don't worry, he won't totally ace all his classes.
Ok, people, I need some disturbed yet smart minds. Disturbingly smart minds! Yeah! I need ya'll to come up with an idea for Yusuke's evil, evil prank he should play on Snape...
"Not sure if it'll be safe for you in here," Professor Sprout gestured to greenhouse four's clear glass door.
Kurama smiled calmly. "I'm sure I will be fine."
"Alright, but keep your wand out," Professor Sprout whipped out her own and dug in her robe's pockets for something, frowning, she came up empty, "I'm sure I had the keys...wait here while I go back to the office..."
Kurama was on the verge of nodding when his fox impatience caught up with him. He was extremely interested in the "dangerous" plants these wizards had been able to grow and confine, and knew it would take her a good 15 minutes to go back across the grounds, get the keys, and come back.
"Let me try something," he stepped up to the door and bent down on one knee so he was level with the lock.
'This is pitifully simple...I thought the greatest magic school in the world would be more well-guarded'
Judging by the spirit energy he could faintly sense around the lock, the Alohomora charm wouldn't work. No matter. He wasn't called the King of Thieves for nothing.
His emerald orbs scan the ground beneath him, and he picks up a small, thin stick. Inserting it into the lock, he sends a small amount of energy to the stick to make it stiff as steel, and wiggled it around for a few seconds before a satisfying click was heard. Smiling calmly, as if picking a magical lock was something he did everyday (that wasn't true, in a sense, he hadn't picked a magical lock for 16 years), and pulled open the door.
Professor Sprout double-blinked. Shock was written all over her expression, but Kurama acted unfazed.
"What did you do?" she finally found her voice.
"I picked the lock."
"But that was magically sealed, boy!"
"I know."
Giving him a wary glance, the professor strode into the greenhouse, beckoning for Kurama to follow.
--
"WHAT?! I thought classes were canceled for today!"
"Well, they simply UNcanceled the last two of the day, I suppose," Hermione said, gathering the books she'd need and stuffing them into her bag.
"This sucks...this just sucks..." Yusuke muttered, "And I can't even skip..."
Hard to skip school when you literally live there. Besides, if he did manage to skip, Kurama would have his head on a stick.
"Skip?" Harry blinked, also gathering his books, "How did you skip at your last school?"
"Didn't live in the actual school," Yusuke said, sounding irritated, "Ma was drunk most of the time, so she didn't care, or didn't notice, when I skipped."
It usually hurt like hell when she DID notice, though. Throwing things at his head...
"What about your dad?" Ron asked, diving under a chair in the common room to get one of his books.
Yusuke snorted, "Dead."
There was an uncomfortable silence (for Harry, Ron and Hermione anyway) as they traipsed down several staircases, through hallways and such, to get to the Transfiguration classroom.
--
A vine gently crept along his shoulder, slowly wrapping around his upper arm. Its grip was firm, but not tight or constricting at all. Kurama felt as if the plant was greeting him warmly.
"Just slap them if they get rough," Professor Sprout said over her shoulder.
Kurama tilted his head slightly to one side, gently stroking the vine on his shoulder with the adjacent hand, "With all due respect, professor, these are very gentle plants, if you are gentle back to them."
"Gentle? Boy, plants don't have feelings. I can't blame them for being hungry, but I can't let them hurt me, or anyone else."
Kurama coughed pointedly, his eyes resting on the vine on his arm, which was shivering slightly as he stroked it. It reminded him of Kuwabara's cat purring.
--
Yusuke snorted as he slid into his wooden seat and whipped out his wand.
Like Kurama, his spirit energy was way too much for any wand of Ollivander's to handle. However, the Japanese wand maker (who Kurama reluctantly told he was a fox demon, but wiped his memory afterwards), who understood Japanese mythology about kitsunes and was able to custom-make a wand for Kurama, was not able to do the same for Yusuke because of his mixed blood. So, the detective had to have the Japanese wand maker collaborate with spirit world craftsmen to make his wand. 11 ½ inches, hard and inflexible (how befitting), made of redwood with a core of his own hair.
Professor McGonagall looked around at her students as the bell rang and began explaining the Morphing Spell...
Yusuke drifted off, bored. He fiddled with his wand in between his fingers, thankful for the overly tall person sitting in front of him, wondering what it was that made Kurama so shaky. He really hadn't lost that much energy...
He swore under his breath so no one would hear. He wanted to talk to the kitsune about what happened, but these stupid classes had to start. Oh well...there was only one more class after this one...
"Mr. Urameshi!" Professor McGonagall snapped, tapping her wand sharply on his desk.
"Yeah. What?"
The professor narrowed her eyes at him menacingly. No one disrespected her like that!
Yusuke was quite unfazed. He'd had worse...
"Mr. Urameshi, please demonstrate the Morphing Spell for the class."
Several students clapped their hands over their mouth to hide their snickers.
Yusuke took a quick glance at the chalkboard to see what the incantation was, then raised his wand over the pebble on his desk.
"Mores!" he said, almost lazily, concentrating on a pile of sand in his head (just to give them something a little harder to clean up later).
The rock glowed a bright yellow. As the small light dimmed...a pile of sand was revealed.
Professor McGonagall looked surprise, then smiled slightly. "Very good. Who would like to be next?"
--
It was the second...no, third...shock Professor Sprout received today.
1.) A 16-yr-old took on three dementors, and won.
2.) Same 16-yr-old boy picked the magical lock on greenhouse four.
3.) The SAME boy was...well, she didn't know what to call it...taming? The dangerous plants!
They seemed to submit to him, a few even showed what could only be affection, wrapping themselves gently around his fingers and arms and "playing" with his hair.
Kurama knew these were demonic plants. Only they would have "feelings" like this, and only the rarer species. He knew he shouldn't be demonstrating his skills so openly...he mentally kicked himself after picking that lock. With all this magic in the air, his demon blood seemed to be a bit more restless than usual. Well...Dumbledore knew what he was, being an old friend of Koenma's, the prince had immediately sent for Kurama and Yusuke, his two best, since Hiei was busy in the Makai, and wouldn't have taken this mission anyway.
--
Yusuke snorted, pocketing his wand and throwing his book bag over his shoulder. Everyone but him had been given homework, being as he was the only one to successfully complete the charm. In one try, no less.
So he was glad for that. But the next class was potions, and ever since Maze Castle Yusuke had had something against dungeons and the like. Not to mention, he already despised the teacher, and was planning very evil things to do to Snape in his evil head...
Why did he hate Snape? He ran into the wizard on his way to Transfiguration. Pushed past him without a second glance, and had five points taken off Gryffindor, and then another five for muttering some profanity in Japanese under his breath. Snape couldn't understand the language, but he decided the boy must be insulting him, so out the window went five points.
The only consolation at this point was that Yusuke had won twenty points for completing that Morphing Spell on his first try.
Harry, Hermione and Ron were in the year ahead of him, so they couldn't show him the way. He just followed the other Gryffindor 5th years to the dungeons, and took a seat. They weren't working with partners today.
Yusuke snorted lightly at the dungeon. Dark, stony...and, well, dark. That's it. There was a desk up front with a chalkboard beside it, but that was it, really, aside from the students' tables and chairs.
A tall man swept into the room. Pale skin, black robes, and greasy black hair. The cliché picture of evil.
Yusuke fought to keep from bursting out laughing. Everyone was scared of this guy?
--
With some help from Kurama, Professor Sprout quickly finished feeding the plants, and neither of them even got so much as a scratch. Kurama wanted to stay, to study these human-grown demonic plants, but needed to prepare for his class the next day, and so he reluctantly left with Professor Sprout. The door locked automatically when closed from the outside, so not only was there no danger of locking yourself in; he didn't need to display anymore thieving skills to relock it.
"Professor. Which class would the fifth year Gryffindors be in right now?" Kurama asked, purely out of curiosity.
"Potions, I think, with Severus Snape," Professor Sprout said.
Kurama nodded. He had a deep dislike for the man, but he controlled his emotions too well to let anyone else know that. Snape also seemed to hate Kurama...it was odd. Kurama swore Snape had dropped hints that he knew something of Kurama's demonic origin, but the fox refused to believe it without further evidence. He trusted Dumbledore to keep it a secret, even from the rest of the staff.
--
Yusuke rolled his eyes at the potion ingredients Snape had poofed onto the board. He warned them this was going to be difficult, but all Yusuke had to do was follow the directions, and nothing would go wrong.
He was gonna show this teacher up, make him hand out points to Gryffindor, and then put his little plan into action.
Yep. Yusuke nodded, glancing at the board again, then down at his potion. He smirked. Wow, when he wanted to, he could really do well. The potion was supposed to be a light, airy blue, and guess what Yusuke's was? Light, airy blue, that's what.
Meaning, he was finished. Now...to do the evil, evil deed he'd planned on...
-End Chapter-
Yusuke is forced to study, and that's why he's doing so well. He's really not that stupid if you think about it...but there's also a reason why I'm making him do so well, to help the plotline along...and don't worry, he won't totally ace all his classes.
Ok, people, I need some disturbed yet smart minds. Disturbingly smart minds! Yeah! I need ya'll to come up with an idea for Yusuke's evil, evil prank he should play on Snape...