Spirit Magic

WARNING: This story takes place in Harry's sixth year, which means there are spoilers to the fifth book!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter.

Part Twenty Six: A Race for Help

"Shuuichi!"

Snape's voice seemed to echo in the stone chambers. It bounced off of the rubble, and drifted through the cloud of dust till it was silenced. Snape listened, his heart beat pounding painfully against his chest wall. He couldn't be, not after he had just found out…but the professor couldn't help but feel an unwanted sob gather in his throat. "No!" he yelled in stubbornness as he pushed aside stones, and made his way slowly toward the last place he had seen his nephew.

The sound of liquid being splashed by his foot, caused the dark haired man to stare down at the ground. His heart nearly stopped as he was greeted with the site of red blood. Dropping to his knees, Snape eyes followed the trail of blood to the source.

Under a large boulder, its head gazing lifelessly upwards in horror was the goblin that had led him to the vault. Snape stood up, laughing in relief as he greedily thanked whatever force out there, that the goblin was not his sister's son. "But he could still be dead," Snape reprimanded himself, and at the thought, Snape was no longer looking at the goblins ugly and distorted face, but that of his nephew's.

Snape stared glued at the spot as he visualized Shuuichi's body smashed at the torso, blood and other tissue squeezing out of body openings, or just gathered around the stone like a red angry snake. Snape gasped before falling on his hands and knees, hacking and coughing up the contents of his stomach. For a moment, Snape had lost all track of where he was, and what he was really seeing. Hot tears poured down his face, but the man no longer cared. It was his fault, he should have checked to make sure the device was working properly before turning it on. It had been in this vault for hundreds of years, no doubt such a magical device like that would be more dangerous then anything created today, but he hadn't thought of that, and now it was too late.

Or was it?

Snape's head snapped upwards as a faint moan reached his ears. So soft at first, that he thought it was just his imagination. But soon the sound grew more pronounced. Snape jumped to his feet, and scrambled to the sound.

"Professor…you're alright?"

Snape lounged at the teenager, grasping his head as if to make sure it wasn't some sort of illusion. Kurama stared at him with glazed eyes, before he struggled to stand up. Immediately, Snape started to fuss over the boy, taking in every cut and bruise that contaminated the boy's fair skin; then he saw it. Wedged into the boy's abdomen was a long slender spear.

Snape's face paled before he reached for his wand, only to find that it had snapped during the explosion. Cursing silently, Snape prepared to perform the muggle form of first aid, but before he could do anything, Kurama had sat up, and gave the bar a strong tug.

"Fool, you are never supposed to remove an impaled object, you could bleed to death," Snape yelled horrified as Kurama threw the bar away, and sat up.

"It missed all of the vital organs…and I can still lose a fair amount of blood before it becomes deadly…the biggest concern right now is getting back to the Hogwart's grounds," Kurama gasped pushing himself to his feet.

Snape was instantly by his side, slinging the boy's arms over his shoulder before helping him move toward the exit. "What are you implying?" Snape asked concerned, feeling the heat radiate from the boy's fevered skin.

"I was poisoned a second before the explosion," Kurama announced regretting it instantly when Snape came to a sudden halt.

"What poison?" Snape demanded, his free hand wandering to the many vials hidden within his robes.

"One that not even you have the cure to. You have to get me to the Hogwart's grounds, the poison acts quickly, if I were the demon it was meant for, I would have been dead before the explosion," Kurama said seeing dread cross the potion master's face.

"The goblin who took us down here is dead, I have no way of getting you out of this bank, and to someplace that I can instantly transport us to the borders of Hogwarts," Snape said wondering how long it will take for help to arrive, and if it will be soon enough.

Kurama stared down the darkened tunnels. "I'm not alert enough for us to take the cart," Kurama muttered taking a hesitant step forward, "I guess we will have to walk back," Kurama announced.

"Are you crazy, we'll get lost," Snape protested.

"No we wont," Kurama said falling forward with his next unsupported step.

Snape lounged forward catching the shaking boy in his arms, before he lifted him up against his chest.

"Professor, I can lead you out of here, but I need you to keep me conscious," Kurama said clinging to Snape's robes like a small child.

"Sure, what am I suppose to do," Snape asked walking toward where Kurama was pointing.

"Just talk to me," Kurama said squinting in the darkness.

"What do you want me to talk about?" Snape asked watching as a small smile crossed the boy's lips.

"Tell me about my parents," Kurama asked sighing softly as Snape's voice started the tale.

"Your mother was the most beautiful girl in school. She had our father's dark hair, but mother's silky shine. In all appearance, Shiori took most of her trait's from our mother, while I seemed to gain all of the traits that the Snape's were famous for. I had our father's nose, his greasy hair, and father's scrawniness. In magic, your mother gained our father's talent in charms, and transfiguration, while I gained mother's talent in the subtle art of potion making. Before Hogwarts, we were home schooled in the fundamentals of muggle education. Learning about math, English, and whenever possible, some form of magic. It was no surprise when we got our Hogwart's invitation," Snape said pausing as he came to an intersection. Kurama shifted, his eyes roaming in the darkness before he pointed to the right. Snape nodded before continuing.

"Your father was the heir to the Black fortune. He had the look and elegance that the Blacks were famous for, but the fact that he was a rebel made him an outcast to the pureblood wizard families. It was because of this difference that Shiori was drawn to him. He made her laugh, and his name promised a higher social standing, even though I doubt that Shiori was concerned about what marrying a Black would mean. When she was with him, she was in her own world, and she would forget about everybody except him. I grew jealous, and was overly protective of her. That was when the feud between me and your father began," Snape said stopping the story as he fell deep into thought. "Now that I think about it, I believe I started the feud between us. We were almost equal in wits and magic for the first two years, but then your father grew stronger and smarter. He started learning magic at a rapid pace, while I stayed with the average. I soon began to think of myself as a victim of him and his friends, and I grew to resent him even more," Snape admitted stopping startled as Kurama put a soft hand against his cheek.

"I think I understand you now," Kurama slurred closing his eyes.

Snape panicked, and shook the sick boy slightly until Kurama opened his tired green eyes.

"Your father was a powerful man. He was loyal to his values, and even more loyal to his friends. But it was obvious that his true loyalties were to my sister. They were voted King and Queen at the Yule ball," Snape said seeing a smile grace Kurama's lips as he thought about the picture he had seen of his mother and father in their dress robes. "After we graduated from Hogwarts, it was your father who tried to discourage me from joining the death eaters. But I hated him so much at the time, that I joined regardless of his warnings," Snape said stopping again as they reached another intersection.

"That way," Kurama said pointing to the left.

"A year before the dark lord's fall, your mother came to me. She told me that she was pregnant with you, and that she feared that the dark lord might come after her. She explained to me about a prophecy that had been made, and she was concerned that it might be talking about you. Putting aside my resentment, I talked to Sirius about a way to protect Shiori. He wiped all records of her being in the order, and I made a deal with Dumbledore to become a spy, if he would help me protect Shiori. In a month, your mother was living in Japan with a muggle human that Dumbledore knew of. That was the last I heard from Shiori until she came back to Europe," Snape said, stopping again when he came to a dead end.

"I think we're lost," Snape announced seeing amusement cross Kurama's face.

"No we aren't, it is only an illusion. There is an opening at the third block from the left. It will be a tight squeeze, but we should be fine," Kurama explained as Snape carefully lowered him to his feet. Kurama made his way to the opening, and slowly moved through what looked like solid stone.

Snape watched, thinking silently that the whole thing looked familiarly like the entrance at the train station at nine and three quarters. "Coming?" Snape heard Kurama's tired voice yell from the other side.

Kurama waited as Snape squeezed through the opening with a little more effort then he had with his slim body. "Tell me more," Kurama begged as Snape leaned down and picked him up.

"After the Potter's death, your father was convicted for murder, and sentenced to Azkaban. All of my hate doubled when I thought of how he manipulated my sister, and I began to wonder if he had somehow harmed her in the years of separation that I had lost all contact from her…" Snape prepared to say more when Kurama suddenly yelled out in pain, and clutched his chest.

"What's wrong?" Snape demanded taking off at a run.

"The poison…we need to get out of here soon. Those steps should take us right to the surface," Kurama gasped.

"What stairs?" Snape demanded staring through the darkness, feeling frustration run through him when he was unable to make out what the boy was seeing.

"Just a few more feet," Kurama murmured shaking violently from the pain.

Snape shifted the boy in his arms, until he was able to gain access to the many vials he carried incase of an emergency. "Here, this will help with the pain," Snape said handing it to Kurama, who stared at the vial questionably before uncorking it and smelling the contents.

"No I can't, this will only make the poison spread faster. There is only one thing that will work, but I don't have the strength to grow it," Kurama said allowing the bottle to fall from his weakened grasp.

"Grow it?" Snape asked before shaking his head, and sprinting toward the darkened outline of the stairs.

Kurama shivered suddenly feeling very cold as a small breeze made it's way into the tunnel. "We are close to the surface, I can smell the humans on the street," Kurama said his gaze falling on his uncle. "Please continue," Kurama begged softly, his head falling backwards, and his eyes staring into the darkness blankly.

Snape panicked until he noticed the small rise and fall of the chest. "A few years ago, your father did the impossible, and escaped the wizard prison. Everyone feared he was out to take revenge on Potter; believing that he believed it was Potter's fault that the dark lord had been vanquished. Nobody expected that Sirius Black was actually innocent of the crimes, and was in fact framed by one of his friends. With the help of Potter, and his little friends, Black performed another impossible escape. Last year was Black's last performance. He died in battle while trying to save Potter's life," Snape said falling into silence as he thought about what Sirius's death really meant not only to the order, but to his family.

In the darkness, Snape couldn't escape the painful memories of his past. Emotions that he thought he would never feel toward that man, were awakened, and for a second, the once hard core professor, found himself mourning the death of the man he once hated and respected.

Snape couldn't be more thankful when he finally reached the top of the stairwell, and was able to climb out of the small sewer opening in the center of a busy London street. Ignoring the odd stares he was receiving from the muggles, Snape carried Kurama to a concealed area before apperating to the edge of Hogwart's grounds.

"Professor, please head into the Forbidden Forest," Kurama begged lifting his head up so he could stare into Snape's eyes.

"No, I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey," Snape announced.

"No, if you take me to the castle, it will be too late!" Kurama yelled, his green eyes pleading desperately for the man to listen, "Please trust me Uncle," Kurama said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

Snape looked torn from wanting to trust the boy, and doing what he thought was best. Finally Snape made his decision, and he took off at a run into the forest. "Where do you want me to go?" Snape asked.

"This is far enough," Kurama said when he caught sight of one of his sister's servants.

Snape stopped, and lowered Kurama to the ground, before he looked around him. "Shuuichi, I don't understand…" Snape tried to say when a large silver fox ran into the clearing.

"Meí nü ," Kurama said reaching out toward the fox. "I need your help."

TBC.