Disclaimer: I don not, nor ever will own Yu Yu Hakusho.
For those of you who did not understand why I had Hiei transform into an ice-apperition, it was because as he was, at full fire youki, he was toopowerful to get through the wards around Hogwarts. Yusuke and Kuwabara are both basically pure human so wouldn't be affected, and Kurama's human blood dilutes his demon, so the wards won't stop him. Ice-apparitions have passive agressive youki, and therefore are not a threat to a human wizard. Mostly anyway, with practice Yukina might be able to be detected by the wards, but she isn't agressive enough by her very nature to be a threat.
For more information please feel free to e-mail me. Now on with the story!
Chapter 2
Shopping With Wizards
Brushing the soot from her dress and straightening her glasses, Mrs. Norris peered at her charges. Yusuke was lying on the floor looking rather dazed, along side Kuwabara, while Hiei and Kurama stood off to one side, looking rather uncomfortable due; no doubt, to the open stares they were both receiving.
"Ah, it seems you made it to London in one piece then." She said looking the four boys up and down. They were all a bit dirty, but intact.
At Yusuke's confused look, Mrs. Norris smacked her forehead. Reaching into a pocket, she brought forth four small bottles of some swirling rainbow colored liquid. They glanced at each other, shrugged and drank as they were told.
"Very well then," She said briskly, rubbing her hands together. "Koenma has a line of credit for you here in the shops, so we'll see to having you outfitted with your wizard things." She waved a hand towards the back of the small dingy pub, and the other two followed her out to the back garden.
Taking a slightly battered looking wand from somewhere on her person, she tapped the bricks above the waste bins that opened the gateway. Stowing away her wand, she took a tightly rolled parchment, unfurled it and scanned the list. "Now let's see, first on the list is your robes so we'll be headed to Madam Malkin's first." Rolling up the list she pocketed it and waved a hand down the packed cobblestone street, "This way, wouldn't want you to get lost on your very first day here now would we?"
They looked at each other before shrugging. Stuffing their hands into their pockets, they followed.
Pushing open the door to one shop, Mrs. Norris waved the two of them inside. A woman who was measuring out a bolt of cloth that was hinging in mid air looked up. "Ah, welcome!" she said smiling, "And what might I be able to help you with today?"
"Three full sets of Hogwarts teaching robes please." Mrs. Norris said, wiping the lenses of her small round glasses on a handkerchief. "And one of everyday robes for Sir Kazuma here."
"Any particular color in mind dears?" Madam Malkin asked.
"Whatever you deem to be appropriate." Mrs. Norris said, moving down the racks of clothing. "I trust your judgment dear."
"Alright then, I'll have them ready in a jiff." Madam Malkin waved for them to climb up on stools. Looking at Yusuke, she walked around him, tutting slightly. Taking hold of the sleeve of his jacket, she said, "Well, you certainly are hard on your clothing dearie. Now, what teaching position are you taking up?"
"Ah," Yusuke thought for a second, "I'm supposed to be the Care of Magical Creatures intern."
"Hmm, so not silk then, wool and we'd best make it waterproof, and fireproof. Hagrid really is sweet, but his idea of 'proper creatures' isn't what many might say are sane. Hmm, you know what; we'll just have you fitted for a few sets of Self-Mending robes. They're specially developed for dragon handlers." She flicked her wand, and three sets of plain white robes fluttered up next to her. Grabbing them, she pulled one over his head, and watched as it hemmed itself to fit, the other two matching the other's changes. "Now, these should work well for you, but they won't last forever so as soon as they start to get a bit thread bare, send them back and I'll get you some new ones. Now for a color." She waved her wand and the robes stared changing color. "Hmm, blue? No, defiantly not yellow or gold. Orange makes you look ill. Ah here we go, a nice shade of bright green looks very nice." At once, all the changed so the were identical shades of bright green.
"Alright you're done." Madam Malkin pulled the robes off him, and flicked her wand again, folding the robes neatly. They flew over to a long table and set themselves down neatly. She turned to Kurama. "Well then, what are you going to be doing then?"
"Herbology intern" Kurama replied softly.
"Ah, Miss Sprout will be pleased. Now, for you…" and she went through the same routine as Yusuke, first circling, then tugging on a part of his clothing and inspecting it. "Something with lots of pockets I think. But it must be light. Cotton would work well for you, or linen. But linen isn't quite as flexible. Yes cotton is best, and you don't need wide sleeves, they'll look a bit more like a dress, but I'll see what I can do about fixing that." Waving her wand, a set of robes, also white came forward. Kurama pulled them on without any prompting.
"First," Malkin said, coming to stand in front of him, "we need to shrink those sleeves." She flicked her wand and they shrank, until they were still loose, but not the wide ridiculous looking things he had seen so many other wizards dressed in. "And now, we'll just alter the collar a bit, and take in the waist. A nip here and tuck there." The robes were altering their shape with each flick of her wand. "And finally, a color for you." She tapped her chin thought fully with the tip of her wand as she pondered. "Perhaps something in pastel, but that shows dirt so easily. And we want them to set off your hair. Has anyone told you that is you best feature dear? Anyway, perhaps navy blue. Yes, with just a touch of white on the collar and around the cuffs." The robes changed color, causing Kurama's fiery hair to stand out in sharp contrast. "There you are." Malkin said happily, flicking her wand so the robes folded and stacked themselves
"And so that leaves the young lady for her teacher's robes." Malkin said coming to look at Hiei. "What is your name dear?"
Hiei glared at her, but the effect was softened due to his more feminine eyes. "Azusa." He said finally. "I will be the assistant nurse."
"Well, all I can say is that it is high time Poppy got herself some help." Malkin said approvingly. "She works herself to the bone, what with all the Quidditch injuries." Walking around Hiei she said, "You know what we'll do, I'll have some proper clothing made up for you, shoes too. What you're wearing looks like it would belong to an older brother dear. Hmm, as a nurse you should have Healer's robes, but you aren't one yet. Too young, not to worry though, I will have something here for you." She flicked her wand and an entire rack of clothing sailed towards her. Looking over at Kuwabara she said, "Kazuma that is your name correct? Would you mind stepping onto that stool over there?" she jabbed her wand at a stool standing a few feet away from where she was working. "Azusa's clothing will take me a while longer, so I'll just nip yours together at the same time."
The large teen shrugged. "Sure."
Turning back to Hiei, Malkin waved a wand and his clothing tugged as it attempted to come off. "Dear, don't worry, the men can't see you, and I've put a ward on the stool, so they can't watch you." She flicked her wand again, and the shirt finally ripped, and flew off, careening into a wall. "Well, then," she said, noting Hiei's lack-of-bra-ness, "We'll have to get you sized up for under garments too then." The requested items flew forward and fitted themselves to the ice-apparition's body. "There, plain white cotton is far more comfortable than some of those other lacy contraptions that muggles are dressed in nowadays." She said. "But let's get you into a dress and have it sized, while I work with Kazuma for a bit."
Flicking her wand, along plain white cotton, shapeless looking dress pulled itself over his head. She flicked her wand over her shoulder, and it began to lose some of its shapelessness, and became more form fitting.
"Now then Kazuma, your just here for some plain work robes correct?" she asked. He nodded. "Very well then, we'll have some extra larges fitted up for you." She flicked her wand, and another set of three robes floated up. Another flick and they were fitting themselves to his large frame. "And we'll have them be Self-Mending as well just for good measure. Hmm, they don't need much in the way of fitting do they? Well, on to color then." She glanced over her shoulder to where the dress was fitting itself to him. "How's that coming Azusa?" no answer only glares. "Well, let's get rid of the sleeves, and shorten up the hem about, oh lets give it six inches."
Turning back to Kuwabara she flicked her wand to start the robes color changing. "Hmm, oh that nice burgundy looks splendid." She waved her wand and all the robes mimicked the transformation. "Now, you're starting work where again? I didn't think you said."
"I didn't." Kuwabara assured her. "And I'm starting at the Three Broomsticks."
"Ah, well then, we'll just stitch the insignia on the front." She flicked her wand, and the insignia, three crossed broomsticks, appeared on the left breast of each robe. "And there you are, all set." Another flick of the wand and the robes folded themselves like the others.
Walking over to Hiei she inspected the newly hemmed dress. With no sleeves, it ended at just below the knees, tucked in at the waist it accented every curve of the female body, and was still loose enough to move in comfortably, and swirled around the knees. "Yes that does look nice. And in white too, not many people can pull that off my dear. Your hair, it must be working the magic." She moved around to the back of the stool, and waved her wand again, and a pair of ties appeared, tying themselves neatly around the back. "There, now that looks lovely. But we'll need to do something with your hair for now." She tapped her wand on Hiei's head and his long hair pulled itself up into different styles, Madam Malkin tutting as she watched. "No, the French twist looks too formal for everyday, maybe…No! that doesn't work either. Merlin's beard! That make her look like she's twelve!" she rapped Hiei sharply on the head again. "A French braid and be done with it!" she said, just as sharply. The hair braided and was still. "There, that should do it dear. I'll just whip up some more seasonal clothing for you-"
"This is fine." Hiei said sharply, cutting her off.
Malkin however looked doubtful. "Alright then dear, I'll just have three more of these made, and two more for winter. Those will simply have longer hems, and long sleeves, but they'll still be styled the same." Pointing her wand at the rack, five more of the shapeless dresses flew out and hung in midair. Malkin waved her wand and they began shaping to match her requirements. "Now then, just you robes and some shoes to finish and you'll be done." She pointed her wand at a back room, and a drawer whistled out to hover at her elbow. She handed Hiei a pair of soft white cotton slippers. "Just slip those on, and we'll have those shoes ready in a jiff." Doing as he was told, Hiei looked up at her. Malkin waved her wand and the soles of the slippers thickened, and the fabric starched and became stiff. Another flick and a small ring of aqua colored thread wove its way around the very edge of the top of the shoes. "There you are." Malkin said happily, "Those will last for a long time. There's a Self-Cleaning charm on them, and they'll let you walk on top of snow in winter so you won't need to keep changing them. I put the same Self-Cleaning, Anti-Stain charm on your dresses as well, so they'll keep that lovely snow white color. And now for your robes." Waving away the drawer, she pointed her wand at one of the racks, and three flowing white robes fluttered over. One slipped over Hiei's head, and he pulled the long braid out the back. "Hmm, A Self-Cleaning Anti-Staining charm," she said waving her wand at the robes. "And let's let them flow a bit. You'll need pockets as well for vials and your wand of course. And for a color, well, we want something that will go well with your clothes, and with your hair, so maybe…yes, a very soft lavender color." The robes darkened to the match. "No lighter than that, no a bit more, bit more. Yes, that's it, perfect! Now for all three…" The robes changed, and folded themselves along with the five dresses, and floated over to the counter.
"There you are dears." Malkin said, moving to stand behind the counter. She wrapped each detectives purchases into a separate package, so there were for identical brown paper wrapped bundles on the counter. A gold quill floated over and wrote each customer's name on their wrapping in bright red ink.
Mrs. Norris came out from somewhere near the back of the shop, her glasses perched on her nose, shawl wrapped securely around her shoulders. "Are we finished then?" she asked.
"Yes they are," Malkin answered, "And how will you be paying for these?"
"The money has already been transferred." Mrs. Norris replied. "We are working on a bit of a time limit, so I had the money transferred directly into the shop's account at the bank."
"Why thank you." Madam Malkin said.
"Not at all" Mrs. Norris told her. Looking over at the boys she said. "Let's crack on then, there are still lots to purchase before I take you to the school."
They left the shop a few minutes later, each of them carrying their own wrapped package of clothing.
Mrs. Norris directed them into a shop a little ways down that sold trunks. "Here is where you will purchase your Teacher's Trunk. There are many different ones to choose from, do not worry about cost, as I said before it has all been arranged."
Kurama nodded and moved through the shop opening trunks and peering inside. Yusuke and Kuwabara read the labels on them and Hiei followed Kurama.
Finally, when each of them had made their selections, Mrs. Norris informed the manager, a small portly man with a handlebar moustache and he nodded, bowing them out.
In the next shop, they were to purchase quills, parchment and ink. Yusuke picked out a long black raven quill, that was slightly ruffled looked, and several bottles of glowing green ink.
Kurama had a swan feather quill, and three bottles of ink, one of red, another of blue and the third of silver.
Kuwabara picked out plain black ink, and three turkey feather quills, while Hiei chose a package of plain goose feather quills and some scarlet ink that closely resembled blood.
For books, Hiei simply browsed, while Kurama selected several on Herbology, while Yusuke had found a cage tucked away into one corner full of, The Monster Book of Monsters. He told the assistant that he wanted on of those, as well as one called The Dragon Handler's Guide, which was covered in scorch marks, a book on chimeras that was almost as vicious as the Monster Book, two more that had bee wrapped in chain and were struggling to get free, that had been jammed onto a tight shelf, The Monster Lover's Handbook and, How To Get Rid Of Those Pesky Creatures. The poor man looked ready to pass out from shock.
Kuwabara found a few books on Magical History, including, A History of Magic in General, Hogwarts, a History, and, To Study Magic, a Muggles study of Magic in the Modern World.
Hiei had also managed to find some reference material. They included A book on magical remedies for household illnesses, and another on basic healing potions. Once they had checked out, they deposited their purchases into their trunks, and made their way down the street, following Mrs. Norris to their next destination.
Placing her hand on the door handle of the shop she looked at the team. "Here you will buy your wands. This trip may take the longest so far, so be ready for it."
The air inside of the wand maker's shop was dusty and difficult to breathe, almost as if they had stepped into an old library.
The small, silver eyed man, Olivander, came around the high counter to see to his customers. He looked at Mrs. Norris, his eyes wide, and then said slowly, "Elizabeth Tabitha Didier, fourteen inches, silver ash, containing a most unusual hair, belonging to an elf maiden if I remember correctly from my family records."
The young woman smiled, "You do indeed Mr. Olivander, and indeed you do. However, my name is Elizabeth Tabitha Norris now. And my wand remains in nearly perfect condition, as fine as the day it was first crafted."
Olivander shook his head faintly, "I would not have believed it was you, if it were not for the wand that chose you. My great grandfather made your wand. And it has ever been in our records as the Olivander family's finest."
"Aye, and it still is, my wand has changed as little as I myself have, but we both are a bit worn around the edges. But now, I have four boys in need of wands. Not your usual customers either, these require wands with just a bit more, bite to them, if you know what I mean." Her green eyes sparkled and the faintest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
Olivander nodded, and waved for them to follow him into a back room. Mrs. Norris nodded for them to follow.
The room he led them into, was a small work room, a few unfinished wands scattered about, and feathers, ribbons, and long silver hairs covered nearly every surface, while wood chips covered the floor like a carpet.
Sweeping an area clear, the old man donned a pair of glasses and inspected his customers. "Well, she was right about one thing," he said, "You four do need wands with a bit more kick to them. Well, nothing out fron matches that description, so we'll have to craft the wands for you four in here."
Digging around in a cupboard he pulled out a large box and poured the contents out onto the large worn worktable. "You first" He said pointing at Kuwabara. "Choose the lengths of wood that fits your hand best. It doesn't matter how many there are."
Kuwabara sorted through the wood, and finally chose three of them, each a slightly different length. Olivander took them, and laid them out side by side on his workspace. "Hmm," he said, "hmm, well, it would seem that your wood type comes from a Japanese cherry blossom tree. But what about length." He took a long gold tape measure from his pocket. "Hold out your wand arm for me please." The old man tutted and hmmed as he too the full measurement for Kuwabara's wand arm. "Well, seems I'll need to cut a length for you. Ten inches, with a nice sturdy handle." He glanced over at Yusuke, "And you young man, you choose your wood while I'm carving this."
Taking the wood, Olivander tossed two of the sticks into the box, and stuck the third into an odd looking silver contraption. He turned the crank, and the machine, Kuwabara now realized that it closely resembled a pencil sharpener, slowly ground the wand to shape, the finished end coming out the opposite end.
When it had finished, the man took it out, blew the sawdust off it and handed it to Kuwabara. "There you are, now wait while I get these other three carved up."
Yusuke ended up with a wand, seventeen inches long of ironwood. It was thicker than Kuwabara's and didn't taper quite as much. Kurama's was a length of toughened rosewood of twelve inches, nicely flexible, slender and looked very graceful. Hiei had found a piece of wood that was so dark it was nearly black, from the Petrified Forest, or so Olivander had said. The wand itself was only six inches long, and very rigid.
"And that leaves a core for each of you." Olivander said, brushing dust from the front of his heavy leather apron. "It will have to be something personal to each though, and must be magically active, lest the wands not work properly."
Kuwabara thought, then fished a small gold, heart shaped locket from under his shirt. Opening it, he pulled out a lock of long blue-green hair. "This is from my beloved." He said, solemnly, handing it to the man.
Olivander took it and inspected it closely. Selecting one strand that glimmered slightly, he handed the rest of the hair back to its owner. Holding the wand so the end pointed upwards, Olivander slowly slipped the hair into a tiny hole at the wand tip. When the hair was completely inside, the wand flashed and the tiny hole vanished.
Handing it to Kuwabara he said. "There you are, give it a wave." Kuwabara did so, and a small shower of snowflakes shot from the end. "Perfect." Olivander said. Turning to Kurama h said. "Your turn"
Kurama had a small twist of hair also, but he didn't say whom the black strands had come from. Olivander repeated the process of inserting the core, the wand flash, and he handed it to its owner. After a small smoky bat shape flew out, Olivander pronounced it in good working order.
Yusuke was digging in his pockets, until he came up with a small plastic bag with a few strand of red hair in it. He handed it to the wand maker, who chose one, inserted it and handed it back. When Yusuke waved it, a gust of wind and a few blue sparks were spat out.
Turning to the last of them Olivander said, "And you?" Hiei shrugged. He didn't have anything.
"What about one of these?" Kuwabara asked, "I mean, Yukina is his,…err, her twin."
"Maybe" Olivander took the hair again, and sorted though it. Finally he came up with two strands of hair. "Yes, these work, but there's still a bit missing, a certain spark."
Hiei's eyes lit up at the word spark. "I can help you with a spark." He said. Reaching up, he sorted though his own hair. They felt cold now, not so hot as he was used to. At last his fingers brushed a hair that sent a small jolt of heat scrambling up his arm. Grabbing it, he wrenched it out, and handed it to the man. "There's your spark."
Olivander gazed at the hairs in his hand, and then with practiced fingers braided the blues and black together, forming a single strand. Inserting it into the wand, he returned it to its owner. Hiei flicked it, and a few sparks of blue flame shot out.
Olivander nodded approvingly. "Now," he said, rubbing his hands together, "Your wands are all set, and I've already spoken with your guide, and their all paid for, so I will see you again perhaps. But in the mean time, farewell"
He ushered the four of them from the work room, out to where Mrs. Norris sat on a spindle legged chair with the trunks. She looked up and smiled, "Well, that took less time then I had thought it would." She said. "We'll head back to the Leaky Cauldron and head to Hogwarts. Then after you're settled, you can start work on upgrading the security. The students will be arriving tomorrow night, not much time to prepare I'm afraid, but it will do."
She pointed her wand at the trunks which flew open. "Put your wands in the trunks and we'll head back."
Outside, the sky was getting dark, and the people were trickling out of the Ally, and heading back to their homes. When they reached the pub, there was a short line to get to the fireplace, luckily, the mass of people just ahead of them were all going to the same place, called The Burrow or something.
When it was their turn, Mrs. Norris took a handful of powder from the pouch in her pocket, and tossed it into the flames. "Alright, we won't do this one at a time, so Kurama and Yusuke, the Azusa and Kurama and I will follow. You all ready?"
The nodded and stepped into the green fire. "Hagrid's Cabin" Mrs. Norris called out loudly, the flames roared up, and the two boys disappeared. Kurama and Hiei walked into the fire as well, and vanished. Mrs. Norris, dragged all four trunks into the fire place and shouted, "Hagrid's Cabin!" then she and the trunks also vanished.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I certantly had fun writing it! Please be courteous and review. I can't write somehting you find enjoyable unless you tell me what you would like.