I wish I did, but I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter.
The night of the Halloween dance had finally arrived. This specific dance was for any fifth year Hogwarts student or up. Like the traditional Halloween, there would be ghosts, ghouls, and tons of candy and excitement, only at the dance you were required to wear your dress robes instead of a costume. That suited most students just fine, because they hadn't found the time to find a costume themselves.
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Kurama were waiting patiently in the Griffindor Common Room for their dates to come down.
"Girls," Ron groaned, tapping his foot impatiently. "Why do they bother getting so dressed up for crud like this? By the time we get down the dance'll already be over!"
"The dance hasn't even started yet, Ron," said Harry. "We'll make it there right on time. Besides, didn't you agree last time that Hermione looked terrific during the ball in our fourth year?" Kurama chuckled while Ron struggled to find a reasonable comeback.
"We're coming!" Hermione shouted from the Girls' Dorm.
Hermione entered the Common Room along with Nicole Taylor and Ashlee Lizor. Her hair and make up was just as impressive as it had been at the ball, only now her hair was pulled down, thinned, and neatly crimped; she was also wearing dark purple dress robes for the occasion.
Ashlee Lizor had brown eyes, tanned skin, and stood about at the same heighth as Hermione. Her dark, straightened brown hair reached past her shoulders, and she was wearing golden dress robes, which matched nicely against her skin tone.
Nicole Taylor was a bit shorter than the other two, but only by a few inches. She had hazel eyes and blonde, crimped hair. She had peach-colored skin and chose to wear a soft red dress robe.
The boys on the other hand, had cleaned up a bit, but pretty much their physical appearances remained the same as always. Ron was wearing a dark red robe, Harry dark green, and Kurama's was dark blue.
The kitsune was the first to speak. "You look beautiful," he complimented his date smoothly, taking Hermione Granger by the hand.
"Thanks," she blushed. "Um... we'd really better get going before the dance starts."
"Oh, uh, yeah. Right," Ron stammered. He and Harry took their dates and followed Kurama and Hermione downstairs to the Great Hall.
"Is Ginny still going out with Dean Thomas, Ron?" Hermione asked.
"You. Can't believe it though," Ron replied. "I thought they'd last two weeks -a month tops- but they're still together."
"We have a quidditch match against Hufflepuff coming up soon," Nicole put in. "I'm not worried though. We're going to clobber them."
"Hope so. I want us to get first place this year," said Harry.
"Well now, don't you all look nice." Dumbledore had snuck up behind the group. "Everyone looks like such young ladies and gentlemen." His gaze fell on Kurama. "I'm sorry young man, I'm afraid I didn't get your name. You must be one of the new students this year, I assume?"
"Yes, sir: Shuuichi Minamino. It's a pleasure to meet you," Kurama introduced himself, giving the headmaster a respectful bow.
"A pleasure indeed," the old man nodded kindly. "Go on now, don't let an old timer like myself hold you up. Enjoy the evening while it's still here!"
The six Griffindors bid Dumbledore farewell and entered the Great Hall.
Already almost every student in their fifth year up had entered the Great Hall's chamber. The tables that normally seperated the houses had been removed to make room for dancing space. Ghosts and portraits were singing and playing tunes that filled the entire room. In every corner of the room was a large table filled with Chocolate Frogs, gummy worms, Laughing Lollies, and dozens more of candies. The students were excitedly mingling amongst themselves. Harry even pointed out that Neville Longbottom had even managed to find a date- Luna Lovegood.
Girls kept coming up to Hermione, telling her, "Wow Hermione, you look totally amazing!" and "You are the luckiest girl in school, Hermione! You got asked out by Shuuichi Minamino!" Each time Hermione would flush madly with embarrassment, but she managed to stay polite enough when they talked to her.
"Attention, students." Dumbledore's voice boomed throughout the room, silencing everyone within it and drawing their attention to the headmaster. "I am very pleased to see that so many of my students chose to come to this marvelous event! Before we begin, I will go ahead and tell you all that the Halloween Dance ends at midnight tonight, and you will be expected to return promptly to your dorms." He smiled to himself. "That is all I will announce for the rest of the evening. Enjoy your night!"
The end of the sentence cued the dance to begin. Several portraits began singing and enchanted instruments began playing as well. Students coupled up left and right, beginning the dance.
"See you guys later," Harry said, heading off towards the dance floor with Ashlee Lizor. Ron and Nicole went the opposite direction, leaving Hermione and Kurama alone.
"Well, uh..." Hermione tried to say.
"Let's go," Kurama finished politely, taking Hermione by the hand. They found a vacant spot on the dance floor and halted.
"Care to dance?" the kitsune asked. Hermione -while blushing, of course- nodded. Kurama placed his hands on her waist and Hermione set her arms on the demon's shoulders.
While they were dancing, Hermione asked, "Do you know the guy that's dancing with Cho Chang?"
The fox demon followed Hermione gaze and saw none other than- Hiei. Most likely if he'd been drinking punch at the time, he'd've sprayed the punch in the air from surprise. But since he didn't haveadrink or beverageon him-and he wasn't anywhere near a punch bowl- his facial expression managed to remain unreadable.
"I'm afraid that I don't," he lied lightly, then asked Hermione, "Who is Cho Chang anyway? Is she a friend of yours?"
"Hardly," Hermione answered. "She's playing as a chaser for the Ravenclaw quidditch team this year. She also happens to be Harry's ex-girlfriend."
Not pressing for details, Kurama simply nodded in recognition and left it at that. He found out as the dance progressed further that Kuwabara had gone to the dance with a sixth year Hufflepuff named Hannah Abbott and that Yusuke had gone with some sixth year Slytherin called Pansy.
In between dances, the Griffindor friends would meet up and chat for a while, but then they would depart when another song would begin again.
When another of the dances was about to begin, Hermione asked the kitsune if they could skip that one. "I need you to follow me," she said. Kurama agreed and followed Hermine out of the Great Hall, and even out of the building. The stars shown across the night's sky, while a small sliver of a moon was visible. They walked until they were almost a good hundred yards from the school.
"Kurama," Hermione said quietly. "I like you."
"I like you too, Hermione," the demon replied.
"No, it's not that. I mean," she fumbled with the right words. "What I mean to say is... is that I really like you. Even more than a friend, Kurama." Kurama stared at the girl, but she didn't return the gesture. Instead, she looked off to the left where some bushes were placed on the school grounds.
Kurama rested his hands gently on Hermione's shoulders, causing Hermione to look up at him. He could tell that she was now regreting ever saying something to him.
"I like you too, Hermione," Kurama repeated, giving her a warm smile. He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. When he pulled back, Hermione's face was bloody scarlet, only it wasn't visible because of the time of day.
"You mean it?" she asked the fox demon, almost in a whisper. The kitsune mearly nodded, and the two students exchanged smiles.
"Let's go back inside," she said quickly, trying to get all her thoughts back together. "It's freezing out here, and... Harry and Ron are most likely looking for us about now."
Turns out that Hermione was only half right. When they got back to the dining hall, Ron was waiting for them casually by the candy bowls, but there was no Harry Potter to be seen.
"What took you lot so bloody long?" Ron asked, shoving two gummy worms into his mouth. "I've been standing here for almost five minutes. Can't complain too much though- this food's splendid-"
"Where's Harry?" Kurama interrupted.
"You just missed him. Right after the song ended, he headed up to bed," Ron replied, helping himself to a handful of miniature Chocolate Frogs. "Said he wasn't feelin' too hot, and that when you-" he meant Kurama, "get back from wherever it was that you were, you should check up on 'im."
'Harry didn't want Ron or Hermione's help. He didn't even bother going to a teacher,' Kurama pondered. 'If he isn't feeling well, why would he need my help? It would do him just as much good, if not more, to go up to the Hospital Wing. Unless..."
"Hermione, I'm going to go ahead and see if Harry's alright," Kurama stated. "Stay with Ron until I get back. I'm not sure how long I'll be, but I'll try to be quick."
"Alright," Hermione responded hesitantly. She felt like asking him why it could possibly take longer than fifteen minutes, but she figured it would be rude to do so, so she said nothing more.
As soon as the demon exited the Great Hall, he made into a run and dashed down the halls. He soon reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Shuuichi, good evening," she greeted. "My now, don't you look like the handsome fellow."
"The password is Lumos," said Kurama hastily, "and thank you." He bid her a good night and hurried inside.
No one was in the Common Room -unless you count Neville Longbottom's toad, but he isn't human- so the kitsune continued on into the Boys' Dorm.
"Harry?" Kurama asked cautiously. "Harry, are you there?"
"I... I can hardly breathe, Kurama," replied a weak voice. Harry was crouched beside his bed, breathing deeply and gasping every few seconds for air.
"Harry, I need you to tell me what happened."
Harry moaned in pain. His body was shaking now, but he managed to answer, "I'm not sure. I was dancing, when I felt like my heart had stopped beating. Then... then everything went blurry... and my head... felt like it was going to explode... What's happening?" He gripped his stomach and winced.
"Kurama... It feels like I'm going to die."
AN: Cliffhanger! Yeah, it looked like it was going to be a great evening forHarry and his friends, didn't it? Sorry I left you hanging there, but I'll try to put in a new chapter sometime next week.
On a separate matter- I GOT MORE REVIEWS! Kemiko3955-glad to hear you're excited about my stories! Thanks for the A, Inwe Nolatari! And Maki-sama, kyo's little koneko, Everqueen, Cayasha, Animefouryou- it's awesome that you guys keeping reading and reviewing! I appreciate all of the support! Until chapter 14, see ya!