Sry, peoples, that I haven't updated in so long.....really I am....I've been
busy....well this is a fun chapter, so that should make up for it!!!
Chapter 17
Newcomers
The first thing that Liz and Harry said when they saw each other was "I dreamed about your past last night." Then they both grinned and sat down to eat.
That day was relatively normal, as normal as it can get with three former marauders back, not to mention the angels. Needless to say, the Slytherins were not happy. The few weeks that followed were calm. Sirius taught class with a normal reckless air, now helped by Peter and occasionally Remus, although he was mostly busy on renewing the Hogwarts defenses, which Dumbledore had decreed needed a checking over. They were zipping through the fifth year stuff, with a few bits of sixth year on the side. This style of teaching resulted in an awful lot of homework, but it was interesting, and not really graded. Sirius only checked if a student did the homework or not, and got on with the class. The entire castle loved 'the new teacher' and even Malfoy and his gang couldn't help but enjoy his classes. Sirius did everything with a rushing, surge of life and energy that it was impossible to be bored. Harry figured that after being locked up, then DYING, and being brought back to life, he intended to live it to the fullest. Needless to say, those few weeks were the calmest of the entire year so far. And as they soon found out, of the whole year.
That certain day, the only exciting thing that had happened was Neville blowing up his cauldron in potions. After class, when Harry saw Neville walking out, he said a quick goodbye to the angels and ran to catch up with him.
"Neville! NEVILLE!!! Wait up!!" as the shorter boy turned around, Harry asked. "I don't mean to pry, but why are you taking potions? Wasn't five years with Snape nearly killing you enough??"
Neville paused before answering. "Well..." He said quietly, hefting his bag. "It's like this. Harry, I don't know what was in that globe the death eaters wanted, but it must have been important. And, well, you know I've always been kind of hopeless, but when we were there, in the department of mysteries, I finally felt like I was doing something right. Harry, I owe you a LOT- back in first year, you and Ron getting me to stick up for myself, and the DA and everything, all of it. I don't know much, but I know that you're gonna have to face of You-Know...Voldemort sometime, and I wanna be there to help you. And if that means two more years of putting up with Snape, then that's what I'm gonna do."
Whatever Harry had been expecting, that sure wasn't it. Harry opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it, because there wasn't much he could say. What Neville had just shown him was loyalty. Even after they nearly got themselves killed and expelled all in one fell swoop, and even though Harry had pushed him away at times, Neville wanted to help. Harry swallowed, and then grinned and patted Neville on the back.
"Thanks, mate. Look, if you ever need help with anything, tell me, ok?"
Neville grinned. "Fine- but we'd better run, McGonagall will kill us if we're late."
All in all, the day was calm.
Then the newcomers arrived.
It was about halfway through dinner, a week and a half before Halloween. Everyone was eating and talking, and there was a general feeling of contentment in the air. Then, out of nowhere, Harry began to hear voices.
~"Run!! All of you, go!!!"~ That one was worried, panicked, and the person saying it was out of breath. Harry looked around. No one seemed to be doing a spell, or the least bit worried at all.
~"Go where, you stupid fox, we've nowhere to go. If you happen to know a hideout that isn't far than say so, but from what I can see we're stuck."~ This new one was sarcastic, and that person was out of breath as well.
~"what're we gonna do??"~ yelled a new one, risen out of panic.
~"Oh come on, Kuwabara, we've survived worse..."~ Aha, Harry thought, not noticing that Ron was shaking his shoulder. One of them is named Kuwabara.
~ "YOU'VE survived worse, Urameshi!!"~ The panicked one cried. Kuwabara? Harry wondered. ~"The rest of us die and STAY dead!!!"~
~"Kurama what are you doing? KURAMA!!!"~ That was the second voice. Then he heard shouts, and looked up. In the middle of the room, between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables was a.....a glowing tear, was it? He couldn't exactly tell, but voices were coming from it.
~"It's a portal."~ said the first voice stubbornly. Is that Kurama, maybe? Who ARE these people....boy that's something I'd like to know... ~"Go. Now."
"But-"
"Go."
"Kur-"
"GO!!!!!"~
There was an explosion, both in his mind and in the hall. At once, three....boys were they?? No, one had long hair, must be a girl... came flying out of the tear. One, a tall boy with short, kind of curly, orangish hair, flipped over the Ravenclaw table and landed slumped against the Slytherin one, clearly unconscious. Another boy, short, with spiky black hair and a white bandanna, flew upwards, and slammed into the wall on the far side of the Gryffindor table, and slid the rest of the length down, sprawled against the wall. With a closer look, Harry noticed that both the boys and the girl had burn marks, scratches, and cuts, but other than that seemed human. The girl was the only one conscious, and she had done a flip, and managed to land on her feet, but the wince that followed showed clearly that she was hurt worse than she seemed. She glanced at her two companions, and a worried look came over her face.
"Kuso...." Was what she said, but what Harry heard in his mind was, "Damn...." He shook his head. This is too weird....he thought. I did not just understand that girl. But it continued. As the girl talked quietly (to a silent hall) in some unknown language, Harry heard it all perfectly in English.
~That idiot detective he's going to get himself killed.....why didn't he come through the portal?~ another explosion came from the glowing tear, followed by someone screaming. The girl's eyes, green, Harry noticed, with red hair, long red hair, widened. ~YUSUKE!!!~ She dashed back through the tear. The explosion that followed was the worst, and when the dust finally cleared, the tear was gone, and the red-headed girl, no BOY (his shirt had come clean off during the explosion, revealing deep cuts) had been thrown into the door, and there was a new boy next to him, one with short black hair.
For several minutes there was nothing but silence. Then, out of the blue, Miri got up, and walked over to the boy nearest to them, the one with the bandanna. She crouched down next to him, and cocked her head to the side. "Odd. I think they did a blank- check portal, in a rush, and shorthanded it, making it malfunction. Unless they're from another realm, but it doesn't look that way." She rose, dusting off her robes. "Either way, they all need a healing. Alena? Sarah? Need anything?"
The two girls detangled themselves from the table, and while Sarah joined Miri, Alena went to the two against the door. "Our bags, I think, and a basin of water, several towels, and lots of bandages," Alena turned another inspecting eye to the boys again, "lots and LOTS of bandages."
"Done," said Miri and Liz at the same time, and after they managed to open the doors, without moving the boys, left.
This over, Sarah crouched beside the teenager at her feet. "Definitely a fighter, this one," she muttered, reaching her fingers to his chest, and wiggling them. Soft blue light glowed around her hand and, as she placed it on his chest, sank into his skin, racing along cuts and scratches, mending them. "Heal," she breathed. Harry then noticed that the cuts weren't closing all the way, and he didn't look healed all the way. By this time Miri and Liz were back, each carrying a small bowl, a cloth bag, and had towels draped over one arm. Miri went to Sarah, Liz to Alena. Curious, Harry walked over to Sarah.
"Why aren't you healing him?" He asked, kneeling beside her. She shot him a glare that could have been called amused.
"I am," she said shortly.
"I mean all the way."
"Oh. Well you see, it's like this. I can use all my healing energy and completely heal, oh, four or five people. But that would leave me utterly drained, and confined to a bed for a few days. Or, I can put some of my magic into a lot of people, healing them mostly, and then help closer to fifty. Get it?" by now she had smeared an ointment over the boys' cuts, and was wrapping them with the bandages. Miri had wet a towel and had placed it over his forehead. Sarah rose, gathering up her bag. "When he wakes he needs to drink these three potions," she said, handing Miri the bottles. "No arguments. And then he needs to rest. I'm going to tend to the other one." And she set of across the hall.
Still curious, Harry headed over to Alena, who was kneeling beside the newest arrival, her fingers gently rubbing his temples. A steady flow of golden-white light was winding down her arms and sinking into his head. As this happened, Harry noticed that all the cuts and bruises healed, and the boys breathing evened out. Finally, she took her hands from his head and noticed Harry. "Can you do me a favor?" He nodded, and she handed him three bottles. "When he wakes, make sure he drinks these. In the meantime, help Liz with the redhead. I healed him most of the way, but his body was strangely resistant to my powers." She shrugged. "I did my best. I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore, they should be awake in a moment."
"By the looks of it," drawled Maya, who had come over, Margie and Ela were talking to the teachers, "one of them has already come back to us."
"HEY!!!" Harry heard Miri yell, and he spun around. "Get back down here you idiot!!! You're not well enough to be moving around yet! You'll kill yourself!!"
The black haired boy, who was now crouching on the end of the Gryffindor table, didn't seem to have heard her. A sword, which Harry hadn't noticed was in his bandaged right hand. His eyes, now open, proved to be a crimson red.
He said something in that weird language, and again, Harry understood.
~Stupid human,~ he snapped, and Harry recognized the sarcastic voice from earlier. ~If you know what's good for you, you wont come any closer.~ maybe I can talk to him, Harry thought with sudden realization. I can understand him cant I? He moved over until he was standing in front of Miri, ignoring her startled "HEY!!!" and looked the other boy in the eyes, and concentrated on him, recognizing the feel of when he spoke parseltounge.
~We're not here to hurt you.~ He spoke quietly, but loud enough that the boy could hear him. He swallowed. ~Put down your sword.~
The flicker in the boy's eyes told Harry he had succeeded.
~Where am I?~ the boy asked, his sword not moving, Harry noticed wryly.
~Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.~
~Where the hell is that?~
~England.~
The boy lowered his sword, shock in his eyes. ~WHAT??~
Harry swallowed. ~What's your name?~
~Hiei.~
~Where are you from?~
~Why do you- KURAMA!!~ The boy had caught sight of his wounded companion, whom Liz had just finished tending. The boy, no HIEI, Harry reminded himself, all of a sudden flicked out of sight, appearing again next to the redheaded boy. He looked up at Liz. ~Will he live?~
Seeing that Liz clearly didn't understand, Harry translated. She smiled and said, "Well he's taken quite a beating, and he's lost a lot of blood. He'll live, but will be as weak as a kitten for some time. He's completely drained, and nothing but bed rest and food will help that. But yes, he will live."
Harry relayed this to Hiei, who immediately relaxed slightly, and then jumped as the youth behind him, the one Alena had been tending to, moaned.
Chocolate eyes fluttered open, and the boy sat up, rubbing his head. His eyes widened, as he took in his surroundings, and then as he checked himself for injuries, narrowed slightly in confusion.
~What happened? The last thing I remember is trying to run, and Kurama grabbing me....and then some sort of explosion...HIEI!!! You're here too? And where is here, come to that.....~
Hiei rolled his eyes. ~Here is Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, whatever the hell that means, and it's in England.~
The boy whistled. ~England? Wow....I thought we'd be back in Japan or something... oh, man, what happened to him??~ The boy asked, noticing the redhead, Kurama was it? For the first time.
~The portal happened, Yusuke.~ snapped Hiei. ~And the door happened. And several thousand demons happened. You should be in much the same condition.~
~Alena healed you.~ Harry felt he had to put in. Both boys looked at him, and he gulped. ~She....she tried to heal your friend there but something in him resisted, and she couldn't.~
There was a slight pause as both boys exchanged looks. Then the boy, Yusuke, had Hiei called him? Said ~your accent is TERRIBLE. And who's Alena?~
Harry smiled. ~Considering I only figured out I could speak this about five minutes ago I haven't had much time to work out details. Sorry.~
Yusuke blinked, and ran a hand through his hair. "The British speak English, right?" he asked, in clumsy, but plain, English.
Harry blinked. "Uh, yeah, you know it?"
Yusuke cocked his head, as if processing the information. "A bit, not very well."
"That can be fixed," said a calm voice, and Harry turned around to face the sparkling blue eyes of his headmaster.
"Can it, Professor?"
"Yes, Harry, it can. A simple spell really. But it will help."
Harry blinked. "They'll be staying then?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Of course. One of them is in no condition to travel, and I'm sure we can use the fighters."
"Fighters?" asked Harry, turning to Yusuke, who looked every bit as perplexed as Harry felt.
"Nani?" was all the boy said.
Dumbledore sighed. "Never mind, Harry." He murmured a spell, and a wavering blue light shot out of his wand at Yusuke, Hiei, and whoever the redheaded boy was. Yusuke sneezed, and rubbed his nose.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, glaring at Dumbledore, who smiled.
"That was a spell, one that enables you to feel as though you are hearing and speaking Japanese, but are really hearing and speaking English," said Dumbledore with smile.
Yusuke blinked, and cocked his head. "What?"
Hiei rolled his eyes. "He doesn't get it, no surprises there. You have to use more simple concepts," he told Dumbledore, "Yusuke doesn't understand the hard ones."
"HEY!!!! Now listen here, shrimp boy-"
and Yusuke would have probably punched Hiei, if a slight moan and a "Stop, Yusuke, it hurts to laugh," hadn't come from the figure at their feet.
"Kurama!!" they both said at the same time and knelt beside the boy, whose eyes had now opened, turning out to be the same emerald green that Harry's own were. Wincing, the boy sat up, clutching his side.
"Well thank goodness you're here. I was afraid you wouldn't be- I think I messed up the portal, obviously. That shows rushing gets you nowhere. Ah, Hiei?" the boy had noticed the ceiling. "Where is here?"
"Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Huh?"
"England."
Kurama winced again. "Oh, boy. I really missed my mark didn't I?"
"If you were aiming for Japan," said Hiei wryly, "I'd say so."
"Well it wasn't too bad," put in Liz, speaking for the first time. "He managed to get you on a set of islands. He could've dumped you in the ocean. Or in midair. Or-"
"Liz?" asked Harry, putting a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him.
"Yes?"
"I think they get the point."
When he turned back to the threesome on the floor, he noticed that Kurama was staring at him. "Something for you?" he asked.
Kurama blinked, then grinned. "I'm sorry, was I staring? I tend to do that to people I don't know. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at them."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
The other boy smiled. "Like you've been through a lot of battles and have been betrayed at least once, you don't trust as easily as you used to, and there is something hanging over your head that I can't quite figure out. And that you've got a very long story to tell."
Harry blinked. "You can tell all that by looking at me?"
Kurama smiled wider. "It shows in your eyes."
An amused voice cut their conversation short. "Much as I hate to end the small talk," said Dumbledore, stepping closer to the three boys on the floor, "I have a few questions that need answering. May I?"
"Shoot," said Yusuke. "But I can't guarantee you any explanations here. In private, sure, but not here."
Harry bit his lip. "I know someplace that's quite private. And I think that we can arrange for an easier way to get answers than telling. But it's a bit of a walk..."
Dumbledore looked at him over half moon glasses. "Are you talking of my office and pensive?"
Harry shook his head. "No, try the Room of Requirement. But it's up a few flights, and I don't know if Kurama can walk just yet. What did you do, anyway?"
Kurama shook his head. "I most certainly cant. And I did a blank-check portal, it means that you don't know what the price is going to be," he said in response to Harry's blank look. "All magic has a price. Normally it's just your energy, but portals are something more. What's more I did something very stupid."
"Lemme guess," said Liz. "You rushed."
Kurama winced. "Worse. I did it shorthand- skipped a lot of the coordinates, and specifics that make sure its safe. So it malfunctioned, which is why we were thrown every which way, and why we ended up here. This entire castle is simply soaked in magic, every stone, every crack, simply seeped in the stuff. That's why the portal was attracted to it, it was easier to connect. There isn't much magic in Tokyo."
"I should hope not," said Dumbledore. "The Room of Requirement sounds like an excellent idea, Harry. And as for your friend here..." A wave of the wand brought Kurama hovering in air. He almost sat up, and then settled down.
"This is the strangest sensation," he said, sounding amused. "Can you make it so I'm sitting up?"
Dumbledore could and did, then he turned to McGonagall. "Please make sure that everyone gets to their dorms at the normal time, Mr. Potter and Miss de Lancre will be coming with me. Mr.-" he trailed off, looking at Yusuke.
"Urameshi," the boy supplied.
"Mr. Urameshi, then, do we need your fourth companion-"
"Kazuma Kuwabara."
"-Mr. Kuwabara to tell your story?"
"Nope. And there really isn't much to tell." At this Kurama and Hiei both snorted, and Yusuke shrugged. "Okay so maybe there is, but how are we gonna do this?"
Harry grinned. "Follow me," he said, and turned out of the hall into one of the corridors. After a few minutes they came to the stairways and Yusuke yelled.
"What?" asked Harry, turning.
"The pictures are MOVING!!!"
Harry blinked. "Oh. Yeah, wizard pictures move. Get used to it. There are also ghosts, several secret passages, and a couple fake doors in the castle. And a fake step. Oh- and be careful on the stairways, they like to change." At this all of their companions looked up and gulped.
"How do you find your way around?" asked Hiei, coming up next to Harry, who grinned.
"You don't, it's all up to Lady Luck. There are still parts of Hogwarts I get lost in, and I've been going here for six years now..."
After only a few more missteps, they arrived at the corridor. "Now don't start thinking I'm nuts," warned Harry, "this is gonna look weird for a moment." And he stood in front of the part of the wall where the door should be. ^we need a place where we can recall memories, where people can see them, without having to move to follow people like in a pensive. A mirror of sorts...^
"Harry, HARRY!!!" and he opened his eyes. A door was right in front of him, a normal door, he pushed it open and looked into an empty room, save for a large table in the middle. Walking over, he realized that the top of the table was not a table, but a mirror, with a large gem at the top. ^directions.....we need directions...^ at once a sheet of parchment appeared.
" 'The person whose memories are to be shared is to stand at the head and place both hands on the stone. They then call up the memories they wish to share.' " He looked around. "Easy enough, don't you think?"
Yusuke shrugged. "I didn't quite catch that but okay. Are we just doing mine, or are you two finally gonna tell someone about your past?" he asked Hiei and Kurama.
"I'll go first," said Kurama quietly. "I'll try to make this quick, but keep in mind, none of this leaves the room without my permission, understood?" they all nodded. "Fine. Here goes nothing..."
Harry looked into the mirror and images flashed before his eyes. A silver fox in a wooded forest, slipping by unnoticed, the same fox stealing objects, fights appeared, and faded, flickers of a tall man, with silver hair, amber eyes and silver fox ears and tail came and left, partners, one in particular, one with black hair and wings, with a pendant (A/n Koronue, I dunno how do describe him) appeared. Then it showed the fox, white now, racing along, and getting shot, by a hunter, and its soul disappearing into the body of a women, the boy growing up, and flashes of meetings with Hiei, and stealing three things, a sword, a globe, and a mirror. Then all the images faded, leaving Harry with his head spinning. "Whoa...." Was all he could manage to say.
Kurama was looking at his hands. "For those of you who didn't catch it, the silver fox and demon was Yoko Kurama. The boy was Suichi Minamo. They are both me. Understand?" everyone nodded. "Good. Hiei, your turn."
He looked up. "What makes you think I'm taking one?" he snapped, backing away.
Kurama gazed at him tiredly. "You might as well, Hiei, because if you don't do it then I will. You know as well as I do that I can have access to your memories if I wish it. This way you can choose what is shown." Hiei glared at him for a minute, then said "Hn," And walked to the front of the mirror. He placed both hands on it and closed his eyes.
Again, images played across the mirror. A young boy thrown off an island simply because he was a male fire demon, whispers of 'The forbidden Child' followed, then flashes of a gang of thieves, of escapes and missions for them, being an assassin for hire, getting his Jagan.....
'What are the earplugs for?'
'Your screams.'
'I won't scream.'
'Everybody screams. The question is, what?'
'YUKINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
Flashes of an aquamarine haired girl with red eyes appeared, battles, Kurama as well appeared a few times, and what was apparently Kurama's room, and then they all faded, leaving Harry again with his mind protesting to all the new information that was being placed into it.
"My turn!" said Yusuke happily. He placed his hands on the stone and pictures appeared again. Yusuke throwing himself in the path of a car, meeting Botan, the grim reaper, his being brought back to life. Flashes of Kuwabara and his girlfriend Keiko, school, and Tokyo. His first mission as a spirit detective, his meeting with Kurama, seeing Kurama use the mirror, and Yusuke offer his life instead, fighting Hiei, and then going to Genkai's, passing the tests, and then the training. Maze castle, the four saint beasts, with flashes of what was going on back home. Rescuing Yukina, and fighting Toguro for the first time. Then the dark tournament, the boat there, and the hotel, fighting all their opponents, Jin, Touya, Chi, all flickered in and out of the images. The fight with Team Toguro, and winning, Yusuke discovering his demon roots, and the last battles they fought, then them going back to Makai for a visit and being chased, trying to fight the demons and not being able to. Finally, Kurama throwing open a portal and demanding they disappear through it, and then those images too, faded and disappeared.
"Well," said Yusuke wryly, shaking out his hands. "Like I said; not much to tell."
Dumbledore looked at him, eyes crinkling in a smile. "I wouldn't say that. Now where are you to sleep?"
"Er...Professor?"
"Yes, Elizabeth?"
"Could they, maybe, stay in the Gryffindor dorms? We have the room..."
Dumbledore smiled wider. "I believe that would work. I shall tell the house elves to set up four beds. I trust Harry will be able to find them something to wear until next hogsemede visit when he can get them some things?"
Harry nodded, grinning. "Sure. Will Kurama be alright by tomorrow?"
"Actually," said the redhead, "I'm feeling much better. I can walk now. I think I just need to restore my energy now. A few of these cuts will take longer to heal, but while you were watching Yusuke and Hiei's memories, I brewed myself a healing potion, so I am almost back to normal. I should be fine."
"Good!" said Harry. "Let's go, then." And he turned to go out the door, only to find a wickedly grinning Yusuke blocking his path. "What?"
"My guess," said Liz, grinning slightly, "is that they want to hear YOUR story now..."
"To right," said Yusuke. "C'mon, wizard-boy, let's hear it."
Harry sighed. He'd had a feeling something like this would happen. "Oh fine...."
He walked over to the mirror, staring at it for a moment, before placing his hands on the stone and calling up his memories. Starting at the beginning, but then the mirrors power took hold of him and the memories simply flowed out of him, showing things even he had forgotten.
'Firs' thing you gotta know is not all wizards are good...'
'So light a fire!'
'But there's no wood!!'
'No wood! Are you a witch or not!!!!'
'Here he comes!'
'Make way for the Slythierins heir!!'
'Sirius Black is after you, Harry.'
'Its five until midnight, Miss Granger, three turns should do it...'
'Harry Potter! Come up, please!'
'Take my body back, Harry; take it back to my parents...'
'The nut house just chucked me out; I can do what I want!'
'It means that the ministry is interfering at Hogwarts...'
And then it all stopped, leaving Harry feeling very odd and slightly out of breath. He looked up to find Hiei, Yusuke and Kurama ALL staring at him. "What?" he asked, collapsing into the chair that had just magically appeared.
"You've been through almost as much as we have....." was all Yusuke could manage.
By the time they reached the Gryffindor dorms, they had basically exhausted all questions they had, and knew each other as well as if they'd known each other for years. At the fat lady's portrait, Harry simply said "Canary Cream" and it swung open, revealing the lavish common room. As they entered, the threesome staring at everything, the room fell silent. Harry sighed. More explanations- just what he needed.
"They're going to be staying here, in the boys dorms. Get used to it. Guys, I'm not gonna introduce everyone because you'll find out their names in time. Boys dorm this way, you can stare at everything tomorrow, we gotta get you some clothes...."
They trooped up the boys stairs, closely followed by Ron, and not by Liz, who immediately went up to the girls dorms.
"Lets see..." Harry said, looking at the boys. Beds and dressers had already been placed for them, all they needed were clothes. He walked over to Kurama, and did a quick measurement. "Okay, me and you are roughly the same size, and since Yusuke is slightly shorter, he'll be about Seamus'....Ron can you get him? Seamus I mean."
"Yup," said Ron, heading for the door. "OY!!!!! SEAMUS!!!!!"
There was a quiet answering, "What?"
"GET UP HERE!!!"
A few moments later, by the time Harry had stocked Kurama's arms with several shirts, pants, a few sweaters, and a pair of pajamas, and some socks, and a brush that Harry had never used, Seamus walked in. "-will that be good?" asked Harry, rising from his trunk.
Kurama was grinning. "That's fine. Where are the showers?"
"On your left," said Seamus, looking at them. "You needed me?"
"Yeah.," said Harry. "Go back to back with Yusuke for a minute...he's the taller one..."
"Oh, THANKS....." Hiei muttered.
"Sorry, yep I was right. Seamus can you lend Yusuke a couple pairs of shirts and pants, a sweater or two...basically what I gave Kurama..."
"Oh, sure. C'mon, Yusuke? Did I say that right?" and the two walked over to Seamus' bed, where Seamus began to pile clothes into Yusuke's arms.
"Now what to do about you....." Harry muttered to himself, looking at Hiei.
"Maybe Hermione can shrink some?" asked Ron. "Dean's probably the smallest so if we get him up here..."
"Yeah," Harry said. "That'll work. Seamus, go get Dean, will you?"
"Sure thing," said Seamus, and he trotted down the stairs, and Harry turned to Ron.
"So where's Hermione?" he asked.
Ron sighed. "Where would she be? Library, of course. As soon as she's back we'll nab her."
Harry nodded. "Right."
Dean was brought, and left after providing extra clothes for Hiei, who was in the shower, and Harry decided the bed arrangements.
"We'll put Kuwabara over by the wall, and Yusuke next, then Hiei by the window, and Kurama nearest to us, next to me. I think that will work, provided that Yusuke and Kuwabara don't kill each other."
"Mione's back!!" was the yell from downstairs.
"Oh good....Hey Hermione," said Harry, turning to the door where his other best friend was standing. "Can you shrink these down for Hiei?"
Hermione sighed. "I can't just shrink them. I need his height and weight, at least, and I don't suppose you have those do you?"
"No...."
"Hiei is 4'11", and roughly 100 pounds. He refuses to go on a scale so that's a guess. Will that work?" It was Kurama, obviously done from the shower, walking out. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and was slightly wet. He was trying to brush his hair while it was still wet. Hermione gulped.
"Yeah that will work." She muttered a spell and the clothes shrank a good couple inches. "Now all he has to do is try them."
"That shouldn't be too hard. HIEI!!!" Kurama called, grabbing Harry's discarded pajamas from the dresser.
"What?"
"Come out here please! There are some things you need to try on!" Kurama called.
"You come here and bring them," snapped Hiei's voice from the shower. "I'm busy."
Kurama sighed. "I'll take them." Hermione handed him a shirt and a pair of pants.
"If those fit, they'll all fit."
"Alright, thank you," Kurama said, turning to go back to the bathroom.
"Your welcome," and Hermione left.
"Is it just me," asked Harry slowly, after she had. "Or did Hermione seem rather flustered...."
"It wasn't just you," said a drawl voice. It was Yusuke, dressed for bed, rubbing his hair with a towel to dry it. "Which bed is mine?"
"Second on the left, you're next to Hiei on one side and Kuwabara on the other."
"Good," Yusuke flopped on his back and stared at the ceiling. "I could get used to this..."
They all laughed, and got ready for bed themselves. Hiei came and immediately flitted to the windowsill, where he stayed without saying a word. Kurama came out, and adjusted things, arranging their clothes in the drawers.
Afterwards, when just about everyone was in bed, except Harry, Kurama walked over to Yusuke, smiled slightly, and tugged down the blankets, before arranging the boy so his head was on the pillow and he was under the covers. Kurama then walked to Hiei's bed, pulled down the sheets, and afterward walked over and picked up Hiei, who fussed slightly, before settling him in his bed as well, and tucking him in. Kurama then pulled the curtains around Yusuke's bed, but left Hiei's open. As he went to get into his own bed, Harry said,
"You really take care of them, don't you?"
Kurama smiled, sliding between the sheets. "I have a feeling that if it wasn't for me, Hiei would've killed Kuwabara a long time ago, and they would hardly ever be in condition to fight. Hiei doesn't take care of himself, really. I mean he can get along fine in Makai, but in the human world, he doesn't know much. So I try to keep an eye on all of them. Make sure they don't get themselves killed and such."
Harry propped his head up on his elbow. "You must be great friends."
Kurama smiled again, fluffing his pillow and settling down. "Ron and Hermione are great friends as well. So are the angels. Tell me if this sounds like them, it's a quote my mother told me. "A good friend would bail you out of jail, no matter the price. But a GREAT friend would be in the cell next to you going 'that was SO worth it."'
Emerald eyes met Emerald eyes. Then Harry chuckled. "Knowing Hermione she'd be complaining about how we never should've done that, but yeah that sounds like the angels....They went to Azkaban, as a whole, even though it was only Liz who was sentenced there."
Kurama frowned. "What for?"
Harry shrugged, and closed his eyes. "I dunno, but we should probably go to bed, I've got classes tomorrow. G'night, Kurama."
He could almost feel the other boys smile, and heard as he settled down for the night. "Good night, Harry."
Chapter 17
Newcomers
The first thing that Liz and Harry said when they saw each other was "I dreamed about your past last night." Then they both grinned and sat down to eat.
That day was relatively normal, as normal as it can get with three former marauders back, not to mention the angels. Needless to say, the Slytherins were not happy. The few weeks that followed were calm. Sirius taught class with a normal reckless air, now helped by Peter and occasionally Remus, although he was mostly busy on renewing the Hogwarts defenses, which Dumbledore had decreed needed a checking over. They were zipping through the fifth year stuff, with a few bits of sixth year on the side. This style of teaching resulted in an awful lot of homework, but it was interesting, and not really graded. Sirius only checked if a student did the homework or not, and got on with the class. The entire castle loved 'the new teacher' and even Malfoy and his gang couldn't help but enjoy his classes. Sirius did everything with a rushing, surge of life and energy that it was impossible to be bored. Harry figured that after being locked up, then DYING, and being brought back to life, he intended to live it to the fullest. Needless to say, those few weeks were the calmest of the entire year so far. And as they soon found out, of the whole year.
That certain day, the only exciting thing that had happened was Neville blowing up his cauldron in potions. After class, when Harry saw Neville walking out, he said a quick goodbye to the angels and ran to catch up with him.
"Neville! NEVILLE!!! Wait up!!" as the shorter boy turned around, Harry asked. "I don't mean to pry, but why are you taking potions? Wasn't five years with Snape nearly killing you enough??"
Neville paused before answering. "Well..." He said quietly, hefting his bag. "It's like this. Harry, I don't know what was in that globe the death eaters wanted, but it must have been important. And, well, you know I've always been kind of hopeless, but when we were there, in the department of mysteries, I finally felt like I was doing something right. Harry, I owe you a LOT- back in first year, you and Ron getting me to stick up for myself, and the DA and everything, all of it. I don't know much, but I know that you're gonna have to face of You-Know...Voldemort sometime, and I wanna be there to help you. And if that means two more years of putting up with Snape, then that's what I'm gonna do."
Whatever Harry had been expecting, that sure wasn't it. Harry opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it, because there wasn't much he could say. What Neville had just shown him was loyalty. Even after they nearly got themselves killed and expelled all in one fell swoop, and even though Harry had pushed him away at times, Neville wanted to help. Harry swallowed, and then grinned and patted Neville on the back.
"Thanks, mate. Look, if you ever need help with anything, tell me, ok?"
Neville grinned. "Fine- but we'd better run, McGonagall will kill us if we're late."
All in all, the day was calm.
Then the newcomers arrived.
It was about halfway through dinner, a week and a half before Halloween. Everyone was eating and talking, and there was a general feeling of contentment in the air. Then, out of nowhere, Harry began to hear voices.
~"Run!! All of you, go!!!"~ That one was worried, panicked, and the person saying it was out of breath. Harry looked around. No one seemed to be doing a spell, or the least bit worried at all.
~"Go where, you stupid fox, we've nowhere to go. If you happen to know a hideout that isn't far than say so, but from what I can see we're stuck."~ This new one was sarcastic, and that person was out of breath as well.
~"what're we gonna do??"~ yelled a new one, risen out of panic.
~"Oh come on, Kuwabara, we've survived worse..."~ Aha, Harry thought, not noticing that Ron was shaking his shoulder. One of them is named Kuwabara.
~ "YOU'VE survived worse, Urameshi!!"~ The panicked one cried. Kuwabara? Harry wondered. ~"The rest of us die and STAY dead!!!"~
~"Kurama what are you doing? KURAMA!!!"~ That was the second voice. Then he heard shouts, and looked up. In the middle of the room, between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables was a.....a glowing tear, was it? He couldn't exactly tell, but voices were coming from it.
~"It's a portal."~ said the first voice stubbornly. Is that Kurama, maybe? Who ARE these people....boy that's something I'd like to know... ~"Go. Now."
"But-"
"Go."
"Kur-"
"GO!!!!!"~
There was an explosion, both in his mind and in the hall. At once, three....boys were they?? No, one had long hair, must be a girl... came flying out of the tear. One, a tall boy with short, kind of curly, orangish hair, flipped over the Ravenclaw table and landed slumped against the Slytherin one, clearly unconscious. Another boy, short, with spiky black hair and a white bandanna, flew upwards, and slammed into the wall on the far side of the Gryffindor table, and slid the rest of the length down, sprawled against the wall. With a closer look, Harry noticed that both the boys and the girl had burn marks, scratches, and cuts, but other than that seemed human. The girl was the only one conscious, and she had done a flip, and managed to land on her feet, but the wince that followed showed clearly that she was hurt worse than she seemed. She glanced at her two companions, and a worried look came over her face.
"Kuso...." Was what she said, but what Harry heard in his mind was, "Damn...." He shook his head. This is too weird....he thought. I did not just understand that girl. But it continued. As the girl talked quietly (to a silent hall) in some unknown language, Harry heard it all perfectly in English.
~That idiot detective he's going to get himself killed.....why didn't he come through the portal?~ another explosion came from the glowing tear, followed by someone screaming. The girl's eyes, green, Harry noticed, with red hair, long red hair, widened. ~YUSUKE!!!~ She dashed back through the tear. The explosion that followed was the worst, and when the dust finally cleared, the tear was gone, and the red-headed girl, no BOY (his shirt had come clean off during the explosion, revealing deep cuts) had been thrown into the door, and there was a new boy next to him, one with short black hair.
For several minutes there was nothing but silence. Then, out of the blue, Miri got up, and walked over to the boy nearest to them, the one with the bandanna. She crouched down next to him, and cocked her head to the side. "Odd. I think they did a blank- check portal, in a rush, and shorthanded it, making it malfunction. Unless they're from another realm, but it doesn't look that way." She rose, dusting off her robes. "Either way, they all need a healing. Alena? Sarah? Need anything?"
The two girls detangled themselves from the table, and while Sarah joined Miri, Alena went to the two against the door. "Our bags, I think, and a basin of water, several towels, and lots of bandages," Alena turned another inspecting eye to the boys again, "lots and LOTS of bandages."
"Done," said Miri and Liz at the same time, and after they managed to open the doors, without moving the boys, left.
This over, Sarah crouched beside the teenager at her feet. "Definitely a fighter, this one," she muttered, reaching her fingers to his chest, and wiggling them. Soft blue light glowed around her hand and, as she placed it on his chest, sank into his skin, racing along cuts and scratches, mending them. "Heal," she breathed. Harry then noticed that the cuts weren't closing all the way, and he didn't look healed all the way. By this time Miri and Liz were back, each carrying a small bowl, a cloth bag, and had towels draped over one arm. Miri went to Sarah, Liz to Alena. Curious, Harry walked over to Sarah.
"Why aren't you healing him?" He asked, kneeling beside her. She shot him a glare that could have been called amused.
"I am," she said shortly.
"I mean all the way."
"Oh. Well you see, it's like this. I can use all my healing energy and completely heal, oh, four or five people. But that would leave me utterly drained, and confined to a bed for a few days. Or, I can put some of my magic into a lot of people, healing them mostly, and then help closer to fifty. Get it?" by now she had smeared an ointment over the boys' cuts, and was wrapping them with the bandages. Miri had wet a towel and had placed it over his forehead. Sarah rose, gathering up her bag. "When he wakes he needs to drink these three potions," she said, handing Miri the bottles. "No arguments. And then he needs to rest. I'm going to tend to the other one." And she set of across the hall.
Still curious, Harry headed over to Alena, who was kneeling beside the newest arrival, her fingers gently rubbing his temples. A steady flow of golden-white light was winding down her arms and sinking into his head. As this happened, Harry noticed that all the cuts and bruises healed, and the boys breathing evened out. Finally, she took her hands from his head and noticed Harry. "Can you do me a favor?" He nodded, and she handed him three bottles. "When he wakes, make sure he drinks these. In the meantime, help Liz with the redhead. I healed him most of the way, but his body was strangely resistant to my powers." She shrugged. "I did my best. I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore, they should be awake in a moment."
"By the looks of it," drawled Maya, who had come over, Margie and Ela were talking to the teachers, "one of them has already come back to us."
"HEY!!!" Harry heard Miri yell, and he spun around. "Get back down here you idiot!!! You're not well enough to be moving around yet! You'll kill yourself!!"
The black haired boy, who was now crouching on the end of the Gryffindor table, didn't seem to have heard her. A sword, which Harry hadn't noticed was in his bandaged right hand. His eyes, now open, proved to be a crimson red.
He said something in that weird language, and again, Harry understood.
~Stupid human,~ he snapped, and Harry recognized the sarcastic voice from earlier. ~If you know what's good for you, you wont come any closer.~ maybe I can talk to him, Harry thought with sudden realization. I can understand him cant I? He moved over until he was standing in front of Miri, ignoring her startled "HEY!!!" and looked the other boy in the eyes, and concentrated on him, recognizing the feel of when he spoke parseltounge.
~We're not here to hurt you.~ He spoke quietly, but loud enough that the boy could hear him. He swallowed. ~Put down your sword.~
The flicker in the boy's eyes told Harry he had succeeded.
~Where am I?~ the boy asked, his sword not moving, Harry noticed wryly.
~Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.~
~Where the hell is that?~
~England.~
The boy lowered his sword, shock in his eyes. ~WHAT??~
Harry swallowed. ~What's your name?~
~Hiei.~
~Where are you from?~
~Why do you- KURAMA!!~ The boy had caught sight of his wounded companion, whom Liz had just finished tending. The boy, no HIEI, Harry reminded himself, all of a sudden flicked out of sight, appearing again next to the redheaded boy. He looked up at Liz. ~Will he live?~
Seeing that Liz clearly didn't understand, Harry translated. She smiled and said, "Well he's taken quite a beating, and he's lost a lot of blood. He'll live, but will be as weak as a kitten for some time. He's completely drained, and nothing but bed rest and food will help that. But yes, he will live."
Harry relayed this to Hiei, who immediately relaxed slightly, and then jumped as the youth behind him, the one Alena had been tending to, moaned.
Chocolate eyes fluttered open, and the boy sat up, rubbing his head. His eyes widened, as he took in his surroundings, and then as he checked himself for injuries, narrowed slightly in confusion.
~What happened? The last thing I remember is trying to run, and Kurama grabbing me....and then some sort of explosion...HIEI!!! You're here too? And where is here, come to that.....~
Hiei rolled his eyes. ~Here is Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, whatever the hell that means, and it's in England.~
The boy whistled. ~England? Wow....I thought we'd be back in Japan or something... oh, man, what happened to him??~ The boy asked, noticing the redhead, Kurama was it? For the first time.
~The portal happened, Yusuke.~ snapped Hiei. ~And the door happened. And several thousand demons happened. You should be in much the same condition.~
~Alena healed you.~ Harry felt he had to put in. Both boys looked at him, and he gulped. ~She....she tried to heal your friend there but something in him resisted, and she couldn't.~
There was a slight pause as both boys exchanged looks. Then the boy, Yusuke, had Hiei called him? Said ~your accent is TERRIBLE. And who's Alena?~
Harry smiled. ~Considering I only figured out I could speak this about five minutes ago I haven't had much time to work out details. Sorry.~
Yusuke blinked, and ran a hand through his hair. "The British speak English, right?" he asked, in clumsy, but plain, English.
Harry blinked. "Uh, yeah, you know it?"
Yusuke cocked his head, as if processing the information. "A bit, not very well."
"That can be fixed," said a calm voice, and Harry turned around to face the sparkling blue eyes of his headmaster.
"Can it, Professor?"
"Yes, Harry, it can. A simple spell really. But it will help."
Harry blinked. "They'll be staying then?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Of course. One of them is in no condition to travel, and I'm sure we can use the fighters."
"Fighters?" asked Harry, turning to Yusuke, who looked every bit as perplexed as Harry felt.
"Nani?" was all the boy said.
Dumbledore sighed. "Never mind, Harry." He murmured a spell, and a wavering blue light shot out of his wand at Yusuke, Hiei, and whoever the redheaded boy was. Yusuke sneezed, and rubbed his nose.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, glaring at Dumbledore, who smiled.
"That was a spell, one that enables you to feel as though you are hearing and speaking Japanese, but are really hearing and speaking English," said Dumbledore with smile.
Yusuke blinked, and cocked his head. "What?"
Hiei rolled his eyes. "He doesn't get it, no surprises there. You have to use more simple concepts," he told Dumbledore, "Yusuke doesn't understand the hard ones."
"HEY!!!! Now listen here, shrimp boy-"
and Yusuke would have probably punched Hiei, if a slight moan and a "Stop, Yusuke, it hurts to laugh," hadn't come from the figure at their feet.
"Kurama!!" they both said at the same time and knelt beside the boy, whose eyes had now opened, turning out to be the same emerald green that Harry's own were. Wincing, the boy sat up, clutching his side.
"Well thank goodness you're here. I was afraid you wouldn't be- I think I messed up the portal, obviously. That shows rushing gets you nowhere. Ah, Hiei?" the boy had noticed the ceiling. "Where is here?"
"Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Huh?"
"England."
Kurama winced again. "Oh, boy. I really missed my mark didn't I?"
"If you were aiming for Japan," said Hiei wryly, "I'd say so."
"Well it wasn't too bad," put in Liz, speaking for the first time. "He managed to get you on a set of islands. He could've dumped you in the ocean. Or in midair. Or-"
"Liz?" asked Harry, putting a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him.
"Yes?"
"I think they get the point."
When he turned back to the threesome on the floor, he noticed that Kurama was staring at him. "Something for you?" he asked.
Kurama blinked, then grinned. "I'm sorry, was I staring? I tend to do that to people I don't know. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at them."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
The other boy smiled. "Like you've been through a lot of battles and have been betrayed at least once, you don't trust as easily as you used to, and there is something hanging over your head that I can't quite figure out. And that you've got a very long story to tell."
Harry blinked. "You can tell all that by looking at me?"
Kurama smiled wider. "It shows in your eyes."
An amused voice cut their conversation short. "Much as I hate to end the small talk," said Dumbledore, stepping closer to the three boys on the floor, "I have a few questions that need answering. May I?"
"Shoot," said Yusuke. "But I can't guarantee you any explanations here. In private, sure, but not here."
Harry bit his lip. "I know someplace that's quite private. And I think that we can arrange for an easier way to get answers than telling. But it's a bit of a walk..."
Dumbledore looked at him over half moon glasses. "Are you talking of my office and pensive?"
Harry shook his head. "No, try the Room of Requirement. But it's up a few flights, and I don't know if Kurama can walk just yet. What did you do, anyway?"
Kurama shook his head. "I most certainly cant. And I did a blank-check portal, it means that you don't know what the price is going to be," he said in response to Harry's blank look. "All magic has a price. Normally it's just your energy, but portals are something more. What's more I did something very stupid."
"Lemme guess," said Liz. "You rushed."
Kurama winced. "Worse. I did it shorthand- skipped a lot of the coordinates, and specifics that make sure its safe. So it malfunctioned, which is why we were thrown every which way, and why we ended up here. This entire castle is simply soaked in magic, every stone, every crack, simply seeped in the stuff. That's why the portal was attracted to it, it was easier to connect. There isn't much magic in Tokyo."
"I should hope not," said Dumbledore. "The Room of Requirement sounds like an excellent idea, Harry. And as for your friend here..." A wave of the wand brought Kurama hovering in air. He almost sat up, and then settled down.
"This is the strangest sensation," he said, sounding amused. "Can you make it so I'm sitting up?"
Dumbledore could and did, then he turned to McGonagall. "Please make sure that everyone gets to their dorms at the normal time, Mr. Potter and Miss de Lancre will be coming with me. Mr.-" he trailed off, looking at Yusuke.
"Urameshi," the boy supplied.
"Mr. Urameshi, then, do we need your fourth companion-"
"Kazuma Kuwabara."
"-Mr. Kuwabara to tell your story?"
"Nope. And there really isn't much to tell." At this Kurama and Hiei both snorted, and Yusuke shrugged. "Okay so maybe there is, but how are we gonna do this?"
Harry grinned. "Follow me," he said, and turned out of the hall into one of the corridors. After a few minutes they came to the stairways and Yusuke yelled.
"What?" asked Harry, turning.
"The pictures are MOVING!!!"
Harry blinked. "Oh. Yeah, wizard pictures move. Get used to it. There are also ghosts, several secret passages, and a couple fake doors in the castle. And a fake step. Oh- and be careful on the stairways, they like to change." At this all of their companions looked up and gulped.
"How do you find your way around?" asked Hiei, coming up next to Harry, who grinned.
"You don't, it's all up to Lady Luck. There are still parts of Hogwarts I get lost in, and I've been going here for six years now..."
After only a few more missteps, they arrived at the corridor. "Now don't start thinking I'm nuts," warned Harry, "this is gonna look weird for a moment." And he stood in front of the part of the wall where the door should be. ^we need a place where we can recall memories, where people can see them, without having to move to follow people like in a pensive. A mirror of sorts...^
"Harry, HARRY!!!" and he opened his eyes. A door was right in front of him, a normal door, he pushed it open and looked into an empty room, save for a large table in the middle. Walking over, he realized that the top of the table was not a table, but a mirror, with a large gem at the top. ^directions.....we need directions...^ at once a sheet of parchment appeared.
" 'The person whose memories are to be shared is to stand at the head and place both hands on the stone. They then call up the memories they wish to share.' " He looked around. "Easy enough, don't you think?"
Yusuke shrugged. "I didn't quite catch that but okay. Are we just doing mine, or are you two finally gonna tell someone about your past?" he asked Hiei and Kurama.
"I'll go first," said Kurama quietly. "I'll try to make this quick, but keep in mind, none of this leaves the room without my permission, understood?" they all nodded. "Fine. Here goes nothing..."
Harry looked into the mirror and images flashed before his eyes. A silver fox in a wooded forest, slipping by unnoticed, the same fox stealing objects, fights appeared, and faded, flickers of a tall man, with silver hair, amber eyes and silver fox ears and tail came and left, partners, one in particular, one with black hair and wings, with a pendant (A/n Koronue, I dunno how do describe him) appeared. Then it showed the fox, white now, racing along, and getting shot, by a hunter, and its soul disappearing into the body of a women, the boy growing up, and flashes of meetings with Hiei, and stealing three things, a sword, a globe, and a mirror. Then all the images faded, leaving Harry with his head spinning. "Whoa...." Was all he could manage to say.
Kurama was looking at his hands. "For those of you who didn't catch it, the silver fox and demon was Yoko Kurama. The boy was Suichi Minamo. They are both me. Understand?" everyone nodded. "Good. Hiei, your turn."
He looked up. "What makes you think I'm taking one?" he snapped, backing away.
Kurama gazed at him tiredly. "You might as well, Hiei, because if you don't do it then I will. You know as well as I do that I can have access to your memories if I wish it. This way you can choose what is shown." Hiei glared at him for a minute, then said "Hn," And walked to the front of the mirror. He placed both hands on it and closed his eyes.
Again, images played across the mirror. A young boy thrown off an island simply because he was a male fire demon, whispers of 'The forbidden Child' followed, then flashes of a gang of thieves, of escapes and missions for them, being an assassin for hire, getting his Jagan.....
'What are the earplugs for?'
'Your screams.'
'I won't scream.'
'Everybody screams. The question is, what?'
'YUKINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
Flashes of an aquamarine haired girl with red eyes appeared, battles, Kurama as well appeared a few times, and what was apparently Kurama's room, and then they all faded, leaving Harry again with his mind protesting to all the new information that was being placed into it.
"My turn!" said Yusuke happily. He placed his hands on the stone and pictures appeared again. Yusuke throwing himself in the path of a car, meeting Botan, the grim reaper, his being brought back to life. Flashes of Kuwabara and his girlfriend Keiko, school, and Tokyo. His first mission as a spirit detective, his meeting with Kurama, seeing Kurama use the mirror, and Yusuke offer his life instead, fighting Hiei, and then going to Genkai's, passing the tests, and then the training. Maze castle, the four saint beasts, with flashes of what was going on back home. Rescuing Yukina, and fighting Toguro for the first time. Then the dark tournament, the boat there, and the hotel, fighting all their opponents, Jin, Touya, Chi, all flickered in and out of the images. The fight with Team Toguro, and winning, Yusuke discovering his demon roots, and the last battles they fought, then them going back to Makai for a visit and being chased, trying to fight the demons and not being able to. Finally, Kurama throwing open a portal and demanding they disappear through it, and then those images too, faded and disappeared.
"Well," said Yusuke wryly, shaking out his hands. "Like I said; not much to tell."
Dumbledore looked at him, eyes crinkling in a smile. "I wouldn't say that. Now where are you to sleep?"
"Er...Professor?"
"Yes, Elizabeth?"
"Could they, maybe, stay in the Gryffindor dorms? We have the room..."
Dumbledore smiled wider. "I believe that would work. I shall tell the house elves to set up four beds. I trust Harry will be able to find them something to wear until next hogsemede visit when he can get them some things?"
Harry nodded, grinning. "Sure. Will Kurama be alright by tomorrow?"
"Actually," said the redhead, "I'm feeling much better. I can walk now. I think I just need to restore my energy now. A few of these cuts will take longer to heal, but while you were watching Yusuke and Hiei's memories, I brewed myself a healing potion, so I am almost back to normal. I should be fine."
"Good!" said Harry. "Let's go, then." And he turned to go out the door, only to find a wickedly grinning Yusuke blocking his path. "What?"
"My guess," said Liz, grinning slightly, "is that they want to hear YOUR story now..."
"To right," said Yusuke. "C'mon, wizard-boy, let's hear it."
Harry sighed. He'd had a feeling something like this would happen. "Oh fine...."
He walked over to the mirror, staring at it for a moment, before placing his hands on the stone and calling up his memories. Starting at the beginning, but then the mirrors power took hold of him and the memories simply flowed out of him, showing things even he had forgotten.
'Firs' thing you gotta know is not all wizards are good...'
'So light a fire!'
'But there's no wood!!'
'No wood! Are you a witch or not!!!!'
'Here he comes!'
'Make way for the Slythierins heir!!'
'Sirius Black is after you, Harry.'
'Its five until midnight, Miss Granger, three turns should do it...'
'Harry Potter! Come up, please!'
'Take my body back, Harry; take it back to my parents...'
'The nut house just chucked me out; I can do what I want!'
'It means that the ministry is interfering at Hogwarts...'
And then it all stopped, leaving Harry feeling very odd and slightly out of breath. He looked up to find Hiei, Yusuke and Kurama ALL staring at him. "What?" he asked, collapsing into the chair that had just magically appeared.
"You've been through almost as much as we have....." was all Yusuke could manage.
By the time they reached the Gryffindor dorms, they had basically exhausted all questions they had, and knew each other as well as if they'd known each other for years. At the fat lady's portrait, Harry simply said "Canary Cream" and it swung open, revealing the lavish common room. As they entered, the threesome staring at everything, the room fell silent. Harry sighed. More explanations- just what he needed.
"They're going to be staying here, in the boys dorms. Get used to it. Guys, I'm not gonna introduce everyone because you'll find out their names in time. Boys dorm this way, you can stare at everything tomorrow, we gotta get you some clothes...."
They trooped up the boys stairs, closely followed by Ron, and not by Liz, who immediately went up to the girls dorms.
"Lets see..." Harry said, looking at the boys. Beds and dressers had already been placed for them, all they needed were clothes. He walked over to Kurama, and did a quick measurement. "Okay, me and you are roughly the same size, and since Yusuke is slightly shorter, he'll be about Seamus'....Ron can you get him? Seamus I mean."
"Yup," said Ron, heading for the door. "OY!!!!! SEAMUS!!!!!"
There was a quiet answering, "What?"
"GET UP HERE!!!"
A few moments later, by the time Harry had stocked Kurama's arms with several shirts, pants, a few sweaters, and a pair of pajamas, and some socks, and a brush that Harry had never used, Seamus walked in. "-will that be good?" asked Harry, rising from his trunk.
Kurama was grinning. "That's fine. Where are the showers?"
"On your left," said Seamus, looking at them. "You needed me?"
"Yeah.," said Harry. "Go back to back with Yusuke for a minute...he's the taller one..."
"Oh, THANKS....." Hiei muttered.
"Sorry, yep I was right. Seamus can you lend Yusuke a couple pairs of shirts and pants, a sweater or two...basically what I gave Kurama..."
"Oh, sure. C'mon, Yusuke? Did I say that right?" and the two walked over to Seamus' bed, where Seamus began to pile clothes into Yusuke's arms.
"Now what to do about you....." Harry muttered to himself, looking at Hiei.
"Maybe Hermione can shrink some?" asked Ron. "Dean's probably the smallest so if we get him up here..."
"Yeah," Harry said. "That'll work. Seamus, go get Dean, will you?"
"Sure thing," said Seamus, and he trotted down the stairs, and Harry turned to Ron.
"So where's Hermione?" he asked.
Ron sighed. "Where would she be? Library, of course. As soon as she's back we'll nab her."
Harry nodded. "Right."
Dean was brought, and left after providing extra clothes for Hiei, who was in the shower, and Harry decided the bed arrangements.
"We'll put Kuwabara over by the wall, and Yusuke next, then Hiei by the window, and Kurama nearest to us, next to me. I think that will work, provided that Yusuke and Kuwabara don't kill each other."
"Mione's back!!" was the yell from downstairs.
"Oh good....Hey Hermione," said Harry, turning to the door where his other best friend was standing. "Can you shrink these down for Hiei?"
Hermione sighed. "I can't just shrink them. I need his height and weight, at least, and I don't suppose you have those do you?"
"No...."
"Hiei is 4'11", and roughly 100 pounds. He refuses to go on a scale so that's a guess. Will that work?" It was Kurama, obviously done from the shower, walking out. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and was slightly wet. He was trying to brush his hair while it was still wet. Hermione gulped.
"Yeah that will work." She muttered a spell and the clothes shrank a good couple inches. "Now all he has to do is try them."
"That shouldn't be too hard. HIEI!!!" Kurama called, grabbing Harry's discarded pajamas from the dresser.
"What?"
"Come out here please! There are some things you need to try on!" Kurama called.
"You come here and bring them," snapped Hiei's voice from the shower. "I'm busy."
Kurama sighed. "I'll take them." Hermione handed him a shirt and a pair of pants.
"If those fit, they'll all fit."
"Alright, thank you," Kurama said, turning to go back to the bathroom.
"Your welcome," and Hermione left.
"Is it just me," asked Harry slowly, after she had. "Or did Hermione seem rather flustered...."
"It wasn't just you," said a drawl voice. It was Yusuke, dressed for bed, rubbing his hair with a towel to dry it. "Which bed is mine?"
"Second on the left, you're next to Hiei on one side and Kuwabara on the other."
"Good," Yusuke flopped on his back and stared at the ceiling. "I could get used to this..."
They all laughed, and got ready for bed themselves. Hiei came and immediately flitted to the windowsill, where he stayed without saying a word. Kurama came out, and adjusted things, arranging their clothes in the drawers.
Afterwards, when just about everyone was in bed, except Harry, Kurama walked over to Yusuke, smiled slightly, and tugged down the blankets, before arranging the boy so his head was on the pillow and he was under the covers. Kurama then walked to Hiei's bed, pulled down the sheets, and afterward walked over and picked up Hiei, who fussed slightly, before settling him in his bed as well, and tucking him in. Kurama then pulled the curtains around Yusuke's bed, but left Hiei's open. As he went to get into his own bed, Harry said,
"You really take care of them, don't you?"
Kurama smiled, sliding between the sheets. "I have a feeling that if it wasn't for me, Hiei would've killed Kuwabara a long time ago, and they would hardly ever be in condition to fight. Hiei doesn't take care of himself, really. I mean he can get along fine in Makai, but in the human world, he doesn't know much. So I try to keep an eye on all of them. Make sure they don't get themselves killed and such."
Harry propped his head up on his elbow. "You must be great friends."
Kurama smiled again, fluffing his pillow and settling down. "Ron and Hermione are great friends as well. So are the angels. Tell me if this sounds like them, it's a quote my mother told me. "A good friend would bail you out of jail, no matter the price. But a GREAT friend would be in the cell next to you going 'that was SO worth it."'
Emerald eyes met Emerald eyes. Then Harry chuckled. "Knowing Hermione she'd be complaining about how we never should've done that, but yeah that sounds like the angels....They went to Azkaban, as a whole, even though it was only Liz who was sentenced there."
Kurama frowned. "What for?"
Harry shrugged, and closed his eyes. "I dunno, but we should probably go to bed, I've got classes tomorrow. G'night, Kurama."
He could almost feel the other boys smile, and heard as he settled down for the night. "Good night, Harry."