Heya! Welcome back. I want to thank my reviewers: DrAgOnCiTa, LORD-BIG-DOGGIE, Crazy Hyper Lady and Kokuun. I would also like to rectify a mistake I made in my last notes. I said Mika means priestess. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Miko means priestess. But I did look up what it meant in a name book. Mika means new moon. I knew I called the owl Mika for a reason. Anyway, I really hope you'll review, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: as previously stated, RuroKen and Harry Potter do not belong to me, nor do I have any rights to them.
Last time on RuroKen and the Philosopher's stone
Kenshin practiced magic on himself and learned more of the magical world. But the time is getting short and Kenshin is about to go to Hogwarts!
Chapter SevenThe Hogwarts Express
The holidays were over and September the first began to dawn. Kenshin hadn't managed to sleep very much and had woken up at five in the morning. He had packed everything into a trunk and waited impatiently for the time they would be leaving. They had managed to order a cab to take them to Kings-cross station. However, it is needless to say that the cab driver was rather stunned to have a man in a white mantle, a tiny Japanese boy with red hair – both in gi and hakama and looking like Samurai out of a book – and a barn owl as passengers. Thankfully, he didn't raise the question.
Now, however, standing in the middle of a crowded station, Kenshin was starting to look a little worried. Not only did the three of them stand out like a sore thumb, but as Kenshin looked down the line of platforms, nowhere did he see a platform 9¾
"Are you sure that it is Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Shishou?" Kenshin asked for what must have been the tenth time that day.
The two people from Japan were currently standing in between Platform Nine and Ten of the King's Cross train station at exactly 9:15 A.M. London time. The duo had arrived fifteen minutes earlier and had drawn fifteen minutes' worth of stares. They had walked from Platform Nine to Platform Ten without seeing a single fraction. Their inconspicuousness was not helped at all by Mika hooting in annoyance. They had decided to stop pacing and stand in front of the dividing barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 until they could decide on their next course of action.
"Do you know how we're supposed to get onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Shishou?" Kenshin asked Hiko tentatively.
"No, Deshi," Hiko replied exasperatedly. "If I did, we would most likely be on the platform by now."
"Of course, Shishou. Gomennasai," Kenshin said. "I am just worried that I'll miss my train…"
"We have an hour and forty-five minutes, give or take a few seconds, until you're train leaves, Deshi," Hiko reassured Kenshin. "If we can not find a way to get onto the platform, we can always start tapping on bricks with your magic twig."
"Hai Shishou,' Kenshin relented. "Do you think that tapping bricks would help, though, Shishou? Wouldn't that be a little bit obvious?"
"What do you mean, Deshi?"
"Well, all these people -these muggles- would notice us, wouldn't they?" Kenshin pointed out, using a term that Hagrid taught Kenshin on the way to Diagon Alley.
"That's just a risk we'll have to take, Deshi," Hiko said. "Besides, nobody saw us walk into that invisible inn too."
"Oh yeah," Kenshin remembered how, despite the fact that the tiny inn was rather obvious, neither his master nor any of the muggles could see the Leaky Cauldron.
Hiko looked at Kenshin. "Well," he said. "What are you waiting for?"
"Oro?" Kenshin blurted out. "I should start tapping now?"
" 'Now or never' is what they say, Baka Deshi," Hiko said, gesturing at the nearest wall, the barrier that divided Platforms 9 and 10.
Kenshin sighed. As discreetly as he could, Kenshin pulled his wand out of his sword sash. He was still wearing his training clothes -robes, both of them agreed, would be even stranger than what he had on now- though he had left his sword with his master for safe keeping. He didn't want to be even stranger looking than he already was – or get arrested by the London police on his first day of school, either.
Kenshin tentatively tapped the brick right in front of him. To his immense surprise, his wand met nothing to tap and half disappeared through the solid-looking wall. It seemed as if the wall was not made of bricks but of air.
"Oro! Shishou!" Kenshin gasped in surprise.
"Hmmm," Hiko mused. "It's either a trap, in which case we would be better off not sticking any body part through, or it's the entrance to our platform."
"Who'd want to lay a trap for us, Shishou?" Kenshin asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Good point," Hiko said. He then shoved Kenshin through. Grabbing the luggage that Kenshin had left behind in his hasty entrance, Hiko followed.
Kenshin stumbled a bit out of surprise but managed to keep his balance. When he looked up, he saw a scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform crowded with people. A sign hung overhead which said 'Hogwarts express, 11 o-clock'. Kenshin looked back as Hiko walked through an iron archway where a ticket box on the wall had been. On it was the words 'Platform 9¾.
"See? Nothing to worry about," said Hiko who came up right beside him.
"You are very mean, Shishou," Kenshin said under his breath. Hiko smiled a little.
The train didn't leave for an hour and a half but already the platform was filled with witches and wizards. In the crowd, Kenshin could see many cats winding their way through their masters' legs, and could hear disgruntled hoots from locked up owls of all kinds. Mika hooted in answer to an owl close by. Kenshin could see that a few of the cars in front were already packed full, with a few hanging through windows to speak with their families. Not wanting to be left without a seat, Kenshin said 'goodbye' toward his master and then set out for the train.
"Hold on, Deshi," Hiko said, grabbing Kenshin by the back of his gi and tugging him back. "Don't forget your luggage and katana."
"Oh yeah, ariga- my katana!" Kenshin exclaimed. "Why do I need it?"
"I can't have you going rusty, can I," Hiko said. "I don't want to have to retrain you when you come back."
"But I'm going to SCHOOL. I can't take a weapon! It. Is. Not. Allowed!"
"Just take it, Baka Deshi."
"Iie!"
"Why not?"
"I told you why not!" Kenshin yelled.
"Keep your voice down, Baka Deshi. You'll attract stares." Hiko stated calmly.
Kenshin looked around and flushed redder than his hair (which was a feat in itself). Indeed, a few of the people near them were already turning their heads to stare at the two of them.
Once they had turned away again, Hiko leaned down. In a low voice he said "take it. You won't have to kill anyone with it, just practice"
In the same low voice, Kenshin said "It's too dangerous, Shishou. What if someone walks in on me while I'm training and I accidentally take off their head?"
"His or her head," Hiko corrected. "And I taught you how to sense Ki. Just run away when you sense someone."
"I don't want a weapon like that near me while I'm around people my own age."
Hiko sighed. "Fine."
Kenshin stared at him for a moment, unsure whether he had heard him right. "Fine!' Kenshin asked incredulously.
"Yes, fine," Hiko said. "You won't have to take this with you."
"Arigato, Shishou," Kenshin sighed relieved.
"I'm not giving up. You'll practice your swordsmanship," Hiko went on. "Just not with a Katana."
"Oro?" Kenshin said. "But I can't use a Shinai – I'd break it. You told me that yourself when you started teaching me"
Hiko, however, seemed not to have heard "You'd better find a compartment."
Kenshin had his luggage pushed into his hands and then was spun round roughly and pushed toward a compartment near the back of the train.
"Here, this one's empty," Hiko told Kenshin. "Go on."
Kenshin climbed through the train door and heaved his trunk in after him. After managing to get his stuff and Mika in, Kenshin turned back toward Hiko and asked, "How will I practice if I don't have a katana?"
"Don't worry about that now; let me worry about that," Hiko said with an unconcerned wave of his hand. However, he had a strange smile on his face. Uh oh… "Just don't forget to write." And then Hiko was striding through the growing crowds and was gone.
Kenshin decided to do what he always did: follow Hiko's instructions. Putting sword matters in the back of his mind, he slid the compartment door closed and started changing into his new wizard robes. Kenshin decided as he looked at himself in the glass, that he looked even more like a girl than he used to after he had got into his robes. Just peachy…
To help pass the time, Kenshin let Mika out of her cage, but not without first instructing her to stay inside the compartment. Kenshin didn't want to go out of the compartment without it being absolutely necessary, especially since he was now in something that looked very much like a dress. While Kenshin was watching Mika happily fly around, hooting pleasantly the door slid open. Kenshin blinked. 'Oro?'
Standing in the doorway was a boy of about his own age. He was dressed in ordinary clothes, but they looked like they were several sizes too big. He had jet-black hair that stood all over the place – a little like Kenshin's did. Behind round, rather battered looking glasses fixed together with tape, were a pair of bright green eyes. His ki seemed that of a humble, but very nervous boy.
'Um… excuse me, may I sit in your compartment please?'
Kenshin blinked before smiling gently. He felt the nervousness in the boy's ki fade a little. 'Of course.' He said, gesturing to the empty spaces in the compartment. The boy smiled back in relief. The boy placed a white owl in a cage through the door and began to lift his trunk up the stairs… or at least he attempted to. After he dropped it painfully on his foot, Kenshin decided that he might as well be useful.
'Want a hand?' he asked kindly
The boy looked a little surprised by the offer, but panted 'Yes, please'
Kenshin hopped out of the compartment and put his shoulder to the trunk. Together, the two of them managed to get the trunk up the steps and into the compartment, tucking it away in the corner near to Kenshin's. Both of the boys stepped in to the compartment and shared a triumphant laugh.
'Thanks,' the green-eyed boy said, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. Kenshin caught a glimpse of a lightning-bolt shaped scar. This got his curiosity up, but he mentioned nothing. With something like that, it is best not to say anything.
'My name is Kenshin Himura,' Kenshin said. 'What's yours?'
'Harry,' Harry answered. 'Harry Potter.'
Despite the fact that Kenshin's face never changed, the boy's name rang a bell. "Potter" – where had he heard that name before… Again, he decided not to say anything. The name "Potter" was a common one in the west anyway. Perhaps he had heard about another one somewhere. Besides, it wasn't his business anyway.
'So, are you a first-year student too, Harry?' Kenshin asked.
'Yeah,' Harry replied. 'And you are too?'
'Yep,' Kenshin beamed. 'I only found out a few months ago that I'm a wizard and everything. I bet Hogwarts will be full of magic.
'I know what you mean,' Harry said, with a relieved smile. 'My parents were a witch and wizard, but I grew up with my relatives. They're muggles, and horrible ones to boot. I was worried I would be the only one at school who didn't grow up without knowing about magic.'
'I was kind of worried about that too. I guess we'll just have to learn about this world together,' Kenshin said with a soft smile and a shrug.
'Yeah,' Harry said with a big smile. He was so glad to have finally made a friend. He wasn't exaggerating when he said that his relatives were horrible. The Dursleys were Harry's relatives from his mother's side and they absolutely abhorred magic. Apparently, when the Dursleys took Harry in, they were afraid that he would be a wizard and, for some reason, thought that by seriously mistreating Harry they could somehow squash the magic out of him. Needless to say, they were wrong, and Harry had left them to go to Hogwarts, feeling the happiest he could ever remember feeling.
Kenshin pondered on what he said. Worried he might sound a little too forward, he asked 'So… why do you live with your relatives and not your parents?'
Though it was well hidden, Harry's smile slipped a little and Kenshin immediately started kicking himself. Kenshin no Baka! Now you've gone and done it! I really am a Baka Deshi. Harry, on the other hand, didn't realise Kenshin was regretting what he had said. He was busy worrying about how his new friend would think about him if he found out that Harry was an orphan.
'Well, -' Harry started slowly, but was cut off as the train lurched forward and started moving.
Kenshin took advantage of the pause to say, 'I'm sorry, that was a stupid question to ask,' in a low voice
'No, that's okay,' Harry said. He decided that if he was going to be friends with Kenshin, then he shouldn't hide things. 'My parents were killed by Voldemort.'
Kenshin seemed momentarily speechless. Then, he quietly said, 'I'm sorry.'
'Don't be,' Harry said. 'It wasn't your fault.'
Kenshin remembered something then. When Hiko had told him about Voldemort, hadn't he said that the son of the Potters who Voldemort had killed was one at the time when he somehow defeated him - that the spell rebound upon its originator? So that would make him Kenshin's age now! 'So that means that you're-' Kenshin began.
Then, the compartment door opened. A boy with ginger-hair stuck his head in nervously.
'Anyone sitting there?' he asked, pointing at the seat next to Kenshin. 'Everywhere else's full.'
Harry recognised the boy. When Harry had arrived at the train station, he had no idea how to get onto the correct platform. He had spotted the boy- Harry remembered his name was Ron- along with his three brothers, one sister, and one mother, with an owl. He knew that keeping owls as pets was not normal for a muggle family and had moved closer. He heard them talking about Hogwarts so he asked the mother how to get on. She kindly gave him instructions and informed him that Ron was going into his first year too.
Kenshin shook his head and the boy sat down next to him, relieved. Kenshin saw him glance at Harry and quickly look out of the window as if he hadn't. Kenshin tried not to raise an eyebrow. He saw that there was a dark smudge on his longish nose
'Thanks,' Ron said. 'My name's Ron Weasley,' he added as an afterthought.
'Kenshin Himura,' Kenshin said, smiling again.
'Harry Potter.'
Ron's eyes went wide. 'So you were Harry Potter!' he blurted out. 'Er- I thought I saw your scar. Do you really have, you know-?' Ron pointed at Harry's forehead.
Harry pulled back his bangs to reveal the scar- he had taken to hiding it whenever he was near magical people because they had a tendency to give him a lot of unwarranted reverence.
'Is that where You-Know-Who, - you know-'
'Tried to kill you?' Kenshin finished quietly for Ron.
'Yes,' Harry said. 'I don't remember any of it though.'
'None of it?' Ron asked eagerly.
'Well,' Harry thought. 'I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else.'
'Wow,' Ron said nonetheless. He sat and stared at Harry for a few minutes, then, as if he just realised what he was doing, quickly looked out the window again. Kenshin seemed to be pondering about this and said nothing at all.
Harry was eager to change the subject to something he felt more comfortable with and he was just as interested in Ron and Kenshin as they seemed to be with him, so he asked Ron 'Are your whole family wizards?'
'Er- yeah, I think so,' Ron replied. 'I think mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we don't talk about him.'
Kenshin seemed interested by an all-magic family too. 'So you must already know a lot of magic.'
Ron seemed flustered by all the attention. 'Not really. Mom wouldn't be too happy if I was trying to do any serious magic. How about you two?' Ron added. 'I heard that you went to live with muggles, Harry, but I don't know anything about you, Kenshin.'
'Yeah, me neither,' Harry remarked.
'Umm,' Kenshin looked a little nervous, wondering how the subject had come to himself. Even with Hiko, Kenshin almost never spoke about himself. This really wasn't much of a subject he wanted to talk about, so he put up all his inner defences, just to make sure. 'I'm an orphan really. I live in Japan with my master who teaches me ss-pottery.' Better not tell them about the Hiten Mitsurugi, he thought
'Master?' Ron asked. Harry agreed with the question. What did he mean by "master?"
'Oh, no! Nothing like that!' Kenshin said, waving his hands in front of him at their faces. They looked as if he had just told them he worked in a slave labour camp or something! 'I mean like Master and Apprentice,' he explained.
'Oh,' Harry said, a little embarrassed.
'So, uh, why don't you go to a Japanese school of magic?' Ron asked, as if to make up for his embarrassment. 'Wouldn't it be closer?'
Kenshin shrugged. 'The Japanese schools need their students to start going to school since childhood and I think that maybe I wasn't able to go.'
'Why not?' Ron and Harry asked in confusion. Kenshin was feeling uncomfortable again
'Well, I lived in a pretty poor orphanage so I think that the schools realised that I wouldn't have the resources to go to school.'
Harry and Ron looked each other. They had both forgotten that Kenshin said he was an orphan.
Harry tentatively asked, 'What happened to your parents?'
Kenshin's face was devoid of any emotion; his eyes took on a flat look that chilled them slightly. This was not a look you'd expect to see on a normal 11-year-old. 'They died of illness' he said rather shortly.
'Blimey, I'm sorry, mate,' Ron said quietly.
The moment passed and Kenshin's eyes softened a bit more. 'Don't worry about it,' Kenshin said, his voice marginally more cheerful with a quick smile. 'How's living with your relatives like, Harry.'
Harry could tell that Kenshin was trying to change the subject quickly so he went along with it. 'Oh, they're horrible. They must be the worst muggles you could ever meet. I wish I had a family like yours Ron. Wish I had three wizards for brothers.'
'Five,' Said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomily. 'I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say that I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy. Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal – they did it first. It doesn't matter what I do. You'd never get anything new either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes; Charlie's old wand and Percy's old rat.'
Ron pulled out a fat grey rat from his jacket pocket. It was currently asleep.
'His name's Scabbers and useless: hardly ever wakes up. Dad got Percy an owl for being made prefect, but they couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead.'
Ron's ears became a curious shade of pink. He must have thought he said too much, because he started looking out of the window to avoid Kenshin and Harry's eyes.
Harry didn't think that there was anything to be ashamed about in not being able to afford an owl. He himself had never had any money until the last month. He told Ron all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. Ron seemed to brighten a little. Kenshin also told him all about how he had only ever had about two sets of clothes while living with Hiko and having to be taught everything by Hiko, as he couldn't afford tuition fee's
'And, until Hagrid told me' Harry added, 'I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort -'
Ron gasped. Kenshin was rather surprised as he felt the fear ripple through his ki.
'What?' both Harry and Kenshin asked.
'You- you just said You-Know-Who's name!' Ron said, sounding both shocked and impressed. 'I thought that you, of all people, would-'
Kenshin and Harry glanced at each other, both with a confused look in their eyes. 'I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying his name' Harry said. 'I just didn't know that you shouldn't. Neither does Kenshin. See what I mean? We both have loads to learn. Do you think...' Harry said worriedly, 'that we'd be so behind that we'd be at the bottom of the class?'
Kenshin was looking worried for the first time. This thought had never occurred to him before. He looked at Ron too nervously.
'You two won't be. There're loads of people who are from Muggle families. They learn quick enough and so will you guys.'
While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London, and was now speeding passed neat fields full of cows and sheep, the occasional horse. For a time the three of them said nothing, just looking out the windows, watching the scenery pass by. During that time, Mika, who had been flying around the ceiling finally became bored and flew on top of Harry's owl-cage. The white owl looked up in annoyance. Kenshin introduced her as his owl, Mika. Harry also told him his owl's name – Hedwig.
At about half twelve, Kenshin felt a ki approach. However, there wasn't much need to even check. The noise from a rattling trolley was warning enough. A smiling, dimpled woman pushing a cart full of food slid the compartment door open. 'Anything off the cart, dears?'
Kenshin's stomach gave a very audible growl. 'I'm kinda hungry.' He said sheepishly. Harry also jumped off his seat and approached. Ron, however, stayed where he was, his ears turning pink once again. He muttered something at having brought sandwiches.
Kenshin and Harry glanced at the selection of food on the trolley. Kenshin had never seen such strange, but delicious, assortment. There were Bertie Bott's Every-Flavoured Beans; Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice wands and a number of other things. Kenshin could only find one word to describe it all. 'Oro!'
Kenshin never had enough money, and had never really been allowed to have any sort of sweets and, by the way Harry was buying things, neither had the other boy. They bought as much as they could carry and carried it back into the room. Ron stared as they dumped the stuff on the empty seat next to Harry.
'Hungry, are you?'
'Starving,' Harry said around a pumpkin pastry he had bitten into.
Ron reached into his jacket and pulled out a slightly squashed package of sandwiches. Unwrapping them, he pulled one apart and looked inside. He pulled a face. 'She always forgets I don't like corn-beef,' he sighed.
Kenshin looked over to see. They looked rather dry. Kenshin smiled as he had an idea. With lightning fast speed, he knocked them out of his hand. Ron stared at the fallen sandwiched, as if wondering how that happened. Kenshin and Harry looked surprised too, but Kenshin was not surprised that neither of the others had seen his hand whip out with the god-like speed of the Hiten Mitsurugi ryu. He secretly thanked Hiko's training, even if he was nowhere near as fast as his Shishou just yet. He said 'Well, you can't have them now. Why don't you have some of these?' he held up a Pumpkin Pasty.
Harry seemed to have caught on. 'Go on, it's not exactly fair that you get nothing when we've got stuff to share. Besides,' he added with a smile 'I'm sure that these'll taste better than sandwiches that've been on the floor'
'Well, if you insist,' Ron said with a shadow of a grin, reaching for the nearest Pumpkin Pasty. Kenshin hid a smile and continued to eat his. It was delicious!
As Kenshin ate the numerous snacks he and his friends shared, he studied Harry from under his bangs. From what he could observe, he had none of the traits extremely famous people were known for. He was in no way arrogant. In fact, it seemed that he had been brought up largely neglected and mistreated. He seemed extremely uncomfortable by fame or excessive attention, unlike the stereotypical image of a celebrity. He seemed nothing more than an ordinary boy.
'Are these really frogs?' Harry was asking Ron. He was holding up a bag of something labelled "Chocolate Frogs." Kenshin wasn't all that surprised. From everything he had seen so far, it wouldn't have been a shock to discover they really were frogs.
'Its just a spell,' Ron explained with a wave of his hand. 'But see what the card is, I'm missing Agrippa.'
'What?' Harry asked, confused - a sentiment Kenshin shared.
'Oh, of course, you wouldn't know - Chocolate Frogs have card to collect inside. They're collectible and they have famous witches and wizards on them. I've got around five hundred- but I'm still missing Agrippa and Ptolemy.'
Harry unwrapped the Frog and, to Kenshin's utter amazement, the frog leapt off the wrapper. 'ORO!' the frog clambered up the window and leapt through the window. Ron watched in amusement at the thoroughly startled boys.
'They only have one good jump in 'em. That's rotten luck'.
Having recovered from his surprise, Harry picked out the card that remained lying in the wrapper.
'Hey, I've got Dumbledore!' Harry said.
'Our headmaster?' Kenshin asked looking over Harry's shoulder.
Dumbledore wore half-moon spectacles, had a long rather crooked nose that looked like it had been broken before, and flowing silver hair, beard and moustache. He looked like a benign, kindly wizard.
'Don't tell me you two've never heard of Dumbledore!' said Ron 'Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa – thanks-'
Harry turned the card over to read what it said.
Kenshin turned back to get some sweets while still listening to the conversation.
'It says here that he's "considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times!"' Harry remarked. He looked back at the card again with a slight frown. Flipping the card back over again he saw, to his astonishment, that the face had vanished. 'He's gone!'
'Oro?' Kenshin went over to inspect the picture. And just as Harry said, Dumbledore's picture was gone, leaving only an empty picture square.
'Well, you can't expect him to stay around forever, can you?' Ron said. 'He'll be back though. They always come back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got six of her… Do one of you want it? You can start collecting.' He went back to eating sweets.
Kenshin and Harry shared a confused look. Kenshin had been in a wizard's hotel for about a month, but he had never seen any kind of picture move in and out of portraits. But, as he was always either practising magic in his room or finding a forest to spar with Hiko, he didn't pay attention to pictures. But still...
'Ummm... in our world, you know, the muggle one, pictures don't move at all. They just stay put in the photo,' Harry said.
'Do they? What, they don't move at all?' This obviously got Ron's attention much better than the disappearing picture. Ron turned to Kenshin as if he expected him to refute Harry's claim. Kenshin nodded furiously too. 'Weird!'
Kenshin saw movement out of the corner of his eye and watched as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and winked at him.
Kenshin and Harry had a brilliant time with the Chocolate frogs. Ron seemed more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the cards. The cards, however, entranced Kenshin and Harry. After having some fun trying to catch rogue enchanted frogs and swapping cards (as well as watching the people in them move about – one was even picking its nose!) Harry turned to open a pack of what was called 'Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans'
'Be careful with those' Ron warned 'When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour! George even reckons he got a bogey flavoured one once.' Ron carefully picked up a green bean and tentatively nibbled it at one end. He pulled a face. 'Bleaaargh - see? Sprouts.'
They had a lot of fun with the beans. As they tested the large range of flavours, Harry was surprised by a grass flavoured one. Kenshin's eyes nearly watered at a very hot chilli flavoured one and was even brave enough to try a funny grey coloured one that turned out to be pepper, which had him choking for several minutes straight.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. A round-faced boy came in, his face rather tear-stained. 'Sorry, but have you seen a toad?' he asked tearfully.
Kenshin and Harry shook their heads, and Ron said, 'Sorry, mate.'
'I've lost him!' he wailed 'He keeps getting away from me!'
'I'm sure you'll find him sooner or later,' Kenshin said in what he hoped was a kindly voice.
'Yes, well,' the boy said sadly, 'if you see him...'
'We'll give him to you,' Harry said reassuringly.
The boy left miserably, also forgetting to shut the compartment door behind him in his grief.
'Dunno why he's so bothered. If I had to bring a toad to school,' Ron said, 'I'd lose him as fast as I could.' Ron sweat-dropped as the rat on his lap snorted loudly in sleep. 'But then,' he added 'I've brought Scabbers who's hardly any better than a toad. He could have died and you wouldn't know the difference! I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting. But it didn't work at all. Here, I'll let you guys see...'
Ron rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a second-hand-looking wand. Kenshin could see something silver glinting near the end. 'It was Charlie's,' Ron reminded them. 'You can even see the Unicorn hair poking out of the end, it's so old-'
Kenshin had of course already tried a few more simple spells in his time at the Leaky Cauldron, but Harry apparently had not. He was interestedly watching. Kenshin felt a familiar ki and a new one approach. Just Ron had just raised his wand, a bossy voice said, 'Excuse me, have you seen Neville's toad?'
The newcomer was a girl around the their ages. She had very bushy brown hair and somewhat larger-than-usual front teeth. She was, like Kenshin, already in her Hogwarts robes. With her was the round-faced boy from earlier, who must be Neville.
'We already told him-' Ron, who had become the self-proclaimed voice of the trio, began, but the girl wasn't listening. She was looking at the wand Ron had raised.
'Oh! Are you doing magic?' she asked. 'Well, let's see it then.'
She sat down. Ron looked taken aback from her boldness. Kenshin had thus far deduced that people in the West were lunatic.
'All right,' Ron said a little uncertainly. Nonetheless, he cleared his throat and said the incantation:
'Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.'
Ron waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers was still fat, grey, and asleep.
'Are you sure that's a real spell?' the girl asked. 'Well, it's not very good, is it? All the spells I've tried have worked for me, thought, mind you, they were all simple ones. I'm muggle-born by the way- no magic in the family at all. It was ever such a surprise when my letter arrived. I was pleased though, of course. I mean, I've heard that it's the very best school of witchcraft that there is. I've learned all the course books by heart- I just hope that it will be enough - oh, I'm Hermione Granger, who are you three?'
She had said this very fast. Kenshin gaped slightly. He was surprised her complexion had not turned a bluish tinge, or that she hadn't passed out from lack of air. Harry and Ron just looked at each other.
'I'm Ron Weasley,' Ron muttered; he looked unnerved, like Kenshin, that Hermione had learned the course books by heart.
'Kenshin Himura,' Kenshin said, a little bit more politely than Ron's answer.
'Did you die your hair Kenshin?' Hermione asked. 'I don't mean to sound rude or stereotypical, but I thought it was natural for all Asians to have black, or at least dark hair. How is it that your hair is bright red?'
Yep, definitely lunatic. 'Ummmm...' Kenshin said nervously. 'I was born with my hair. I don't know why it's so different- probably from one of my parents.'
'Mmmmm…' Hermione hummed skeptically. And then she abruptly looked at Harry for him to give his name.
'My name's Harry Potter.'
She, despite being muggle-born like Kenshin, immediately recognized his name.
'Are you really?' Hermione asked. 'I know all about you – I got some extra books for background reading. You're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.'
Harry seemed stunned. 'I am?' he asked dazedly.
'Goodness, didn't you know? I'd have found out everything I could if I were you.' Hermione said. 'Oh, by the way, do any of you know which house you'll be in?' Then, without waiting for an answer, she went on, 'From what I've heard, I think Gryffindor's the best. They even say that that was the house Dumbledore himself was in. I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad either, but I'm hoping for Gryffindor. Anyway, Neville and I had better go look for his toad. And you two should change into your robes. You know, we'll arrive soon."
And then, she and Neville left; though, it was more like he followed her because Neville looked as if he had no idea what was going on.
'Bloody hell, does she even need to breathe when she talks?' Ron asked in awe.
'Who knows,' Harry said
'Anyway, I hope that whatever house I'm in, she wont be,' Ron said to Harry and Kenshin. He threw his wand back in the trunk. 'Stupid spell – George gave it me. Bet he knew it was a dud'
'What are houses?' Kenshin asked bemused.
'There are four, Hagrid told me,' Harry said. 'They're a bit like classes and you share living quarters with them. Let's see, there's Hufflepuff, Griffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin'. He turned to Ron 'What house were your brothers in?'
'Griffindor,' Ron said gloomily 'Mum and Dad were too. I dunno what they'll do if I'm not. Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, but Slytherin…'
'That's the house Vol – er, I mean – you-know-who was in?' Harry said. Kenshin blinked. That was news to him!
'Yeah…' He flopped back on his seat, looking thoroughly depressed.
'So what do you do, you know, once you've left?' Kenshin asked, seeing (and feeling from his ki) depression settling in, and quickly decided to change the subject for him.
'You can do a lot of things,' Ron explained, looking a little bit less depressed. 'Like my brothers Charlie and Bill have already left school. Charlie's studying dragons in Romania. Bill's doing something for Gringotts in Africa.'
'I thought only goblins worked at Gringotts?' Kenshin asked.
'Bill's only working as a cursebreaker or something; he doesn't handle all the withdrawals and deposits most of the time. That sort of thing's better left to the goblins. They know how to hold onto gold best. Thinking of Gringotts, did you hear what happened at Gringotts over the holidays? It was all over the daily prophet – a wizard newspaper' he explained at seeing Kenshin's blank expression. 'I doubt you'd get it, living with Muggles – someone tried to rob the high-security vault.'
Harry stared. 'What happened to them?'
Ron's voice dropped into a conspiring tone. 'Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They didn't get caught. Dad reckons it had to be a powerful dark wizard to do it. That's why this is causing so much panic. Everyone's afraid that You-Know-who's behind it...'
Kenshin tensed slightly as he felt three ki approaching their compartment. Though these belonged to people who were perhaps no older than themselves, judging by the almost innocent side born by most children. However, there was darkness in them as well, which was putting his nerves on edge. These ki bore an arrogance- they weren't dangerous, but they were not benign either. Kenshin felt himself tense, ready for whatever would come, his eyes narrowed.
Harry immediately saw the change. As he glanced over at the red-headed Japanese, he saw not the usual soft eyes that he had grown used to, but narrow, hard eyes, glaring towards the door.
'Kenshin? Are you all right?'
Before Kenshin could answer, the compartment door slid open once more. But this time, it wasn't Neville or Hermione, but three boys, who stood in the doorway. The two at the sides seemed that they were miniature thugs. Both of them were thickset and looked rather mean. The pale one in the middle had the look of an arrogant, greasy aristocrat. Harry and Ron snapped round to look at them. Kenshin was sure that Harry's emerald eyes flashed in recognition. The pale one was watching Harry with a disturbing amount of interest that did nothing to settle Kenshin's nerves.
'Is it true? They're saying it all down the train. Is Harry Potter really in this compartment?'
'Yes,' Harry answered, his eyes straying to the other two boys, standing like bodyguards to the other boy. The pale boy noticed his glance.
'This is Crabbe,' he pointed carelessly over one shoulder to one of the boys. 'And Goyle' he pointed to the other. 'And my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy'
Kenshin quickly hid a laugh, but Ron wasn't so discreet and gave a small, sniggering cough. Malfoy looked at him disdainfully.
'Think my name's funny, do you? Well, there's no need to ask who you are. Father told me about you Weasleys. Red hair, freckles and more kids than they can afford.' He looked at Kenshin, who was watching with all-seeing eyes. 'And who are you?' he sneered.
'Kenshin Himura,' he said coldly in return. He didn't like the look he was given, as if he was just dirt, nor did he like the boy's ki, the way it flashed as he said his name. The boy turned back to Harry.
'You'll soon find some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort.' He extended his hand. 'I can help you there'
Harry looked at the hand, but didn't take it. He looked back at Malfoy. 'I think,' he said coolly 'I can tell the wrong sort myself, thanks'
Kenshin felt anger flare as he saw the slight pinkish tinge on his cheeks. Slowly, almost threateningly, Malfoy said, 'I'd be careful if I were you, Potter. Unless you're a bit politer, you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. You hang out with riffraff like that Hagrid and them and it might rub off on you'
Harry and Ron stood up fast; Ron's face was as red as his hair. 'Say that again' he snarled. Kenshin watched as they stared at each other.
'Oh, are you gonna fight us?' sneered Malfoy. Suddenly, Kenshin laughed. Malfoy glared at him.
"Ahou" Kenshin growled before he said coldly. 'Your very bold with your friends. You wouldn't be, if you were alone' He stood to his full height, a little shorter than Malfoy, but it made no difference. 'Leave'
Malfoy paused for a moment, but quickly recovered. 'But we don't feel like leaving, do we boys? We've eaten all our food, and you still seem to have some left'
Goyle went to grab some food, but Kenshin lashed out quickly, sending him stumbling forwards. Suddenly, he let out a screech. Jumping backwards, he waved about his hand, which had Scabbers latched on firmly by the teeth. Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as one as, howling, he waved his hand around until the rat flew off his hand and Kenshin caught him quickly before it hit the window. The boys fled, as if they expected to be attacked by thousands of rats hidden within the mountain of candy. But then Hermione burst into the carriage.
'What has been going on?' she asked, frowning at all the sweets on the floor and looking like a strict teacher. Ron ignored her as he approached Kenshin to inspect the animal.
'Hey, good catch!' he said to Kenshin, his voice laced with respect before he picked up the rat by the tail. 'I think he's been knocked out… No, wait – I don't believe it! He's gone back to sleep!'
Everyone face faulted.
To be continued…
Chosha's notes.
.! Bloody hell - that was a long chapter for me! I never realised the train scene would be so long! And that was it being adlibbed too! Don't worry about the Kenshin-with-no-sword. Hiko has his plans. I want him to keep part of the story, even if he can't take an active role. Don't you Hiko fans worry!
Anyway, we're now getting to Hogwarts – and we're gonna meet the Kenshin-gumi, or at least part of it. Thank you for reading so far and I hope I don't disappoint! Questions, criticisms, you name it, please review!
Next time on RuroKen and the Philosopher's stone:
Hogwarts is coming and the sorting is about to begin. Next episode: the magical castle and the sorting hat!
Ja ne for now, Minna-san! See you next time!