Disclaimer: Neither Inuyasha nor Harry Potter and all characters contained within said works belong to Sessha-chan. It tears me apart to admit it but it is the truth.

Chapter 4

Kagome, meet Hat

Hermione helped Kagome change quickly into her school robes. The little miko had come to the British girl asking her to help her, as she trusted neither herself nor Inuyasha to get the confounded things on right. Nevertheless, Hermione had the art of wearing robes explained in minutes and soon they were all rushing down to the great hall for the Sorting Feast. McGonagall had told Kagome that she and her husband were to wait in one of the side rooms until the first years entered. Then she would be sorted after everyone else.

Hermione wished her luck before she rushed away to sit with her friends. Kagome clutched Inuyasha's hand desperately. Inuyasha tightened his grip, squeezing reassuringly. All to soon Kagome was called into the hall to stand with, but still separate from, the first years. The general murmur of the seated student rose at the arrival of the strange looking couple. Kagome's grip on Inuyasha tightened to near painful.

"Just breathe, Kagome," Inuyasha advised softly. His golden eyes scanned the crowd of student warily, "I'll protect you from anything, I promise,"

Kagome nodded and loosened her death-grip on his hand.

They watched as McGonagall placed a tattered hat on a stool and stood to one side. Inuyasha growled when the hat began to sing and it took all of Kagome's willpower to keep from giggling at the absurdity of him considering a singing hat dangerous.

Soon McGonagall started calling the first years forward starting with a tiny girl called Jessica Abbotson and running straight through to Fredrick Zbyoski.

Kagome's grip tightened again.

"This year, as you will notice," said Dumbledore, standing, "We have one more student. Mrs. Kagome Taisho is an exemplary student from Tokyo Japan and will be studying here at Hogwarts for the duration of this term," there was a spattering of confused applause. As far as anyone knew there had never been any foreign students at Hogwarts before. And who was the other?

"Kagome Taisho," McGonagall called. Kagome released Inuyasha and strode confidently forwards. All she had to do was put the hat on. That was not hard. Not even dangerous.

She picked up the tattered hat, sat down on the stool and put the hat on her head, not wanting to think what small life forms it could be harboring. It looked like it had not been washed in years!

Hello, Miko, said a voice inside her head. Kagome's carefully constructed mental defenses snapped up and she yanked the hat off.

The hall was silent. Inuyasha looked like was trying not to rush right to her side. The students could not understand what had happened. The Professors were confused.

Why did she take the hat off?

"Stay out of my head," She snarled.

"Mrs. Taisho, would you please put the hat back on,"

"No."

Everyone was taken aback. Had she just talked back to a Professor?

"Mrs. Taisho, you need to be sorted into a house," McGonagall tried to reason.

"I will not have something in my head again,"

"I assure you that the Sorting Hat is harmless,"

Kagome considered, standing still. After some long minutes she nodded and crammed the hat back on. "It'd better be quick or I swear that I'll let Inuyasha use it for target practice,"

Sorry for startling you.

Make it quick. If I think you're getting out of line I'll give you to my husband to sharpen his claws on.

Deal. The hat sounded nervous, Let's see... well, no need to dither over something so obvious.

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted to the hall.

Kagome yanked the hat off and tossed it on the stool. She met up with Inuyasha and they made their way to the table Hermione was sitting at. Hermione made room beside her so they could sit next to someone they knew.

"Kagome, why'd you take the hat off?" she asked once they had settled themselves. Kagome shuddered.

"Let's just say I've had too many people in my head and leave it at that,"

"So, who're you guys?" asked a black haired boy across from them.

"My name is Kagome Taisho," Kagome smiled, "This is my husband, Inuyasha Taisho,"

"You're married?" exclaimed several students around them. Kagome dropped her head to the table, narrowly missing a plate.

"Why is it that everyone here thinks that us being married is strange?" Inuyasha asked no one in particular.

"I've told you, Inuyasha, that getting married at sixteen is rare in this society. Just like back in Japan," Kagome groaned, her head still on the table.

"Yes, they're married," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"When'd you get married?" asked a girl with long red hair.

"About a year ago," Kagome answered, sitting up.

"How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen,"

"Why'd you get married so young?"

Kagome considered. "Probably because I spent so much time where Inuyasha was from. There they still get married at a very young age," she said thoughtfully, "That and I love this idiot,"

"Where are you from, Inuyasha?" asked the black haired boy. Inuyasha glared.

"None of your business," he growled. Kagome elbowed him in the ribs.

"Inuyasha, be nice,"

"So why are you studying here at Hogwarts?" asked the red haired girl.

"Well, I got the acceptance letter and decided to come. It's going to be interesting studying just magic. Back home I had both high school and training to be a Traditional Miko. It was difficult,"

"What's a miko?" asked a red haired boy that looked remarkably similar to the red haired girl.

"Me. I'm a miko. A miko is a type of priestess. A Traditional Miko, like myself, can wield the pure holy magics of the gods,"

"Wicked!" he said in awe.

"Unless, of course," Inuyasha snorted, "you happen to be on the wrong end of it,"

"Well, you can count your lucky stars that I haven't shot you," Kagome grinned and tweaked a furry ear.

"Yeah, whatever,"

"Are those-" said yet another boy with red hair.

"Cat ears?" ended another boy that looked just like the last.

"Wicked!" They said together. Inuyasha looked disturbed.

"Kagome..."

"Twins," Kagome explained, "Identical twins,"

"That's right! I'm Fred," said the first.

"And I'm George," said the second.

"Nice to meet you, Fred, George," Kagome smiled.

"So why do you-"

"Have cat ears?" they asked.

"Because I'm half youkai. And their dog ears, not cat ears," Inuyasha explained grudgingly, trying to be polite for Kagome's sake.

"Youkai?"

"Animal spirits," Kagome sighed, her head dropping to the table once more. "Youkai are like animal spirits, but with a conscious, cognitive, human-like side,"

"Better than calling us demons," Inuyasha muttered.

"That's what I thought," she murmured back.

"Animal spirits?" the black haired boy peered at them, "Then what kind of animal spirit are you?"

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and noticed how was scowling fiercely at the students.

"Inuyasha is a half human dog-spirit," she conceded, answering when it was clear that Inuyasha would not.

"Half human?" said someone else. Inuyasha nodded sharply.

"What about it?" he snapped. Kagome giggled. He always got testy when it came to his lineage. But of course he had heard her, "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry Inuyasha," she looked up at him, her eyes brimming with mirth, "You're just so cute when you get all defensive like that,"

Everyone around her stared at her like she was insane. A ticked off Inuyasha wasn't cute, he was down right freaky!

"Me? Cute? You have got to be kidding!"

"Nope! I'm hungry," she smiled cheerfully, not even really noticing that she had changed the subject.

"Then eat," he grumbled. Kagome kept on smiling as she piled her plate high with everything within reach. She even stacked some on Inuyasha's plate when he did not take enough to suit her.

They had missed out on Dumbledore's beginning of the year speech thanks to the little interrogation period. Hermione complained but everyone else just shrugged it off. He said pretty much the same thing every year after all.

Kagome and Inuyasha left with the Gryffindors to their tower. Inuyasha snorted at hiding the door behind a painting of some fat lady and Kagome snickered. It did seem strange.

The Gryffindor common room was brightly lit and decorated in the house colours of red and gold. Kagome paused.

"Where do we sleep?" she whispered to her husband. Inuyasha shrugged.

"Want me to sniff out our stuff?"

"Can you?"

Inuyasha took a deep breath and pointed to a stairway to their left. "That's where the scent is coming from," he said.

"Let's go check it out, then,"

Kagome skipped up the stairs. When she reached a door and opened it she gasped in pleasant surprise. It was another, smaller, common room. More stairs led upwards across the room. Kagome scurried forwards to explore some more. At the head of the stairs was another level with a bedroom and a bathroom. The bedroom had all of their suitcases stacked in one corner, waiting to be unpacked. After an initial once over Inuyasha declared the suite acceptable and allowed Kagome to drag him back downstairs to where all the other Gryffindor students were gathered.

"Hey! Hands off the ears!" Inuyasha yelped when he felt yet another ghostly pair of hands touch his adorable ears. He moved to put Kagome between him and the crowd of 'admirers' that were bent on seeing, or feeling rather, for themselves that his canine ears were the real McCoy.

"Now, now," Kagome tried to calm her husband down and dispel the crowd at the same time. "Yes, for the last time, yes his ears are real. His hair is naturally silver, it runs in his family. His father had silver hair and so does his brother. And no, his brother is married already. Married with two daughters of his own, I might add. Now if you would all please just leave him alone since he too is taken," she turned on her own glare, a formidable weapon when used. Slowly, too slowly for Inuyasha's tastes, the crowd moved away.

"Wow, Kagome," Hermione said, "You can look very frightening sometimes,"

"Only sometimes?" Kagome laughed, "I suppose that that's a good thing. It wouldn't do to scare the patrons of the shrine away with a frightening Miko,"

"I wouldn't mind," Inuyasha said, stretching himself out on one of the sofas. Kagome curled up next to him.

"I know you wouldn't mind, but momma would," she looked up into his eyes, "and so would Grandpa. Souta hasn't been trained yet but when he starts showing powers like me I'll make sure he becomes the best Priest in all of Tokyo,"

"Just make sure he doesn't take after Miroku,"

"Oh, don't worry, if I have any say in the matter Souta will never be anything like Miroku,"

"Who's Miroku?" asked Harry, the black haired boy from dinner.

"A pervert," answered Inuyasha. Kagome hit him on the arm.

"Miroku is a priest from where Inuyasha is from. He's very powerful and wise but he...well, he has a wandering hand. Sango, his fiancé, is working to cure that malady,"

"Malady," Inuyasha laughed, grinning wickedly.

"Oh hush, you. Miroku was, is, also one of my teachers," Kagome continued. "But I haven't been training with him for a few months now, for personal medical reasons,"

"Oh," he he nodded slowly, "So you're a trained priestess?"

"Mostly trained, yes. I'll be training some more when Inuyasha and I get back home,"

"Until then, your younger brother is the resident spiritualist at the shrine, right Kagome?" Hermione said.

Kagome nodded. "That's right. I've been training him for the past couple of months. Gandpa would like to think he can handle things, but his spiritual power as weakened over time and they're not… trustworthy,"

"Or even there," Inuyasha commented under his breath. Kagome rolled her eyes at him.

"Just don't tell him that,"

"I'm not stupid,"

Kagome coughed lightly into her hand and smiled innocently.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked.

"Inuyasha just said something that was particularly amusing, is all. You'd really have to know my family to understand it," she waved a hand at him. Inuyasha frowned.

Harry nodded uncertainly, "Okay,"

Ron pulled out a chess board and challenged his friend to a game, drawing the Boy Who Lived away from the foreign couple. Hermione stayed for a few more minutes before drifting off to a comfortable chair to read her Arithmancy text.

Kagome listened to the swirling conversations around her with half an ear. It had been a long day. She sighed and leaned just a little more into Inuyasha. Perhaps she could just rest her eyes. She would not go to sleep just yet.

Inuyasha listened as his mate's breathing evened out. She had fallen asleep again. He wondered idly if she meant to fall asleep so often and so abruptly. But knowing Kagome, probably not.

Silently he gathered her into his arms and walked out of the Gryffindor common room and up into their own little tower. Harry, Ron and Hermione were some of the few people that noticed his quite departure.

"What's wrong with Kagome? Why'd she just fall asleep like that?" asked Ron, looking up from his game to address Hermione. Hermione shrugged.

"She's just tired, I guess," she smiled enigmatically.

"Strange ones, aren't they?"

"I wouldn't say that," said Harry, "Different, but not really strange,"

"I think they're hiding something," Ron declared.

"Now why would you think that, Ron?" asked Hermione.

"Just look at them! Why'd she really get married so young? And why to something that's not even human? And why is she coming to Hogwarts now?"

"You're paranoid, Ron," Hermione sighed. "She married Inuyasha because she loves him and he's half human so you can't say he's not human. And she's coming to Hogwarts now because now is when she was invited. Really, Ron, Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have invited her if he thought she was going to harm anyone here in any way,"

"Maybe not Kagome but what about Inuyasha? He looks dangerous enough,"

"He promised Kagome not to harm anyone here unless she gives him express permission. And I can't see her doing that,"

"But-"

"Oh, just leave it Ron," and Hermione got up and disappeared up to the Girl's dorm.

"Great, the year hasn't even started and already she's mad at me!"

Harry just had to grin at Ron's predicament.

AN: Can you really blame Kagome for freaking out over the hat? I mean really. After Tsubaki and Menomaru and all those other people traipsing around in her head you can't blame her for wanting to be careful. And I actually had to use that explanation of what youkai are in a Creative Writing class I took since one of the stories I handed in featured a kitsune youkai, his human wife and their hanyou daughter. I think I only confused the poor people in my class (with the exception of maybe five Anime lovers such as myself). Oh well.