wow! i like the positive responses. it makes me so warm and fuzzy inside!

Wydinel Sheergale- crossovers are also insanely fun to write. though tricky, yes!

DragonWolfStar- thanks! you're so nice! this'll be my first fic classified as 'good' so far, i suppose. it's exciting!

sekamu- i know. that's partially why i decided to write one, because i couldn't find that many out there. nice review!

MikaylaMae- is this soon enough? ((grin))

Schuikichiro- odd name there O.o but anyway, he doesn't have the sword with him. he couldn't very well carry it around all the time (even if he would prefer that much better) he probably just keeps it in his school trunk just to be near enough by. there had to be a compromise, since obviously they didn't want him to have it at all.

soccergirl13- i hope you continue to enjoy it!

Wolven Spirits- well, i did say in all that blah blah mess at the beginning of the last chapter that at Kenshin's second entrance, he will be 20. so he's 20 years old, just starting his rurouni years. i figured (and they figured too) that that would be the best time to take him from, since it's in the in between time when he's not doing anything but wandering around. it would be the safest time to take him from the world. yeah;;

plutobaby494- how admirable it is for you to stick with my fics until i got to this point! you deserve a cookie for that.

Chapter 2

A Mystery, or Two

Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined the flood of students unloading from the train at the Hogsmeade station.

"Quit pushing, Ron, you're going to hurt somebody." Hermione scolded as Ron nearly trampled a group of terrified first-years.

"I'm going to die if I don't get some food!" he moaned.

"The feast doesn't start until after everyone gets there and the first-years are Sorted, anyway!" Hermione snarled. "You're a prefect, Ron..."

"So? Prefects get hungry too..."

Harry ignored their usual banter. He was mostly concerned with the loss of their foreign companion.

"Hey guys...where did Kenshin go?"

"Huh?" Ron said, looking around. "I dunno...probably to meet Lupin. Dumbledore invited them both, right? And he seems to know Lupin pretty well. What's the matter?" he said as Harry suddenly stopped walking, the color draining steadily from his face. He had just spotted a tall, black cloaked figure standing a little ways on the platform. And another. The tell-tale feeling of intense cold was drawing over him. What was happening? Why were they here?

"Dementors..." he breathed, all too keenly aware of his last encounter with the cloaked fiends. The encounter that had nearly gotton him expelled. The last time dementors had been around the school, however, was when Sirius had been there...but the creatures were now under different control, and their appearance here could mean nothing but good. The dementors turned and stopped, almost as if they had been seeking and had spotted him. The whole platform was suddenly draped in eerie silence, even Hermione's gasp was drowned in the viscious cold...
Half-blinded, Harry swam through the distressed crowd, reaching frantically for his wand. As he grasped it, a bolt of of comforting warmth seemed to shoot into his arm. As the dementors approached, rattling menecingly, Harry was quickly sapped of strength, he could hardly breathe. He raised his now heavy wand and...

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Dazzling light burst forth from the end of his wand. The luminous stag chased the evil creatures down. The dementors instantly fled, gliding toward the uninhabited parts of town. Harry sank down to his knees, panting heavily, cold sweat clinging to his brow. He shook his head, trying to clear out the lingering renmants of the cold sickness that dementors always left in their wake.

Most of the students had cleared out by now, themselves moving as quickly as they could to get out of the area.

"Harry! Harry, are you okay?" Hermione and Ron came running up to him.

"What- are they- doing here?" he panted.

"It was part of the agreement." a bitter voice behind them sounded. It was Lupin. "The only way to convince the Ministry to agree for me to be here was to place dementors around the school again."

"What?" Harry said, some of his strength returning in rage. "Right after I told them that the dementorsaren't on our side and not undertheir control-"

"I know, Harry, I know, but you know how they are." Lupin said just as angrily, helping Harry up. "Personally, I think that they chose that particular mode of security because of you, even more than myself."

"So now they're trying to exploit Harry's weaknesses?" Hermione said grimly.

"Well, don't worry about it for now." Lupin said. "Come along, the feast should make you feel better...the last thing we need now is to be late...something I'm sure Severus would agree with."

The mention of Snape did nothing to improve Harry's mood.

"Hey guys...look..." Ron said suddenly in a small, almost apprehensive voice. The platform was now empty, except for a small figure huddled up against a column. Blood-red hair was visable among the black robes.

"Kenshin?" Hermione called. "Are you okay?"

They came closer. Kenshin's face was deathly pale, contrasting sharply with the black of his robes and the red of his hair. His breathing was low and shallow, and his eyes were closed. Hermione gave a small cryas she saw that his scar, which had seemed quite sealed up before, was bleeding all the way down into the neck of his robes. His body was shivering.

"What's wrong with him?" Harry said in horrified facination.

"Oh god...the dementors...I'd forgotton...bloody hell..." Lupin muttered. "Himura!" he shook his shoulder. "Himura, come on."

"Iie..." Kenshin breathed. "Iie...doushite? Doushite?"

The other three watched tensely as Lupin murmured something in Japanese to Kenshin, tapping the sides of Kenshin's face, ignoring the blood. Kenshin's eyes suddenly snapped open and he looked around at them wildly, reaching into his robes.

"Himura!" Lupin said again, louder this time, grabbing his arm. They stared at each other for a moment. Kenshin shook his head just as Harry had just a moment ago and slowly stood up. He seemed to have calmed down and realized where he was at.

"Sumimasen." he said with a bow, sounding a bit embarassed.

"It seems that the Translating Charm has worn off." Lupin said with a sigh. "Just wonderful."

Kenshin instantly understood what had happened now that his wits were together- he'd met the dememtors at Hogwarts more than once before, and he could of course tell that the charm had worn off by the fact that he couldn't understand Lupin saying so.

"Kite, Himura-san." Lupin said, beckoning, and Kenshin nodded. His face wasn't bleeding anymore and he wiped it absently with the sleeve of his robes. Underneath his scar looked the very same as before.

"We'll have to go to Professor Flitwick or Dumbledore to reset the charm- I don't know how..."

"Since when do you know Japanese, Professor?" Ron said, shooting sidelong glances of concern at Kenshin along with the others.

"Ah." Lupin said. "I've been learning for a little while. My knowlege is hardly complete, however. Here we are." He stopped in front of the Hall doors, turning to them. "Here, take this...I daresay you'll need as much fortitude as you can get..." he handed them all pieces of chocolate, giving Harry and Kenshin particularly large chunks.

"How come people don't always use the charm?" Harry asked as he took his piece. "Like those wizards at the World Cup last year?"

"It is a very complex charm, and it is also short-lasting and often very tempermental if not done correctly." Hermione spoke up, her eyes darting around worriedly. "We should hurry..."

They went inside, mercifully being able to avoid anyone that would cause them trouble, and headed straight for the hospital wing. Kenshin was walking along slowly, barely conscious, and they weren't entirely sure that he was completely snapped out of the dementor's illusion. Harry kept glancing back at him. How horrible did an experience have to be, he wondered, to make someone react that badly?

"Dementors." Madam Pomfrey said dissaprovingly, clicking her tongue. "Poor Himura...this is the third time he's been dragged up here because of those things...soon enough, I expect, he won't even want to step foot outside of the castle- Dumbledore still won't let them in." she added with satisfaction. She had given Kenshin a soothing potion that would give him a dreamless sleep, and he was currently unconscious on one of the beds.

"And he was supposed to visit some classes tomorrow." Madam Pomfrey fretted, wringing her hands. "Can you three help him, make sure he doesn't get lost?"

They nodded. Lupin, however, chuckled.

"Don't underestimate him. I expect he already knows the way quite well by now."

"After just a month?" Harry said incrediously. Four years at Hogwarts had not yet taught him all of the castle's secrets- and he possessed the Marauder's Map! What's more, he wasn't entirely sure that Lupin wasn't overestimating Kenshin. Harry had already sort of lumped him into the same category as Neville.

"He's spent most of his time exploring the castle, and with a photographic memory and a knack for mental mapping, I'd say he probably knows it pretty well. It's instictive of him to be aware of his surroundings at all times." Lupin gave Harry a warning look, as him mouth had been open to ask anotherquestion, and stood. "Well, I'd better get out there and explain why the three most elusive students are missing already...cheers..." he sighed and left.

"You three must not stay much longer either." Madam Pomfrey said. "You can visit a little more, but you need to head toward your dormatories by the time the feast is over." and with that she retreated back to her own office.

"The feast." Ron groaned. His stomack gave a loud growl.

"Can it, Ron." Hermione turned to Harry. "What are you thinking?" she demanded.

"I don't know what you mean." he said shiftily.

"Yes you do. You have that 'conspiracy theory' look all over your face." she accused. "You can't possibly make somehting suspiscious out of-"

"No, that's not it." Harry said quietly. "I just wish I knew why the dementors affect him so much...what did he see?"

"I doubt very much that he wants to tell you." Hermione said firmly.

What is worse than...seeing someone killed in front of you? Harry wondered.

"He has a funny scar." Ron said, speaking the thing they'd all been thinking but wouldn't venture to say.

"So...what are you saying?" Hermione said uneasily.

"I think that it's a magical wound." Harry said. "Look at it, it's too perfect to be natural. What are the chances that somebody could get two scars that cross each other perfectly like that? Hagrid told me that you get a mark when an evil curse touches you...he never said there was only one evil curse that could do that."

"Well...I suppose it's possible..." Hermione said hesitantly.

"Plus, he's definetly got something to do with the Order." Harry said, staring at Kenshin's placidly sleeping face.

"How do you figure that one?" Ron asked, looking at him like he was crazy.

"Back on the train. Lupin mentioned the Order and his mission right in front of him! Plus, it seemed like Lupin had known him for awhile."

"Do you think he could be who Sirius and Lupin were talking about this summer?" Ron suggested.

"Come off it." Hermione scoffed. "For one, Kenshin's not a muggle- and even if he was, sure, there might be a muggle involved with the Order as a spy, but theyi wouldn't put him here in a magic school! If they had a spy they'd chuck him into Slytherin, where he might actually get some information. And it would be a very poor choice to pick a spy that needs to spend a night in the hospital wing because of two dementors." she crossed her arms, her case rested.

"Well-"

"I think Hermione's right, Ron." Harry said. "I don't think he's who they were talking about...I don't think that Sirius would find him very dangerous anyway...but he might possibly be in the Order, and is just one of the people that Dumbledore wants to keep here."

"Well, if you put it that way, it would make sense, with him rooming in Gryffandor and all. But he's too young to actually be in the Order." Hermione pointed out.

"If he is, it's not fair since we're not allowed too." Ron growled. "They won't even let Fred and George in, and they're of age."

"Then we should just ask Lupin later." Hermione said reasonably. "It's just as likely that Kenshin just had no idea what Lupin was talking about, and Lupin knows he won't go blabbing about it."

"Possibly...I guess that could be true..." Harry said a little reluctantly. The Order had never been known to be that lax about security before (if, for no other reason, Moody's paranoia called for it) but, for the moment, he was willing to give it a rest. His growling tummy reminded him sorely of the missed feast, and his eyelids felt a bit heavier than usual- they all needed sleep.

"The hospital wing is closed now! Shoo, all of you, unless you all want a knock on the skull enough to keep you here!" Madam Pomfrey came bustling in, ushering them out the door.

chapter 2- end. please review. onegai!