Chapter 5

Autumn was fragrent in the air as the days grew deeper into September. Hogwarts was becoming more and more accustomed to Kenshin, just as he was to them. It seemed that many students had had the same moral dilemma that had befalled Fred and George- Kenshin was a staffmember, so it made sense that he was fall outside the ranks of the honest, hardworking students- one to be plotted against and to be kept out of the exclusive inner student society. And yet, he was so young; and he lived with them, ate with them, and attended classes with them- so it was often easy to forget. He even seemed to have a sort of unwritten peace agreement with Fred and George- they used their considerable influence to keep him from the deadly classification as a 'teacher' and showed him the most hidden routes of the castle; in return, Kenshin would turn a blind eye over everything they did that he did not personally deem dangerous, and also confided in them the many possibilities of wabasi powder.

Kenshin attended everycourse offered at Hogwarts that did not directly involve magic usage, attending each the same amount of times per week. Any time left over he would spend in Defense Against the Dark Arts or exploring the castle and grounds. Runes, Arithmancy, Divination, Astronomy, Potions, Herbology, D.A.D.A, Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic, and Muggle Studies were all things he had to attend. (Though, sadly, his worst subject was Muggle Studies, despite being a muggle himself- it focused mainly on the modern English lifestyle, and even in his own country and time period, he had been living less than the usual muggle life.)

Kenshin's favorite subject was, believe it or not, Potions. Despite the tension between him and Professor Snape, Kenshin had a deft hand and a sharp eye with ingredients. Also, interestingly enough, the looming black prescence that always radiated from Snape, while it often had an adverse effect on many of his student's potion-making abilities (it was unnerving with him flapping around the place and looking over your shoulder all the time) it seemed to not faze Kenshin at all. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had not yet seen him in a Potions class, but after hearing him tell them how much he enjoyed it (and after Harry told the other two about their encounter with Snape) they were quite keen to see it.

"This sucks." Ron growled, tossing his quill down onto the parchment in a final way. "Stupid essay...I think Snape must really have it in for us this year. Or maybe he's just that angry?"

Harry didn't answer, too busy reading the same line in his own essay over and over again without taking in a single word. It was dull work.

"It's not that difficult." Hermione said reasonably, sitting in her chair knitting, having already finished. "It's all material we've covered in class. If you'd just listen once in awhile..."

"I wish Kenshin would hurry up and visit our class. At least it would make it more interesting to be around Snape...and the Slytherins." he grinned. "Imagine Malfoy! I wonder if he suspects that Kenshin has anything to do with the Order."

"Come to think of it..." Hermione said thoughtfully, looking up. "I haven't heard or seen Malfoy much lately. I'm surprised his father hasn't made a big stink about Lupin being here."

"I'd bet you he's up to something." Harry said grimly, speaking up at last. "Lucius Malfoy, I mean. When you think about it, there's no way he'll take this sitting down. I mean, he's been trying to discredit Dumbledore this whole time. And he probably knows that Kenshin's here, even though they've been trying to keep him low-key. He's gotta know that something's been going on here under his nose, even if he doesn't know exactly what it is. Have you noticed that Kenshin hasn't come into any of the classes we share with the Slytherins? That's no coincidence. I'm sure that he avoids them as much as he can."

"Still, it would be funny, wouldn't it?" Ron said. "Hey, let's ask him if he's going to sometime." he seemed far too eager to for an excuse to stop working.

"He's not in here, though." Harry said, looking over the hands of the people in the common room and seeing no sign of their new teacher.

"He can't have gone to bed already." Hermione said incrediously.

Kenshin sat in the window, gazing out over the Forbidden Forest in a semi meditative state. All of the four-poster beds were empty- Kenshin had only one roomate, a jittery seventh-year boy who was constantly in and out of the hospital wing because of bad nerves. He was training to become a Healer, and all of his advanced placement N.E.W.T classes had him in a constant incoherent when he wasn't in the hospital wing, he was in the library working, or asleep, so Kenshin got a great deal of privacy.

Kenshin always slept sitting in the window- it made him feel safer to be closed in on three saides, and he found it more comfortable than lying in bed somehow. Not to have the efforts of the house-elves go unnoticed, on cold nights he would wrap up the warming plate they put out and keep it at his feet. The elves also graciously provided for him a freshly washed gi to sleep in at night. Wizard's robes weren't too different from what he was used to, but he just couldn't get a liking for pajamas. A man neededa little breathing room, after all. He also had his sakabatou propped up against his shoulder. It was something he did whenever he could risk it. Going without his sword was like going without his right hand. He had a lot of difficulty sleeping if he didn't have it. It was this and other things that made it painfully obvious to him that, after four months of living in the Wizarding world, the effects of war were far from gone from him. He doubted highly that they would ever be, really. Sometimes, in horror, he'd even catch himself mentally planning whenever he let his mind wander- noting nooks and crannies never seen by light, appropriate places to strike invisibly from...he still had a predatory instinct in this way. It was one of the reasons why he still couldn't believe that he'd been brought here to be a part of the Order. Most of the people who knew who he was felt uncomfortable around him, excluding Lupin and perhaps Dumbledore. He smiled as he remembered how, after a week after his arrival, Lupin had brought him to see the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix- number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

sorry! this chapter went on longer, but i had to cut it off.