Evil Intentions?

Circa 2008 - 2012 ?

Summary: She disappeared while being transported to a school in order to learn how to control her magic. When she reappeared she was transported to London in order to go Hogwarts for her own protection. What are her intentions? Why did she return? [Draco/Kagome]

Genre: Drama / Romance / Adventure

Rating: M ? (listed as 'just in case')

Evil Intentions?

Subtitle: Change of Heart

Outside Summary: She disappeared while being transported to a school in order to learn how to control her magic. When she reappeared she was transported to London in order to go Hogwarts for her own protection. What are her intentions? Why did she return? [DM/Kag]

Inside Summary: After the defeat of Naraku she was ordered by the Ministry of Magic to be placed within one of the Japanese School's for Witchcraft and Wizardry in order to learn to control her magical abilities. However, during the trip there she suddenly disappeared, said to be kidnapped, only a trace of dark magic left behind.

Almost half a year later the mysterious girl returns, still looking to be the same as before, claiming that she managed to escape and still wishes to learn if anyone is willing to take her. Thus, for her protection, she is sent to London in order to be placed within a house at Hogwarts as a fifth year. Why, though, does such a kind young woman hang around a boy such as Draco Malfoy? Why does he follow her around like a lap dog? These are only a few of the things the Boy-Who-Lived wishes to know. [Malfoy/Kagome]

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from either Inuyasha or the Harry Potter series. Those things belong to either Takahashi Rumiko-sama©, or J.K. Rowling©.

Rating: M, just in case

Genre: Drama/Romance/Adventure

OoO

Prologue: Disappearance

Her fingers gently turned the cup within her hand again, her eyes shifting toward the kitchen door, silently wishing her daughter to suddenly walk through the threshold. She had been worried sick, knowing that the battle with their foe, Naraku, was close at hand, but now it was even stronger. She felt like she knew in her heart that something was going to happen, something that involved her current guests. True, she had been wondering when her daughter would return from the past, hopefully soon if ever, and now that want was even stronger. Especially since she knew she couldn't keep lying to wizards. Eventually she would need to tell them.

He sighed, "Tell us, Higurashi-san, when is it that your daughter was supposed to be returning? We have heard that during these times she is usually sick, but it seems to me now that that is only an excuse for wherever she is truly going. Please, Higurashi-san, we must speak with your daughter very soon. You've done your best, but you cannot protect her from him much longer." He shook his head, "Not with the information we've received from London these last few years."

She froze, knowing exactly whom this man was speaking of. She felt a tear slide down her face as she tried to forget about the man who'd stolen her heart, before turning out to have an evil heart of his own. She knew that her father hadn't exactly approved of her choice in a husband, claiming that she should be marrying another Japanese man at the time, but Tom… Well, she'd known him as Tom, but everyone else knew him as something more sinister. A name that she'd never been told because he'd wanted to protect her from his enemies. She suspected now that she'd only been able to call him Tom because he hadn't wanted his enemies, the good guys, to catch up with him while he was hiding. "I see," she whispered.

Reaching up, the man ran a hand through his hair slowly. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, your first husband, we suspect will come here, or send a Death Eater, in order to retrieve his only blood child. She is, after all, the only child that we have record of him siring, which makes her the last of Salazar Slytherin's line. We have no doubt that he will wish to convert your daughter so that she lives up to the name. I'm sure you've been told of the sinister things he has done, and I'm sure you can understand why we must begin your daughter's training. We thought at first that perhaps she didn't have any magic, and that would have been fine, until we got that spike of magical activity here a month ago."

Glancing up at the paling woman from his cup, he frowned a little, "It is strange that he hasn't tried sooner, since he has been making appearances since nearly four years ago. I would like to know, Higurashi-san, if anything strange has happened since his disappearance, his death? Has your daughter ever done anything you would consider strange, though you suspect it came from her father?"

Placing her cup onto the coffee table, she sighed, her eyes wary with the knowledge she held. She nodded, though, once he asked her his question, knowing that there were things that had happened. "Yes, there are a few things. I've always suspected that they were because of her father's blood, perhaps because of the fact that he was a wizard, or simply his heritage. Strange things happen here, though, they always have."

"Could you describe them? It would be nice to know exactly how long she has been showing signs of magic. Perhaps then we can determine why her father never came to snatch her away," he asked. He tilted his head to the side a little, knowing that the Ministry of Magic would like to hear everything they could on his child. His only child.

"Of course, Yamanaka-san." Taking a small glance at his companions, a house elf and a so-far silent woman. Fiddling with her fingers in her lap, she smiled a little when she remembered the small things her daughter had done throughout her youth. "Around the age of three she managed to hover a chair in midair when she was crying—she'd fallen and scrapped her knee. I believe that was the first time I've ever seen her manage to do anything out of the ordinary. It mostly only happened whenever she was in pain, or under stress. Rarely have I ever seen her do the same thing twice, though.

"Around the age of seven I found her talking to a snake at the pet shop. She'd begged me to buy her a cat, and I decided that it might teach her some responsibility. I found it strange that after she picked out Buyo she walked into the reptile section as if she was listening to something. I followed and found her looking into a python's cage; it was quite shocking to find that the snake stared at her as if it was listening to her talk. Or I think she was talking with it, she was hissing and making strange sounds that sounded like something I'd heard before. Afterward I did manage to ask her what she'd been doing, and she told me that the python had been lonely since its companion was sold. That it no longer liked being in the pet shop. At first I tried to tell myself that maybe she'd been joking, but I had a feeling she'd truly spoken with it." She paused for a moment, "Now that I think about it, I think I saw her father doing the same thing. He'd told me that it was something that came with being apart of his family."

Taking a small glance at the door, she felt the memories come to her without much effort. "She set a tree on fire at the age of eleven when another boy was picking on Souta. He'd been playing in the park when the boy pushed him off the swing, and it hadn't gone well with her. I think that was the last time I've ever seen her do anything that might have been considered magical until a month ago."

The silent woman perked up, blinking a few times in order to moisten her eyes. "Could you tell us about it, Higurashi-san? I'm sure that the school she's going to be sent to would like to know just how much magic she has. We'd already suspected her of doing magic when angry, and we didn't have many who objected to the idea of her being a Parselmouth." She sipped her tea, "Most of Salazar Slytherin's descendants are."

"Parselmouth?" she asked.

He smiled, "A user with the ability to talk with serpents, Higurashi-san. The language is known as Parseltongue."

She nodded in understanding, turning her head so that she could stare at the door once more. "She'd been fine until a month ago. She'd returned from one of her… trips in tears, claiming that someone very close to her had been killed," she saw their eyes narrow, "and I comforted her. It wasn't enough for her, though. She completely panicked, yelling about how she wasn't able to protect him; that she should have because he was younger than her. Then… well, there was a large flash of light and the cars lined along the street were suddenly hovering above the ground. People were screaming, while she merely curled herself next to the Goshinboku, trying to make the pain go away." She stopped for a long moment; "I can't tell you anymore, I'm afraid. She didn't want to talk about it."

The woman glanced at the man, her short brown hair swishing in front of her face. "Do you think it was a Dark wizard, Ryuji-san?"

Yamanaka Ryuji frowned, before nodding to himself. "It is a possibility that it was a Dark wizard, but we have no evidence to that." He turned to the house elf at his side, "Would you mind returning to the house in order to check, Hisa? I'm positive that Hikari-kun will be able to get you the information in a few minutes."

The house elf bowed her head, "This Hisa will do her best, Yamanaka-sama." There was a loud crack and suddenly she was gone.

The woman frowned, turning her brown eyes back to Higurashi-san, the determination to receive the knowledge she wanted written into her eyes. "You still have not answered a question from earlier, Higurashi-san," she pointed out. She hoped that she would not have to repeat it she hated doing that.

"Oh?" she asked, turning to the other woman. "I'm afraid I don't remember what it was, I'm sorry."

She sighed, "When will your daughter be returning, Higurashi-san?"

The frown on her face told him that she probably didn't know. She was as worried as they were, though he doubted it was for the same reasons. He nodded and turned his head to gently motion toward his female companion, "Tani-san is correct, Higurashi-san. You have not answered that question yet. As I said before: we must speak with your daughter soon. We must, for it is extremely important that we have her starting as a fifth year very soon."

Her eyes turned to the floor in front of her, wishing silently that her daughter would return. "I'm afraid I don't know when—"

"Mama!" came a voice, yelling from outside the door. There was a clatter of footsteps, followed by what sounded like the persons shoes being dropped onto the porch. "Mama! I'm home, I have such wonderful news to tell you—" she stepped into the house, instantly claming up when she saw that they had guests.

She smiled, though on the inside she was silently thanking every god she could think of, whether they were of Japanese origin or not. She turned completely to her, "Oh, Kagome, you're home. Um…" she took a fleeting glance at the witch and wizard sitting across from her. "Kagome, I believe there is something you need to know. Something that I should have told you a long time ago."

So she began to explain. Everything, from the time that she met her father, to the time that she found out what he truly was, and to the time that she found herself now. She watched as Kagome stared at her from between the witch and wizard, having seated herself there. She explained everything, no matter how small the detail was, trying to hopefully get her daughter's forgiveness for never having told her. For keeping her in the dark about her true heritage—for keeping her from herself.

"I'm sorry, Kagome, I should have told you sooner," Higurashi-san sighed, finally finished with her explanation. "I hope that your trips won't be a problem, Kagome. I know that you're very attached, but I-I-I don't know what I'd do if he ever… if he managed…" She burst into tears for the first time in a very long time, hoping that Kagome would forgive her.

Kagome smiled sadly, understanding everything, though she was still slightly confused. Quietly, she mumbled, "It's alright, mama. Please don't cry. I'm not even sure if I can return. I saw Miroku and Sango get married and then… then I was summoned back."

"By the…" Higurashi-san stopped, her voice dying before she managed to say 'well'. "So you managed to…" she saw Kagome nod, "even in this little amount of time?" Another nod. "Oh, Kagome."

"Summoned?" Ryuji arched an eyebrow at the young woman sitting at his side. He'd heard that she'd often been sick, but it was clear now that that had not been true. She looked healthy enough. But what was she speaking about, being summoned? He knew that she was nearly fifteen and a half, so surely she wasn't being summoned anywhere. It wasn't like she knew how to apparate, though it was clear she could use magic. How was she summoned, though?

She nodded, turning to the wizard beside her. Still a little hard to believe, but she learned there were things in life that could make anyone rethink their original thoughts. Pulling her hand up she fisted it over her heart and said, "I just had this feeling, like I needed to be home. I had to go home at that moment, and it wouldn't leave me alone until I did as it told me to. So, I came home…" She decided to skip the part about the well closing up behind her for that moment, hoping that Inuyasha would manage to come back through and demand she return with him. She knew that she had given up trying to love him, deciding he was more like her big brother, but that didn't stop the ache in her chest for his company.

Tani smiled, "Many witches and wizards have similar feelings whenever they instinctively know something is going to happen. Home is always where the heart is, after all, though it is not always home they search for in those times." She turned her to companion, "Correct, Ryuji-san?"

He nodded, smiling at her. "Yes, indeed so. I believe I had instinctive feelings to return home the night that my mother died. Unfortunately I had paperwork that night. Shame, really."

Higurashi-san wiped her tears away, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

He nodded, "Don't worry about it, it was a long time ago. But I thank you for your sympathy."

Kagome frowned, "So, why are you here, exactly? I understand that my father might come to kidnap me and stuff, but what's the point of sending you two?"

"Well," Ryuji said. "We're apart of the Auror Division in the Ministry of Magic here in Japan. We're more like detectives in the wizarding world, and currently… well, you can say we've been assigned to assist you until you make it to the school you'll be within. Its our job to make sure you make it to the school in safety, and it is also our job to make sure you have all your supplies for your fifth year. The Ministry thought it best to put you with students your own age, and have the Professors simply help you the best they can. We're sure from the spike in magic you showed a month ago that you'll do just fine, even if you're five grades ahead."

Her frowned deepened, "So, you're like my bodyguards?"

Ryuji's smile became brighter, while Tani grumbled about how she hated being called a 'stupid bodyguard'. "Yes, you could say that we're going to be your bodyguards until you walk through the doors of your school." His smile disappeared for a moment, "However, you must be prepared, Kagome-san, which is the exact reason why we shall be leaving very soon in order to have you fitted… and to allow a wand to choose you."

"Choose me?" Kagome was confused, wondering what exactly he was talking about. "Wouldn't you choose the…" she was cut off before she could finish.

"No," Tani snapped. "You must always remember: it is the wand that chooses the wizard or, in this case, witch. The wand that chooses you will be best suited for you. A wizard never chooses the wand, for it might backfire on him."

"I'm sorry," Kagome said, trying to hide her blush.

Ryuji's smile returned, "Do not mind, Tani-san. She is rather silent most of the time, but when she decides to speak up she can be rather rude. She does not mean to be, but that is no reason for her to say such things to a child."

Tani scowled.

A loud crack filled the room, causing Kagome to jump once she heard it. She turned to find what looked to be a floppy eared creature standing just beside the coffee table, its hands holding something that looked to be a scroll. It held it out to Ryuji, the man taking it and thanking the creature, which he called "Hisa". Long-lasting? Kagome blinked, what is that? She turned to her mother, watching the now silent woman as she merely smiled at the creature.

"That is a house elf, Kagome." Higurashi-san laughed at the sight of Kagome's shocked face, "They're very nice creatures should you befriend them. They mostly do whatever their masters tell them, but there are those who are free."

That was nearly three weeks ago… The moment her life changed forever…

OoO

"Are you comfortable, Kagome-san?"

"As comfortable as I'm going to get, Yamanaka-san," she replied, taking a glance at the man sitting across from her. Apparently Tani had had some other business to take care of, tracking down a Dark wizard that suddenly revealed himself after hiding for so long, or something like that. So, she sat with Yamanaka Ryuji in the compartment that he'd deemed safe—she had thought they were all the same, but apparently they weren't.

"Do you have everything that you need?" he asked playfully. "You didn't leave anything back at the hotel, did you? One never knows what Muggles will think should they manage to get their hands onto something from the wizarding world."

Sighing, she flipped a page in her book, "I'm quite sure." She took a quick glance at him again, before shifting once again and putting her feet up onto the rest of the seat, trying to get comfortable. More so than she already was, being cramped and all, her legs thrown up onto the seat while her back was against the compartments window. However, her attention turned back to the translation she had on something that had caught her interest: creatures of the magical world. The book was titled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander" and was rather fun to read. Especially since most of the creatures she'd often thought were merely the imagination of some nutcase were actually real, living, breathing things.

One caught her eye the most, though. The Basilisk, or the King of Serpents. It was rather interesting to say the least. She began to hum silently in her head, continuing to read the passage that she'd found herself reading once she had found the title "King of Serpents". It read:

"…bred by Herpo the Foul, a Greek Dark wizard and Parselmouth, who discovered after much experimentation that a chicken egg hatched beneath a toad would produce a gigantic serpent possessed of extraordinarily dangerous powers…" it was interesting because she'd never though something that big would be produced from two small creatures. It was almost humorous, really.

"…The male has a scarlet plume upon its head. It has exceptionally venomous fangs but its most dangerous means of attack is the gaze of its large yellow eyes. Anyone looking directly into these will suffer instant death…" It was horrible, too. Serpents had always fascinated her, especially now that she knew she wasn't imagining it whenever she'd spoken with the ones at the pet shop.

She was a Parselmouth; she could speak Parseltongue!

She guessed that though her father was a Dark wizard, one of the most feared, there were a few good things about having his blood. Yes, there were bad things, but even from the worst situations good things could come in small packages. She knew that the school she was being enrolled within was only founded a few years ago so that the Japanese witches and wizards did not need to be shipped off to China. Still, it didn't matter how new the school was, everyone knew of the Dark Lord, though they would not tell her what he called himself, only "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named". Anyone and everyone would know who he was, which meant they would know her bloodline should they find out her parentage.

Gently licking her thumb she placed it against the stubborn page that did not wish to flip over, before turning it easily. Her eyes grazed over each name, each classification that every beast within the book was given until she came to "Dragon, M.O.M. Classification: XXXXX". She began to read the text below it, reading the small summary they had on all dragons, before there was a list of the different types of dragons. It was interesting to read, though she'd been more interested in the Basilisk than the dragons.

There was a slight jolt as the train they were riding began pulling forward from the station at last, all the students finally loaded. She could almost hear their murmurs about the new student, or maybe simply wanting to know why there was a compartment sealed off from all other students. It wasn't new to her, since she'd grown used to women and men whispering about her during her travels with her friends in a time long ago.

A time she couldn't return to. She knew because she'd tried two days before the date she was supposed to get onto the train she was now riding. She'd tried in order to see if there was a way to tell the others that she wouldn't be returning, but she wasn't given that. She was forced to simply hope they lived happily ever after. She was forced to hope that they hadn't simply forgotten her, the girl from the future.

"Are you sure you're alright, Kagome-san?" Ryuji asked, noticing her sad eyes. "I could get you something if you're hungry or anything. Chocolate is always the best thing, I find." He smiled, "It might not cure homesickness, but it does help when you might think it won't."

Smiling, Kagome shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

He nodded, "Alright." Giving a small frown, he turned his head to look around the compartment, "Are you sure you brought everything? Didn't you have a cat?"

"Akira?" she asked.

"That's what you named it?" He blinked, tilting his head to the side, "Akira?"

"Yes," she said. "If you look upward you'll find him." She pointed with her finger to the open slot above her, a black paw hanging over the edge of the opening, while the black cat gazed down on them both with his bright yellow eyes. She continued to read her book, merely knowing that the cat she'd decided to buy, though she'd wanted an owl at first, would be where she'd left him. There wasn't anywhere else for him to go, besides in his cage.

"And your wand?" he asked. "You have that, don't you?"

Sighing, she reached down and popped open the large pocket on the lower leg of her pants. Without much effort she pulled out the black looking wand, the maroon handle held softly between her fingers. She remembered what the shopkeeper had told her about it, and gently tipped it from side to side, almost like she was swinging it to cast a spell. "Ebony and dragon heartstring, twelve and a half inches, flexible yet springy," she mimicked the excited woman's voice. She knew that underneath the excitement the voice had been a bit scared, but that didn't bother her.

Ryuji nodded, "A very nice wand." He grinned, "Now, not as good as mine, but very nice, indeed."

Placing the wand back into her pocket, she shook her head. "I told you I packed everything. I even made sure to check underneath the bed incase I managed to leave anything behind, Yamanaka-san. I'm sure that if I left anything behind it was only the slightly wrinkled sheets, since I don't know how to make the bed the way you did. I've only had a few hours to myself in order to practice and accomplish a few spells."

"You're beginning to learn, give yourself time," Ryuji said. He glanced around, "It shall be a while until we arrive near the school. When we do we're to meet up with Akako-sensei, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. We'll then be sent to the Headmistress of the school and have you set into one of the nine groups a student can be placed within. She'll give you a small test to see your level in power and then determine where you're best suited."

He coughed a little, "Until then, though, I believe I'm going to take a little nap. You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

She shook her head.

"And you'll wake me should anything happen, right?" he asked.

Sighing, she nodded. "Yes, lazy butt, I shall wake you should anything strange happens. Do not expect it to be anything big, since many things are strange to me." She smirked, watching the Auror as he scowled at her, before turning into a more comfortable position in order to try and sleep. She, however, continued to read her book, hoping to get more information on the creatures she'd found so fascinating in her youth.

OoO

Her eyes narrowed. Something wasn't right. It was too quiet all of a sudden, like everything had stopped, though she knew that nothing had really happened. She could still hear the sound of the other students talking with the other compartments, but it seemed like they were further away than before. Quietly, so not to alert anyone else, she stood and eyed the door while she stepped over to the sleeping, snoring, Auror. "Get up, Yamanaka-san, something isn't right," she whispered, poking him in the side with the corner of her book.

Ryuji merely grunted and turned on his side. Kagome scowled at him, wondering how he could sleep at a time like this. Not that she knew what was happening, but the silence that suddenly wrapped around their compartment wasn't a good thing. Silence was never a good thing. It was like the calm before the storm, and she'd learned to always be ready during them. This was not a demon she was dealing with, though; this was not her element. Gulping, she poked the Auror harder, "Yam… Ryuji!" she whispered louder.

There had to be something wrong with him, she knew that, but her eyes continued to watch the door. The glass, which had once been darkened to black, was now glowing a soft green on the outside. She was sure that if she turned to look out the window she wouldn't see the darkened sky, but perhaps the same thing. Her hand, on instinct, went to her robes that she'd changed into, and pulled out her wand in her free hand. She only knew two defensive spells and three offensive, but she wasn't going to let anyone come through that door without a fight.

Her heart began to race, her attention spinning away from the door when Akira hissed from the slot he was occupying. When her eyes snapped to his own yellow ones, she noticed that the cat had tensed completely, his hair sticking up into the air. It was within that moment that the door blasted open and she turned just in time to see a black smoke filling the compartment, Ryuji continuing to sleep, and stepped backwards. Her left hand dropped the book she was holding, and the sound of it clattering to the floor seemed to echo in the compartment.

Her right hand snapped up, her wand pointing straight out as three people stepped into the compartment. The place was cramped, she knew, but her attention was on the people wearing white masks. Something told her that she was in trouble; that something evil had just walked into the room with her. She watched as one turned to another, before chuckling, poking Ryuji in the shoulder with his wand. She listened, her eyes narrowing, as they began to speak in a language she did not understand.

"Hey, it looks like it worked perfectly. The idiots still out," one in the back chuckled again. Kagome's eyes snapped to him, wishing that she knew what he'd just said. The words were strange to her, though, and she strained to remember a spell that might help her.

Another shook their head, "Of course he is, I made sure that he'd be out for at least a couple more hours. We don't want to screw this up, after all.'"

The third, the one in front, barked something that caused Kagome to panic, slamming herself against the window in fright. "Stop it, both of you. We're not here to talk about that fool. We're here to retrieve the Master's child and her things, before returning." Kagome watched as the man, or woman, turned their attention to her, beginning to laugh, probably at the fact that she'd jumped so quickly. "We should get this done quickly."

The second nodded, "Yes, the Master would not be pleased if we returned empty handed. Those fools will never even realize that we've taken his daughter until its too late."

They each took a step toward her. Kagome felt her breath catch in her throat, while she heard Akira give another hiss. Her eyes snapped to one of them as a spell was released from their wand, and quickly looked back to find that her precious cat was immobilized. Anger began to override her fright, and she quickly turned back to them, her wand once again thrust out in front of her. It was nearly touching the first one in the chest, but she didn't have time to utter a spell when the person snapped her wrist aside.

Something cracked against the back of her head, and Kagome let out a small cry of pain. She knew that it was hopeless, that she wouldn't be able to protect herself against fully trained witches and wizards. Pain began to fill her head, blackness beginning to swarm in front of her eyes as her lids fell. Her body fell limp, the sweet embrace of unconsciousness capturing her as she fell into the arms of the first white masked person.

The three Death Eaters' looked between themselves and then back to the girl, before each of them chuckled. The first shook their head, saying, "Well, that was certainly easier than I thought it'd be."

The second also shook their head, "Did you really expect her to be much of a challenge? She's new to the wizarding world, and she probably hasn't had time to actually learn any type of spells. It wasn't like we were going into a duel or something."

The third turned to them, lifting the girl bridal style into their arms. "Will the two of you shut up! Grab the things that she will need. Leave the books and anything else that she merely needs for school. And make sure to put that cat in its cage!" With that the person ordered the other two out of the compartment and walked past them, watching as they went back inside to grab the items he'd commanded they get. Once they were done, he turned, "Lets go before the spell wears off and people begin screaming."

The first smirked behind their mask, "Yes, before the Aurors' are aware of our presence and come to investigate."

"Follow me," the third said, "unless you wish to be left behind."

With that, they seemed to disappear, everything returning to normal. The only difference was the fact that there was one missing girl.

OoO

Ryuji frowned, turning back onto his side. Someone was shaking him, and he scowled at the feeling, wishing to sleep more. He wasn't given his wish, though, when suddenly Tani's voice broke through his sweet bliss. He wasn't sure when the last time he'd slept so well was. Still, the way Tani was yelling was enough to wake any man, dead or alive.

Tani, usually silent and rude Tani, was panicking, shaking the snoring Ryuji as hard as she could. She felt like blasting him with a spell, perhaps even taking the risk of going to Azkaban by using an unforgivable curse on him. She knew they were already in deep water, and Ryuji was most likely going to lose his job, but her main focus was finding out where in the hell the girl was. Her main concern was finding out whether her current fear was going to come true or not.

"Ryuji! Ryuji!"

"Wha… what?" Ryuji muttered, finally turning onto his back in order to look up at his normally calm partner. "Are we there already? You said you'd meet us at the school…" his voice trailed off, and he looked around. "Did someone come aboard and fetch Kagome-san while I was out?"

"You shouldn't have been sleeping at all you moron!" Tani screamed. "Everyone has entered the school, and every trace of Kagome-san is gone!"

Ryuji's eyes widened, and he was suddenly on his feet. He nearly fell, his hand coming up to clutch his aching head, as he coughed. "Something's wrong with me," he muttered.

"Yes! Yes, something is wrong with you!" Tani shrieked. "How could you fall asleep when you were supposed to be watching her? I've already gotten ahold of the Headmistress and she told me herself, in person, that Higurashi Kagome-san never entered the building! You were supposed to be watching her! What kind of Auror are you, you pig-headed moron?"

His stomach reacted, and he toppled onto his knees, beginning to dry heave. However, after a moment he felt his stomach completely clench and something slipped up his throat. The chocolate, though it no longer looked as such, he'd had upon boarding the train fell from his mouth to the floor, a strange, yet familiar, liquid rising with it. And, if he was correct about the way his body worked, it wasn't something that had been produced inside him.

Tani stopped, noticing his distress. She blinked, her eyes narrowing, before she nearly shoved him against the seat he'd originally been sleeping on. Without hesitation her fingers dipped into the purple liquid, which turned a dark brown upon her touch. Smearing it between her fingers, her eyes narrowed more. "This is a sleeping potion, specifically mixed with something else in order for it to disguise itself when in human contact."

"So," Ryuji coughed.

"You were drugged," Tani snapped. "Damn it. DAMN IT!"

"Tani-san, please, this is no time to be—" His head snapped back when she slammed her fist into the side of his head. "Ow, I don't see why you must be so violent."

"Don't you get it, Yamanaka-san," Tani hissed, her eyes narrowing further. "You were drugged for the sole purpose that she was with you. Whoever has her wanted her so badly that they made sure nothing would stand in their way of getting her." Tani's eyes glittered strangely for some reason; "I'll give you one guess who has her now."

Ryuji paused, his body tensing. His eyes widened, and he coughed again. "Shit."

Tani stiffened a little more. "We have to report this. Now, Yamanaka-san, while I am still young!"

"Wait," Ryuji said, as she marched out the door, noticing something. "Wait! Her things are still in here! At least, the things she'd need while in the school!"

"Then grab them and get your ass moving!" Tani hollered. "And pray to whatever god you worship that we can find her, Yamanaka Ryuji-san! Because I'm sure that you've either forfeited your job, whether drugged or not, or been demoted because to this act. Pray, Yamanaka-san, pray that he is not able to use her the way we fear he wishes to, and pray that she struggles in order to escape him. Pray. Pray, for that is all we can possibly do if he does not want her found."

Pray, echoed in Ryuji's ears.

Chapter One: Conflicting