Harry managed a whole week without any trouble.
Unless you counted the gossip and stares from the general student body.
Miss Nekonome had refused to hand back the letter from Sirius. She said he didn't need that sort of stupidity in his life.
To be honest, that kind of touched him. Despite everyone keeping him in the dark over the summer holidays, this struck him as entirely different.
Hedwig had returned quickly, much to Harry's relief. She seemed to be somewhat upset herself, she stayed close to Harry or the girls, even going so far as to sit on a window sill whilst he was in class.
Not every class had windows, the Maths class for example.
"Potter-san, stay behind."
Harry sighed in resignation at the command from his Maths teacher; Kagome Ririko.
She was a beautiful woman with light brown hair and glasses. She seemed to stick to the school trend of a short skirt. She dressed in a black skirt and very tight white blouse that made her look a bit like a secretary.
Moka and Kurumu sent him commiserating looks as they left with the rest of the class.
It was soon just him and the Maths teacher.
"Potter-san, you are in serious danger of failing this class."
Harry resisted a snort at the implication that this was a 'danger'.
"At this rate you will be forced to attend summer classes here."
Ok, so this now rated as a danger. He needed a holiday. Technically he'd never had one in his life.
"If you fail those classes you could be kept behind. At your current level you could very well fail to graduate."
Harry was now beginning to get scared. Did that mean he would be stuck at this school forever? Is that how Kuyou was still here? He was clearly older than the other students.
"You will meet me here after dinner for extra lessons. One-on-one, just you and me."
Alarm bells were now blaring for Harry. Miss Kagome had the same expression and tone as Kurumu did when she tried to drag him into a corner to snog.
Well, both she and Harry knew they couldn't actually kiss without risking her turning Harry into her love slave. At least not on the lips.
Unfortunately Kurumu was very strong and Harry had to resort to tickling hexes to escape wandering hands. Kurumu seemed to enjoy the challenge.
But back to the present, Harry was now very wary of his maths teacher… as if he didn't have enough issues with the subject.
And how did he get outside the classroom already?
The reactions of his friends had been mixed.
Moka had presented him with a fully annotated book of her own creation and an offer to tutor him.
Kurumu was clearly jealous as Miss Kagome often had private study sessions and all the boys loved her because she was showing off her boobs.
Yukari vacillated between mocking Kurumu for her jealousy and warning Harry on the perils of failing a class.
Gin pouted at the teacher's desk about Harry, once again, being wanted by women instead of him.
"Sorry! I- I- knocked and you said come in!"
Harry immediately turned his back on his sexually, scantily and scandalously dressed maths teacher.
He had entered the classroom to find her wearing nothing but a silk black bustier, a short silk black skirt, black stockings with suspenders… and holding a whip.
He thought it was a whip… he didn't really look.
"What's wrong Harry-chan?" She asked in a low voice that Harry immediately recognised from Kurumu's daily seduction rituals. "I thought that this might motivate you."
Harry turned around. It was alright to look at her now he knew he was supposed to. But still…
"How is that supposed to motivate me to learn maths?" He asked in disbelief.
She stood there, the whip swishing around her as she smiled sultrily. "I am a teacher; respected in the educational realm.
"And a student is the teacher's slave."
Harry was fairly certain he wasn't going to be learning maths.
He knew for a fact he was nobody's slave.
He turned and moved to open the door except something whipped around his ankles toppling him to the floor. He manoeuvred onto his back to see Miss Kagome looming over him… only her legs were gone and she had a snake's tail instead. It was long and had a bulbous end.
"Ah ah. You and I have a study session Potter-san." She said smugly. "Teaching is such a noble art. But payment is expected and this…" The end of her tail burst open like a four jawed mouth. "is how I get mine.
Harry looked down at his legs and saw her tail wrapped around them. He put his hands on it and cast an incendio, hoping she wouldn't notice it was a spell.
Miss Kagome screamed in pain, her tail retracting so fast it caused friction burns on Harry's legs.
"How dare you!" She hissed angrily.
"Shut up! You brought this on yourself. You attacked me!"
Kagome froze. "How do you speak this language?"
"Japanese? I had really good tutors." Harry frowned. Then he realised and sighed. "I'm speaking Parseltongue again, aren't I?"
Kagome grinned hungrily. "You are a spectacular catch!" She hissed. "To think, a powerful Speaker, with blood as rich as can be… right here in my classroom."
Harry was suddenly even more concerned. "When did you taste my blood?" He demanded.
Miss Kagome was too wrapped up in her own glee to pay attention. "With you under my thrall I can rule the world! Your blood will increase my power exponentially! Men will fall on their knees in worship before me and women will tremble in fear."
Harry slowly inched to the door only to be smashed into it by the open end of the bulbous tail, lined with teeth.
It held him there, his feet dangling off the floor.
He moved his hands to cast again only for the tail to constrict and reposition, trapping his forearms between the coils.
"Ah ah, Potter-san." She smirked as she slithered towards him. "I know you think you are some bigshot. Taking out some of the top students in the school, but I am no student." She began constricting her tail, cutting off Harry's airways.
Harry had become quite adept at holding his breath thanks to Kurumu's daily greetings. But Kurumu managed not to crush him hard enough to break his ribs.
He was suffocating so badly that he was shocked by the loud snap and burst of pain from his ribs. He hadn't realised she was squeezing so hard.
The shock caused another reaction as the pressure vanished and Harry felt like everything had disappeared.
His blurred vision soon returned but he found it difficult to understand what he was seeing. He could see all around himself. Up, down, left, right, front, back and every angle in between.
He could see the blackboard, the door, Miss Kagome slithering around, angrily searching for him.
Elemental.
That was the only thing Harry could think of to explain this. He hadn't received any word back from his own inquiries but based on the fact that the whole thing came up after the Kuyou incident he had deduced it had to do with the natural elements.
Apparently he had been fire when Kuyou attacked him, now he seemed to be air.
The question was: How did he stop being air?
According to the girls and Gin, he had stopped being fire when he started patting himself down. Of course, that meant he had had a physical body at the time.
Or that he thought he had a physical body.
All Harry could think was that he needed to trick himself into believing he had a body.
Fortunately, one thing Harry excelled at was on the spot thinking. Or not thinking. He did have a tendency to simply react to situations.
Harry focused his attention on the door to the classroom and moved to open it.
"Found you!"
He looked down as he heard his teacher's triumphant shout. Sure enough he was once again solid with his hand on the door handle.
And that was when his world went black.
The next thing he was aware of was lying down and Moka worriedly calling his name. Things were sounding very distant, but getting louder.
He managed to open his eyed and blinked. Once again he had his head in Moka's lap. "Erm…"
"Harry, thank goodness! You need to take off my rosary, Kurumu and Yukari can't handle Kagome-sensei on their own!"
Harry sat up and shook his head. He was in the corridor outside the math classroom. There were shards of wood everywhere… clearly part of the door. It explained what had happened to him. Inside the classroom he could see the witch and succubus trying to fight the math teacher.
"Don't worry, Moka. I've been developing a new policy about people who attack me." Harry said as he struggled to his feet.
"Harry, you're bleeding and hurt."
"Don't care." His speech was slightly slurred, but his focus was laser tight on the math teacher. He stumbled forward with determination. "Kagome!" He barked.
The fighting froze.
"Potter-san, give me a moment and I will be happy to finish our lesson." The half snake lady grinned evilly.
"New lesson… and this time, I'm the teacher. Imperio."
"This whole 'power is authority' deal applies to teachers as well, right?" Harry asked wearily as he slumped in a chair.
Kagome had lost to that one spell. She was instantly under Harry's command and he had her turn back into human form.
And get dressed.
Now she was sitting stiffly in a chair in Miss Nekonome's classroom being scrutinised by said teacher and the Newspaper Club.
"It's never come up." Miss Nekonome whined nervously. "Between teachers, certainly. But between teachers and students… ?"
"So what do I do?" Harry asked. "Kill her, wipe her mind or… what?"
"You could probably just leave things as is." Gin shrugged. "That mind control spell you used on me lasted a good week. Even now I still feel the urge to take the things you say as commands."
"Gin, I'm not trying to be mean or rude, but what if she has a stronger will?" Harry asked.
Gin shook his head. "I'm S-Class. That doesn't just mean physical strength. It counts for mental, spiritual and whatever else there is. It would take another S-Class to break your hold.
"Kuyou would probably have had no trouble."
"What about me?" Moka asked curiously.
Gin laughed. "If Harry put you under that spell you wouldn't want to break it. I doubt your other self would either." He smirked at the girl.
Moka just blushed.
"I'm curious about how I would cope." Kurumu piped up with genuine interest and a smile. "Succubae are naturals at mind control after all.
"Think of all the fun games we could play!" She smiled lasciviously at Harry.
Harry shocked them all with a sniff of amusement. Normally he would turn red and change the subject. "If you want I can try it on you. I have been playing a little too fast and loose with that spell."
"Err… erm… I… erm…" The flirty and feisty succubus was speechless and blushing. The other females looked at her with surprise. They didn't realise she was capable of it… not without it being an act for seduction.
Gin, however, just nodded approvingly. Not that anyone noticed.
Harry stood and turned to the stiffly sat teacher. "You answer to me now. You will fulfil your role as a teacher and that is all you will do to your students. You will not reveal your monster form without my permission or unless your life is in danger.
"Do you understand?"
Kagome glared at the teen but nodded sharply.
"And don't even think about revealing our true identities to anyone." He added. "Now get out of here."
She stood awkwardly, as though trying to figure out how to move, she then stumbled out the door.
Harry turned to Moka with a hopeful look. "Can you start tutoring me tomorrow?"
With Moka's help, Harry was able to improve his ability to do basic math. Addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. From there she introduced him to equations and formulas.
It was a good thing Moka was so patient.
But Miss Kagome also tried to help. Unfortunately for Harry, she was like an older version of Kurumu. She tried to help, but couldn't stop trying to seduce him. It seemed that she still had designs on him, just not necessarily in a way that hurt him physically… his sanity was in for a real workout.
Things managed to remain quiet within the student body. No one else challenged Harry or tried to make a move on the girls.
The only issue had been Rikiishi Chopper, who had approached Harry a bit like a lost puppy and asked if Harry was sure he wasn't physically strong.
Harry could see there was only one way to deal with this so he took Chopper in the woods and told him he was a wizard and how he had killed Kuyou.
Chopper exhibited a just a bit of fear whenever he came across Harry now.
All this occurred in the week after Harry's birthday.
Youkai Academy was a little late in starting their Summer Vacation. It was a week into August when they finally broke.
Gin was annoyed as he had failed too many exams and needed to attend Summer School. (Kurumu did too… but she was skiving.)
Miss Nekonome had announced that the Newspaper Club would be taking a field trip into the Human World to do investigating. It was required for all clubs to have summer activities.
Moka, Kurumu and Yukari were rather apprehensive as they had no good experiences in the human world and they didn't exactly have much trust in Miss Nekonome's skills there.
Harry's main worry was the massive culture shock he was expecting. Things were very different in Japan compared to England. This was evident just from the school customs such as bowing to the teacher.
Harry found himself waiting at the bus stop where he had first arrived in the monster world. Just he and Hedwig who was hovering above, terrifying the wildlife.
"Hi Harry."
Harry turned to see a shy Moka standing there. She looked as beautiful as always and was wearing a dress that proved one thing: Her casual clothes were as short as her school ones.
"Hi Moka. You look nice." Compliments. Girls always wanted compliments. It was one of the few lessons Sirius had managed to squeeze in during their short time before his trial.
Moka blushed. "Thank you Harry. You look good too."
Harry frowned as he noticed the large handbag she carried. "Where are your clothes? We are going to be in the human world for… what? Four weeks?"
"Oh, they are just over there." She pointed at the wheeled suitcase by the bus stop.
Harry was relieved. He didn't know what would happen if the first thing they had to do when they got to the Human World was go clothes shopping. The girls were clearly already nervous about being around humans.
"You will protect me, won't you, Harry?"
He jumped a little when he felt her warm body against his side, he hadn't noticed her move. "Sure… but there shouldn't be much of a problem. The-"
"I DON'T WANNA GO!"
Harry and Moka winced at the loud and somewhat desperate tone that approached from the path to the school.
"Don't be such a baby!"
Clearly Yukari was scared and Kurumu wasn't inclined to be nice.
"Yukari, what's the problem?" Harry asked calmly as the duo breached the treeline.
"She's just scared." Kurumu smirked as she came up and hugged Harry tightly. "That's how children get."
Harry looked down at her with sad and disappointed look. "Beauty is caring, not tormenting."
The succubus flushed and lowered her head, shamed.
"In England we have a saying: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
"You don't have to go out of your way to help, but you definitely shouldn't try and make things worse. Definitely not for your own pleasure." He put his arm around her waist and squeezed, when she looked up he gave her a reassuring look.
Kurumu nodded hesitantly and said nothing as Harry moved away towards Yukari.
"You're scared of humans?"
"Humans are our enemy. That's why we stay hidden from them." The girl said fearfully.
"Why are they the enemy?"
"They used to hunt us! Especially witches and wizards."
"All of them? I lived with humans for about thirteen or more years. My mum was born to and raised by humans.
"Besides, humans can't tell the difference between us and them."
"They can't?"
"Could you tell that Kuyou was a Yoko? Gin a werewolf? Trust me, unless you start casting magic in the streets, no one will know. I am pretty sure you could stand in the middle of London and simply shout that you are a witch and no one would care.
"But the police might ask you to move along for creating a disturbance."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Thirteen years' experience." Harry reiterated.
The fear of humans was quickly replaced by the awe of the Human World. It certainly was less gloomy than Youkai Academy and the girls thought it looked amazing.
They had exited the tunnel into the outskirts of Tokyo. Even on the edge of the city the girls could see the sky-high buildings. If that hadn't been enough to enrapture them, the near countless humans wandering the pavements would.
This was a whole new world for most of them. Even Moka, who had gone to a human middle-school, was glued to the window and watching the amazing world of humans rush by.
The bus took them out of the city and into the country. Buildings gave way to fields and mountains.
Public roads gave way to 'No Trespassing' construction zones.
"Driver, in the Human World, 'No Trespassing' means 'go away', 'keep out'." Harry called to the front of the bus.
The driver chuckled darkly. "Thought we'd make a little side trip first."
Harry didn't like the sound of that. "Is this side trip going to end with you trying to kill us?"
"This is what you're here to investigate." The driver said in his low gravelly voice. "Humans have been going missing here and claim the place is cursed."
The driver slowed to a stop as they reached a field of sunflowers. He pulled the lever for the door and the teens followed their teacher off the bus. The driver followed.
"Here, the local paper can give you the details." He said as he shoved a newspaper at Harry. "Hey, Teach, how about you and me go get some sushi?"
"What? But what time are you going to pick us up?" Harry asked as he watched his teacher follow the driver back on the bus, she was purring loudly.
Unfortunately he didn't get a response as the driver poured on the gas and shot off.
Harry turned to the girls. "You remember how you are all scared of humans? Keep in mind it was two monsters that just abandoned us here."
Three terrified faces stared back at him.
"Don't worry too much." Harry sighed, he was slightly frustrated with himself. He hadn't meant to scare the girls. "Between myself and Yukari we should be set for supplies or what we need. We've got our scout in the air." He pointed up without looking.
The girls craned their necks and actually sighed in relief at the faint glimmer of white, high in the bright blue sky.
"So, what should we do to start?" He asked, better to get the girls thinking of solutions and not dwelling on fears.
"Oh! The newspaper!" Yukari exclaimed, pointing at the item in Harry's hand.
Harry surreptitiously duplicated the paper as he handed a copy to each of his friends.
They spent a few minutes in silence reading, only the sound of Kurumu flicking boredly through the pages was heard.
"Harry-"
"I heard it. Or hear it." Harry grimaced at Moka's worried voice.
Around them the tall sunflowers were swaying in a wind that didn't blow. A low growl emanated from various places.
"There's a shack over there." Yukari pointed.
The quartet hurried as quick as they could without running. The shack turned out to be storage for gardening tools.
"I'm sure you'll all see this as good news, but this appears to be a monster problem." Harry said dryly. "No humans involved but victims." He said as he held up his paper.
"You know what is doing this?" Kurumu asked. "I saw something about a witch, but…"
"No idea. I just know humans can't do it."
"So we need to solve the mystery for Nekonome-sensei." Kurumu said decisively.
"Are you trying to get us all killed?!" Yukari practically screamed.
"Yukari!" Moka was worried about her young friend.
"This is the Human World! Something horrible could happen at any moment! Look at my tarot cards… Disaster! Catastrophe!"
"Yukari!" Harry barked. "This area is deserted. There are no humans here."
Then they heard a scream.
"I'd like to be right… just once." Harry groaned as he headed for the door.
He only had to run just over a hundred meters when he found a tear-streaked young woman desperately trying to pull another, unconscious young woman away from the sunflowers.
Green tentacles were attached to the woman being dragged into the field and she looked practically dead.
"Please! Help me! It's going to eat her!" The conscious woman begged.
Harry jumped off the path and began casting cutting charms at the tentacles whilst keeping his body between the conscious woman and what he was doing. As soon as she was free he conjured a combat knife similar to one he had seen another student with.
"Come on, we've got to move." Harry said as he picked the unconscious woman up in his arms and began moving to the shack.
Moka, Kurumu and Yukari were standing nearby. Yukari was hiding behind Moka.
"Help her." Harry barked at them.
"But she's a human!" Yukari said fearfully.
"Now!"
Moka jumped and seemed to remember where she was. She quickly moved to the other woman and helped her limp to safety.
In short order they were back in the shack and Harry was frantically checking the unconscious woman. She was bleeding from multiple shallow cuts and was very weak.
But she probably wasn't going to die.
He reached into his special backpack and retrieved a blood replenisher and a Pepper-up.
"Here. Drink all of this." He instructed the conscious woman, handing her the Pepper-up. He then started to pour the other potion down his patient's throat. A bit of magic aided the process.
"Is- Is she going to make it?"
Harry looked at the woman and his face softened as he sat back against the wall. "As long as we don't all get eaten by those plants… sure. Drink up. It will make you feel better."
She nodded shakily and began to sip.
"Did any of you recognise those things out there?" He asked his classmates snappishly.
The three teen girls shook their heads.
"Are… are you a wizard?"
Harry looked at the calmer woman and smirked. "Figured that one out, did you?"
"We came here to investigate the rumours. But… I guess they were only half true." She shuddered as she looked at the door.
"I am a wizard, yes." Harry confirmed. "We were here to investigate too. This might be a bit out of our league."
"Couldn't we kill them with this?" Kurumu asked as she tapped a large bottle of pesticide with her foot.
"I doubt it." Harry gave her an apologetic look. "We'd need a lot more than that to cover the fields… and it would probably just make them sick."
"You could burn the fields." Moka offered.
Harry let out an apprehensive hiss of breath. "Starting fires? Easy. Controlling them? Not.
"At the very least I would have to get the rest of you away from the area."
"Are we sure they are in the whole of the fields, or are they moving around?" Moka wondered.
"Good question." Harry said decisively as he began rummaging through his backpack. "Moka, Yukari, you stay here with… ?"
"Keiko and Yui." The conscious human supplied, indicating herself as Keiko.
"…Keiko, and keep Yui safe. Kurumu, you and I will go and join Hedwig and survey the area."
Keiko watched in awe as Harry pulled a long broom out of his short pack and Kurumu grew black leathery wings and a tail.
"Harry!" Yukari cried from behind Moka. "You're just going to leave us with… her?"
Harry stood up and glared at the eleven-year-old. "Yukari, I've never said this to you before, but… grow up.
"Moka, man the door for us."
Yukari could only watch in horror as Harry disillusioned himself and Kurumu before leaving them to the mercy of the human.
"Harry-kun, as sweet as you and Hedwig usually look together… you're invisible and she's not." Kurumu giggled invisibly as they hovered in the air.
Harry absently ran a hand over Hedwig's head, making her disappear. "I can see the entire field moving unnaturally. Can you see anything more?"
"No. Just what you see. We could just fly the others out and then report our findings to Nekonome-sensei." She suggested. "Investigating doesn't usually mean fixing what we find, does it?"
"Not for newspaper reporters." Harry agreed. "Can you get the humans out whilst the rest of us hold the shack? You can then get back to us and we can get Moka and Yukari out."
"Wouldn't it be better for you to take them?"
"My magic means I can attack from distance. Plus… I can't really take an unconscious person on a broom."
The scene back at the shack was a disaster.
Yukari was missing. Moka was struggling to decide what to do. Keiko was trying to get Moka to go after her. Yui was still asleep.
"What the hell happened?" Harry demanded.
"Yukari was freaking out about being around humans." Moka explained fretfully. "She ran off. I couldn't leave Keiko and Yui unprotected!"
"Damn that big baby!" Kurumu hissed angrily. "I'll go and get her."
"No." Harry laid a hand on her arm. "We'll stick to the plan. You get Keiko and Yui out. I'll find Yukari whilst Moka holds the shack."
He walked up to the vampire. "Moka, I really hate to do this, but we need your other self."
Moka just nodded and thrust her chest out. Harry quickly pulled the rosary off.
Then he remembered the devastation that the vampire's transformation could cause and dragged Keiko down next to Yui and cast a shield.
And just like that… Moka had white hair and the shack was gone.
"Crap! Kurumu, quick, get Yui out of here." Harry ordered as he hefted the unconscious woman in his arms.
"Got it!" Kurumu said, taking the burden. She suddenly paused. "Where?"
"Bugger."
"Go that way, our car is there. Metal might be safer than wood." Keiko pointed down the path. She fished her keys out and slipped them into Kurumu's bra.
The succubus flapped her wings and slowly took off into the darkening evening sky.
"Go find the witch, Harry." The newly arrived Outer Moka ordered. "I will protect the girl until Kurumu returns."
Harry was a little worried at the bloodthirsty expression she wore. Combined with the various humanoid plant-like creatures crawling out of the fields… he was a bit worried that Moka wouldn't remember she had someone to protect.
"Why can't we stick to a single bloody plan?" Harry grumbled. "Keiko, jump on the back." Harry said as he mounted his broom. "Moka, just follow us from the ground to the car. Once we have secured it and the girls, Kurumu and I will search for Yukari."
"Hmmph. I can run and fight I suppose." She grumbled.
Harry made it to the car seconds after Kurumu. Keiko quickly retrieved the keys from Kurumu's bra and opened the rear door so Yui could be laid down.
By that point Moka had arrived.
And so had the twenty or so monsters chasing her.
But these were pitiful excuses for monsters. Moka had simply been kiting them behind her and as she reached a point around ten feet from the car, she stopped and faced the mini-hoard.
As they came upon her she spun in a circle and delivered a roundhouse kick that caught three of them and sent them barrelling into the rest… they landed as a mess of tangled limbs.
"Moka, go with Keiko and Yui. Get them clear. Kurumu and I will catch up when we've found Yukari."
Moka could only glare as the wizard and succubus took to the skies.
Kurumu and Harry soared into the air. The night had arrived making it harder to see the monsters.
An invisible Hedwig soon landed on his shoulder.
"Can you see Yukari?" Harry asked his avian friend.
*BOOM*
"Prek."
"Yeah, yeah. Just go and find Moka. Help her keep watch over the humans." Harry glared at his smartass friend. "And make sure she doesn't eat them!" He called after the retreating owl.
Kurumu and Harry landed around a hundred meters away from the devastation that the explosion had caused. Their suspicions that Yukari was the source were confirmed when the saw dead monsters sliced to ribbons by tarot cards.
At the centre was an unconscious witch.
"Damn that girl." Kurumu hissed as Harry hefted the girl in his arms. "It's bad enough that she ran out into middle of these monsters… but she abandoned Moka too."
"Not her most stellar moment." Harry agreed as he began the short walk back to the car. "But she is only eleven."
"Then she should have listened to Moka, as her elder. She could have gotten us all killed." Kurumu was unmoved by the argument as she retrieved the witch's pointed hat from the ground as they passed. "Did you know she bought copies of the 'Harry Potter Adventure' books? They are only available in English. When you're not around she sits there with a translation dictionary and tries to copy them into Japanese."
"I've never read them. I wish they never existed… of course, I wish Voldemort never existed either." Harry sighed. "Let's get to Moka. We can send Hedwig to Nekonome-sensei and get her to take Yukari home."
"I can't believe they just abandoned us here." Kurumu grumbled.
"I intend to express my displeasure." Harry said darkly.
Harry was pleased to see that Keiko and Yui were fine. Yui was awake and relieved to be alive.
Harry was also pleased to see that Moka hadn't eaten them. He gave her the rosary, but she pocketed it instead.
Keiko and Yui offered to drive them into the city where they could get a room at a hotel.
Harry made sure the two human girls knew that they couldn't talk about what happened. He stressed it could get their memories wiped… or worse; killed.
"Are you sure you will be okay here?" Keiko asked with concern as they pulled up outside a modest hotel.
"I've sent word to our teacher. I have plenty of money to keep us fed and sheltered." Harry promised.
Yui was just as concerned as her friend. "Here. That's my number. Call me when your teacher gets here. If she doesn't turn up by the morning we're coming back."
Harry smiled gratefully at them both and bowed. "Thank you very much."
The Academy students were soon left on the pavement outside the hotel.
"They're gone. Now stop pretending to sleep and stand on your own feet." Moka growled as she dropped the witch she had been holding.
"Ow! Moka! That hurt."
"Consider yourself lucky, child." The vampire snarled. "You could have gotten us all killed with your foolish and childish acts.
"If you can't behave like an adult then maybe you need to go back to elementary school."
"What!"
"Moka. Enough. It has been a long and trying day and I just want to get a room and some sleep." Harry said firmly. "I'd appreciate it if you would put your rosary back on as it will make it slightly harder to pass you off as human."
"Outer Moka has pink hair." Inner said dryly.
"Yes, but her eyes aren't red and her fangs don't show as much." Harry said with a bit of amusement.
Moka returned the slight smirk. "Will you let me drink your blood? It will make Outer Moka more capable of handling the change."
Harry was exhausted, but he knew Moka was right. He just nodded.
This was only the second time Inner Moka had drank from him. This time he could recognise the behaviour of the girl: Lust.
She breathed in his scent deeply, moulded her body against his. She nuzzled the crook of his neck deeply and… he was sure she kissed him before her sharp fangs bit.
If Harry's blood hadn't been flowing steadily out of his neck, he might have blushed at the moans coming from the
girl.
Harry began to feel light-headed so he tapped Moka on the shoulder.
Then he tapped harder.
Moka squeaked suddenly and looked at Harry furiously. She was definitely blushing.
"It wasn't him."
Moka turned at Kurumu and glared.
"Don't look at me like that. You were draining him dry and ignoring him. Next time I might do more than pinch your butt.
"I'm a Succubus, I know what you were doing."
Harry just sidled around the red faced vampire. "You don't need to be a succubus to figure that out." He muttered as he headed into the lobby.
He couldn't help but once again wonder if the blood colouring her cheeks was his. Maybe he'd ask Outer Moka sometime.
Harry managed to get them a room with two bedrooms. He had to lie to the desk clerk that Yukari was his little half-sister and Moka and Kurumu were friends from University. It simply wouldn't have worked if they admitted to being three fifteen-year-olds and an eleven-year-old.
Harry paid upfront and in cash. He added a request that if someone called Nekonome turned up, they show her to their room.
The first thing Harry did when they got to the room was open the window for Hedwig before giving her a note for their teacher.
Then the older three turned to deal with the eleven-year-old.
"You do realise how much trouble you nearly caused?" Harry asked sternly. "Forget Keiko and Yui, you nearly got Moka killed. If those monsters had swarmed the shack, Moka wouldn't have been able to handle all of them. Not without me to remove her rosary."
"I'm sorry! I was scared." Yukari cried in shame and frustration.
"Scared? So scared of a couple of humans that you abandoned your best friends to run into the jaws of monsters that wanted to kill you?" Harry scoffed.
"Humans hate us! You told us how your family treated you."
"I also told you how wizards treated me. Moka and I both told you we lived amongst humans for years. Yet here we are, still alive and well."
"You're English, you don't know how it is for witches and wizards in Japan."
"Yes. I do. I asked for that information. I know for a fact that the wizards in Asia are so insular that they bind the magic of babies born to non-magical parents.
"There could be millions of potential witches and wizards in Japan alone.
"However, in the past two hundred years, the humans haven't even heard about magic and monsters."
"But you have."
The four-some turned in surprise at the new voice. Standing in the open window was a girl, about their age. She had long black hair with two braids at her temples as the rest fell straight down her back. She wore a skin tight, sleeveless top, she had a layered skirt which appeared to be made of rags. There was a long slit that showed her legs, covered in ripped stockings.
She had a short staff and a sunflower in her right hand.
"Can we help you?" Harry asked tightly. That sunflower indicated she was at the disaster area… possibly responsible.
"A human?" She scoffed. "Disgusting creature. I am here for Yukari." She looked at the young witch. "I have come to rescue you from these humans."
Harry groaned. "Fuck me! Screw this." He swore before his hand flicked out and a stunner hit the girl. A second spell caught her and levitated her to a nearby chair before she could fall to her death. He quickly had her bound to the chair.
"Harry! Why did you do that?" Yukari demanded. She couldn't understand why he would attack a fellow magical.
"Because she was about to attack us and kidnap you." Harry grumbled.
Yukari was beginning to get fed up at being ganged up on. Especially when she didn't think she had done anything wrong. "What if I want to go with her? What if she understands?" She demanded.
"So… you hate your parents that much?"
Yukari was taken aback. "What?"
"She broke into our room, probably had something to do with the monsters that tried to kill us all. Do you really think she would let you go home to your parents?"
"Harry, that's enough." Moka said with a rare firmness. "Sit down and try to relax."
To be honest, Harry was glad one of them was finally going to say something. He plopped down in the armchair and was about to close his eyes and relax, but then he remembered the witch.
He sighed and cast a few quick spells that moved her chair to face him and put up a privacy spell. Then he revived her.
As soon as she realized where she was and what had happened she sneered and spat at Harry. "Human dog! How dare you touch me! I will end your worth-"
Harry stared at her as she continued to silently mouth at him… until she realised she couldn't hear her own voice. First she appeared confused. Then astounded. Then sheepish.
Harry waved his hand and waited with an expectant look.
"You are a wizard."
Harry continued to stare.
"I apologise." She made an attempt to bow from her confined position. "I thought you were a human. I thought you had kidnapped the young witch. I thought they were humans too, I did not realise they were also witches." She nodded to where Moka and Yukari were still lecturing Yukari.
"They aren't witches." Harry stated simply.
The witch's expression froze.
"Does that make a difference?" Harry asked curiously.
Anger and disgust began to ruin the otherwise beautiful face. "Humans are a plague on the Earth! They should be destroyed so we can finally live free and not hide."
"Why would they need to be destroyed for that to happen?" Harry asked curiously.
She couldn't believe he would question such a fact. "They are evil! Look what they were doing to the sunflower fields!"
"And did you have them legally registered in the human world? Of course not." Harry answered for her. "Why should you, they probably belonged to you and your family for centuries, right?"
"Exactly." She was relieved that Harry understood.
"So why didn't you hide them? Why not protect them with aversion wards?"
The witch became indignant. "Why should we hide? We have as much right to walk the world."
Harry looked at her carefully. He then waved his hand and the ropes vanished. "You're right. There's the door. Feel free to walk around. The city is quite beautiful."
She looked at him suspiciously. "I don't understand?"
"As long as you don't try to hurt anyone, I don't see why you shouldn't be free to leave. I recommend you ward the sunflower fields so the humans can't get to them. And don't use magic on the humans themselves. They won't appreciate it."
"I- I don't understand."
Harry yawned. "I'm dead tired. Why don't you stay the night? You can take that bedroom whilst the girls take the other. I'll sleep out here.
"Tomorrow we can get to know each other and you can join us when we explore the city."
Harry stood and offered his hand to help her up, which she cautiously took. "I'm Harry, by the way. Potter Harry. The little one is Sendo Yukari. The pink haired one is Akashiya Moka. The blue haired one is Kuruno Kurumu."
"Ruby… Tōjō Ruby." She responded.
"Nice to meet you. Hopefully?" He added with a shrug. He turned to the girls and dropped the privacy wards. "Girls, it's late, I want to sleep. Ruby is staying the night and taking my room. You take the other and I'll conjure a bedroll for the night out here."
It was gone midnight by the time the females had closed their doors and Harry had enough privacy to close his eyes. Kurumu had clearly enjoyed swirling through the common area in her lacy negligee before kissing Harry on the cheek and flouncing off… assets bouncing.
Ruby had been a little concerned about what she could wear to bed. Harry had simply asked why she carried a wand. The witch blushed and retreated to her room.
Poor Harry. An hour later there was a knock on the door and he grumpily opened it to find his teacher there.
"Get in." He snapped. "Where's the driver?"
"He- He's in his bus. He sleeps there." She answered, she wasn't quite sure where the hostility was coming from. "Why are you angry?"
"Why? WHY? You left us alone in the middle of nowhere. You knew there was an issue in the area and we almost died because of it!
"Moka, Kurumu and I are only fifteen. Yukari doesn't see us as authority figures and she panicked and ran off."
"But you were only supposed to look around. Ask questions." She was completely confused.
"Ask who? The area was deserted apart from two human tourists and a bloody pack of carnivorous plant monsters!"
"Harry-kun, I swear I didn't know!"
"Yeah, but you did still abandon us with no way home."
Nekonome blushed. "The driver and I went to the market. I got carried away at the fish stalls."
Harry was clearly not impressed. But there was distinctly less animosity aimed at his teacher.
"Fine. The girls are in that room. There is a witch we met today in that one. We will be showing her the city tomo- today.
"I was sleeping out here. You can take that bedroll and I'll make another."
As he turned to make a new bedroll he felt her hand on his arm.
"I truly am sorry, Harry-kun. I honestly had no idea."
"Deal with it in the morning." He nodded. "I need to sleep."