Hi everybody! Lookie, lookie!! ::points down:: A new chapter! YAY!! I'm in a very good mood today, as you can probably tell.

So, here's chapter 4, and I hope you all enjoy it!

Harry Potter cheerfully waved goodbye to his uncle at King's Cross Station at 10:30 on September 1st. His spirit was soaring. He was going back to Hogwarts.

Dragging his trunk and carrying Hedwig's cage, he fought through the crowds, eventually managing to grab a trolley from one of the stacks against the platforms. After a brief argument with a policeman (who seemed to think he was trying to sell drugs), he stumbled towards platform 9 and ¾.

He glanced around. Ron had said to meet him here, hadn't he?

"Platform 9 and ¾, I'm sure that was it."

Harry glanced around for the voice, expecting first year students. Instead, he saw a tall, pretty red-haired girl with a letter in her hand. Behind her, pushing a trolley with two trunks and a cage, was a smaller boy wearing all black and an annoyed expression.

"Maybe we should ask for directions," the girl was saying, looking around.

Harry decided to take pity on them. "Excuse me," he said, wheeling his trolley over to them. "But are you looking for Platform 9 and ¾? The Hogwarts Express, that is?"

The boy narrowed his eyes. "What's it to you?"

"Be quiet, Hiei, he's trying to help us!" The girl said sharply. She looked at Harry. "Sorry about him. He's shy."

Shy, huh? Sure. "It's okay."

"We are looking for 9 and ¾, though. Can you point us in the right direction?"

"Uh, sure," Harry stammered. Damn, she's cute when she smiles! "Actually, you're standing right in front of it. All you do is run into that wall."

The girl raised an eyebrow, and the boy coughed.

"Er--sorry. That didn't come out the way I meant it to. See that brick barrier?" He pointed to it. "There's a spell on it. You just run into it, and you pass through to the other side. Simple as that."

The girl glanced at the boy, who nodded curtly. He looked at the wall and glared. Harry wondered if he was trying to sense magic. Before he could say anything, the boy glanced back at his companion and nodded once.

"All right, then." The girl smiled at Harry, who felt his knees go weak. "Thank you so much for your help, Mr.—"

"Potter," Harry said helpfully. "Harry Potter." He regretted it immediately, expecting the usual gasps and stares, but they didn't even seem phased by who he was.

"Mr. Potter. I'll remember." She smiled again, turning with her friend. The two walked through the portal with perfect ease and vanished.

Harry stared after them. "Talk about a bloody wasted opportunity."

"Oy! Harry!"

"Harry, over here!"

He looked over his shoulder to see Ron and Hermione coming towards him, followed by the rest of the Weasleys (save Percy, of course) and Hermione's parents.

Hermione gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, and Ron hugged him as well. "We wanted to see you over the holiday, Harry," Hermione began. "But my parents—"

"It's alright," Harry said quickly. "I can understand if your parents didn't want to put you in a dangerous situation or anything."

"Harry, have you met my parents yet?" Harry shook his head. "That's really strange!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to her parents. "Mum, Dad, this is Harry."

"It's about time we meet the young man our daughter seems to like so much," Mr. Granger said, holding out his hand. He was a tall man with tanned skin.

"Oh, don't intimidate him, dear, you'll give the poor boy cardiac arrest," Mrs. Granger shook Harry's hand next. She was a slightly plump woman with bushy brown hair.

Well, now we know where Hermione got it from, Harry thought.

Mrs. Weasley tapped Harry on the shoulder. "Hello, Harry, dear. How was your holiday?"

Harry surrendered willingly to her hug. He allowed himself a soft sigh into her breast. Molly Weasley had the unique maternal quality that almost made Harry think for a moment that she was his mother. "It was alright," he said, pulling away at last. "The Dursleys were a bit disappointed that I came back."

"Well, you'll just have to pick that cousin of yours up a few treats the next time you're in Diagon Alley, eh?" Fred said from behind his mother.

Linking his arm through his brother's, George grinned. "You'll come to visit the store, won't you, Harry?"

"Of course I will." Harry grinned back. He couldn't help it. "How's business?"

"Booming."

"Or were those the exploding chickens?"

"I can never remember."

"I hate to interrupt the reunion, everyone," Mr. Weasley said, shaking Harry's hand with a smile. "But you're going to miss the train."

Ten minutes and several hugs and kisses later, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express. Dragging their trunks, they thudded down the hallway.

"Let's head for the last car," Harry suggested. "Or do you guys have to sit up front again?"

"No, it's only the fifth year prefects that sit up front," Hermione said. "Let's go back."

All the compartments in the last car were full, save the last one. Harry opened the door and found it empty.

"Found one!" He announced triumphantly. They dragged their trunks into the compartment, lifting them onto the racks with a levitation spell.

Harry promptly claimed one window seat, Hermione sat down in the other. Looking slightly put out, the Weasley siblings sat down in two of the remaining seats.

"So," Ginny said nervously. "How was your holiday, Harry?"

"It was okay." He shrugged. "I wasn't attacked, if that's what you mean." He brightened, remembering the highlight of the summer. "Professor Lupin came to visit, though!"

"Really?" Hermione leaned forward eagerly. "When?"

"On my birthday. He took me to Diagon Alley to get my stuff, then we stayed there for a few days, and then he took me back to the Dursleys'." He smiled slightly, remembering the looks on his aunt and uncle's faces when Professor Lupin had walked in the door during Sunday breakfast.

"What did you do in Diagon Alley?" Hermione asked.

"Just shopping, mostly." He thought hard, trying to remember if they had done anything else worth mentioning. "We talked a lot."

"About what?" Ron's head was tilted slightly to the side.

"Not too much." He lowered his voice. "We did talk about Sirius a bit, though."

"Is he alright about all that?" Ginny asked worriedly. "None of us have seen him since last year."

Harry shrugged. "I don't know if he's alright. He cried a lot. More than me. They were really close." No need to mention how close they had really been. "Sirius was his best friend."

"What about you, Harry?" Ron asked, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Are you okay?"

Harry closed his eyes. "I don't know. I'm—still getting used to it, I guess."

"If you ever need to talk, we're here for you, Harry," Ron said softly, clapping Harry gently on the shoulder.

Harry forced a smile. "Thanks." He needed to change the subject, before he started crying. "So," He said, "What about you? Did you do anything interesting in Diagon Alley?"

"Actually," Ron said thoughtfully, "There was this girl."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You're pathetic, Ron! You see a pretty girl and you go crazy!"

"But you should have seen her, Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "She was gorgeous!!"

Hermione sniffed. "You're doing it again. You only pay attention to girls if they're good looking."

"I pay attention to you, don't I?" Ron countered.

She glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, I just—hey!" He jumped up and looked out the window. "That's her! That's the girl!"

Harry peered over Ron's shoulder, just in time to see the red-haired girl from earlier running towards her dark-haired friend, a small black form in her arms. She stumbled slightly on reaching her friend, and he caught her arm as they boarded the train.

"Too bad, really," Ron commented wistfully. "Her boyfriend won't let her out of his sight."

"That's her boyfriend?" Harry said disbelievingly. "But he's so..."

"Short? Yeah, I know, mate. Too bad for us, eh?" Ron sighed and returned to his seat.

"Maybe they'll come and sit with us. This is the only compartment that isn't full, after all," Harry said, a hopeful not in his voice.

"They're delusional." Hermione muttered, shaking her head.

Ginny heard her and giggled.

There was a knock on the compartment door. Harry and Ron stared at each other in awe as Hermione, shaking her head, opened the door.

The redhead smiled at Hermione. "Is this compartment full?"

Hermione shook her head, returning the smile. "No. Just warning you, though, my friends here seem to have developed a liking for you already."

"Have they?" The girl laughed, and looked over her shoulder. "Found one, Hiei!"

The dark-haired boy appeared at the girl's side so quickly Hermione wondered for a moment if he had Apparated.

The two sat down across from each other, the girl taking a seat next to an awestruck Ron and giving him a slight smile.

"Kurama." The boy said suddenly, "Isn't that the kid from the Leaky Cauldron?"

The girl raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Anyways," Harry said quickly, "I think we should probably make introductions."

"Mr. Potter, wasn't it?" The girl looked at him. He swallowed, hard. Her vibrant green eyes put his to shame.

"Yeah. But you don't have to be so formal. I'm Harry. This is Ron, and Hermione, and Ron's sister Ginny." He pointed to each of them in turn.

"It's a pleasure. I'm Kurama, this is Hiei." Hiei glared at them, and Kurama sighed. "Hiei has an anti-social complex."

"I noticed," Hermione said. She looked at Ron. "Don't stare, Ron, it's rude." She said sharply.

"Sorry;" Ron said, flushing. "It's just--has anyone ever told you you're really pretty? You must be asked out by guys all the time."

Hiei smirked suddenly, looking at Kurama. "Told you."

"Don't rub it in." Kurama muttered, glaring at him.

The four teenagers looked at them in confusion.

Kurama ran a hand through her hair distractedly. "Well, you see, you seem to have gotten the wrong impression...I, well..."

"What Kurama is trying to say," Hiei interrupted, "is that he's a man, so back off."

One could have heard a pin drop in the silence that greeted that statement.

"Um...wow." Harry said finally, in attempt to break the awkward silence. "That was blunt."

Kurama put his head in his hands. "Oh, Hiei..." He sighed, shaking his head.

"I never would have guessed," Ron blurted. "You just look really..."

"Effeminate?" Kurama said with a wry smile. "I get that a lot. You were right with your last statement."

Ron blushed.

"So..." Hermione said uncomfortably; "What year are you two going into? We haven't seen you around here before;"

"We're going into sixth year;" Kurama said. "We transferred from a school in Japan."

"Really? That's amazing!" Hermione exclaimed. "We haven't had exchange students since..." She trailed off, trying to remember the year.

"1852." Kurama said promptly.

"Er, yes;" she said. "How did you know?"

"I read about it. Hogwarts, a History. It's very good. Have you read it?"

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You've read Hogwarts, a History?" She asked breathlessly.

He nodded. "I bought in Diagon Alley, to have some background on the school."

Hermione stared at him in something akin to adoration. Ron was beginning to look jealous.

Something moved in Kurama's arms, and he loosened his grip on the small bundle of black fur he held. He smiled down at it. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Kage."He greeted.

The small fox stretched on Kurama's lap, staring up at him with sleepy silver eyes. Jumping nuzzling the redhead's shoulder, he jumped off Kurama's lap, rubbing briefly against Hiei's leg before moving straight through the door.

Harry's eyes widened. "How did it do that?"

"What, pass through the door?" Kurama gazed after his pet with a small smile of pride. "He's a shadow fox. They can pass through solid objects, and then solidify their bodies again. They can also become invisible, as silent as the shadows themselves. Rather useful creatures, when you think about it," he said, almost as an afterthought.

"Annoying when you have to chase them through a train station, though," Hiei said darkly.

Kurama frowned at him. "You're hardly in a place to complain, Hiei, you weren't the one doing the chasing."

"I tried to, but the damn thing bit me;" He growled. "And you shouldn't have been running in the first place, you know that, Kurama."

Kurama shrugged. "It's alright, Hiei." He smiled slyly. "Nice of you to worry, though."

"Hn." Hiei snapped, turning to the door and glaring at it, as if daring it to challenge him.

Kurama rolled his eyes, turning to Hermione. "Do you think you could explain to me a bit about the Sorting process? I'm afraid it's a bit foggy to me."

Hermione's eyes lit up, and she immediately began chattering.

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Here we go.

"...and then, when they knew that they'd be dying soon, Godric Gryffindor put a spell on his hat so that it would choose the houses for the students. But of course he had to make the spell very specific so that it would know whom to put where, so he..."

Harry put his head in his hands. 'How does he listen to that and not go crazy?'He glanced at Kurama. The redhead was listening to Hermione with rapt attention, an expression of genuine interest in his eyes. He had barely moved from that position when Hermione started talking almost twenty minutes ago. He looked at Ron, who made a hanging motion with his hand. Harry nodded in agreement.

"...and so the most cunning ones, of course, would go to Slytherin—don't think I didn't see that, Ron—and the bravest to Gryffindor—"

"Kurama." Hiei said suddenly, rising to his feet.

Kurama glanced at him, concern in his eyes. Suddenly he shivered, getting to his feet. "I feel it, too. What do you think—?" He was cut off as the train lurched to a stop.

The sudden halt in motion threw Kurama against Hiei, and Hiei into the wall. The dark-haired boy slid to the ground, one arm hooked around Kurama almost protectively. Ron was thrown into Harry, who had been slammed into the wall. Hermione and Ginny both fell out of their seats, hitting the ground at nearly the same time, just as the lights went off.

Several shrieks could be heard as the entire train was plunged into complete darkness.

"Is everyone all right?" Harry asked breathlessly, gently shoving Ron off him. 'They'd better be all right.'

"I'm alright, mate. Good catch." 'Ron. Good.'

"I'm okay; I just got scratched on the seat."

"Me too, probably bruised, though." 'Hermione and Ginny.'

Silence.

"Kurama?" Hermione's voice was oddly timid. "Hiei? Are you two okay?"

"We're fine." Hiei's voice was sharp. "Someone find a light, I need to see something."

Harry fumbled for his wand. "Lumos." He said, holding it up. A faint light shivered into being, illuminating the compartment. He scanned the room quickly. Ron was still in his seat, although he looked slightly shaken. Hermione and Ginny were leaning against their seats, Hermione examining a cut on her arm.

He guided the light over to the wall where Hiei and Kurama had been thrown. He bit his lip. 'Not good.'

Hiei was on his knees, Kurama's head and shoulders supported with one arm. Kurama was conscious, but his eyes were closed and his face showed pain. Moving his wand down, Harry could see why. Blood was leaking through Kurama's shirt, staining his clothing a deep red.

"K'so." Hiei muttered, glancing at the blood. "Kurama, stay awake;" He snapped at the redhead, moving to examine Kurama's abdomen. He turned cool crimson eyes on Harry. "Hold him upright, and don't move the light."

"Hiei, I'm okay;" Kurama protested quietly, opening his eyes slowly. He shrugged Harry away when the wizard went to help him, pain flashing across his features.

Hiei snorted. "Of course you are. If you weren't, you'd be dead. Now hold still, this is going to hurt." He pulled his wand out of his pocket, holding it against Kurama's stomach.

Harry craned his neck to see. Hiei had unbuttoned Kurama's shirt. Harry could see bloodstained bandages crumpled in a pile on the floor. Harry winced in spite of himself. A long, ugly gash stretched across Kurama's stomach. It had obviously been half-healed, and the sudden jerking of the train had torn it open. Harry moved to help.

"Keep the light still," Hiei said sharply. Touching the tip of his wand to the wound, he muttered something under his breath. Kurama gasped and shuddered, closing his eyes. "Harry, hold him."

Harry grabbed Kurama's shoulder, holding the redhead still.

After almost two agonizingly slow minutes, Hiei moved his wand away. Harry looked at the wound questioningly. He nearly sighed in relief. The blood flow had slowed to a slight leak. He looked at Hiei, who had produced a role of gauze from one of the pockets of his cloak and was tightly binding Kurama's stomach. As he did so, Harry noticed that Hiei's right arm was also wrapped in bandages. "What happened to your arm?" He blurted.

Hiei didn't look at him. "Burns." He tied off the bandage, then moved back, buttoning Kurama's shirt and sliding an almost gentle arm around Kurama's shoulders to help him up.

Kurama sat up, moving away from Hiei's supportive arm. He looked at his friend, emerald eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What spell was that, Hiei?"

Hiei shrugged. "Not a very good one. All it does is slow down the bleeding. That was the most I could do." He stood up, reaching out a hand. Kurama took it and Hiei pulled him to his feet.

Kurama frowned, looking out the window. "What do you think happened?"

Hiei glared at him. "If I knew that, we wouldn't be in this situation." Stuffing his wand into his pocket, he crossed the compartment to his trunk. He fished through it, coming up with a long, thin sword a moment later. He took it out of its sheath, shoving the sheath into his belt.

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Now how did you smuggle that by me?"

"For me to know and you to find out," Hiei said, mimicking one of Kurama's frequent phases.

Kurama turned back to the window, muttering something about being a bad influence.

"...Do you hear something?" Ginny ventured nervously after a moment.

Harry looked at the door, as Kurama rose to his feet, coming forward. The redhead reached out, laying an almost tentative hand on the doorknob. There was a cracking sound, a flash of light, and Kurama pulled his hand back. Harry could see that it had been burned and scratched badly.

Kurama smiled wryly, bringing his hand to eye level and flicking his tongue over one of his fingers. He turned to Hiei and nodded once.

The dark-haired boy came forward. "Behind me."

Grabbing Ron by the arm, Harry pulled him behind the two exchange students. Hermione and Ginny were already huddling next to the wall.

Hiei glanced sharply at Kurama. "You too, fox."

Kurama narrowed his eyes.

"Now." Hiei's tone left no room for argument. Kurama nodded and stepped back. Moving back a step, Hiei raised his arm. Almost faster than the eye could track, he slammed his fist into the door, which splintered at the contact.

Hermione shrieked, and Ginny covered her eyes. Ron started to yell, but Kurama put a hand over his mouth. "Be quiet," the redhead said sharply, his eyes trained on Hiei.

Hiei stepped into the corridor, glancing around. His eyes narrowed to slits, and he glanced back at Kurama. He inclined his head slightly to the right.

"I thought as much," Kurama sighed.

"Should I?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Kurama paused, and then shook his head. "Just find what you can and come back."

Hiei nodded curtly and vanished.

"Where did he go?" Hermione whispered. "Is he invisible?"

"No," Kurama said, "but let's just say that Kage isn't the only one who can blend with the shadows." He looked at them seriously. "Has something like this ever happened before?"

Harry started to shake his head, and then stopped. "Yes," he said. "In our third year—Ginny, your second—when the Dementors came on board."

"Dementors?"

"They're...difficult to explain;" Harry said slowly. "They're almost like...phantoms, I guess. They have a strange effect on people. It's like they radiate darkness. They come into the room, and you get this horrible cold feeling, like..."

"...like you'll never be happy again." Ron supplied.

"Right." Harry agreed. "They came on the train three years ago, looking for a criminal."

Kurama nodded. "I see." He rose swiftly, moving to the door. "Hiei?" he called quietly.

The other boy appeared a moment later. "You were right."

Kurama nodded grimly. "Harry confirmed it."

"I thought you didn't know what they were." Harry said.

"We call them by a different name in Japan," Kurama explained. He looked at Hiei. "Well?"

Hiei shrugged. "What's there to say? They're not looking for us, that much is sure. They were talking about a dark lord of some sort."

"Did they see you?"

Hiei nodded. "One of the students was looking out the window of their compartment and yelled."

Kurama looked alarmed. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Hiei shook his head. "I'm not." He pulled out his sword. Dark blood lined the blade. "The youkai didn't fair half as well." He said with a grim smirk.

Kurama groaned. "You didn't have to kill them, Hiei."

"Kill or be killed, Kurama;" Hiei said by way of explanation. All of a sudden, the lights flickered on, and the train started moving.

All eyes turned to Hiei, who shrugged. "What?"

"An interesting way to introduce yourself to the school, Mr. Jaganshi," said a voice from the doorway (or what was left of it).

Hiei brought his sword up on instinct, but Kurama put a hand on his shoulder. "We weren't expecting to see you, Professor Dumbledore," he said smoothly.

Dumbledore smiled. "Well, I got word that there was a technical problem with the train. But it seems to be moving along fine, now." He looked at the other students. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, I suppose." He said cheerfully.

Hiei's eye twitched. Kurama hid a giggle at the expression.

Dumbledore looked at Kurama. "You're bleeding, by the way, Mr. Minamino. I would suggest that you have Madame Pomfrey, our nurse, attend to that upon our arrival. After the Sorting, of course."

Kurama nodded. "I was planning to."

Dumbledore turned to go, but paused at the door, turning back to Hiei with a smile. "By the way, Mr. Jaganshi, I simply love the redecorating. So much more inviting, don't you think?" Stepping over the splintered wood, he left.

Hiei scowled as the rest of the compartment dissolved into relieved laughter behind him.

And, there you have it!

Reviewer Responses:

rogueicephoenix: Thank you! I never get tired of Johnny.

Talon and Skittles: Thanks. Here's your update.

Bloody Cross: Very true. Yes, to quell the fears of the yaoi fangirls, there WILL be yaoi in this. But I never said it would be Hiei/Kurama, did I? ::evil grin::

Niyali: ::grin:: Yes, I can do it by myself, but I like it when you beta for me. I didn't ask you to do the last chapter because I was already taking too long to update. Sorry. But thanks big bunches for doing this one! ::glomps::

DarkYaoiFox: ::glomps back:: Thanks! ::happy smile:: Hehe. I love getting glomped. It's so much fun...

ClowAngel: ::is scared:: ::cough:: Well, as you can see, skinning me alive isn't necessary...besides, if you skinned me alive, you'd never get an update, now would you? Hehe. Glad you liked it.

Megaotaku: RIGHT YOU ARE!!

kkfox4: Thank you!

Once again, BIG thanks to my wonderful beta-er, Niyali. Love ya, girl! ::glomps::

Chapter 5 Preview!

Kurama ran through the halls, trying to push as few people as possible. 'Nearly a week here and I still don't know my way around! I'd be dead right now if this were Makai!'

The bell rang and he cursed under his breath. 'Typical. Late again. Good thing the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher isn't here yet anyway.'

Someone bumped into him and he tripped, hitting the ground. His bag flew open, scattering books and parchment along the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry;" a voice from above him said quickly. "I had no clue you were there. Let me help you."

Kurama took the offered hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. Only when he was standing did he get a good look at the man who had helped him. His eyes widened.

::over-exaggerated gasp:: Who could this mystery man possibly be? Find out in the next exciting episode of "The Uber-Uke Bishie and His Adventures at Hogwarts!"

Please review, everyone.