That Crazy Nut of a Teacher chapter 4: The Next Move

"You look awful, Sensei" Light sipped his green tea. It has been several weeks since the Christmas party, and Harry still hasn't finished the leftovers. Light didn't mind the food; he wasn't here for that anyways.

"Thank you so much for pointing out the obvious. I do have a mirror, you know." Harry remarked dryly and selected a caviar tartlet from the tea tray. "And none of that sensei nonsense, Brat. You're not one of my students, though that can be easily arranged if you feel inclined to go back to school with a bunch of teenagers." Harry nibbled on the edge of his tart. It was still quite fresh.

Light scoffed. "If you say so, Sensei, and no thank you." The younger man grimaced at the suggestion. Him? Going back to school? Preposterous.

"Cheeky brat." Harry grinned. That had become his pet name for Light over the years. Now that Light was a successful businessman in his own right, their old teacher-student relationship had dissolved away. What they have today is much friendlier, though no less Slytherin. Light too, have calmed down over the years from the little spitfire he once was; he has reached the top of the metaphorical business food chain, and thus, had no reason to worry.

"So," Harry began, "how is your girlfriend?" Harry grinned into his tea. Light gave a slight twitch and frowned. Harry's grin widened to the point where the lip of his teacup no longer covered it. Light clearly caught his look and sent him an unamused expression. Looks like he touched on a nerve. How awful of him; maybe he should mention her more often.

The lady in question was actually the reason why Light was visiting Harry today. Amane Misa, supermodel girlfriend of Light Yagami, was trouble personified. Put simply, she is a walking PR disaster. Well, for Light anyways. Harry wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot stick. He knew better.

"Fine." Light said tightly, suggesting that he very much wished her the worst. She was perfectly fine, but he definitely wasn't. Harry observed his young protégé with critical eyes. While Light had commented on the fact that his teacher was looking worse for wear, he wasn't doing much better himself. Dark circles surrounded sharp –but tired- brown eyes, which were now framed with several lines around the corners. His hands were clenched in fists; his hair was in disarray.

"What did she do now?" Harry asked with a sigh. It has been almost a year since Light picked her up for a casual fling, and now, he was more than willing to call it quits. In fact, Harry was willing to bet that Light's next couple of girlfriends will not be blonds. The older man didn't blame him; Amane was surprisingly cunning- a Slytherin through and through. Clearly, her true personality- hidden beneath all her bubbly nonsense- caught Light off guard at the worst possible time.

"She went through my office and leaked some of my letters to the press." He snarled. His fists clenched even tighter.

Harry winced and resisted the urge to whistle under his breath. Ouch. Was it just him, or did Light's eyes turn red? Okay, that was just plain creepy. He did not need another Tom Riddle on his hands- not after the last one tried his hand at world domination. Harry gripped Light's hands by the wrist and unclenched the fingers one by one. Harry knew that the young man was close to drawing blood, and Amane did not deserve to have blood spilt over her. Harry gave a weary sigh as Light freed his hands from Harry's grasps. Everyone in the business world have enough skeletons in their closets to fill a graveyard- that much was granted. One does not get far up on the food chain without dirtying his hands one way or another. Now that the supermodel had a steady source of publicity (in the form of Light), she was unwilling to let it go.

On multiple occasions, Light compared her to a leech. Harry remarked that leech would be too much of a compliment; the blond was more of a nematode.

Armed with blackmail, Misa Amane was dangerous, and while Light would never admit it, he needed guidance. Harry knew that nothing short of an apocalypse could make Light ask for help. In matters of business, Harry was the first he had turned to. Undoubtedly, Harry can weasel his way out of this mess easily. He was an old dog in the business world, no longer the CEO of the company, and thus, can easily feign innocence, major stockholder or not. Light, on the other hand, could not wiggle out of the quagmire with such ease, for what Amane held was big. Very, very big. In Light's eyes, this might as well be the apocalypse.

During Light's time as CEO of the rare earth metals trading company that Harry started, Light made many risky decisions. Supply of the metals were getting harder and harder to obtain since China was working on nationalizing the mines. Even the public knew that the developing country was trying to hoard the metals for itself. A smart move for China though a disastrous one for Light. In other words, the nation had accidentally trapped Light between a wall and a hard place. He had to choose- and he had to choose quickly. In his haste, he made a grievous error.

Light signed a contract with a dishonest company that employs underaged, uneducated, children at substandard wages. The practice was not uncommon in China- especially in the rural parts. However, that alone would generate public outrage, but there's more: that supplier company disposes of toxic acids and waste directly into local lakes and rivers. The company has remained under the radar thus far by bribing local officials handsomely for silence. On top of all that, Light knew about the company's unscrupulous methods and still signed the contract. Forget outrage. If this leaks out to the press, the public would tear Light apart. It baffled Harry how his protégé could be so smart and yet be so monumentally stupid; the whole mess was a disaster to begin with.

Light, on the other hand, admitted through clenched teeth that he was desperate at the time. The old supplier had refused to renew their contract, and he had been unable to find a new supplier. It was wrong, he knew, but he insisted that he had no choice. It seems like the business world had tweaked Light's moral compass by quite a bit. Not that Harry had any right to judge, of course.

Harry insisted that he could have looked elsewhere; Mongolia had several untapped supplies, and Light had an army of geologists, engineers, and lawyers at his command. The nation lacked the proper technology to access the resources, but Light had no such problem. Mining the metals himself would not have been out of the question. Still, Light was unwilling to admit that he had made a grave error. Such a prideful child, Harry thought. Even so, Light chose not to inform the stockholders of the other company's unethical practices. Harry had found out about them only after Light confided in him.

It was a conversation they have had many times.

"Nothing dangerous, I hope?" Harry brought the conversation back on topic. Viridian eyes sharpened. Dangerous to the company, that was.

"No, nothing dangerous. Just annoying." Light replied. To outsiders, his voice betrayed no emotions, but Harry knew that the man was beyond furious. Misa Amane should consider herself lucky that she was still breathing; Light was absolutely vicious when angered. Undoubtedly, once- not if- the whole situation was settled, she would rue the day she crossed paths with Light. Harry might as well have Dobby bring him a lawn chair and popcorn.

Then, to the surprise of Harry, Light held his head and sighed. A strand of white hair crossed his vision; he brushed it away roughly. Harry took a sip of his cooling tea. In all the years he had known Light, the teen had never sighed in front of him. He had growled, groaned, snarled, sneered... but never sighed. Such a display of weakness would be unacceptable, according to the younger man. Things were indeed bad if Light sighed.

If the public knew of all of this, Light's career was over. That much was for sure. The company may still stay afloat, but for Light, it would be over. Light's presence here was a silent call for help, for he was simply too prideful to ask for it himself. He implied it, but he never asked for it. Harry felt a twinge of sympathy for the boy he once called his apprentice. In his youth, even Harry had his fair share of mistakes, though none as dire as Light's.

"Look, when does the contract expire?" Harry asked as he picked at his raspberry saffron jelly.

"May of next year." Light said dispassionately.

That was still a while away... Light could not afford to break up with Amane, but he could not afford to let her continue either. Harry mused over the next course of action. Right now, Light was in check. Really, checked by a player who wasn't even a part of the infamous Business Game- how embarrassing.

"You have several options right now," Harry said slowly as he finished his jelly. "You can break the contract with that company and pay the price, you can send your girlfriend to a long, paid, vacation" he held up two fingers. In business terms, vacations didn't happen, but assassinations did. "You can look through the contract and laws to see if you can wiggle your way out of the deal, or you can hire a law firm and file a suit against your girlfriend- under the table, of course." Harry sipped his tea calmly. This case was not connected to his own reputation, especially since he was now a teacher, not a CEO. There was of course, another option, but Light didn't need to know about obliviation.

The brunette sitting on the other side of him stayed silent as he considered his options. None of them was good, of course. He selected a guava-raspberry tart as he tried to work his way out of the situation. Several minutes passed in utter silence before Light abruptly drained his cup of tea and got up.

"Thank you for your tea, Harry. I will inform you when I have hired my lawyer." Light announced as he put on his suit jacket.

Harry nodded and got up. He too, realized that this would be the best option to take. "It was my pleasure, Light. Come back some other time." He lied smoothly. In a sense, he supposed, it was his pleasure, especially since he had nothing to do with it. Everything was twice as funny from the sidelines, he supposed.

Light gave a half-growl and slammed the door behind him. Such a rude brat, Harry thought with a touch of fondness. He poured himself another cup of tea and pondered on the uncertain future.

A quarter of a world away, a more innocent (legal) conversation was occurring.

"Father, I want to marry him." A pretty brunette girl said as she mashed several buttons at the same time. The television in front of her glowed brightly as the only source of light in the room.

"Again, Renge? Of course, I'll let you." A middle-aged man replied with a touch of fondness. The girl paid him no mind, much to his disappointment. "Anyways, let's have a cup of tea." He said in an effort to drag her daughter away from the television. He had just returned from a month-long business trip to Japan, and his daughter had been impassive. He felt sadness burn a hole through his old heart.

He held out a hand for his beloved daughter and helped her up. She let go of his hand as though she was burned. The elderly businessman felt like he got stabbed. While the maids rushed off to prepare tea and biscuits, he took out a picture from his suit pocket.

"I just developed the pictures I took last month during my business trip to Japan. If I remember correctly, the company's CEO has a child who should be in high school." There really wasn't much he could talk about with her besides business; he was always too busy. In fact, he didn't know what to talk to his daughter about. It saddened him that he had missed such a large part of her life, and to a certain degree, he believed that her obsession with video games was his fault. If only he had spent more time with her, maybe things would not have turned out the way they have. Business can't be helped though, he thought ruefully.

Renge was oddly silent; he looked at his daughter. Usually she would have tossed the picture aside by now. She was... shaking? A trickle of unease dripped down his spine.

"Father... The promise you just made with me... It's for sure, right?" Renge whispered. Her eyes never left the picture. The word "father" sounded foreign even to him.

The word "whisper" was never used in the same sentence to describe his precious daughter; the trickle of unease grew into a torrent of dread.

"Huh...?" His brain was on overdrive trying to remember the promise in question. Surely it can't be that one. His heart sank to his stomach.

"Father, I want to marry this man!" Renge declared with absolute certainty. She slapped the table and the tea set shook. The poor father dropped his jaw in absolute shock. What on Earth...?! He knew that his baby daughter would have to leave his side one day, but this was definitely not how he imagined the parting. Heck, she doesn't even know his name!

With a speed that would give anyone whiplash, Renge was out of her seat. She sprinted this way and that, dragging a train of suitcases behind her.

"Wait... Renge!" He started hesitantly. His daughter paid him no mind as she squished a large plush (one that looked disturbingly like his business partner's son) into a bursting suitcase.

"Goodbye, Papa!" She waved to him lightly and said to the sky "Wait for me, my prince!" Out of nowhere, sparkles swarmed around her.

"Renge..!" He shouted, but alas, her daughter was far too quick. In a heartbeat, she was out of the house and on her private jet. Now he regretted his decision to buy her a private jet; maybe he did spoil her too much... But still, there wasn't much of anything that he could do for her. Ah, how he missed the days when she would run to him and shyly introduce her beloved stuffed bunny.

"Renge!" He shouted for the third time; the jet engine drowned out his wailing. By the lord! He collapsed in his chair and held his heart. He couldn't take it anymore. His baby girl! Gone- gone just like that!

"More tea, Master?" A maid fluttered up next to him held out a large teapot. She maneuvered within his (now) wreck of a manor with ease. When she received no response, she refilled the cup anyways and fluttered away to do goodness knows what. She ignored the cracks in the walls and the twisted pipes. A portrait hung at an odd angle to the side as if ready to fall.

Renge, his sweet Renge... Oh, if only his dearest wife was here. She would surely know how to talk to their daughter. Maybe Renge wouldn't have grown so icy if she had a mother's warm touch to thaw her out. Alas, things were not meant to be.

He got up and gently touched a picture frame on the window sill. His gaze softened as he reminisced. Trapped within the frame was one of his dearest memories; a family trip to Berlin- Renge's first visit to Germany. This was one of his last memories he had of his lovely wife before she passed away tragically several years later. Things had rapidly deteriorated after that. He couldn't afford to leave his business alone, and his beloved daughter withdrew into her own world of dreams.

His eyes hardened. If Renge won't listen to him, then there was only one person he would listen to.

On the other side of France, things were going quite smoothly. The sun was shining brightly; the clouds were drifting lazily across the cerulean sky. The birds were singing merrily, the flowers were smiling and waving gently, and the wind infused delectable aromas into the very foundations of the town. People talked and laughed in the streets, meeting with neighbors and catching up on the latest news.

A blond woman was sketching away to the sound of nature when a shrill sound shattered the peaceful atmosphere. Still sketching with her left hand, she reached for her Samsung Galaxy SIII with her right hand. It was buried somewhere below a pile of fabric samples and hastily scrawled designs. Still, her manicured fingers extracted the phone with ease.

"Bonjour?" She answered. Her voice was light. Her pencil paused midway over a chiffon shoulder ruffle at the frantic sounds coming from speaker.

"Monsieur Houshakuji?" Her pencil resumed its leisurely dance across the paper. It finished the shoulder ruffle and moved down to the knees, pausing there to begin a slightly ruffled asymmetrical side hem.

There was a pause from the other end of the phone. The designer took the opportunity for what it was. "Slow down." She began calmly in French while shading in the ruffled parts. "Now tell me what happened to Renge." She paused to admire her sketch. The neckline was fine where it was. Perhaps a belt or a different pair of earrings? Plain pumps, or peep-toes? Or maybe strapped ones?

She listened with less than half an ear as she rummaged through her fabric samples. Ah, this bright yellow one will do, she thought. She tore out the piece and clipped it to the paper. She picked up a marker and scribbled notes on the space next to the piece. The poor father had resumed speaking and sped up despite her urgings for him to slow down.

Apparently, his daughter... took off on her private jet to marry a stranger in Japan? Given who she was talking to, she was not in the least surprised at the absurdity of the statement. It must have taken some incredible change of mind for Renge of all people to be so enthusiastic about marrying a living, breathing, human being. Unlike Mr. Houshakuji, she had no such illusions about the girl in question- as much as she loved the dear girl, she knew her faults well. Renge was a selfish and obsessive- borderline compulsive- gamer.

"So, what do you wish for me to do about this?" Her reply was as succinct –but polite- as ever. One design done, she started sketching out another design. Color blocking and cutouts were in vogue at the moment, and they were both rather fun to design; good minimalism was the way to go. Perhaps she shall play with black and white illusions. Another cocktail dress? A column one? A shirt?

The man began babbling again at the speed of light. She sighed. Forget peace of mind. She would settle for peace of ears right now. There was a reason why she picked a country cottage in the middle of nowhere; she hated noise.

Of all the nonsense spewing from that man's mouth, none of it was useful in any sort of way. Maybe she should just let the man drive his own phone bill through the roof. It would be oddly deserving. She smirked. Still, that would detrimental to her ears, and she doubted he would appreciate receiving a hospital bill.

"Monsieur Houshakuji, calm down." She said for what seemed like the upteenth time. "If it is alright with you, I would not mind flying to Japan." Anything to get the man out of her hair. Besides, she was nearly done with her next collection. She sketched in a diagonal cutout below the neckline.

Almost fifteen minutes after more rambling and thanks, the blond wearily ended the call. She sighed in exasperation. The man was a joy to be around- most of the time, but there are times when she feels the unmistakable urge to strangle a certain someone.

Ah well, she could use a vacation anyways. She picked up her beloved Samsung Galaxy once more and began speed calling various people. She needs her flat in Japan cleaned out, and her "underling" designers need to be notified of the change.

In Japan, the host club was blissfully unaware of the storm soon to come. It was New Years, and every person in Japan welcomed the emerging cherry blossoms with open arms. As tradition dictates, kimonos and tea cakes are in order; spring is the season of rebirth- the reawakening of the world after cold, lifeless days of ice and snow.

From a businessman's eyes, holidays are reasons for celebration; people tend to be more careless during holidays. Drunk with holiday cheer, people tend to buy what they would not usually buy. It's like free advertising, except better. Even aspiring business students would not miss out on such a chance. In Ouran, there is no better aspiring CEO than Ootori Kyoya, third in line for the Ootori Corporation. His chosen sales tactics: looks and metaphors. Dressed in a fine spring kimono, he gently reached out for a fake sakura branch while selling merchandise. Really, the stupidity of teenage girls do not bother Harry in the slightest... except when he's a part of the mess.

Harry fumed in his own little corner, his back against the wall. How did this happen again? Oh yes, the Bali mess. The only good thing that came out of that particular scheme was the toucan (which he ended up buying). After that particular hormone-targeted advertising plot (he refused to call it a strategy), the frustrating little thorns in his side decided that it wasn't fair for him not to be a part ofthe club. Obviously, the words club advisor do not mean anything to them. Since Harry cannot wear shirtless costumes, they deliberately picked conservative, shirted costumes, which mean he can't use the "indecent" excuse to dodge their antics.

It had taken everyone over an hour to get dressed in full kimonos. The fussy old granny (the twins' maternal grandmother) had to fix on all the clips, tie on Tamaki's hair extensions, adjust everyone's sashes... and then Tamaki threw a fit over Haruhi's "indecent" neckline, which meant they had to spend another fifteen minutes near-choking the poor girl. Of course, he did not need any help getting dressed- he was a grown man, and his pride would simply not allow it. He's been in Japan before; he's been taught how to put on (and take off) kimonos. He's adept at both, but he's had more experience with the latter, of course. If the kids noticed his oddly specific and well-practiced skill, they did not mention it. Since he was the earliest one to be done with dressing, he also had to direct the backdrop placements and food shipments. He would have had to do so with or without costume, but he would have preferred unpacking boxes and directing people without the extra clingy fabric, which he is not supposed to wrinkle.

Harry vowed to exact revenge, petty as it is, on those little idiots. Nothing permanent, of course. Just something suitably humiliating enough that they would think twice about disregarding his right to clothe himself. One day, one day, some day. He'll get them. He fought the urge to crackle in glee, and ignored the part of him that just facepalmed at his own stupidity.

"Seems like everyone's in tears. How can they have so many tears?" Haruhi muttered halfway into the day's host club session. On her way to her next customer, she bumped into the twins. To her surprise, a bottle of tears fell out of Hikaru's sleeve.

"You-" Haruhi accused sharply. Thankfully, a quick thinking Hikaru covered her mouth before she had a chance to continue.

"To tell you the truth, this is common knowledge among hosts." He said. Harry watched their antics with a smile.

What Hikaru said is indeed true; professional hosts do use tear drops. Well, whenever they're sober enough to think of the drops anyways. Besides, by the time the junior hosts rise to become the face of the club (if they ever do), they would have had plenty to cry about. Wringing out a couple drops of tears would be cakewalk for them, considering the sheer amount of alcohol they consume on a daily basis. He wondered how much the twins know about how real host clubs work; they certainly have none of this flowery nonsense. Real host clubs are much more straightforward- and a lot less legal. Not that Harry complained about it, of course. They were quite enjoyable, as long as you ignored their more shady practices.

"Here, have a high-class Japanese tea cake that commoners would never be able to buy." Kaoru shoved the delicacy into Haruhi's hands- a bribe of some sort wrapped in a mock insult. An awkward attempt to change the topic, but it worked; it drew forth a gaggle of (squawking) girls.

"I was thinking that I might place this before the grave of my late mother as an offering." Haruhi said gently.

Harry couldn't help it; he was touched, even though he did not want to admit it. He was sure that there were a couple boxes of high quality green tea left somewhere... His train of thought was derailed and blown up when Tamaki waltzed over with an armful of tea cakes.

While Tamaki was busy piling tea cakes on an exasperated Haruhi's hands, Harry noticed a small flash of pale yellow by the doorway.

Oh? Who's this? Harry thought curiously and turned to observe the girl. She must be a new student; Harry mused, as he has never seen her at Ouran before. The rest of the club was only half a beat behind in noticing the newcomer. They were a lot more... enthusiastic about their observations though.

"Huh? Aren't you a new face?" Hikaru slid over smoothly held out a rose.

"What's wrong? Come on in. We won't bite." Kaoru joined Hikaru and held out another rose that he pulled out of nowhere in particular.

Tamaki promptly shoved the two aside like one would clear a roadblock. "How many times have I told you two to be nicer to the new guests?" He sighed and held out yet another rose. "Here, don't be scared, Princess." He said softly.

Tamaki's got the looks for sure. He really could work on his flirting though, Harry thought. Evidently, the newcomer thought so as well, for mere seconds later, she shoved Tamaki roughly in the face and went on a righteous rant of sorts. The boys of the club were shocked wordless. Never had a member of the fairer race (barring Haruhi) treated the king of the club so roughly. Harry had seen it coming though; the quiet ones are always the ones to look out for. They're quite boring until they open their mouths, but once they do, you'd wish they never did.

"Don't touch me, you poser!" Everyone's eyes widened in surprise while Harry tried to stomp down a grin. He was oddly thankful for the shoulder pads in his suit, for he was sure he would never be able to hid his trembling shoulders otherwise. "I cannot believe you are the face of the club! A prince shouldn't sprinkle his love so easily! It makes girls' hearts tremble if you smile with sorrow, but why do you look so stupid?! It's as if you are a light-headed narcissist! Useless! Ordinary! You're the worst!" She raged on and on. Stabbed by her merciless poisonous arrows, Tamaki fell in slow motion.

Harry turned around in an effort to hide his tearing eyes. He was sure that his shoulders were still shaking though. Their expressions were just too much! He smothered his laughter and schooled his expression to neutrality... only to have the mask crack again when he caught sight of Tamaki's face. This was priceless! By Merlin, this girl's hilarious! He quickly pulled out his Iphone and snapped a picture of the scene; his yearbook (read: blackmail) folder was growing quite fat.

"Oh! A new technique! Slow motion by himself!" The twins crowed. "At least Sensei's having fun," they stared at the man's shaking shoulders curiously. It was the first time they had seen Harry break down in hysterics- it was quite the sight to watch. After all, it wasn't every day that a famous business mogul would let down his guard like that.

"Can it be...? You are..." Kyoya seemed to recognize the girl, Harry thought as he breathed in deeply to control his glee.

"Kyoya-sama!" The mysterious girl cried. "I wanted to see you so badly! My one true prince!" She ran and hugged a motionless Kyoya around the waist while stepping on Tamaki with the grace of a rampaging elephant.

Harry choked, his laughter suddenly evaporating away. That, he thought vehemently, was not funny.

Houshakuji Renge, female, age fifteen, blood type O, sole heiress of Houshakuji incorporation, a fabric producing and trading company. Harry skimmed through the girl's profile on his I-phone. Profiles were surprisingly easy to find once you know the right people. If he could find profiles with such ease, other people could as well. He personally made sure that certain parts of his profile were blacked out, for security reasons. Apparently, she just enrolled in Ouran High School mere hours ago and was put into class 1-A. Class A students always have the best pedigree, best grades, best backgrounds; they also tended to be the most spoiled.

Oddly enough, the profile had a post-script note of sorts: the girl was obsessed with everything manga, anime, and games related. In other words, an Otaku. An odd obsession for a rich heiress, but peculiar (and sometimes questionable) character traits were not unheard of. To his knowledge, Steve Jobs still refuses to put a license plate on his car.

Harry adjusted his glasses and turned his attention to the new student who stayed after club activities to introduce herself to her "one true prince." Harry snickered at the thought. Kyoya turned his head mechanically to his teacher and shot him a blank stare.

"Kyoya-senpai's fiance?" The twins echoed her words. Harry felt his expression morph into one of skepticism. Kyoya himself seemed slightly worried. He hid his feelings well, but Harry was highly accomplished at the long lost art of poker, a feat considering that "gambling hasn't even been invented back in his day", as the twins put it. The boy's mouth twitched downwards in a frown, and his eyebrows drew together ever so slightly. His shoulders were a bit tense, and his grip on his notebook was tighter than usual.

Kyoya has reason to be worried; it wasn't uncommon for business alliances to be forged over marriage. He wasn't the heir to his father's company; he's only the third son. Even if he is smarter than his brothers, his stick-in-the-mud father would never let him inherit the company. Arranged marriages at birth aren't unusual, and some children do not learn of the contract until their late teens. Harry personally knew of several unhappy arranged marriages.

The delusional girl started ranting once more, well, more like rambling.

"Being affectionate to backyard plants that no one pays attention to, kindly stretching hand out to an injured kitty..." She had a great number of sparkles in her eyes.

"I cannot imagine that at all... Who is that?" The twins muttered. They seemed positively sick at this point. Harry couldn't help but nod in agreement and subtly pointed out the nearest trashcans to them.

Knowing Kyoya, he'd sooner chop down all the backyard plants to save on gardening costs. The kitten would undoubtedly go to the highest bidder, if it was purebred, or the SPCA if not.

"It must be the wrong person." Haruhi said tactlessly.

"My eyes are justice!" She raged at the poor girl. The main object of her affections, Kyoya, was standing motionless to the side. Well, justice is often depicted as a blind woman, Harry thought and shrugged. Clearly, his thought was shared by the rest of the club members.

Harry shot a sympathetic look at the teen. Arranged marriage or not, he felt bad for the person stupid enough to take her hand in marriage. May said idiot rest in peace.

"He is kind to everyone and never asks for anything in return! He loves solitude but actually hates loneliness!" She continued rambling.

The hosts, on the other hand, were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Renge was completely oblivious to the running teens around her. Harry chuckled. What an interesting situation. The cogs in his brain started turning. Well, maybe I can use this situation to my advantage, he thought deviously.

"You!" Renge pointed at Kyoya, who gave an involuntary start, "look like Ichijo Miyabi-kun from Uki Doki Memorial!"

Everyone deadpanned. Ichi-who? Harry took out his phone and googled the name. When google gave him the results, he mentally rocked back on his heels in shock. That guy could pass for Kyoya's twin- in looks, if not personality.

A sudden thunderclap echoed through the room, causing Harry to look up from his phone. The weather was perfect outside- where did the thunder come from? He shrugged.

Otaku! The twins and Tamaki blanched. Everyone else turned different shades of green.

"I see. A girl with lots of interest in characters. She replaces me with her favorite character, makes me her fiancé, and gets lost in her wild fantasies. Miyabi-san is probably person wearing glasses" Kyoya analyzed while doing a convincing impression of calmness. Evidently, it was good enough to fool Tamaki. Harry helpfully texted the picture to Kyoya.

"Her wild fantasies...? Isn't she your fiance? How are you so calm about this?" Tamaki asked. His face was still pasty white, Harry observed.

So Kyoya can still utilize logic even while experiencing fear, Harry noted with approval. In times of crisis, CEOs need to analyze the situation in a calm and rational manner.

"No, I don't remember affirming that fact even once." He smiled evilly, having planned to reveal the most important fact last.

Everyone gave a collective sigh of relief. You should have told us earlier, they all thought with annoyance.

Harry smiled at their reactions. Ah, the kids are bonding so quickly; they really do think of each other as family.

"Actually, it's possible that Kyoya's father signed a marriage contract at birth." Harry mused, dumping the metaphorical bucket of ice water on them. Thunder once again struck the kids.

Kyoya rolled his eyes slightly and gave Harry an annoyed look. Harry smiled innocently back at him and gave a "What? Me?" look. Of the entire host club, only the two of them know that a marriage contract was not possible. Kyoya's father only sealed the business deal one month ago- before, he didn't even know that one such company existed. Thus, it was impossible for Renge and Kyoya to be engaged at birth.

Of course, the rest of the hosts didn't know that. Harry just liked messing around with them.

"Don't you guys want to see what "Miyabi-san" looks like?" Harry took out his Iphone. His question shook the teens out of their stupor.

"This," Harry said while zooming in on one image, "Is what the character looks like." He held up the smart phone to seven curious faces.

"Heh?!" The kids blinked and gasped.

"He looks just like Kyo-chan!" Honey exclaimed. The twins nodded rapidly. Even Kyoya looked floored.

"And that" Harry flipped the phone around, "is why that girl is so obsessed with you." He pointed over to Renge, who was still rambling about how great "Miyabi-san" was.

Haruhi sighed. How did she land herself in an asylum again?

"From what I see from the report, you're managing everything in this club, right, Kyoya-sama?" She asked enthusiastically.

Report? What report? Harry raised an eyebrow as he contemplated the question. Surely she couldn't be talking about Kyoya's profile. He doubted that she had connections in those sort of places. Of course, the said places weren't exactly legal.

"Yes- Kyo-chan is the store manager." Honey replied. He was the only one who bothered to reply since the rest of the club disliked her too much to do so. They had reason to do so. Already, the twins and Mori were radiating wariness and caution.

They don't take foreign invaders very well. Least of all one who's trying to break up their family.

Harry didn't blame them. If such a girl came up to him, he would have called the security, business deals be damned. That... person is a fan girl, and Harry Potter does not tolerate fans very well, if at all.

"The store manager? It suits him very well!" Renge gushed. She must be partially blind to ignore all frowns.

Personally, Harry thought that Kyoya would be better off in the accounting department.

The madwoman started rambling again- this time about being the... draw-girl for a store. The twins shot down the idea on the spot.

Harry blinked and secretly agreed with the twins. What kind of a host club wants a draw-girl anyways? With her in charge, the PR department might as well close down; there won't be a PR department after she's done.

Suddenly, the intruder declared, "I'll be the manager of this club!"

Lightning struck in the host club for the third time today. Manager? Manager? There's never been a manager for the host club. Heck, the club doesn't need a manager. Harry bristled slightly at her suggestion. The Host Club already had a perfectly qualified (if not over-qualified) adult advisor.

"Oi, Kyoya," Tamaki whined. Tell her to go away, he nonverbally shouted at his friend.

"She is the daughter of an important business partner of my family. Please take good care of her." Kyoya said smoothly. Sorry, not happening, was the silent reply.

"In that case..." Tamaki turned around and clapped Haruhi on the back. "We'll leave her to you, Haruhi."

"Eh?!" Haruhi exclaimed while the twins and Tamaki turned tails and ran for the hills.

Harry's face was stretched into a large scowl. They dare call themselves men! He thought in indignation. Leaving such a mess to the only girl in the host club... so ungentlemanly- this is completely acceptable. Though logically, choosing Haruhi made sense. Unlike the rest of the members, she is not from an upper class family. As the Hikarus have connections in the fashion industry, upsetting a fabric producer's daughter may not be the best idea in the long run. Likewise, as the son of Ouran's Headmaster, Tamaki indirectly represents the whole school, and thus, must be careful not alienate any of the students without due cause.

I'm sure Haruhi wouldn't mind if I get some revenge on her behalf. Harry thought with a wicked smirk.

"Takashi, Kuro-Sensei's being evil again." Honey pointed to the dark aura exuding in waves from Harry.

"Ah."

"Kyoya-sama! I learned how to make peasants' cookies from Haruhi-kun! It's my first time, so I was a bit scared." She said lovingly while holding out a plate of completely burnt, barely recognizable, black lumps.

"Well... the colors are okay." Kyoya lied through his teeth. Kyoya's mask of optimism cracked, Harry noted. He is expected to eat his beloved "fiancé's" less than stellar cooking.

"But I'm sure, if it's Kyoya-sama, he'll say that anything I make is delicious." She mooned without even giving Kyoya a chance to respond. Harry wondered if she was related to Tamaki. Kyoya's breathing was slightly sharper than usual, belaying his displeasure.

The teacher inwardly rolled his eyes and grimaced. Okay? A blindfolded monkey could do better, he thought. Of course, on the outside, he accepted the piece when the girl shoved the plate in his face. Since he wanted to live to see tomorrow, he slipped the cookie into his suit pocket casually. An elegant solution to a stupid problem.

The kids, though, had not learned the art of subtlety quite yet.

"Tastes nasty." Devil version 2.0 noted.

"What is this? A rock?" The devil's worse half remarked.

"Takeshi, it doesn't taste good." Honey whined.

"Mitsukuni, don't eat this. It's bad for health." Takashi replied.

Like all women scorned, Renge proceeded to morph into Medusa's reincarnation and chase the little idiots around the room.

Haruhi stared at the plate of cookies in her hands. Hers went well; it was hard to tell that Renge used the same recipe as she did.

The twins looked at Tamaki, who was sulking at being called "fake king" again and then looked at each other. Metaphorical light bulbs lit up above their heads.

Hikaru walked over to Haruhi and snaked a hand behind her head. He tilted his face until it was mere inches from hers and bit the cookie in her mouth.

"Getting rid of bad taste," he said casually. Tamaki's ears perked up. Hikaru grinned. "It tasted really good. Bake a cake next time, okay?"

"Oh, Haruhi, you got a bit of cream on your face." Kaoru bent down and licked the cream off. Tamaki turned around with wide eyes. He stood up in a flash and started shouting curses at the unapologetic twins.

"Kaoru, if you'd tell me, I'd clean it myself. Hikaru, if you wanted some, you could have just asked." Haruhi looked at them oddly while ignoring Tamaki altogether.

"Don't mind if I do then." Harry grinned and kindly liberated the plate of cookies out of a Haruhi's hands.

Two "oi!"s followed him as he carried the plate of cookies just out of the twins' reaches. Harry cackled madly in his mind and lifted the cookies high up away from the twins' reach.

"This is great, Haruhi!" Harry munched on a ginger cookie as he dodged the twins once more. When Hikaru tried to swipe a cookie from the plate, Harry reached into his suit pocket and threw Renge's cookie at the twin. It landed in Hikaru's open mouth.

"See, you seem to like Renge's cookies better!" He grinned as the naughty twin choked on burnt rock.

"You're not good enough!" Renge mandated.

Eh? Everyone blanked. Harry put the now empty plate down.

What crazy idea does Her Royal Madness have in store now? Harry mentally rolled his eyes.

"Everyone's characteristics are very bad!" Blank stares. "You lack any negative aspects, and girls find that awfully dull."

Says the one made entirely of negative characteristics, Harry grimaced in distaste. Maybe Haruhi made a second batch of cookies, he pondered.

"Girls are weak for beautiful men involved in trauma! Girls will be bored with your fakeness soon enough!"

Tell that to the girls, Harry thought as he slinked closer to the kitchen. It's been three years, and the host club's revenue has only increased over the years.

"Are you trying to make Kyoya-sama's store go bankrupt?!" She asked.

Harry couldn't help it- he sneered. It wasn't just any ordinary sneer he gave. He sneered in a way that would have made Snape proud. Who does this girl think she is? This "store" isn't Kyoya's! If anything, it's his! He's the one in charge of it, but he doesn't claim ownership over those kids. The club is everyone's! Everyone shares it; everyone owns it.

Who is she to tell him and his students that they are fundamentally flawed? Not that they aren't, but she has no right to criticize them like that. Teenagers are fairly delicate, despite their sometimes harebrained ideas. The last thing they need is to be told that they are not good enough. They also do not need to accept criticism from a complete stranger. First barging into the host club, then breaking their family, now telling them they are wrong? Does she even know their names? She has no right to do what she is doing. Really, her selfishness truly astounds Harry.

Houshakuji Renge is lucky that he has use for her yet. If not, he could easily pull some strings to have her expelled or shipped back to France. Entrapment, Harry mentally pointed out, is not a problem as long as the entrapped remains oblivious.

Lions are notoriously protective over their cubs, and this lion has had more than enough.

Good things happen to those who wait, Harry thought as he wrestled his thoughts. You have plans for her- remember the costumes thing? A less malicious voice in his head whispered. Smile and go play nice with the spoilt little girl, it said. You never invest in ventures that don't pay off, it remarked.

And so, he smiled.

Tamaki exchanged worried glances with the twins. He noticed his sensei's sneer; no matter how mad, Black-Sensei simply does not sneer. His anger was positively radiating off of him in waves. It was the first time he has ever seen his teacher so open with negative emotions. And then, to his astonishment, his angry teacher smiled. He smiled through the anger, as if the anger in question never existed. At that moment, Tamaki gained a new respect for his teacher.

Even though he wasn't fond of Renge, Tamaki was suddenly very worried for the girl's continued well being. Kyoya adjusted his glasses; he too, shared Tamaki's thoughts.

"We'll be renouncing your characters starting today! You have the appearance and the mindset of a kid right now! Change to having a cute face but actually being a monster!" She pointed her finger demandingly at a wailing Honey.

"Nooo!" He wailed and clutched Usa-chan close to his chest. Unbeknown to the girl, Usa-chan was practically shooting lasers out of his eyes.

The smile on Harry's face twitched. Obviously, she never thought to thank Honey for his kindness. He offered her a cup of milk when all she did was feed him burnt cookies and chase him around the room. He never glared at her or ostracized her. He did not call her an otaku. Obviously, all this was lost on her. She was never grateful- only demanding and selfish. Clearly, someone did not raise this child correctly.

Play nice, play nice. Harry repeated the mantra in his head as he locked his emotions behind tight Occulumency shields.

"Morinodzuka-senpai! Take care of Haninodzuka-senpai by staying with him all the time! And dignify the speeches you make once in a while. Twins, suffer from the fact that people can't tell the difference between the two of you! Be in a basketball club! Haruhi-kun! You'll be the super poor honor student who's being bullied!" She continued her tirade, assuming that everyone will automatically fall into their "proper" places.

Harry blinked. So maybe the chit wasn't as stupid as he thought she was; either that or she had the best luck in the world. She was actually spot on with her "new characteristics".

Honey is arguably a monster on the inside. Mori does stay with Honey all the time and does not speak without reason. No one can tell the twins apart; life itself is one big game to them. Haruhi is indeed quite poor- in comparison to the rest of the students at Ouran- and the incident with Ayanokoji was classified as bullying. Harry crossed his arms and continued watching the scene unfold, his interest suddenly piqued.

"Tamaki-san! You are this school's idol; people always compliment you on your appearance, but you actually have a huge complex! You are a lonely prince!"

Shock ran through Tamaki as he actually considered the possibilities. A lonely prince? "It... suits me very well..." He realized dramatically.

Harry barely held in a snort.

"And you! Potter-Black Sensei! You'll be the handsome perverted teacher!" She panted, tired out by her shouting.

All the students waited with baited breaths. How will the infamous Black-Sensei react to this? Connections or not, he was the only one with enough political power to risk flipping the table outright, so to speak.

"No." He said calmly, his arms still crossed. The smile had slipped from his handsome face. He didn't move from his spot and did not say anything else, but the one word rang louder than all of Renge's speech.

He said it! They all thought in shock.

Renge looked puzzled rather than panicked, as she should be. "... What?" She asked weakly, as if not believing that someone would disagree with "perfect" characterizations.

"No. I can't be a perverted teacher" he let the handsome comment slide. "I'm working under a contract; no untoward or indecent behavior towards students. That definitely includes perversion." He avoided the potential disaster.

Sensei has a silver tongue, the twins thought glumly. Who thought that their teacher could weasel out of the situation so skillfully? Clearly, this was a master at work.

"But-" She butted in.

"It's worth more than my job to do this role. I can't be both a pervert and a teacher." Harry said matter-of-factly. Haruhi sweatdropped. He never said that he wasn't a pervert- just that he can only be one or the other. She thought. And here he was, pretending to be all righteous and moralistic. She rolled her eyes, which he ignored.

Time to put his idea into play. He mentally grinned. Show time.

"Say Renge," he began slowly, catching the hosts' attention once more, "you're going to be the director for this movie right?" Harry smirked evilly. The room temperature lowered about ten degrees instantly. The hosts, being all clever boys and girls, saw where he was going with this and collectively backed up.

"Yes." She affirmed, still confused.

"Well then you will need an assistant director." The twins' jaws dropped in unison. What an ingenious, yet devious, prank. Watch a master at work, Kiddies, Harry thought and gave a terrifying grin. Did his teeth suddenly sharpen? It seemed that way to the hosts. Was that a glint of red in his normally emerald eyes? "I'm the advisor for this club, after all, so I know everyone quite well. I'll be able to tell if they aren't performing to their best capabilities" He said smoothly with no sign of his previous antipathy. Haruhi shuddered- what a scary teacher, she thought and made a mental note to never anger the wolf in sheep skin.

With a loud squeal, Renge approved of the proposal and started listing off the many possibilities of having another person to "plot" with.

Harry turned around slowly with the grin in place. The temperature in the room dropped even lower as imaginary frost began appearing around the columns.

That's for all the costumes you forced me to put on, you brats. He thought savagely. Haruhi, of course, was left out of the equation. Being smart boys (and girl), they naturally knew what he was grinning about.

The boys shook like rabbits in front of a hungry fox. Would it be too late to apologize?

"Cut!" Harry yelled to the filming crew and waved the rolled up script. "Everyone get in place!" They could barely hear him over the screams of the fangirls in the gym.

"What is it now, Sensei?" Hikaru stopped bouncing the basketball and tucked it under his arm.

"You're not doing it right, Hikaru. You should be aiming for the square behind the basket, not the basket itself." Harry pointed his rolled up script at the sweating twin.

"We've already done this scene ten times," he whined.

"If you got it right the first nine, then we wouldn't need to shoot the scene again. As it is, you'll be doing it until you get it right." He quipped. He mentally hid a grin. Let's see if they can do it another ten times or so. He was having way too much fun bossing the kids around.

Hikaru scowled. His teacher was doing this on purpose; he made a note to never piss off their teacher again.

Harry dropped the script and took off his suit jacket. "Here, Hikaru. Give me the ball; I'll show you how it's done." The redhead looked dubious but tossed the ball anyways. Harry caught it with the tips of his fingers and easily spun it around with one finger. Hikaru gaped.

Harry caught it easily. He bounced the ball once and took off in a flash, his tie whipping behind him.

The twins looked on in awe as their teacher sped past the real basketball players with ease. They didn't even stand a chance against Harry as he wove past their clumsy attempts to steal the ball. He dribbled the ball expertly and switched hands.

Harry bent and leapt up, easily tossing the basketball. It hit the backboard and bounced cleanly into the basket. He landed swiftly and caught the ball on its way down.

"That's how you're supposed to do the scene." Harry said while tossing the ball back to a surprised Hikaru, who barely caught it. He wasn't sweating, Hikaru noticed. He wasn't even breathing hard!

Of course, compared to Quidditch, this was a piece of cake. Harry shrugged on his suit jacket once more with ease and retrieved his script.

The audience of girls screamed their lungs out; in fact, they screamed even louder for Harry than they did for Hikaru.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru approached his twin. "Did you know that Gramps could do that?"

He stared down at the basketball in his hands. "No..." He said while exchanging a frown with his other half.

"Is there anything he isn't good at?" They scowled at the teacher.

"Alright, get back to work, Hikaru! You saw how it's done- now get to it! No slacking for you either, Kaoru. You need to be sweating for your scene! Sweating, you hear? If aren't sweating, well, we'll just have to make you wet." Harry shouted deviously.

"Hai, hai." They grumbled.

"I envy you." Tamaki whispered forlornly. "You can support each other."

"Suoh-sempai..." The twins muttered.

"Cut!" Harry waved his rolled up script. Renge yelled cut the same time he did. "What is it now?" The twins said in unison, their previous expression replaced with annoyance.

"The rain's not heavy enough! Tamaki, look sadder!" They said at the same time and then looked at each other in shock. If anything, Harry looked a bit insulted while Renge seemed pleased to have a competent assistant director and a kindred soul.

While the girl actually did think that the scene wasn't good enough, Harry just wanted the rain scene to happen again. The "rain" was borderline freezing, and he knew that the twins were almost numb from the cold. This was the fifth time they've done that scene. What won't kill them will make them stronger, Harry thought and mentally cackled. Oh, how he just loved doing this. He could do this all day.

The crew upped the intensity of the rain; Kaoru sneezed. The two directors just nodded and waved for them to continue.

At their signal, the annoyance dripped away and was replaced by a mask of sympathy and surprise. Harry grudgingly admitted that they certainly had their acting down. Part of him suspected that it was real emotion- not acting. Both cases are entirely possible; the twins themselves are actually quite private about their true feelings.

"But Suoh-senpai, you're the idol of the school." Kaoru said, confused.

"Idol, huh? I'd prefer being alone. To be praised just for my appearance..." He tilted his head up as if the catch the rain. Droplets of water clung to his eyelashes and hair. His hand moved up to his heart, clutching his transparent shirt.

Harry nodded in approval. Tamaki knew his acting too. Very splendid. He motioned for the camera to zoom into Tamaki's face. It was a spur of a moment thing, but clearly, the cameraman agreed with the idea.

Of course, if it doesn't work out, they could always just film the scene again, he thought gleefully. He grinned when he saw that Renge wanted to up the rain intensity again. Kyoya was right- this is interesting.

"You can't get away from me anymore." A smooth voice said.

Haruhi scrambled back against the tree. She looked up weakly at her attacker.

"You should have known what would happen when you went against me." The voice continued. It was quiet but scary.

"Stop it, Mitsukuni." A second voice intoned.

"Shut up, Takashi. Do you want to be punished again?" He paused for a bit before continued. "I hate someone living beyond his or her means." A shadow fell over Honey's cruel expression.

Haruhi looked even more uneasy, and Harry shivered. What a scary kid, he thought. He doubted that Renge knew what she was unleashing on the world when she told Honey to be a "monster on the inside".

Abruptly, Honey's eyes softened and filled with tears. He tackled Haruhi around the waist and wailed.

"Waaaaah! I'm so sorry, Haru-chan!" He sobbed. Haruhi and Mori blinked.

"Stick to the script!" Renge hissed. Her hair once again morphed into snakes. Harry tuned her out. He knew what was going to happen. Mori has said "Stop it" exactly three times. Out of the three tries, he meant this one the most. By "Stop it", he meant "Stop this nonsense right now." Mori tends to rely on nonverbal communication; one must be very sharp to pick up on those cues.

Honey, of course, has no problem doing just that.

Even Mori has his limits, and he chose to speak up- for Honey's sake. Harry rubbed his head. All three cuts were ordered by Renge this time since he didn't actually want to make Honey redo the scene so many times. Unlike the troublesome duo and their equally troublesome "parents", Honey and Mori were nice and did not believe in the infringement of Harry's rights.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Don't just read the script- act it! Camera, stop filming! Rain, be more painful!" Renge barked orders. A chorus of "Yes, Boss!" answered her.

"What is this? A film crew?" Haruhi said, exasperated.

"Apparently, she hired them from Hollywood." Kyoya noted. While Renge was running this way and that, he sat back and observed the filming. Harry noticed that the boy seemed... rather pleased, if the smile on his face was anything to go by. Harry kept an eye on the teen while directing the film; undoubtedly, Kyoya had plans of his own, and Harry needed to make sure that their plans will not undermine each other.

"Alright, that's enough. Everyone, take a fifteen minute break." Harry ordered with absolute authority. He retrieved warm towels from a waiting maid and handed them silently to Honey and Mori while patting them silently on the head and shoulder, respectively, in a comforting way.

"Haruhi-kun! Can you help me for a bit?" Renge called. Haruhi looked away from a blushing Tamaki.

"Hai!" She called back. She put down her water bottle and started walking towards the troublesome girl. Silently, Harry frowned, got up, and followed her. This wasn't part of the script- he knew this much. Despite his fun, he knew very well that the safety of his students is the most important aspect of his job.

"Yes? What is it?" Haruhi turned a corner.

"I'd like those people to be in the film too," Renge chirped, completely unaware of the negative mood around her. It just so happened that she picked out two Class D students- sons of two Yazkuka bosses.

Harry grimaced and watched from the sideline. She's stereotyping people again. That girl is incredibly talented at being clueless; unless she gets her head screwed back in the right direction, she's not going to last two seconds in the business world.

"What's the matter? A scholarship student?" One of them asked. Well duh, the only one at the school, Harry thought sarcastically.

"There should always be bad guys in the climax! They're just the men for the position!" She raved obliviously. Behind her, the two Class D students shouted back angrily. "She's so cruel! What is this?"

"Renge-chan..." Haruhi looked very tired.

"Maybe it's convenient for you, but if you only see people two-dimensionally, don't you think there's so much that you would miss?" Haruhi asked, as politely as she could. If anything, she seemed slightly apologetic towards to the two D-class students.

Harry smiled. And his fellow CEOs were puzzled as to why he prefers to be around "commoner people". Money doesn't mean everything; it rarely means anything as it is. There are life lessons that one just simply cannot buy with riches.

"I don't quite understand what you're talking about, Haruhi-kun. Anyways, stand here!" She bodily dragged one of the Class D kids by the arm, inciting his anger.

"Don't act so big-headed just because you're from Class A!" He shouted and shoved her towards the film crew's tower.

"Kyaaa!" She shouted. Harry flew into action without even considering his dislike of the girl. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Haruhi racing towards the girl as well.

"Watch out!" He blurted before he knew what he was saying. He ran faster than ever and positioned himself right in front of the tower just as Renge and Haruhi were about to crash into it.

Instead of hitting harsh metal, they hit a solid set of abs. Harry grunted as the two girls lost balance and crashed into him. Simultaneously, he wrapped his arms around both of them. They slid down to the ground in a heap.

Harry hissed in pain. His back took the brunt of the damage, and it was hurt intensely. Both Haruhi and Renge gasped, not expecting their teacher to be there.

"Potter-Black Sensei! Haruhi-kun! Are you alright?" The rich heiress looked panicked.

Harry didn't bother giving her a verbal reply; he just winced and gave her a hesitant nod.

"Ouch. I'm alright." Haruhi shakily got up. Two fat drops of tears fell from her eyes.

"Haruhi?! What was that just now?" Tamaki sprinted around the corner. He saw the tears and froze.

"Yikes! It's Suoh!" The two Class D kids froze. Harry got up slowly and ignored the pain in his back. He's fairly used to ignoring pain by now- an aftereffect of the war, he supposed. A wonderful way of showing that you're innocent, Harry thought dryly. He mentally sighed. Time to stop another brat from getting in trouble. Undoubtedly, Tamaki was about to do something cool but utterly idiotic. The boy really did care for Haruhi greatly, Harry admitted grudgingly. It would most likely set off his temper to see her in tears.

He was right. Not even seconds later, Tamaki drew his hand back; Harry started running to the blonde. Thankfully, he got there fast enough. He held Tamaki's fist by the wrist mere inches away from the Class D student. Both boys looked on, dumbfounded. They had just seen their teacher practically fly to defend them when they had just indirectly injured said man.

It seems like survival instincts ran strong in Tamaki's target, for he scrambled off the wall and scuttled away. Or at least, he tried to. Harry hooked his other hand around the back of the boy's collar.

"And where do you think you're going?" Harry asked quietly. Tamaki stepped back and pinned the other Class D member to the wall. He too, was trying to run. A quiet Harry is a thousand times more dangerous than a boisterous one.

The other host club members arrived on scene. Immediately, their eyes widened. Unlike the two unwary boys, they knew that their sensei was majorly pissed. His face was overshadowed, and his voice was laced with deceiving smoothness.

Harry turned the boy around and drew him close. He felt every panicked breath the boy took.

"Just what exactly are you doing out of the classroom at this hour, hm?" Harry whispered in the spiky-haired boy's ear. It was still the middle of second period; free blocks do not begin until third period, so all students should have classes. "Would it have something to do with those packets in your suit pockets?" Harry glanced down, his thick lashes masking the glance as a mere blink. As he was taller than the boy, he could clearly see the inner folds of the suit where it hitched up at the first button. Several zipped packets of white powder were tucked into the inner pockets. Harry's gave a razor sharp smile. The breathing grew faster and even more panicked.

It would surely explain why the boy was so adverse to being bodily dragged- besides being called a villain; he had several... delicate cargos. At such a close distance, anyone would be able to feel the lumps in the jacket. Harry knew very well that the two were sons of Yazuka bosses. Drug users amongst high schoolers were not uncommon nowadays, and this was Ouran High School- the school full of rich heirs and heiresses. In other words, a steady stream of rich clients innocent enough to attempt drugs and rich enough to buy them for life.

Hm... what to do, what to do. Harry mused. If they were dumb enough to get caught, then they deserved the punishment. On the other hand, he could easily let them go and earn a couple favors with the Yazuka. They're as crooked as crooked goes, but they're honorable.

Beside him, he saw that Tamaki too, was talking to his captive in hushed tones. He was sharp in his own way; there was no way he'd miss the fact that the two were trafficking drugs. Well, if he saw it as a problem, he would surely report it back to his father. As the son of the Headmaster, it was practically his duty. Harry thought.

"Who did it?" He asked, his eyes swept downwards and hardened.

"We... We didn't mean to," the scared boy began.

"Would you like to be expelled all together?" He asked once more, his voice softer than before. I was right, Harry thought with a fond smile. That boy was sharp as a tack and twice and irritating. Undoubtedly, he didn't mean the shoving incident, though to everyone else, that was what it sounded like.

"Wait," Haruhi spoke up while rubbing her eyes. Tamaki turned his attention to the girl and got up.

At the same time, Harry gave a parting remark to his own troublemaker. "You'd best get to class, hm? You wouldn't want your teacher to miss you too much." He said coldly. The boy glanced up to glacial emerald eyes and gulped. Together, the duo scrambled away.

Favors it is, Harry shrugged and rubbed his back. If those rich brats are stupid enough to get hooked, then they weren't worth saving to begin with. Drugs are never the solution, and anyone who believes so is foolish. Life it too transient to be wasted on something so utterly stupid.

Mori seemingly appeared out of the wall and pinned them both with an emotionless glare; a nonverbal warning. Both Mori and Honey's family are highly respected by both sides of the law, as they can trace their ancestry to the honorable samurai many centuries ago. Needless to say, Mori would pick up on the drug trafficking as well.

"Hik!" They squealed. Like pigs, Harry grinned sharply.

"Sensei!" The twins called, ignoring Harry. "There are scary Class D people!"

In their haste to get away, the two delinquents kicked up a huge dust cloud as they ran towards the school entrance.

Harry rubbed his back some more. Those stupid brats, he thought.

"I'm too old for this," he murmured. Behind him, the twins replied, "We know, Gramps." Harry ignored their jibe and winced at the returning pain. The twins shared a worried glance. They saw the pain for what it was: their teacher taking the brunt of the shove. If not for Harry, then Haruhi would be the one hurting. As difficult as it was to admit, they were genuinely worried for the man.

While he is indeed too old for all this excitement, he was young enough to chase the snickering twins all the way around the set. Take that for old. Kyoya's glasses glinted as his mouth turned downwards. He saw that despite the playful front Harry put up, he was limping slightly. Such an injury to an important person in his life is not acceptable. Kyoya's mask cracked some more.

"Haruhi," Tamaki knelt down gently and cupped her face. Harry stopped giving Hikaru a noggie to watch the interaction. The twins too, stopped their laughing.

"It... It hurts." More tears fell from her eyes. Tamaki looked at her tenderly. Harry frowned for two reasons: firstly, Tamaki had better not try to kiss her- otherwise, he'll gut the boy; secondly, there shouldn't be any reasons for Haruhi to hurt since he took the damage. She didn't look like she had any physical injuries, least of all any that would cause her to shed tears.

"My contact lenses moved." She said innocently. Four words- four words killed the atmosphere.

Harry barked a laugh in relief. That girl.

"Ca... camera! Did you get that just now?" Renge was not damaged at all, apparently. Self-control be damned; Harry rolled his eyes.

"Perfect! Perfect! Now we only need Kyoya-sama's touching..." She was cut off by the sound of breaking glass.

The black haired teen, who was absent from all the drama, smashed a fist sized rock into the camera lens.

"My camera!" The film crew yelled, agonized. "All the film up to now!" Now a different person was shedding the tears.

"Kyoya-sama...?" Renge asked, uncertain.

"I'm sorry," he said, completely unapologetic. "But we cannot leave any evidence of the club members' violent acts, and it's very unpleasant for you to cause this kind of trouble." He said darkly.

Harry paused while giving a noggie to the other twin to give Kyoya a nod in approval. Removal of evidence and polite public dress down- very good. It's always touching when the kids take business lessons to heart. They are growing up so fast, Harry fake sniffled.

Renge's eyes widened and filled with tears. Everyone is indeed in tears today, Harry thought dryly.

"Why? Kyoya-sama should have said "Don't worry about it" and patted my head gently... If it's Kyoya-sama." She collapsed to ground.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and looked away. Twenty eight years into his life and he still didn't know how to deal with teary teenage girls. Luna was never all there, Hermione always had her face buried in some book, and well, Ginny... he still didn't understand her one bit.

"But that's not the real Kyoya," Tamaki broke the news to her. Looks like the cool moment isn't quite over yet.

The twins broke out of Harry's loose hold quite easily. He let them go.

"I guess it was okay." Kaoru shrugged.

"There are various reasons to fall in love, but this is not it." For some reason, Hikaru glanced at Mori and Honey, who were back to their usual selves.

"Right!" Honey agreed with a cheerful grin.

"You know, I think it's fun to know a person little by little by looking at their personality." Haruhi crouched down and gently smiled at the downtrodden girl.

"I'm sorry... For causing trouble." Renge said, truly sorry for her actions. The club members smiled and helped her up.

Harry scowled at a nearby tree. Those brats are too forgiving, in his opinion. Though he supposed if they were willing to set aside the past, he too, can make an exception just this once...

The man hesitantly stood next to Renge and gruffly adjusted her hair bow.

"It was tilted," he explained. Those insufferable students of his had the audacity to smile. He resisted the urge to snap at them.

All in all, everything ended well enough. Renge handled the still depressed film crew; she had oh-so-generously volunteered to cover the cost of the broken camera lens and missing tape. Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru all went to dry off. Honey and Mori, who were already dried off, helped take apart the set. Kyoya was discretely hiding away the camera tape that he had stolen.

Harry... well, Harry was left to clean up the mess, as always. He grunted as he bent down to pick up the large glass shards. When the rock had smashed into the lens, several large pieces of glass had flown off and landed on the ground.

It was never wise to leave broken glass lying around, so he might as well pick them up. He was mildly insulted that they left the task to him, who was injured.

Those horrible little demons, he thought. The pain in his back was not helping his temper any. Thank goodness lunch was coming soon. Of course, it doesn't make his task any less tedious, but it was a silver lining that he could look forward to.

Maybe the sky heard his prayers, for something completely unexpected broke the haze of his boredom.

A fast silver blur raced through the school grounds.

"Renge! Renge! Oh ma chère ! Thank goodness you are alright. Do you have any idea how worried your father was?! It was very irresponsible for you to run off like that!" The silver blur stopped in front of the surprised girl and shook her by the shoulders.

Everyone turned to look at the strange woman. Several camera men even dropped their equipment in shock, for the newcomer was absolutely stunning. Tall, with a full figure, smooth pale skin with dabs of blush pink over her cheeks, full red lips, clear sky blue eyes... Above all, she had a straight waist-long, shiny mane of silvery blond hair.

Harry felt his jaw drop. His arms dropped limply to his sides. His brain tried to comprehend what his eyes are seeing, but it too, was numb with shock.

"Fleur?!" He gaped. The stranger raised her head and looked directly at him. She too, showed her shock.

"Harry?!" She asked in wonder.

Omake One: Apology Currently Processing

"Black-Sensei"

Harry looked to his right, and wiped away the sweat on his face with a wet towel. The whole crew was currently taking a much deserved break from filming; the lights around the set made Harry sweat way too much for his comfort.

In front of him were Kaoru and Hikaru; they both had particularly odd expressions on their faces. The two of them looked like something the cat dragged in. Both of them were soaked to the bone.

"Yes...?" Harry asked slowly. For once, the twins had called him by his name and not his age, which means that they wanted something. Harry reached for a water bottle near him. It was way too hot to work right now; of course, his black suit wasn't helping him at all.

"We're sorry." They said at the same time reluctantly. Hikaru scowled and looked away. "Now can you stop with the water attacks?" They grumbled.

Harry blinked. And then blinked some more. The twins apologized. The twins actually apologized. He surreptitiously pinched himself on the arm to check if it was a dream.

Still, the teacher grinned. "Water attacks? Whatever do you mean?" He asked innocently. He knew perfectly what they meant. Kaoru joined Hikaru in scowling.

"No more rain!" They half-yelled. The effect was ruined by Kaoru's sneeze.

Harry's grin widened. Well, well, well. Looks like the twins have hit their limits.

"No more costumes?" Harry asked. He cracked the seal on his water bottle and took a big gulp.

"No more costumes." They repeated glumly.

He pretended to think for several moments. "I'll consider it." He finally replied.

"Sensei!" They almost whined. Just then, the break ended, as Renge yelled for everyone to get back in position.

They scowled at him one last time and scampered off to get rained on again.

When they were gone, Harry chuckled and got up from his chair. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted.

Omake two: The next move

It was Wednesday again, and Wednesday means business day. Normally, Harry would have sequestered himself in his office, but today was different: he had a business dinner to go to.

As far as business goes, everything was fine. His first company was still raking in the zeros, his stocks have all been skyrocketing, the world still respected him as a business mogul, and people still don't understand how he does it. Which is fine by him, of course.

As announced, Tonnere Acoustics, Inc. went public in the market several weeks ago; Harry had been watching that particularly stock like a hawk. At first, it took quite a nosedive, as competitors tried to sink the stock before it has a chance to fly.

That was when Harry struck; he bought in all available stock below eighteen dollars a share. The stock rose with the increased demand, and he held back buying. Supply of the stocks gradually built up again, lowering the prices. Once more, Harry scooped them all up at rock bottom prices.

By now, he was close to having ten percent of the company's shares; he hoped to have forty percent by the end of next year. With Nanao's constant surveillance, things were going smoothly on that end.

Now was time for his next move in this endless chess match.

Depending on Light's ability to clean up after his own messes, Harry may need a new company soon. In other words, time to work his non-magical magic again and remind the world why he was hailed as a business genius. Since Light's potential as a stable investment has been compromised by his less than stellar choices, he needed to work quickly to set up a backup plan in case the situation ends badly

He observed the couple sitting in front of him; the fairer half of the couple was a head hunter- a talent scout, so to speak. The other half of the couple was a businessman specialized in high end transaction- the kind involved in company merges and buyouts. Clearly, they did not come here to play. Harry too, was all business.

As the waiter took their orders and retreated out of the private room, the head hunter slid Harry a heavy manila folder. Harry accepted it with a nod of his head. Earlier this week, he had already called her and asked for information on upcoming talents with biomedical engineering, biochemistry, medical, pharmaceutical, nanotechnology, or business backgrounds. In order for his newest venture to succeed, he would need new blood. Lots of it, in fact. He needed creativity and innovation. Experience and qualifications were not the focus here; creativity was. Nonetheless, he shall peruse through the thick stack of papers later. Harry slid the folder into his briefcase quietly.

"I understand that you are interested in acquiring a medium-sized pharmaceutical company?" the businessman asked in a deep voice.

"That's correct." Harry replied calmly.

"In that case, I have compiled a list of companies that may fit your requirements, regardless of location." He said and took out a thin black binder.

Harry accepted the binder with another nod. This one was much thinner, he noted. That was to be expected; if that many pharmaceutical companies were willing to throw in the towel, then he might as well back out right now. Luckily, that is not the case. Harry opened the folder and looked through each company's profile with sharp eyes.

The first one was fairly normal; a Swiss company with a long history, now filing for chapter eleven bankruptcy due to lack of patents. Toss; old companies were particularly hard to deal with in a buyout since they already have a reputation. Better to start out with a decent sized company and make a reputation from scratch; it allows for much more freedom.

The second one was more, modern, so to speak- a United States company this time. It had several good drugs in the past, but due to tightening FDA regulations, it stopped producing new drugs. Also, it had a lawsuit filed against it for animal cruelty a while back. Toss. No messy lawsuits for him please.

Harry flipped the page patiently; the company he saw next caught him completely off guard. However, he hid his signs of shock expertly. There was no need to let the headhunting duo in front of him know of his shock. He liked the price of that particular company right where it was, thank you very much.

He knew that this company's finances were in bad shape, but to sell out the company… Things must be worse than he thought. Still, it was not something he couldn't fix. The company merely suffers from a backwards thinking CEO who's having trouble keeping up with the fast pace of advancement in the age of technology. His plan would work perfectly for this company. The flaw in question wasn't anything he couldn't fix, especially since he intended to do an infrastructure overhaul and bring in new blood. Since he had plenty of startup funds (even after buying the company), the problem can be easily fixed. Furthermore, being able to secure a cheap and constant supply of the necessary raw materials would just be another boon to his new plan.

"I'll take it." He said firmly. There was no hesitation in his voice.

The agent's eyebrows rose to his hairline. Rarely, if ever, do business deals conclude this smoothly. Businessmen tend to not make million dollar decisions so swiftly, but then again, Harry James Potter-Black was no ordinary businessman. Unorthodox would be his second middle name if he didn't already have such a long name.

"Now about that cut…" Harry began. Both agents sat up straighter. People tended to do that a lot, especially when zeros are in question.

With that, Harry has made his move against his still unknown opponent. He was sure that there was one somewhere hiding in the shadows.

He just hoped that it was one worth playing against.

Author's note:

Mandy: Hey everyone! I'm alive! I'm actually really busy since university life didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to. Apparently, I don't have a spring break or a fall break, and my exams are built into my winter break. =_= So much for college life. Anyways, I already had a rough draft of this in the making before I started fall semester, so I didn't exactly churn out these 13k+ words in a hurry. Thank goodness I had the foresight to plan ahead; given my work load right now, I would never have been able to get this chapter out if I had to write it all from scratch.

Another reason for my long absence is my new obsession for k-pop. I've been having a rotten time at university for a variety of reasons (a longer explanation is on my profile), so I picked up K-pop again, and I got completely hooked. Before this week, I haven't even been thinking of fanfiction, let alone reading them. The K-pop forum that I visit frequently has a ton of Ouran pictures and gifs on there, so my brain started processing Ouran again. I think K-pop fans would know which forum I'm talking about… It's a pretty big one, and it can get downright nasty at times.

Eventually, I decided that since I still got reviews for this story pretty much every other week, I should just hurry up and finish the chapter and upload it. There's no point in making you all wait, and it seems kind of silly to do a double chapter upload (as an apology) if it meant making you guys wait until the summer.

The important bit about Fleur: Now, about the Fleur thing… Don't freak out, guys! I didn't plan on pairing Harry with anyone at first. None, nada, zilch. But then I realized that it would be kind of sad for Harry to be forever alone while all his students pair up, so I wanted to give him a girlfriend, or at least a date. I didn't think anyone would fit that mold, and I downright refuse to use an OC for such an important part. In the end, I decided on Fleur. She will be more mature in this book than in cannon, but that's because this story is set rather far in the future. She's thirty-two in the story, I think, so I will write her as a woman, not a girl. Don't worry about the Bill issue. I will only twist one small fact out of cannon, and everything will make perfect sense (I managed to justify vampires' hate of garlic as a byproduct of an increased sense of smell/severe allergic reaction, so rationalizing Fleur's status as a single businesswoman won't take too much brain power). Also, I don't write romance. None. Not at all. So I will keep the romantic interactions to a bare minimum, and I doubt I'll even write a hug scene, so no kisses, no make out scenes, no lemon. None. The only thing I will do is maybe write light flirting scenes- enough to suggest that something's going on, but not really enough to make the story M rated (it's already at T, I think). Romance will forever take a backseat to the plot, so don't worry. This story won't lose quality just because Fleur's in it. Oh yes, I won't be writing her French accent. I don't know French, so I won't try to write it. I may write the occasional French word or phrase, but no "'Arry, 'ow are you?" No. None of that (maybe an 'Arry once or twice, but that would just be them being playful). Yes, I know that some of you might not like the fact that I added Fleur in, but really, who would have suited a grown up, mature, businessman Harry Potter other than Fleur? Ginny's out. Hermione's with Ron, and I've got other plans for Luna. And it just doesn't seem right to pair a dreamy Luna with a serious Harry. I don't know Gabrielle well enough, and Tonk's dead. I believe I dropped a hint or two in the past chapters about Fleur's presence?

A side note on the plot: since Fleur just entered the scene, I have to push back the twins' fight. It's just too much for what I have planned for them right now. I'd like to write in some character interactions between Fleur and everyone else before I write the Big Chapter, as I affectionately call it. So I'll be pushing the jungle and the beach chapters up, the fight and visit chapter down. I think I will add in a couple more characters from the HP verse. The Golden Trio won't be reuniting though, so don't get your hopes up. ;) Besides, that would be way too predictable, and I don't like that.

Now that the explanation is out of the way… I still can't promise when I'll have time to update the story. I'm guessing sometime during my summer break, but I intend to take summer classes this year. :/ I'll try my best to update sometime during the summer. I'm sorry! TT_TT

Next estimated update time: TBA

Mandy

P.S.- Thank you so much for everyone who read or reviewed! It makes me happy that I'm receiving so much love for my writing. Even though I'm a bit too busy to respond to very reply, I would still like to thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart. Reading your reviews really brighten up my day. :)

P.P.S- Sorry for leaving all of you at a cliffie. XD

P.P.S- There was another omake I thought about doing for this chapter, but I don't have enough ideas to write it now. I guess I'll see about either dropping that particular idea, or rolling it into next chapter's omake.

Last edited: 3/10/13

Word Count: 15,158