Sorry about the long update. I kinda got confused over which chapters I posted online, since my fanfic files are in another computer...
They emerged from the plane into a bright, spotless hangar that looked suspiciously for wizards only. Kimaru-san waited patiently as they scrambled to get all their bags (the Fire Academy students actually fighting with a few of their 'enchanted bags') and then led the way out through a door. They came out in a dirty alleyway.
"Welcome to London," Kimaru-san said. "Now follow me, if you get lost here it's not my fault."
"Where are we going?" Takuya asked, hoisting a bag onto his shoulders.
"Diagon Alley," Kouichi answered for him. "It's an area of the big wizarding town that is concealed here. Most Hogwarts supplies are sold here."
"Wow," Takuya said, impressed. "How did you know all that?"
"Some people actually do study their destination before travelling, Takuya," Zoe said with a smirk.
They stopped in front of a shady-looking pub with a sign that said 'The Leaky Cauldron.' Kimaru-san hushed their questions, and then motioned them in.
The place was nearly empty, as it had been ever since Lord Voldemort's return became public. The bartender Tom was dejectedly slumped on a seat, but he jumped up excitedly when they came in. "Finally here, eh?" he said with a toothy grin. He had obviously been expecting them.
"Yes, finally here," Kimaru-san replied, bowing.
"The room keys," Tom said, handing over several bronze keys with number tags on them. "All on the same floor. You take number 23, Kimaru old friend. The rest of the rooms have double beds."
Kimaru-san started throwing the keys to the group without even saying a warning, startling them, so that only Kouji, Zoe, Kari and Ken managed to catch them. The other keys clattered to the floor noisily.
"Glad you showed up," Tom continued. "Now not many people come, what with You-Know-Who and all."
"Get your bags into your rooms," Kimaru-san instructed. "Then have a short break, I'll call you when it's time to go buy your things."
Takuya and JP shared a room, while Tommy roomed with Zoe, who couldn't bring herself to share a room with Takuya or JP even though they asked. Naturally the twins went together. As for the Fire Academy students, they all looked extremely relieved over something.
&&&&
"Ooh, who's that?"
"It's the mirror talking, right?" Kouji said, lying down on the bed. Kouichi turned to see the cracked looking glass on the wall.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Pure-bloods, aren't you two?"
"Hang something over it," Kouji said, turning over. "Or better, shut it up."
"Hey, no fair!" the mirror protested.
"Silencio."
Kouichi bent down to take a shirt from his bag. At the same time, he caught sight of the small box where he had locked his D-Tector in. He felt slightly guilty about not telling anyone. But then again, since it had come back somehow to him in a Dark wizard's shop, he decided that it was probably better not to say where he had gotten it.
"Hey. You're not telling me something, right?"
Kouichi forced a smile. "Why do you ask?"
"You're using Occlumency far too much for someone who hates using it," Kouji stated. "Oh, well. Tell me whenever you feel like it."
"Okay."
They spent around an hour just lying around and resting after the trip, doing nothing. Kouichi dozed off sitting on his bed with his head against the wall, while Kouji idly flipped through a book he had found, the language charm translating the English to Japanese automatically. Being Dark, Kouichi much preferred the darkness at night; often he slept through the evening and woke up at midnight to study. Kouji was the polar opposite; he studied and did his work in the daytime, and when night fell he was first in bed and was the first to wake up during dawn.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Kouji called.
The door opened slightly. It was a boy from the Fire Academy; the one Kouji recalled was called TK Takaishi. "Kimaru-san wants to meet us downstairs, now," he said with a slight bow. He was still carrying his bag over his shoulder.
"Okay, thanks." As the door closed, Kouji threw a pillow at Kouichi. "Wake up. Hey, get up!"
"What?" Kouichi looked up sleepily. His hand was still holding on to a shirt; he had fallen asleep in the middle of taking out the shirt, his bag half-open at his feet.
"Kimaru-san wants us downstairs, probably to go buy our school stuff."
"Okay… Boy, I'm so sleepy…" Kouichi yawned, getting up. He brushed his hair out of his eyes.
"You're always sleepy in daytime," Kouji stated, amused. "I just don't get why you can just nod off in the middle of doing something, even working on a charm in magic school, but you can survive not sleeping at night. I myself can't stay up beyond ten."
"Must be our elements then, I guess. I know that our elements influence us, but I never really know how much until we shared a room."
Laughing, they went down together. They passed the Fire Academy group on the way. They seemed to be arguing over their bags.
"They should be fine, TK. I think we can just leave them in a room together," the girl called Kari was saying.
"Okay, I guess… But if someone comes in to clean and sees them, I'm not explaining."
"We'll put them in Davis and Ken's room – I think they've already made a mess out of it already. I heard Davis screaming at them to stop," the long-haired girl known as Yolei said with a laugh. "Typical Davis. I wonder how Ken puts up with him."
"What do you expect; they're partners, after all."
"They're weird, aren't they?" Kouji whispered to Kouichi, who nodded.
"Yeah… They seem to be hiding something in their bags. Did you notice that they feed their bags?"
They gathered in the Leaky Cauldron. The Fire Academy students came down without their bags. Kimaru-san waited until all of them were gathered, then started handing out money bags to each of them.
"These are your allowances for the year. Don't spend them all. You can't use our yen here, of course, but you can exchange the currency at Gringotts later if you want. Thing is, the security is so tight that it'll take ages. There's about forty Galleons in there, but the expenses for your school uniforms and books are paid for by Hogwarts. That forty Galleons is a gift from the Japanese Minister for Magic. Now follow me. By the way," he added, almost as an afterthought, "there's a quite popular wizarding joke shop there, by the name of the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Their products are banned at Hogwarts, so don't waste your time bringing them to school."
"Well, we'll just go check it out," Takuya said brightly, quite unperturbed. "If there's anything worth buying, we'll just buy it anyway and send it back home by owl."
There was a ripple of laughter through the group. Takuya grinned appreciatively. "What, there's no problem with that, is there?"
"You should use the money on extra books," Zoe said, reminding him. "We don't know what Hogwarts teaches, at any rate. The level of magical education may be high in Japan but there are some things that are taught in England that aren't taught in Japan"
"Yeah," Kouichi agreed, although he was now immersed in a newspaper he had picked up from the bar. "There's Divination, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures-"
"What the heck are they?" Takuya demanded. "And what the heck is up with you?"
"Kouichi is simply being hardworking," Kimaru-san said calmly. "I will not be surprised if he turns out to be the best student in his year."
Kouichi seemed not to hear the compliment; he was now reading the newspaper apparently without the help of the language charm. They went out to the back. They stared in surprise as Kimaru-san started tapping the bricks on the worn wall, then were even more surprised when the wall magically made way and opened up into what looked like a ghost town.
"Diagon Alley. It used to be much livelier, but with the recent events, as you can see, not many are eager to step outside. Now, keep in a group, and if you by any chance see a sign pointing to a certain 'Knockturn Alley' don't go down there. It's unfamous for shops specialising in Dark magic. Now we'll just go get your school robes since they're lighter and much easier to carry around."
They went into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. There were so many of them that Kimaru-san instructed the girls to get their school uniforms first while the boys browsed in the dress robes section, since they were required to buy dress robes.
"Hey, what do you think of this?"
"Takuya, it makes you look like a goldfish," Kouji informed him without any humour in his voice.
"Besides, those are girls' dress robes," Kouichi added.
"Eurgh!"
Takuya, who seemed to be really enjoying himself, held up pair after pair of dress robes in front of him, no matter how ridiculous they were. In another aisle, Davis of Fire Academy was doing the exact same thing, with TK and Cody laughing at his antics, Ken glaring at Davis in the exact same way Kouji was glaring at Takuya. Kouichi sighed and wandered off, looking at the robes in another aisle. He chose a dark midnight blue robe with black hems, then wandered back to get Kouji's opinion. Meeting Kouji in another aisle, he was surprised to see that his twin had chose dress robes the exact same style as the one he had chosen, only with cerulean blue hems.
"Hey, Ken, try this on!"
The twins glanced up to see Davis try to put a set of really ridiculous dress robes (white and black stripes with flashing yellow hems and white lace) on Ken, the latter looking more annoyed than amused.
"I'll rather go in the Emperor uniform, and that's saying something, Davis."
"Why must you always put yourself down like that? Ken, come on… I'll kick myself if you put it on, I swear…"
"No, he won't want that, dear, those are stocked specially for party entertainers." Madam Malkin came over, holding some black robes in her arms. "The girls are done, boys. Some of you follow me…"
"What Emperor uniform was Ken talking about?" Kouichi asked Kouji, who shrugged.
TK who had overheard Kouichi glared warningly, before going after Madam Malkin. Kouji glared back, then turned back to Kouichi. "I don't like that guy."
"Since when have you liked someone you first met, little brother?"
It took some time, but soon all had been measured for their uniforms, plain black robes with tags where they could magically inscribe their names later. The dress robes took longer, since the girls had suddenly become very choosy. The Fire Academy students all chose brightly coloured dress robes – Davis chose bright blue robes, TK green, Cody orange, Ken a pale shade of pink, Yolei purple, and Kari a reddish pink. They all seemed to know what colour each other would choose. It seemed to the Elemental students that the Fire Academy group was extremely weird.
"Sensei, where's that joke shop you told us about?"
"Takuya, I've already told you that their products are not allowed in Hogwarts. Anyway, the shop is just ahead…"
They went to Flourish and Blotts last after wandering about and bought their school books. Needless to say, Takuya was extremely bored browsing through the books.
"Kouichi, can you please tell me what do you see in those books?"
"Er… Words and pictures?"
"Very funny."
Kouichi bought quite a number of books for light reading, making Takuya throw him looks every few seconds and sigh in mock exasperation. "Magical Places of the World, Important Magical Events in Recent History, Ancient Charms Long Forgotten… Kouichi, do you eat food or books?"
They left the shop a while later, each laden with schoolbooks. Kouji was helping Kouichi carry the extra books he had bought, but still the stack was quite heavy, and Zoe offered to help. They entered the Leaky Cauldron again and put their things on the tables while they went to get drinks.
"No Firewhisky, Takuya."
"Yes, Kimaru-san." Takuya rolled his eyes. "Spoilsport," he muttered to JP, who shrugged, not wanting to do anything with it.
There was another group of people in the bar, several teenagers with packages of books and uniforms accompanied by anxious adults. They looked in a hurry and seemed jumpy.
The soon bought their drinks, the Elemental students sitting at a booth near the the fireplace, separate from the Fire Academy students. "Kouichi, for goodness sake, why must you keep reading that book?"
"I've only just started," was the straight reply. "It's interesting."
"What are you reading about anyway?" Tommy asked.
"Something about the main magical misconception about the nexus."
"What's a whatchasay?"
"The point where magical concentration is the most intense," said a girl's voice from behind them. "It's the meeting point between four powerful magical places."
"Hermione, he wasn't asking you."
The group they had seen a little earlier was standing beside them. The blonde girl who had spoken smiled. "Sorry, but since you asked." She cocked her head. "Are you from around here? You guys are foreign, right? I'm Hermione Granger."
"We're Japanese," JP said.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" the redheaded boy asked suddenly.
"Don't talk to them, they're all blood traitors and Mudbloods," a sneering voice suddenly said.
The four teens in the British group whipped around. "Malfoy, shut up," the black-haired boy said,
Kouichi, looking up from his book, suddenly recognised the blond boy. Their eyes met, and Kouichi, panicking, shook his head.
"Come on, you lot, we have to get back now," a woman accompanying the four British teens said sharply. "Harry, Ron – I mean now." She hurried to the fireplace. "Hurry up, you know how dangerous it is outside."
The four teens glared at the blond boy, then one by one vanished into the fireplace with their packages. The boy they called Malfoy stared intensely at their table, an unreadable look on his face. Kouichi quickly stared back at his book. Malfoy stared suspiciously at them, eyes traveling from Kouichi to Kouji, then left through the fireplace.
&&&&
"If I'm correct, those Elemental kids think we're nuts."
"Davis, you're a genius!"
"Thanks, Kari."
"I was just kidding."
"Aw…"
"Don't worry, Davis." A blue digimon jumped up beside him. "I think you're cool. Pretty cool."
"Thanks, Veemon. But you had better mean it."
"Pretty cool… Like just a little above average." Veemon held up his hand with two fingers almost touching.
"Aw, not you too…"
The six Fire Academy students were gathered in Davis and Ken's room, which looked like a tornado had blown through it. Wormmon and Patamon was enthusiastically building an immensely high card castle on the already charred-looking table with Exploding Snap cards, Wormmon using bits of webbing to secure the cards and Patamon flying around the wobbly castle to place cards on the higher levels.
"Actually, I think those Elementals are pretty cool," Cody said, sitting on the floor next to Armadimon. "Takuya seems just like Davis. Loudmouthed and everything."
"Since when was I a loudmouth?" Davis said, pretending to be hurt. "Ken, come on, tell them I'm not loudmouthed."
"I think I can't help you with that one," Ken said with a small smile. "Wormmon, be care-"
BOOM.
"-ful."
The card castle had blown up with a huge explosion, sending Patamon shooting through the air and landing on top of the cupboard, and Wormmon soaring in a high arch into Yolei's hands.
"That was fun!" Wormmon wriggled out of Yolei's hands. "Let's do it again!"
"We'll have to be careful if we want to let the digimon out on the train tomorrow," Kari said, where she was sitting on the edge of a bed with Gatomon. "Someone might see, but we can't possibly put them in the bags all day."
"I second that," Gatomon said.
"I third that." Veemon paused with a hand in the air. "Is there even such a word?"
"What more, the Elementals might pop in on us, since we're all from Japan," TK said, retrieving Patamon from the top of the closet and cleaning the burnt-looking digimon with his shirt. "Do you think we can trust them?"
"I think maybe Takuya," Cody said. "Since he is pretty like Davis…"
"Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"
"Zoe is okay," Yolei spoke up. "When we were getting our uniforms back in Madam Malkin's. She's quite friendly and everything, likes Quidditch, speaks Italian reasonably."
"But those twins seem like jerks," Davis put in. "They just ignore everyone else most of the time. Especially Kouji. Kouichi seems to be in a daze all the time. He could even be sleepwalking."
"Kouji's kinda like Ken though," Kari said. Ken glanced at her with a questioning look. "You ever see him smile?"
"Only at his twin," TK said. "They seem quite close – but still it's like they don't really know each other."
"Are there any more Exploding Snap cards?"
"Patamon… You're burnt enough…"
"Barbequed, more like," Wormmon said with a grin. "Minus the sauce."
"You're making me hungry! Davis, is there any more chocolate?
&&&&
Kouji woke up early the next day, to find Kouichi fast asleep in bed with his head rested on a thick book, a wand lying beside him, its tip still shining brightly. He grinned, but didn't bother to try to wake him up; he knew that Kouichi only got up at the very most, at eight. It could be because of their opposite elements, but maybe the fact that Kouichi often read books throughout the night made him sleepy in daytime.
He had a quick shower, then wandered outside. Kari was in the corridor. She panicked when she saw him and quickly tried to push something white behind her into her bag.
"Idiot," Kouji muttered. He traced his steps back to his room only to walk into another Fire Academy student.
Man, what on earth do they get up so early for? Kouji scowled mildly at TK, who scowled back. He was holding an odd, wriggling bundle of black robes in his hands. TK quickly disappeared into a room, followed by Kari. There were voices coming from the room. It seemed like all the Fire Academy students had already woken up long time ago. His watch read six thirty.
Kouichi was still asleep when he returned to the room after a quick breakfast downstairs. Kouji shook him once, and when he didn't respond, went to have another bath. When he came out, his twin was still sleeping.
"Hey, get up." Kouji shook his brother once, contemplated using the Aguamenti Charm, decided against it knowing that Kouichi would probably pull the same trick at about 3 am the next day just to annoy him (since it had happened once before) and prodded him roughly.
"Huh?" Kouichi's eyes slowly opened. Suddenly, for some reason, he looked panicky. Before Kouji could ask why, Kouichi hurried over to his bag, pulled out some clothes, examined something out of sight, then looked relieved at whatever it was.
"Er… What's the matter?"
"What – Oh, nothing." Kouichi said, looking shifty. "I'll go shower now…"
Kouji stared suspiciously at Kouichi's bag when his twin left. The clothes he had previously pulled out hastily had been quickly refolded neatly and stuffed back in. He suspected shrewdly that Kouichi was using Occlumency more than usual – but why? Kouichi normally hated using Occlumency or Legilimency, or any other mind spells in any case. Was he concealing something –
"Oi! Kimaru-san says get downstairs in five minutes or he's leaving us here!"
"Ok, Takuya," Kouji called back.
&&&&
Kouichi locked the door behind him and breathed deeply in relief. It was just a dream, he told himself firmly. Just a dream. I dreamt that we had to go back to the Digiworld again, and it was because of the Dark D-Tector.
He stared into the mirror. His reflection that stared back at him was pale and weary, long hair messy. No matter what he did, his hair was never as sleek and glossy as his twin's. It was always wild. When he tied it up in a ponytail, Takuya often commented that Kouichi looked like a wild gangster, while Kouji looked like a decent gangster.
Kouji knocked on the door. "Kouichi? Hurry up, we have to leave in a while!"
"Okay."
&&&&
They met downstairs in five minutes. Tommy's owl was off delivering the huge package of items that they had bought at the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, while the ornamental-looking butterfly that Zoe kept as a pet was fluttering about her head, its rainbow-coloured wings shining with every flap of its wings. Kimaru-san was waiting patiently at a booth.
"Good, got all your luggage? Right, leave them here, Tom's sending the trunks to the station separately."
"Station?" JP asked. "How exactly are we going to Hogwarts anyway?"
Kimaru-san smiled. "By train."
"Train?"
The Headmaster herded them outside, and with strict instructions to walk in pairs, led them up the road through Muggle London. The Fire Academy students lagged behind slightly, while Takuya and JP were at the head of the line with Kimaru-san. People stared at the odd group, but made no comment. Finally, after a short walk, they entered a crowded train station.
"What train are we taking?" Takuya asked.
"It's the Hogwarts Express, specially for bringing the Hogwarts students to school. It departs from Platform Nine and Three Quarters. It's a magical platform, hidden from Muggles. Obviously they can't cart the students off in the Muggle part of the station without attracting attention; normal Muggle students obviously do not bring toads, owls, cauldrons or broomsticks to school."
They were impressed by the hidden platform. Takuya made quite a show of pretending to fall through the barrier that was the doorway to the hidden platform, even shrieking loudly. Kouji glared, and when Kimaru-san wasn't looking, he pushed Takuya through, making the latter really scream as he fell through the barrier. Finally all of them were through.
"Now, listen. I want you all to behave yourselves," Kimaru-san said sternly. He seemed to be addressing Takuya in particular. "I don't want to hear that you've done something insane like what you did last year, putting a charm on yourself just to get out of class."
"It wasn't a charm, it was a potion."
"Whatever it is, I expect all of you to give a good impression of Japan," Kimaru-san ignored Takuya's comment. "And I also have a special request from Professor Dumbledore that you wear your Japanese uniforms for tonight. He wishes to introduce you personally to the school as it has been quite a long time since there were exchange students from Japan."
"Yes sir!"
Quite a number of people stared at them. An elderly man came over to them, holding out a wand and guiding along a fully laden trolley. "Your luggage," he said, reaching them.
"Right. Now remember to behave," Kimaru-san reminded them sternly.
Takuya sighed. "Sir, you sound like a broken record."
&&&&
Eh...