Summer
Yukimura Seiichi
"Renji, pass me the butter."
Yukimura and Yanagi looked at Sanada, who was staring down at his book, Magical Properties of the Essential Elements, while still managing to eat breakfast. Sanada spent so much time reading the book from Ravenclaw's library that Yukimura wondered if Sanada had accidentally glued his face to it and was too proud to admit it.
When Yanagi did not move to hand Sanada the butter, he looked up. He frowned at them. "Why are you two looking at me like that?"
"You called me by my first name," Yanagi said, reaching for the butter dish. "I was taken off guard since it was… unexpected."
"We nearly died down there," Sanada said, grabbing the butter for his toast then looking down at his book. "I think we're past being formal."
Yukimura smiled without meaning to. Sanada never would have said that a year ago, or even a few months ago.
"I agree," Yukimura said happily. "It's a long overdue change, if you ask me."
There were some things you couldn't share without ending up closer to someone, and nearly falling to your death and surviving a dead witch's mad puzzles was one of them.
The last days of the school year were spent sitting through exams, exchanging addresses and telephone numbers, and making plans for the upcoming summer break. Yukimura was less concerned about his exams, which he had been studying for diligent since they discovered the library, than he was about keeping in touch with his friends.
"Do either of you receive mail the muggle way through the postal service?" Yanagi asked. "I don't have an owl so I can't send letters that way."
Sanada frowned. "Our living arrangements are complicated."
Yukimura nodded in agreement. He said, "We live near an all-magical village, which is unplottable and has several old charms around it, so we don't receive mail the muggle way."
"Oh," Yanagi said, clearly crestfallen.
Yukimura frowned as he thought of a way to keep in touch over summer break. Getting owls to Sanada's house was nearly impossible, and even if Yukimura sent out his owl to Yanagi's home, Yanagi would have to care for the owl long enough for it to regain its energy and for Yanagi to write a response. Could a muggle household care for an owl that long?
"I have a muggle telephone in my house," Sanada said helpfully, getting both Yukimura and Yanagi's attention. "I know how to use it, too. Seiichi doesn't have one, but we live on the same street."
"I'll give you my home number, then," Yanagi said. "Do you know the number of yours?"
"No—we don't use it much—but Akiteru should know it. He has muggle-born friends who call him during break. I'll ask him later."
"You have to come and see us during break," Yukimura said excitedly. "We have spare rooms in my house. I can show you my garden! It's not as impressive as my father's greenhouse, but I have a few new projects planned for this summer."
"We could practice Quidditch," Sanada said. "And you would like the village we live near. Even muggles know it."
"Yes, you'll love it," Yukimura agreed, smiling at Yanagi. "I won't take 'no' for an answer, Renji."
"I would love to come," Yanagi said. "I look forward to it."
Without Quidditch practice or the scroll to keep them busy, they had more time than ever to study, and they desperately needed it. They spent their breaks with Marui and Jackal, reviewing Charms and Astronomy, or with Niou and Yagyuu, going over Transfiguration.
On Friday, they all met together in the hidden room behind the tapestry on the fifth floor to study; Yanagi was helping them with Potions while Yukimura talked about Herbology. Niou sat next to Yagyuu on the floor with his copy of Magical Drafts and Potions, nibbling on a Chocoball he stole from Marui's bag (Marui had yet to discover this) and flipping through the pages of his book with a flick of his wand. Niou did not mention the incident in the library, but neither did Yukimura.
Though different houses had different classes together, all first years were sitting their exams together. There wouldn't be enough time to hold every exam for every year otherwise. The classrooms had been expanded and extra desks had been added to seat everyone. They were even being given enchanted quills that would prevent students from cheating. Hogwarts took exams very seriously.
For Transfiguration, Professor Saito had them sit through a brutally difficult written exam, and then a practical where he had them transfigure several objects into birds with the Avifors Spell. The practicals were held at the front of the room in front of everyone.
"Pressure helps build mental strength," Professor Saito had said with a sly smile. It was easy to forget their professor was head of Slytherin.
Atobe transfigured a chair into a flamboyantly large peacock, which earned him points for complexity and beauty, but he lost points because it had four legs, two of which were still wooden.
Akutagawa's bird immediately tried to nest in Professor Saito's hair; Mukahi's bird attacked Kikumaru's; and Shishido's flew straight into a window and reverted back to a lantern.
Both Niou and Yagyuu managed to create a small flock of birds from a set of crystal wine glasses during their practical.
Jackal successfully transfigured a bird but lost points when it was too heavy to fly and merely wobbled across Professor Saito's desk.
Marui was able to transfigure a single bird from his object. Professor Saito applauded him for his simplicity and conservation of energy. After leaving, Marui told Yukimura, "I only did it because I end up with a two headed bird if I try to transfigure two."
Sanada and Yanagi both managed to transfigure two birds, earning full points.
Yukimura made three songbirds from his golden goblet and Professor Saito was so impressed by their voices that he gave Yukimura extra points—"For a moment, I though you transfigured them from crystal," Professor Saito said.
With Transfiguration finished, they hurried over to Defense Against the Dark Arts.
No one was surprised when Professor Reyna took them to a long, twisted, pitch-black corridor on the fourth floor to do an obstacle course.
She had four students go at the same time, one from each house. They had to make their way through the corridor with their wands lit while Professor Reyna sent pillows flying at them; they had to quickly use a Knockback Jinx to keep them away while keeping their wands lit, or they would run into each other or the walls. At the end of the corridor, they had to answer several questions asked by a seventh year NEWT student then shoot colored sparks at a target thirty feet away—Slytherins sent out green sparks, Gryffindors red, Ravenclaws blue, and Hufflepuffs yellow.
Marui groaned from behind Yukimura. "That means Jackal can't be my human shield this time."
Jackal rolled his eyes. Sarcastically, he said, "Yeah, poor you."
"Yes, exactly, poor me!"
Nearby, Niou snickered in his hand. Marui whirled around to glare at Niou, who did not notice until Yagyuu gently elbowed him. Then Niou looked at Marui with a bland, detached look.
Marui said, "I bet a galleon that I can beat whatever time you get, Niou."
"Can I bet against you?" Jackal asked.
"I also bet on Niou," Yukimura said, smiling mischievously.
"What?" Marui exclaimed, quickly turning his head to look between his friends. His mouth was open in overdramatic shock and horror. "You'd bet on a snake over me?"
"I'm a snake," Yukimura said defensively, "and Niou's always had good times on the obstacle courses. He's my friend just as much as you are, Marui, so stop talking about him like that. You two don't have to get along, but don't hate him just because he was sorted into Slytherin."
"He hates me for being in Gryffindor," Marui replied.
"Actually," Niou said in a flat voice with a bored expression, "I hate you because you blew gum into my hair and were a jerk about it."
"Oh," Marui said, clearly surprised. He looked like he had just choked on an Acid Pop. "My bad."
The tips of Niou's bangs turned black and he turned away. No one but Yukimura seemed to notice the color change.
"I'm betting on you, Marui," Yanagi said, diffusing the tension.
Marui brightened, smiling and tossing an arm around Yanagi's shoulder. "See, Yanagi's got my back."
"FIRST GROUP!" Professor Reyna shouted, silencing all chatter. "Niou from Slytherin, Marui from Gryffindor, Oishi from Ravenclaw, and Holmes from Hufflepuff."
Niou smirked at Marui, who grumbled, "Merlin's pants."
In the end, Niou won, but Yukimura and Jackal didn't accept their winnings.
Yukimura was grouped with Tachibana from Gryffindor, Atobe from Ravenclaw, and Tezuka from Hufflepuff. Yukimura ducked and dodged the five pillows thrown at him, hitting away another two with the jinx, and turned around the corners without hitting a single wall.
He quickly answered the questions on werewolves, imps, and bowtruckles, and was given to okay to begin aiming at his target. Tezuka was one question behind him, Atobe had just finished, and Tachibana was not far behind.
Yukimura took one second to aim, shouted, "Verdimillious!" and hit his target dead on. He had aimed for the joints of enchanted suits of armor—hitting a large, circular target with a bull's-eye was nothing compared to that.
"Yukimura, you pass," Professor Reyna said. Seconds later, the others were finishing. "Tezuka, you're done. Atobe, you too. Tachibana, relax your shoulder"—Tachibana's red sparks hit their target—"NEXT GROUP!"
Charms was their most enjoyable exam. Professor Watanabe called them into the classroom one by one and gave them an object to charm. Rumor said that Shiraishi made a pineapple sprout wings and fly around Professor Watanabe's head, which made him laugh so hard he cried and gave Shiraishi perfect marks.
Tezuka came out of the room looking very serious. Fuji, Kikumaru, Oishi, Inui, and Kawamura circled around him. Yukimura listened in.
"What did he give you, Tezuka?" Oishi asked.
"A bouquet of flowers," Tezuka said. "I cut the flowers from the stems with the Severing Charm then levitated the flowers."
"You should have set them on fire," Fuji said.
Yukimura was given a suit of armor. Yukimura smiled at the irony for a brief moment then levitated the suit of armor and made it dance in circles above Professor Watanabe's head. He brought the suit of armor back to the ground, the metal clanking.
"Very well done," Professor Watanabe said, making notes. "Excellent control, Yukimura. You really have a knack for Charms. I should have given you something more difficult."
"One moment, Professor, I'm not done."
Professor Watanabe smiled excitedly and looked up. "Oh?"
Yukimura pointed his wand at the suit of armor and said, "Incendio!" Pale blue flames shot from his wand, encasing the suit of armor, which sizzled and melted into a puddle.
"Fantastic!" Professor Watanabe said. "Perfect parts destructive and impressive."
Yukimura frowned despite Professor Watanabe's praise. His flames were still not as hot as Sanada's had been down in the tunnel. He refused to lose to Sanada.
They had Herbology on Wednesday morning. They took their written exam inside, and then traveled to the greenhouses for their practical. They demonstrated their Fire-Making Charm on Spiky Bushes, and showed they knew how to identify and handle plants that excreted a purple puff of poison when its buds were removed improperly. They then had to harvest various poisonous plants for their leaves and flowers, which were used in potions.
Professor Vega was very happy to see that Sanada had learned to control his Fire-Making Charm. "Very well done, Mister Sanada," Professor Vega said. His long white beard had spikes from the bushes and aconite petals this week.
Sanada and Yanagi's third member, Amy Holmes from Hufflepuff, forgot to wear her gloves and had to be rushed to the Hospital Wing for wormwood poisoning.
Yukimura, Fuji, and Shiraishi were the first ones to realize the plants labeled asphodel were actually hemlock and that Professor Vega was trying to trick them—the two plants required very different handling and pruning for ingredients.
Yukimura passed with full marks.
Each exam seemed tougher than the last, and by the end of the week, nearly the entire school was sluggish with exhaustion. Fifth years like Akiteru celebrated completing their O. while seventh years toasted to their graduation and N.E.W.T completion.
The Gryffindors were celebrating more than the fifth and seventh years combined by the time of the end of term feast. The Great Hall had been decked out in red and gold to celebrate Gryffindor's winning the House Cup for the fourth year in a row. Red and gold streamers hung from the rafters, and glitter shined on the cobblestone floor. A huge banner showing the Gryffindor lion covered the wall behind the High Table where the staff sat.
Yukimura and many of the other Slytherins were bitter about their standing in the House Cup. Despite his bitter feelings, when he looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw Marui standing on the bench, shouting something, and Jackal pulling him back down, Yukimura laughed.
Students talked anxiously over their empty plates and goblets, eager to begin eating. Eventually, Professor Kurobe stood, gaining the attention of the entire hall.
"Congratulations to all of you for making it through another year!" Professor Kurobe said with a rare smile. There was a brief round of applause that quickly died away. "This year, there have been victories and losses, some big and some small, but you have grown in ways you have yet to realize. I hope to see returning students achieve such greatness again next year, and I hope that those who are graduating continue to strive for the top and push themselves.
"Before we can begin the end of term feast, I must announce the winners of the House Cup."
The winners were quite obvious, Yukimura thought, but he did not care that Slytherin had lost to Gryffindor. They had found Rowena Ravenclaw's lost library—the House Cup did not quite compare.
"In fourth place, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and twelve points. In third place, Slytherin, with three hundred and fifty two points."
Yukimura clapped half-heartedly with the rest of his house. Professor Kurobe went on, "In second place, Ravenclaw, with four hundred and twenty-six points. And lastly, in first place, for the fourth year in a row, Gryffindor, with four hundred and seventy-two points!"
The Gryffindor table erupted in a storm of noise as students stomped on the ground and shouted out. Their house ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, hoisted his sword up into the air and shouted, nearly as loud as the students. Professor Ryuzaki was brimming with pride while Professor Saito shook her hand with a forced, thin-lipped smile.
"Now then," Professor Kurobe said, "let the feast begin!"
The food appeared and their goblets filled. Yukimura quickly ate his fill of roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, chicken breast, and pumpkin juice. He had been at Hogwarts a year and had yet to learn to pace himself during feasts.
The ghosts glistened up and down the aisles, stopping to talk to students, congratulating Gryffindor and Nearly Headless Nick, who was brimming with ghostly pride.
Despite the chaos of the Great Hall, Yukimura noticed that there was one ghost missing from the ceremony.
Yukimura set down his knife and fork, stood up, and said, "I need to use the bathroom. Save me some dessert if I take too long."
Sanada gave him a peculiar look as he left the Great Hall, but did not stop him.
Yukimura quickly ascended the main staircase. He stopped on the second floor and made his way towards the Astronomy Corridor. As expected, gliding elegantly through the empty Astronomy Corridor was the Grey Lady.
Yukimura approached the ghost cautiously, knowing she was prone to disappear if startled. Very few students were able to talk to her, even within her own house. The Bloody Baron, while intimidating, talked more frequently to Slytherin students than the Grey Lady did with Ravenclaws.
The Grey Lady heard his approached. She turned and looked at him.
"You," she said, tone unreadable.
"I found the library," Yukimura said. "I've been curious about why you wanted to keep it hidden from me, though."
The Grey Lady faltered. "My mother's library? That is what you were after?"
"Your mother—?"
The Grey Lady approached him. She seemed less translucent and more solid, as though she could actually harm him. In a second, she was inches from his face, hovering over him, looking at him with once-dark eyes as though she was looking into his soul.
Yukimura inhaled sharply, but remained calm, knowing it was impossible for a ghost to hurt him. He had nearly fallen to his death, faced enchanted suits of armor, and solved riddles made by one of the brightest witches of all time—a mere ghost did not scare him.
"If you were only after her library, then why ask me such strange, horrible things?" the Grey Lady asked loudly, her voice broken with anger and sadness, her emotions conflicted by confusion.
"I didn't ask you anything." Yukimura frowned, thinking quickly. "Did someone else ask you horrible things?"
The Grey Lady moved back several inches, startled by his response. Her answer was surprisingly earnest, her voice softer, "A student from your house asked me about what is buried beneath the school. They wore the emblem of the snake on their chest. I do not remember who it was. My mind—my memories—they're not complete."
The Grey Lady turned her back to him and floated down the corridor towards the base of the tower. Yukimura followed after her. She spoke to herself, but he heard her distressed mumbling, "They asked me dreadful things, and when I refused to answer, they made me."
The Grey Lady stopped in the middle of the room at the end of the corridor. They were standing in the Astronomy Tower, the same room with the gems and the disappearing floor that led to the secret labyrinth and the library.
"What are you talking about?" Yukimura asked calmly. The Grey Lady was making less sense than Muninn and Huginn. "What did they ask about?"
"What is lost should remain lost, and what is dead should remain dead." The Grey Lady looked over her shoulder at him. She was the ghost of Ravenclaw, a house of knowledge, but her face held no answers.
If what she said was true, then someone had managed to force a ghost to do something and then charmed their memory. How was that possible? Yukimura had never read or heard of anything like that in his life. Spells worked on the living, not on ghosts.
"You are welcome to my mother's library, if you have passed her trials, though be careful who else you show it to. There are those in your house who are meddling in the darkest of things. I wish I could tell you who."
"If you remember, will you tell me?"
"I must go."
The Grey Lady sank through the floor, and Yukimura was left standing, alone, with more questions than answers.
He returned to the Great Hall moments after dessert had been served. He slid back into his seat between Sanada and Niou, who looked at him curiously but didn't ask.
"That was a long bathroom trip," Yanagi commented.
"Was it?" Yukimura questioned.
"You weren't in the bathroom, were you?" Sanada asked lowly.
"Is that pudding?" Yukimura said happily.
Yukimura would tell them later, when they were away from prying eyes and eavesdroppers.
Too soon their trunks and bags were packed, their chests stuffed with everything they had accumulated over the year: spare quills, excess candy, gifts and assignments, and books from Ravenclaw's lost library. They rode horseless carriages down to Hogsmeade Station to board the Hogwarts Express and return home.
Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi found a compartment with Marui and Jackal.
Once the whistle blew and the train jerked forward, they locked the compartment door and told the Gryffindors everything: the hidden room on the seventh floor corridor; discovering Rowena Ravenclaw's involvement; the Astronomy Tower; the tests; and the library. Marui and Jackal were a very good audience, gasping in all the right places. When Sanada mentioned the suits of armor, Jackal's eyes widened in disbelief. When Yukimura told them about Muninn and Huginn, Marui smiled with glee.
"Why didn't you tell us before we took our exams?" Marui asked finally. "We could have studied there!"
"You did fine on your exams, though, didn't you?" Yukimura said.
"Well, yeah, but I could have done better in Herbology and Potions. Professor Kurobe didn't say anything when I handed in my Wiggenweld Potion—it ended up blue instead of green!"
"It was our potion," Jackal said, "and he said we did fine."
"So do you think this library place has a section on candy?" Marui asked eagerly.
Jackal fixed his housemate a look. "You'd have hundreds of years of lost knowledge to look through, and you'd want to read about candy?"
"You can never know too much about candy, Jackal."
"Wait," Jackal said suddenly, "what was down the other two paths beneath the Astronomy Tower?"
Yukimura frowned. "We don't know. The door locked behind us once we entered the library, and we decided it was too dangerous to go back down through the tower."
The trolley reached them before Atobe, and they bought a small pile of sweets to last them the journey. They played Exploding Snap and talked about their summer plans. Jackal was excited to see his muggle friends and join a summer football league (a muggle game equivalent to Quidditch, according to Yanagi), and Marui was talking about rediscovering the bakeries near his house. The two had already made plans to see each other.
"We actually live in the same town," Jackal said. "We just never met because I grew up in the muggle part and he grew up in the magic part."
"My mom's muggle-born," Marui said, blowing a yellow bubble. "She just never went back to her world after going to Hogwarts."
"The worlds are very divided," Yanagi agreed. "It seems like witches and wizards go out of their way to distance themselves from anything muggle. I couldn't find any books written by muggles in the library. I'm going to spend the entire summer catching up with my muggle studies…"
"Wait," Jackal said, clearly shocked. "You're a muggle-born like me?"
Yanagi turned red. He nodded hesitantly. "Please don't tell anyone. People in my house can be, well…"
"No, of course," Jackal responded quickly. He was obviously trying to process the new information. It was quite a shock for Yukimura as well, all those months ago. "Marui won't say anything either."
Yanagi smiled. "Thank you."
The hours spent laughing and eating on the train did not last long enough. The prefects came by, announcing they would be arriving soon and they needed to change into muggle clothes.
Yukimura didn't want to leave to train, to leave Hogwarts, but he knew he had to. There was only a few months separating him from his next year, and he already planned on counting down the days.
The trio stepped onto the platform, scanning the crowd for their families. Everywhere, students were hugging their friends good-bye and rushing over to their families with their luggage in tow. Niou walked over to a family of four; neither of his parents or siblings looked like him, which did not surprise Yukimura, given Niou's unique ability. Marui introduced Jackal to his family, two redheaded boys jumping onto and hanging off of Jackal, who looked at Marui, panicked.
"I see my parents and sister," Yanagi said, waving towards a family of three near a pillar. Yanagi's older sister waved back.
"You should go," Yukimura said. "We'll see you this summer."
"I promise to call every week," Sanada said. "But you should call if I forget."
Yanagi smiled and nodded.
Yukimura smiled broadly as well, quickly hugged his friend, and waved good-bye with Sanada as Yanagi walked towards his family. His mother wrapped him tightly in her arms before he was tugged into his older sister's hug.
In the other direction, Yukimura saw his own family—his parents and his little sister—and Sanada's parents. Yukimura and Sanada headed towards them, and were spotted in the crowd. Their families approached.
Emiko reached them before their parents, having run over.
"Hey, Emiko," Yukimura said with a fond smile.
His sister hugged him briefly then did the same to Sanada.
"Where's Akiteru?" Emiko asked, pushing herself up onto the tips of her toes and craning her neck. She spotted Akiteru coming off the train with a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw, and dashed over. "Akiteru!" she squealed as she tackled him with a hug.
Akiteru laughed and hugged back.
The Yukimuras and Sanadas approached their sons. Sanada nodded stiffly at his parents before his mother waved him over for a hug, kissing his cheek and smudging away the lipstick with her thumb. Mrs. Yukimura hugged her son tightly to her chest for several long seconds before letting go.
"How was school?" Mrs. Yukimura asked with a warm smile that Yukimura hadn't even realized he had missed. "Anything interesting happen?"
Yukimura looked at Sanada, the pair smiling at one another, then back at his mother. Yukimura said, "Oh, nothing too interesting..."
Fin