2/20/09

A/N

I felt the need to get an update in, even though it's not as much as I'd have liked. I'll tell you all straight up. I kidnapped the name Embry from Twilight. It wasn't that I just happened to like the name. All I can think about it Embry/Jacob. The worst part is that I can't even find a fanfiction for it so I'll have to make one myself—AFTER this is done with, of course :D

Rating

PG13 for swears and violence, rating may change in certain chapters, you will be informed when such happens.

HarryPotter and the Inner Demon

Chapter 23

Natsu swung his legs—they didn't quite reach the floor, much to his displeasure—and only half listened to the Potion Master's intro to Potion making. He had this speech once and that was enough for him. Glancing around the room he saw everyone was staring at their teacher with awe yet not a single one taking notes. He snorted quietly to himself and wondered why he seemed to have been the only first year to make such a mistake.

"Mister Janfrer!" Natsu head shot up at the sound of his 'name' and smiled at Snape. "Where do you find a bezoar?" Aha! Natsu knew this, first year all over again.

"In the stomach of a goat Professor!" He replied merrily and a few snickers spread through the room. "Very good." Snape looked down on him a bit smugly. "And why do you need to remove a boil salve from the cauldron immediately after it simmers?" Natsu's smile nearly slipped off his face. Boil salve? He searched his memory for what the man had told him at the time.

"Because…it will form a diamond-like hardness from the residual head of the cauldron, sir." Snape smirked at him and nodded.

"If you were in a house I would have awarded you points." Natsu pouted at him and he continued, "however, you are not so I will merely have to challenge you when you have class later today."

He set the first years to creating a forgetfulness potion and Natsu glowed as he was the first to finish and hand a vial to his once least-liked teacher. Snape examined it and gave him a ruffle of the hair. Natsu squawked, "What is with you wizards and doing that!"

Taking his seat beside Embry, Natsu watched the development of his potion. As the boy made to add the pine needles he snatched them from his grip. "Hey!" Embry hissed in surprise. "I need those!" Natsu ignored him and tore off the knot connecting the five needles together and slowly added them one by one. "You can't just toss a handful in," he explained. "There was a bit of branch attaching the needles as well, that would have made it explode." Embry's eyes widened a bit and he gulped.

Natsu could smell Snape's delight from behind him and he smirked, knowing his teacher was both grateful for the save and proud of his use of his knowledge. Once Embry had finished his potion and bottled it—not the exact shade of green it should be but close enough to earn an Acceptable—Natsu eagerly engaged a quiet conversation.

"So how are you liking it here so far?" Natsu was nearly bouncing in his seat. Embry shyly looked up from where he was playing with the latch of his bag and replied, "S'alright…haven't seen much yet." The young demon tilted his head and inquired about the blonde Slytherin girl. Embry blushed and fiddled with his thumbs. "Alex and I met on a playground near my house. She told me I was a wizard once I started doing magic."

"That's cool," Natsu said, smiling again. Finally he knew some things about this boy that seemed to catch his attention. "I kinda wish I could do magic. Professor Snape wants me to do a lot of potions so I can have a trade in the wizarding world if I choose to become a part of it and my brother thinks it's a good idea too."

"What do you think?" Natsu blinked at him a moment, considering the question. He hadn't really thought so much a bout what he wanted, only what he could deal with. He had that row with Seshomaru yet it wasn't really about what it should have been.

"I…I suppose it's a good idea," he mumbled slowly. "Never really considered whether I liked it or not. It would be really helpful back…home…I guess." It occurred to him that he didn't even know what 'home' was, only a vague idea from the few stories or reference made by his brother and Kagome.

Embry nodded in understanding though looked at him a bit curiously at the sudden dreamlike state his companion had taken on. The clock tower rang nine times, signaling the end of the class period. There was a flurry of bags being propped up on tables and potions being placed in the rack on Snape's desk. The man lazily yelled over the noise that there was no homework but to be sure to bring note taking material next class.

Natsu followed his new friend to the next class—Charms—and made himself comfortable in the back of the room to watch. He could neither participate nor give help here as he couldn't and wasn't supposed to be able to perform magic. Professor Flitwick introduced himself and rushed right into teaching the first years how to perform a levitation charm.

The small man was lifted off his feet as he was hit by a stray spell and would have fallen if Natsu hadn't scooped him up before the charm lost its power. There were giggles and snorts throughout the room and the Ravenclaw apologized profusely, face stricken with horror at what they'd done to the head of their house. "Now, now," Flitwick said with a wave of his hand. "'Twas an accident, I've had worse! Now back to your feathers!"

He gave Natsu a comforting pat and he returned to his seat in the back. The hype of having class with Embry had died down and he was as tired as he had been that morning again. He decided to give his eyes just a moment of rest when he was poked in the side. A high yelp escaped his throat and whipped around to see Embry motioning to the door. He must have missed the bell.

Next was lunch and Natsu was quite nervous for the Potions class he'd promise to go to next. He wondered if Ron or Hermione would realize it was him at all or if they'd ignore him completely. His potato salad didn't seem anywhere near as appealing as it had before. Peering up, he observed his two old friends as they continued to wallow and worry. Surely they were not so dependent on his presence!

Seshomaru plopped a large helping of vegetables on his plate and gave him a no-nonsense look that had him clearing his plate without further insistence. "If you eat well this year you may get a bit bigger," Seshomaru hinted but Natsu scowled at him.

"That's what you tried on me over the summer just to ge4t me to pig out. It's not going to work this time."

"Indeed, it won't be much," came the quiet reply. "But it would be an improvement."

"Turn to page three hundred and forty-four."

The class had handed in their essays from the break and they now sat on Snape's desk in a neat—but small—pile.

Natsu was seated up front again and he pointedly avoided the glances he received from both Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Flipping to the page Snape had requested, he read the potion's directions.

The Flame-Tongue Inducer

Allows the taker to spout flames without burning their throat but does not protect the skin around the mouth. Flame-Tongue was first developed by Pigmere Pots as an attempt to defend his cabbages from being stomped on by giants that inhabited the forests surrounding his cabin. Pots was the first to discover that fire does not affect a giant's hide anymore than a bucket of water.

"You have 4 hours to complete this potion. If it is not handed into me by the end of class you will not be receiving a score for today's work." With that, Snape settled himself behind his desk and went about grading the summer homework.

Natsu lit a match and set the wood under his cauldron burn and turned his head to see the other students in the class. He realized after a quick sweep that Ron had chosen not to take Potions that year, something that confused him greatly as he recalled Ron wanting to be an auror the year before.

He quickly returned to his cauldron as the water had begun to simmer. He diced the frog tongue as Snape had showed him and slowly add it, the bits bobbing at the surface. He moved on to the fluxweed and lacer's puss. The potion thickened as he added the puss and he stirred it forty times clock wise before it thinned enough to sprinkle castor dust into it.

Footsteps came up behind him and he knew Snape was peering over him to observe his potion. A pat on the shoulder told him 'good job' and the man moved on to find his next victim. Natsu allowed the potions to boil and caught Hermione looking at him. She dropped her red rimmed eyes the moment they connected with his own—most likely because he had the same eyes as her 'Harry' did—and continued to work on her deteriorating potion.

He stifled a wince as she sniffled and looked ready to cry all over again. A Hufflepuff nudged her comfortingly and went back to her own potion. It did the trick and Hermione immediately went to fix her potion. Snape stalked passed her, merely giving her potions a distasteful look but deciding not to say anything. Natsu inwardly promised to thank the man later.

It seemed like an age before his potion was ready for the next ingredient and he was grateful as only the bubbling in the cauldrons could break the intense silence that hung in the air. He wasn't sure if he was going to be coming back to have potions class with the sixth year Gryffindors.

Grabbing hold of his cauldron, Natsu lifted it up carefully and set it down beside his still going fire. There were a few gasps and startled breaths around the room and he realized how absolutely crazy it must seem for him to grab a boiling hot cauldron and to lift it up. Looking at his hands they were burn free, the heat not enough to injure him.

"What are you all staring at?" Snape snapped at the room. "Get back to work, you've only thiry minutes left!" And silence rang again.

Once the bell rang and the class began to pack up their things and go. Natsu, deep in thought, was pulled aside. He and Snape waited for the room to clear out and when it did the Potions Master turned to him with his black eyes.

"Your brother wishes to know why you skipped his Defence class," He began, and raised a brow at Natsu's surprised look.

"I completely forgot! I suppose I should have gone their rather than charms, huh?" Snape nodded absently.

"Are you…alright?" The young demon looked at the man in confusion. Snape wouldn't meet his eyes but chose to stare at the stone wall instead. "Y-yeah," Natsu replied. "Why do you ask?"

He didn't get an answer, instead Snape left him and went to the door, calling over his shoulder, "Let's get to dinner!"

After a quick dinner, Natsu tiredly left the Great Hall and made his way to his and Seshomaru's rooms, too out of it to realize he was about to bump right into Alexandra Nelson. Both he and the blonde girl leapt back from one another and Natsu mumbled an apology. He quite rudely left her in the middle of the hall as he stumbled to his rooms with a large yawn.

The girl scurried after him and grabbed onto his arm. "What?" he grumbled. The girl seemed to be gathering the courage to say what she was planning on saying—something Natsu found very odd as she had no problem latching onto him—and nibbled her lip nervously. "Well, I'd like to thank you," she finally said.

"For what?"

"For being nice to Embry of course!"

Oh, Embry! That seemed to change everything. Natsu felt a little more awake at the mention of the boy's name which he found as very strange indeed. "Err, no problem," he mumbled. Was it just him or was he getting less and less like himself the longer he hung around these firsties?

The girl let go of his arm but rushed around to stand in front of him. She held out her hand and gave him a smile that, though it had nothing on the one she had thrown Embry on the first night of the term, sent a small warm bubble straight to his heart. "I'm Alexandra Nelson, nice to meet you. I hope we become good friends."

Natsu reached out and grasped her hand in his own, giving it a firm shake. "I am Natsu, Janfrer," He quickly added the last bit, forgetting for a moment that he and his brother had the surname. "I hop we become good friends as well."

The smile didn't leave her face and she continued walking with him down the corridor, despite it being in the opposite direction she'd been going. "Would you like to join Embry, me, and a couple other first years in the library on Saturday? We're going to have a study group after lunch and it'd be splendid if you could join us, " She rambled. "And Embry told me you're really good at potions! A lot of us don't really get it so it's be really great if you could explain some of it. That Professor Snape!" She gave a shudder and Natsu realized, as a Slytherin, she must have had class with the Gryffindors that day. Snape was not a happy camper when it came to Gryffindors.

"He's downright scary, even if we're immune like some of the older years were saying, I still don't want to go to him for help when he's got that scowl on his face like we ruined his life or something."

Natsu laughed a bit at that. "He's not so bad if you've gotten to work with him a bit. He was a real git to me at first too but things worked out in the end." It was the truth, just a bit altered…She turned to him with a confused look. "What are you talking about? Surely you've just met him too!"

Natsu shook his head. "Like I've told Embry, he wants me to take on potion making as a trade. Whether I decide to go very far with it or not, he really doesn't care. I spent a bit of the summer making potions with him and learning one on one. That and he helped my brother a bit with lesson planning."

Alexandra made an 'oh' with her mouth. "That's pretty cool, I think…" She waved a good bye and returned the way they'd been coming from with great gusto. Natsu continued at a comfortable pace and eventually ended up in front of the statute. He mumbled the password and—weariness returning—stumbled inside. Seshomaru was already there, laying on the couch with his tail hung over the back and his hair free from its ribbon and over the arm.

"Why weren't you in class today?"

Natsu sighed exasperatedly. "I forgot! May I please just go to bed, I'm so tired…" Seshomaru looked at him over the couch and nodded slowly, worry striking the golden eyes and giving them a glint. Natsu hauled himself up the stairs, muscles crying out with aches and brushed his teeth as quickly as he could. Climbing into bed, he pulled the covers around himself like a cocoon. Before he could fall asleep though, he felt a nudge to his side.

"You okay?" Came a quiet voice.

"M'fine," Natsu growled. "Why do people keep asking me that today?" Seshomaru petted his head.

"Because you don't look that way." Seshomaru bent down and gave him a kiss on the head, something very out of character for the dog demon. Natsu allowed one eye open and gave his brother a once over. He was tense and his one hand was still petting him.

"Nothing is wrong," Natsu finally grumbled. "I've just had a long day and am really tired." Seshomaru breathed heavily but stood and bid him goodnight. Natsu returned the gesture and then promptly fell asleep.

"Come on, Natsu! If you don't get up now, I will leave you to deal with Severus all by yourself!"

Seshomaru was growing frustrated. Yes, very frustrated. Who was the one to incite this odd emotion in him? Why, none other than his dear younger brother. He rubbed his head feeling a migraine coming on and watched Natsu sleep peacefully, not at all awoken by Seshomaru's shouts and shoves.

Something did seem a bit off about his brother. He seemed just a tad bigger and his face was a little less bubbly looking. The silken tail poking out from the covers gave a gently wag and the broad smile already plastered on his face spread a bit farther.

Seshomaru's eyes widened as a though came to him. Oh yes, that was probably it, most definitely. Poor thing. He left the room, eyes still large, and he left to breakfast without his hair tie as it lay forgotten on the table in the common room.

"Janfrer?" Severus asked slowly, eyeing his fellow warily. He had never seen the demon so out of it before and decided it best to be cautious. "Janfrer, what's wrong?" Glancing around, he realized Natsu wasn't anywhere at the staff table. Having just come into the Hall himself, he was rather surprised to find that the rest of the staff had crowded a the opposite end of the table.

"Is it Natsu?" That sparked something from his comrade. Seshomaru turned to him, a bit nervously and completely out of character.

"Where is he?"

"He's…sleeping…" came the vague response. Severus sighed and began to stand up.

"Do you need me to go wake him up-"

"No!"

Severus rose a brow and sat down again.

"And why would that be?"

"He's…sick…" Not this again.

"Then he should be in hospital wing-"

"NO!" Severus felt his eye twitch and most of the students and staff had looked in their direction after Seshomaru's outburst.

"Explain," he hissed lowly, "NOW."

"Well," Seshomaru mumbled, oddly gossipy. "I think he's going through…"

Severus leaned in expectantly, ignoring the students still watching them closely. "Yes?"

"I think it's the first stage his sexual maturation…"

"…" Severus leaned back and failed to fight the flush that spread across his face and neck. He rubbed his chin, embarrassed.

"And, what's so…bad…about that?" Severus questioned. Of course, it was horrible in his head—though he knew that Natsu, as Harry, had a few relationships it was still awkward thinking about your student with the word 'sexual' in the same sentence.

"I'll have to start explaining things soon…"

"Oh," was Severus's lame reply. He gave any of the students still watching them a glare and they immediately shot around in their seats.

"Severus…"

"Yes?"

"Natsu won't be coming to class today or tomorrow."

"I guessed…. that…"

Seshomaru left the Great Hall that morning, feeling slightly less disturbed than he had when entering it. His hair flowed out behind him like a cloud as he sped to his classroom. Once inside, he searched for another ribbon only to be left without one until he could get back to his quarters. He shivered at the idea.

It may seem rather odd, his horror at discovering his brother's condition, but it made complete sense. For Severus it was just a bit embarrassing, but Seshomaru would just have to tell Natsu what was going to happen; he would have to guide him through it and deal with an incredibly horny little brother. He had to sit down and force the image of his adorable otouto doing horrible things out of his head.

"Professor?" His head shot up and realized the class had come in and he hadn't even noticed. Hermione Granger looked at him a bit worriedly and reminded himself he had class to teach. Sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins. He stood up and introduced himself to the class, they hadn't had Defense Against the Dark Arts the day before, and asked them to push their desks and chairs to the walls while he did the roll call.

Once everyone was accounted for and the desks were out of the way he went to his office and returned with two dozen shinai. He was lucky this was a magic school with plenty of magical people willing to magically magic him so many magical shinai. He shook his head wondering where that thought came from.

He set the bin he was keeping them in on the ground and instructed the students to take one each. They gazed at him in disbelief but did as instructed.

The class seemed like an utter failure. By the end, most were still incapable of even holding the shinai correctly. There were several incidents involving slippery sticks that fell onto other people's heads. Draco Malfoy was the first to be a part of such an accident and Ronald Weasley was the unfortunate victim.

The shinai were all in their bin as the class left and Seshomaru silently wondered why he even bothered to bring them out. He sighed and waited for his next class in slight trepidation. Gryffindor and Slytherin again, but this class was the first years and Natsu had been getting along with them well. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad.