Yusuke slammed his book shut. "I'm bored. I've read all the assignments and have my essays up to date. I'm going down to Ken No Ie and get drunk," and with that he folded out, right from the juku.
Hermione sighed. "I knew it was a bad idea for him to get a pass on all his classes. When he's bored, he's dangerous."
Neville promptly announced, "And he's not otherwise? Seriously?"
"True." Hermione went back to her studies.
Neville pushed his work aside and started in on the pile of reports from his various supervisors. Since he'd taken over running the greenhouses, Augusta had begun sending him reports on various other of the Longbottom enterprises. He was inundated with words. He grimly set about wading through them.
.
Yusuke folded into the entryway and announced, "Tadaima! Nanika atta?"
There was the usual scramble to get him out of his robes and into something more comfortable, in this case a yukata made of wool, lined with cotton.
"Shai." Yusuke ambled into the back and up the back stairs to his rooms. He grumbled all the way.
Remus stuck his head out of the library and exclaimed, "Nani? What are you doing here?" He flushed a bit then continued, "Not that ... well, it's your house after all. But shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"
"I should, but when have you known me to do what I should when I want to do something else?"
Sirius drawled from behind him, "When your father says."
"True." Yusuke followed Remus into the library when he motioned to him, Sirius on his heels.
"Ok. What about the Tri-Wizard? What do you intend?" Sirius settled in the desk side chair, leaving the chair behind it to Yusuke. Remus lounged in the chair on the other side of the desk.
Yusuke frowned. "I'm not sure. I'm still waiting for advice from Father," he shrugged in a rather elegant fashion. "I'm inclined to ignore it. Not put my name in. I really don't believe it's fair to the other students to do so. If my name should happen to come out of the goblet ... well, someone will get something they're fond of cut off."
Sirius nodded. "That would be my advice. We'll wait and see what your old man says."
Remus agreed, "Yes. My advice is the same. Someone has to come after you, sooner or later. I'd prefer later, but we'll prepare for sooner."
Yusuke smirked, "Ministry can't come after me. Fudge signed that contract on behalf of the Ministry, and anyone who makes a move on me will be in violation of that contract and suffer for it. Not sure how. Don't care either. Smoke?"
They settled in to smoke and visit. A Waka brought snacks and tea; he arranged everything to his satisfaction, then bowed his way out.
After a few sips of tea, Remus offered, "A letter should be coming soon, I'd think."
Yusuke nodded, puffed for a moment then said, "I was expecting a letter yesterday or the day before. It usually doesn't take this long. Why don't you see if someone has messed with my postbox?"
Remus nodded, "Think I'll just do that. Back in a flash." He stood up and folded from where he stood.
.
Remus appeared in Yusuke's room, checked his postbox, realized that everything that entered the box was rerouted somewhere else. He wondered why Yusuke didn't notice it, then realized that most of his training was in combat and assassination; he also knew a lot about wards and shields. Why should he also know anything about the spells and charms on a postbox? The only reason he, Remus, knew anything was because he was interested in such things. He was in charge of mail because of his knowledge.
Remus proceeded to trace the magical signature of whoever had interfered with the post. He also traced where the diverted post went to.
The magical signature belonged to no one Remus knew, but he was sure Dumbledore had put them up to this― no one else had reason to interfere with Yusuke's mail. He made a copy of the signature for later use, then traced the mail itself. He folded to where the mail was after he realized that it was still in Hogwarts.
He wasn't that surprised to see that it was all just stacked, higgledy-piggledy, in a damp room in the lowest dungeon. This was rather bad, as parchment didn't do well in damp. He gathered up the mail and took it with him, leaving a nasty note about thieves in its place.
He returned to Ken No Ie to send off a protest to the Administrator of the Postal Office about having a private postbox interfered with. He also sent a message to Miyamoto Musashi-sama about it. Then he sorted through the mess and announced, "Well, most of the reports were hand-carried, now all the post will be. I'll see to it myself." He arranged everything so that all Yusuke's post came to him personally so that he could get it to Yusuke as soon as possible, without interference. He'd go to Japan on a regular basis to pick up mail, if he had to.
He sorted through things again and took the results to Yusuke.
"Here. Mail. I found most of it in the lower levels of Hogwarts. It might be a bit damp, so you could use a few drying charms." Remus settled back in his chair to wait for instructions.
Yusuke snorted. "Well, whatever. Open the reports and shit and I'll see what Father has to say."
He opened the letter, noticing the date was three days ago. He read quickly and agreed with his Father that he should not enter and make a big deal of it. Then, if his name came out of the goblet, they'd know that something was up. He was to participate if his name was drawn.
"Ok, that's that. And ... business for me?" He waited a moment, then, when Remus shook his head he announced, "If there's anything I need to do, one of you let me know."
Sirius nodded, "Ok, we will. Now what do you want to do?"
"O-saki tō!" Yusuke stood up and headed for the downstairs back lounge.
They were met by several Dansei, waka and gaki, who settled them into comfortable piles of pillows and offered them wasabi peas, hot saki, and takoyaki. They settled in to nibble on the hot, salty peas, guzzle saki and argue over whether the octopus balls were done enough. Since Yusuke was making the takoyaki himself, his declaration that it was done when it was darkly browned won the day. No one was that concerned.
Sirius finally looked at the clock on the wall and announced, "Nearly dinner, you better get back."
"Kuso! I don't care. Watashi yorokobanakerete! Dumbledore is messing with me again." He slammed around for a moment then shrugged. "Kare o fakku."
Sirius just helped him get back into his robes. "Yes, fuck him. Only, seriously, I wouldn't fuck him with someone else's dick. Really. I know you're not pleased, I'm not either. Control your temper, if you please. Losing it isn't good. All you'll do is wind up giving Grandaddy Longbeard what he wants. Calm down."
"Gomen, Shiriusu-oji, I'm drunk." Yusuke shrugged into his robes.
"I know, you're mixing your languages."
Remus just snorted. He was well aware that Yusuke was a great deal less drunk than he was letting on. It was a Japanese thing.
"Warui, Remusu-aniki. I'm going now." And with that, Yusuke folded right into the entrance hall of Hogwarts and ambled into the Great Hall to see if dinner was served yet.
It wasn't, but a lot of students had the habit of arriving a bit early; this allowed them to socialize, compare class notes and torment their enemies.
This was where Draco made his last mistake. He tried to hex Yusuke in the back, again. This time Yusuke was just drunk enough to take real exception to that particular activity. He hexed back. Only the hex was one he'd developed as a prank on his gaki. It was mostly harmless, all it did was force the hexed to yell apologies for their misbehavior at a set interval. Since Draco bore the bully mark already, it was very apropos.
Draco snarled, "You ass, I knew you were all talk."
Yusuke just snorted, "Wait for it." He eyed Draco for a moment.
Suddenly Draco yelled, "I'm sorry. I'm a bully and a fool. I'm sorry. Please excuse my stupidity."
The entire Great Hall rang with laughter.
Draco clamped his hands over his mouth, dropping his wand in the process.
Yusuke summoned his wand while Draco was trying to muffle another round of apologies.
Headmistress McGonagall, called by one of the prefects, hurried in. "Wha' ta del' is ga'n on?"
Yusuke looked at her blankly, her Scottish accent completely baffled him. "Shitsurei? Watashi wa rikai shite imasen." He waved a hand before she could open her mouth. "Sorry. Excuse me? I didn't understand."
The Headmistress sighed, "What the devil is going on?" She looked around, then pointed. "Mr Longbottom."
Neville shrugged, "Draco hexed Yusuke ... or tried to. Yusuke hexed him back. Not sure what it is." He stepped back to stand next to Hermione.
"I see. So. Miyamoto-san, is it dangerous?" She was considering leaving it.
"No, Ofukuro-sensei, it's not. All it does is make him confess and apologize for his ... sins." He smiled sweetly. "Oh, and here is his wand. I would suggest that you make a box, put his wand in it and ... hex, or charm it to only open by the command of a teacher. That way, it cannot be said that you confiscated it. But it would prevent him from hexing people on a whim, yet not interfere with his class work. I could do it ... if you like." Another sweet smile didn't fool Headmistress McGonagall for a moment.
"Like that, would you?" She gave Yusuke a sharp look.
"Hai. I would. But I would not do anything I should not." He shrugged in his elegant way.
"I see. And why not?" McGonagall actually just wondered why.
"Because it would never get past you. It would make you angry. And it's beneath me." Yusuke plucked a small tanto box out of his mallet space, took out the tanto and shoved it back in. He produced a traveling writing set from the space, put it on the nearby table and made some ink. He wrote kanji on the bottom of the box and the sliding top. "There. The kanji on the bottom keeps anyone from breaking the box or erasing the kanji. The one on the top is a lock. Only an adult over the age of thirty can open it. The Professors are all over thirty, I checked ages ago. All they have to do is tap the box with their wand and say, 'Hiraku.' It means open." He put Draco's wand in the box and handed it to Headmistress McGonagall.
While all this had been going on, Draco had been trying to shut himself up. He'd confessed to stealing things from various housemates and several other inter-house misdemeanors. Snape was eyeing him with great disfavor. He'd come in late and only gotten in on the end of things. The seventh year Slytherin prefect was very pleased to fill him in.
Professor and Head of House Severus Snape eyed his godson with disfavor. "I see. Well, we'll see about that. Draco. With me." He took the box that Headmistress McGonagall offered him.
Draco started to protest but got a good look at his godfather's face. Snape was white around the mouth, not good. Draco followed him down to his office, grimacing.
Snape turned and settled behind his desk, motioning for Draco to sit in the hard, straight-backed chair that faced it. It was as hard as it looked.
"Now. would you like to explain to me what part of stay away from that man you didn't understand?"
Draco puffed up like a poisoned toad. "Look, that 'man' as you call him, has ruined my family. Father and Mother have gone to the Continent, and I'm living in the Dower House. The Dower House! I ask you. What the hell is that? He deserves everything I can do to him and more."
Snape just rubbed the bridge of his nose as if attempting to ease a headache, and to tell the truth, he had one. "Very well. I see that your Slytherin sense has deserted you. Your parents have gone to Switzerland to stay out of the war. A war that your Lord will lose. He stepped on some toes he shouldn't have. And the Ministry—I'm actually amazed that it's still standing. Young Musashi is ... more dangerous than Voldemort and your father put together." He held up a hand to stay Draco's protest. "Shut up. He's a trained assassin; he has, as the saying goes, at least six proven tears on his face and most likely many more. He killed a group of Korean mobsters by himself. Only no one can prove that. As to you living in the Dower House, just be glad you're not disowned entirely. The Dower House is a perfectly acceptable dwelling. Please explain to me why you think the manor house should be kept open for you alone? It's quite expensive to keep open and has needed some repairs for years. They're being seen to. I'm sure you'd enjoy living in the dust and mess of construction." His awful politeness and sarcasm made Draco take pause and actually think.
"Oh. Well. I didn't think ..." Draco shut up at the expression on his godfather's face.
"That's exactly right. You. Did. Not. Think. Your brains are going to liquify and run out your ears if you don't start using them. Damnit! You're a Malfoy and a Slytherin. Do what you were born to do. Shut your mouth, keep your head down. And survive!" He glowered at Draco so fiercely that the boy actually quailed. "And sit up straight!"
Draco sighed. He could feel another outburst coming. "Excuse me," then he started yelling out more of his misbehavior and apologizing for it.
When he was done Snape just sighed and asked, "Must you shout?"
"Evidently, I must." Draco was flushed and furious.
"Well, don't show me your temper, me likes it not. And detention, with me, for a week. No outside brewing and you will write 24 inches on the Musashi family, yakuza and the Yamaguchi kazoku. Also look into what is called O-Kakusareta kazoku, the Honorable Hidden Family. Each. That should keep you busy and out of trouble for at least a month. If you run out of things to do before Christmas, I'll assign something else."
Draco scowled at this news then cleared his face before demanding, "Take my wand out of that stupid box now."
"Oh, no, my boy, your wand will stay in that box until Headmistress McGonagall says otherwise. You deserve it for getting caught trying to hex a master assassin. Idiot! Now get out of my sight. Start researching. Go!" Snape tossed a book at Draco, who caught it easily. "Read that."
Draco eyed it for a moment then tucked it under his arm, shoved the box containing his wand in a pocket and scurried out, swearing under his breath.
Snape decided that, if Draco tried one more thing against Yusuke, he was going to wash his hands of the foolish boy.
A tap at his door had him scowling, but he called, "Come in," with ill grace.
Yusuke entered, eyed the straight-backed chair and decided to lounge, hip shot, on a table at the side of the room. "So. Tell me. Did you skin him?"
"No, although I was sorely tempted. I set him to researching. And he's going to be pickling flobber worms, gutting slime snakes and chopping anything nasty that I can think of for the week. And I set him to researching Yakuza and your family. I'm hoping that that will scare some sense into him." Snape sighed, then offered, "Would you care for some tea?"
"No, I thank you. I'm headed up to the juku soon, and Hermione will have a nice spread. I don't really want to have to kill him, but I'm truly tired of watching him all the time. Pray keep him under your thumb. Just because I don't want to do something doesn't mean I won't." Yusuke offered Snape a cigarette, which he took. "I'm wondering if a quick conversation with me might not help."
"Conversation?" Snape had a cold feeling about that suggestion. "What sort of conversation?"
"One in which I sneak into his rooms and scare the shit out of him." Yusuke smiled in a way that made Snape very glad he'd managed to stay on the right side of this no waka omo.
"If you make a mess, you'll clean it up," Snape smirked at Yusuke.
"If there's a mess made, Draco will clean it up. I'll go now." Yusuke wandered out the door, shutting it quietly after himself.
.
Draco was sure that he'd locked his door. But he was also sure someone was in his room. He lay in his bed and listened carefully. He could hear his cohorts, Crabbe and Goyle, breathing; but he was sure there was a third exhalation.
He was right. A hand clamped over his mouth and nose, silencing him. The smell of cloves on the breath that wafted over his face told him who it was. "Be silent." Hard hands pulled him out of his bed.
Yusuke dragged Draco into the common room so that their conversation wouldn't wake the two other boys.
"You ... you're not really worth all this trouble but Snape-Kyōju seems to like you, for some reason that I can't figure out. So ... you listen to me, you unchi. You keep your nose clean or I'll deal with you. You shame your family, you embarrass your friends, and you annoy me. If you make any sort of scene when the other schools arrive, I'll break you in half." Yusuke let go, allowing Draco got take a full breath.
"You bastard! I'll have your head. You can't do this to me. I'm a Malfoy. My Father ..." Draco didn't get any farther as Yusuke gave him a shot to the solar plexus which knocked all the air out of him.
"Damare!" Yusuke took a deep breath. "Do not annoy me. Your Father has thrown you to the winds. He will not do anything to help you for fear of O-he wo koku, and me. If either of your parents return, one of us will deal with them. You really do not want that, do you?" And with that he proceeded to give Draco the sort of beating Draco had his thugs dish out to others.
When he was done, Yusuke wiped his hands on Draco's pajama top, which he'd ripped half off, dragging him up to punch him one last time. "Now. Here's how it's going to be. You will do all your class work without complaint. You will be polite to everyone. I don't mean you have to be more than distantly polite. But, no name calling, no shoving the younger years, no slander, no back stabbing. Keep your dogs on a short leash. Got me? Or do I need to explain more thoroughly?" Yusuke dropped the top on the floor and gave Draco a look that had made even Snape shiver.
"Yes. I understand." Draco gulped, his throat understood too. "But ... how did you even get in here. The password ... the door."
Yusuke decided an explanation might actually convince Draco. "I can hide almost anywhere, so I overheard the word. And I found the door easily, it's almost impossible to hide things from a shinobi. I've been trained for this since I was nine years old. My Father had me taught anything I wanted. I wanted to be a good son to him, so I learned to do the things my brothers couldn't. I am called the Shikkō-sha, the Enforcer. I enforce my Father's will. I am the Bokunenjin, the Quiet One. You never know that your throat is cut until you see the blood."
Draco considered this, looked Yusuke in the eye then shuddered. "You really don't care for England, do you? And ... you would kill anyone your Father told you to?"
"I don't and I would. Without hesitation." And, with that, Yusuke slipped away, out the door and up to his dorm, convinced he'd gotten through to Draco at last.
Draco for his part, ached all over. The punches had all been to his torso, several to the kidneys. He realize that he'd been playing with fire since Miyamoto Yusuke had come to Hogwarts, and it had refused to burn him. He shuddered, moaned and limped back to his bed. He took a couple of healing potions and a sleeping potion. He would wake in the morning a changed boy. He decided that keeping his head down and being least in sight was his best bet.
.
The next few weeks went quickly. The group attended assorted practicals, usually whichever one interested one of them. They did their work quickly and spent a great deal of time in the juku, studying on Hermione's part. Neville managed most of his family business from his desk, as did Yusuke. Reports were all hand-delivered now, so various officials of Yusuke's family came and went, delivering or picking up reports for both Neville and Yusuke. Headmistress McGonagall kept out of it.
Dumbledore had his own problems to deal with. The ICW was questioning his revival of the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the Japanese were protesting the British Ministry's interference with young Potter's fortune. He, Dumbledore, had to recuse himself from proctoring the meetings, but he had to stay.
He was also trying to deal with things that were happening in the Wizengamot. Things that would actually benefit the common people of Magical Britain, but were unpopular with the Purebloods. He needed to water the laws down quickly, but keep them strong enough to placate the general population.
He wondered why the Japanese representatives were causing all this trouble now. He didn't know that it had taken this long for Miyamoto to get leverage on the right people. Miyamoto now had three of the five representatives in his pocket.
While he waited for the meeting to reconvene from lunch, Dumbledore made notes for his deputy at Hogwarts. He was just sure that she'd mess everything up if he didn't tell her exactly what to do before Halloween. This was when the other schools were to arrive at Hogwarts.
.
Minerva McGonagall eyed the bundle of scraps of parchment with a very jaundiced eye. "Ach! 'At owd ..." She took a deep breath before she said something out loud that was not only in Highland cant, but rude in the extreme. "I'll not be doing any of that, if it's not wise. Or good for the school. Tri-Wizard be damned." She started reading.
Most of the parchments wound up on the floor in wads, or incinerated; depending on how idiotic they were.
One was stupid in the extreme, as far as she was concerned. She was not putting the Goblet of Fire out as soon as the schools arrived and trying to shield it with an age line. No, not on her silliest of days.
She had her own ideas of how things should go and that was the way they'd go, or she'd know the reason why. If Dumbledore wanted something different, he should stay and take care of matters himself.
She spent the rest of the evening making the last of her arrangements and finalizing them with various people.
.
Halloween came, as it must, and the whole of Hogwarts was buzzing like a beehive. The younger years all mourned the fact that they couldn't go to the Halloween Ball because they were too young, or in the case of fifth and sixth years, didn't have an invitation. Everyone would be at the feast, in costume, to welcome the entry of the other two schools who participated in the Tournament.
Hermione had decided to go as Sailor Moon, one of her favorite manga characters. She was ok with the 'twin tails', the long, blond pigtails the character wore. But she was having major trouble with the short sailor uniform that she wore. The top wasn't much of a problem, just a tight sailor top; but the extra-short skirt was killing her. She wasn't about to 'flash' every male in Hogwarts.
Yusuke let her stew for a bit then informed her, "Hermione-chan, the sailors all wear panties that are meant to be seen. They have color."
Hermione eyed her reference photo and nodded. "So they do. But what about those ribbons? I want ribbons, even though Sailor Moon doesn't wear them."
"So, have ribbons. Who the hell cares? These people don't even know who Sailor Moon is." He returned to his contemplations. He still hadn't decided who he was going as.
He, Neville and Hermione had decided to all go as some character from anime or manga. Neville was going as Miroku from Inuyasha, simply because he liked the staff that Miroku carried. It was called a Shakujō; it was about six feet tall with a large oval brass head with a bar down the middle. This bar was encircled with small brass rings that jingled when he tapped the butt of the staff on the floor or shook it.
Hermione eyed Neville for a moment then announced, "I hate you."
Neville, now used to declarations of this sort, just raised an eyebrow and replied, "Well, tough. You had to decide on something that outrageous at the last minute. Why not a geisha? Just askin'."
Hermione huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Did you see all that rig? No. Just Nu-un."
Yusuke nodded. "Lot of layers. I had to practice forever to walk and move without falling over or dragging a sleeve through the food. Real pain. But I accomplished my mission. Got a bit of shit about cross-dressing, but a good smack around the head put a stop to that. What part of disguise don't those idiots understand?"
Hermione shrugged, "Some people are just determinedly ignorant. No help for them, just give it up."
Yusuke nodded, "You're right. So ... who should I go as?"
"Sumo wrestler," Hermione was quick to say.
"No. Sumo don't have tattoos. In fact, I think it's expressly forbidden."
Hermione grinned, "But you'd look so cute in nothing but a fundoshi."
Yusuke just threw a light stinger at her. Her obligatory yelp let him know his aim was good.
"Ow. Jerk." She tossed a stinger back but missed.
Yusuke maturely stuck his tongue out at her, giving her a ripe raspberry. "Missed. So ... who should I go as?"
Hermione thought for a moment. "Well, you could go as Inuyasha, to match with Neville's Miroku. Or ... Himura Kenshin. That'd be easy. And you could carry a daisho instead of that sakabatō."
Yusuke thought for a moment. "I could. But ... question. I know about Ken-san's grief because of his unacceptable actions. But, reverse blade? Why? Doesn't make sense to me. If you don't want to kill, don't. Swords don't make that much difference. I could kill with a sakabatō just as easily as with a standard katana. Seems silly."
Hermione shrugged, making her collar flip. "It's manga. Get over it." She grumbled a bit as she smoothed her collar back.
"So true. But Kenshin is easy. I've even got a faded kimono. Some waka washed a bright red cotton in hot water. It's about the right color and the rest of the outfit is standard stuff." He got up to find what he needed and returned a few moments later with his arms full of clothing.
He put up a privacy spell and changed. While he was changing he also fixed his hair. He always wore it in a high pony tail, which he preferred as it kept the back of his neck from sweating. He left it in the high tail but cast an illusion on his tie that changed it to a bright red. Not Weasley carroty red, but a deep, rich auburn with gold and crimson highlights.
Hermione took one look and snarled, "I swear, you know more beauty charms than Draco Malfoy. Damn it."
Yusuke just smirked.
Neville eyed him for a moment then shrugged. "Looks good on him. When do we go down?"
Yusuke yawned. "Late. I have no wish to get crammed by a bunch of lower years. They're all going to be unbearable. Sugar-high and over-excited. If we wait until just before service, we should get to see the other schools come in, but avoid the madness."
Hermione agreed, "And, if we time it right, we'll be able to make a grand entrance. You know, down the main staircase. Stand dramatically at the top until we're noticed, then process down them and into the Great Hall, through parting crowds of staring underlings."
Neville worried, "What if we stand there forever and don't get noticed?"
Yusuke snorted. "Not gonna happen. Don't worry about that."
Neville absently wondered, "When are the schools actually arriving?"
Yusuke shrugged. "Who cares? Durmstrang will arrive via that stupid boat of theirs. Beauxbatons might come in their carriage; those horse things are huge and only drink single malt whisky. That half-giant professor ... Hagrid?" Hermione nodded. "Him. He'll cream his shorts. They're beautiful."
Hermione fluffed one pig tail and settled her sash a bit better. "Well, tea?"
Yusuke agreed; it was still three hours before dinner. "Yes, tea. Let's go up to the Astronomy tower, we'll get no rest down here. Dean, Seamus, and that idiot Weasley still haven't gotten dressed."
So they ambled up to the tower to sit on the benches around the circumference of the tower and drink tea from a thermos bottle and watch for the arrival of the schools.
While they were waiting, Neville and Hermione discussed who was going as what.
Hermione sighed, "Well, Seamus is going as a leprechaun, obvious. Dean?"
"Don't know." Neville grimaced, "But Weasley is going as Gryffindor."
"What is that face for?" Yusuke smirked, as if he didn't know.
Hermione moaned. "Carroty hair with burgundy and gold. Just ... ugh!"
No one could remember what Dean was going as.
They returned to vague conversation and watching for the arrivals.
Durmstrang arrived first, the three-masted, high-sterned galleon rose out of Black Lake to some fanfare and a lot of splashing. The giant squid didn't appreciate that much and waved its tentacles irritably.
The three friends drank more tea and made fun of the rush on deck as crew hurried about, coiling sheets and lines and generally tidying the ship. The students stood about on deck in small clumps, getting in the way of the crew and milling aimlessly as the crew shooed them out of their way. Hermione pointed out that anyone with sense would have made the students stay below decks until the clean-up was done and the ship was properly docked.
Another round of tea, and they were treated to the arrival of Beauxbatons. They did come in their huge carriage. Hermione was of the opinion that both schools planned to stay in their conveyances. Neville remarked that Headmistress McGonagall was going to throw a 'wobbly' as she'd made arrangements and opened an unoccupied wing for their use. She wasn't going to be best pleased at the waste of time and effort on the house elves' part.
Yusuke agreed then smirked, "Perhaps we should do something about it?"
Hermione nibbled on her lip for a moment then asked, "Like what?"
Yusuke just said, "Service please." An elf popped in. "So, little one, tell me. Are the other schools planning to stay in the quarters provided by your hard work, or are they rudely planning to live in those?" he waved a hand in a gesture that included both the ship and the carriage.
The elf looked downright unhappy. "They is planning to be staying in those."
"I don't think that is very nice of them. Perhaps ..." Yusuke gave the elf a sly look, "they should just be helped to see the error of their ways? A little nudge, you see?"
The elf eyed him for a moment then snickered and disappeared.
Hermione blinked for a second then demanded, "Yusuke! What the hell?"
"I bet both schools will find that all their possessions have been helpfully moved to quarters here in the castle." Yusuke smoked for a moment then grinned.
Hermione glanced at Neville; Neville shrugged. "I think that that is a very good idea. Rudeness seems to be endemic in the magical world. A little lesson in good manners doesn't go amiss." He cast a tempus, picked up his staff and started down the stairs. "We better head down. I'd like to watch from the mezzanine for awhile. Just for the fun of it."
"Ok, we go."
.
They sat in the tiny mezzanine over the entry hall for nearly another hour. They watched the milling students admiring each other's costumes and commented on the same.
Merlin seemed to be a favorite as there were several versions in each year, not all of them male. Morgana was also popular with a certain type of girl. There were the obligatory versions of the Founders, as well as the odd Minister of Magic. The rest of the younger years were divided between Marvin the Mad Muggle and various other Magical characters.
Hermione announced, "I'm just too impatient. We have to go, or I'll jump out of my skin."
Neville just stood up, jingled his staff and followed her. Yusuke trailed after them, smoking one last cigarette. Himura-san didn't smoke.
When they reached the landing at the top of the main staircase, Yusuke let everyone get in position then tapped his finger on empty air, producing a loud gong. Everyone turned in their direction.
The gasps that greeted their appearance were everything that could be wanted. The only thing was, Hermione had forgotten the wizarding prejudices about clothing. Neville had known it wasn't going to do any good to tell her and Yusuke didn't know. So most of the people in the entry hall were not admiring, they were utterly shocked.
Yusuke realized this almost immediately so he just covered Hermione with a glamor and sent her, a bit weepy, up to change into something else. She settled for her miko costume from last year with a different hair style. She was fiddling with it when Lavender walked in.
"Hermione J. Granger. If you'd have shown me your costume, I'd have warned you. But noooo, you had to make it a great surprise. Well, last year's costume, but we'll change the color to all white and no one will understand that they're the same. Wizards are completely stupid that way. I like the tails, we'll leave them but put pom-poms on and streamers off those. I've got some ..." she fished quickly. "Ha! What color do you want? I think purple would be nice." Hermione wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "Good. You've spoiled your makeup, but that's not a problem."
Hermione determinedly blew her nose again, cast a charm to take the red out of her eyes and said, "Purple pom-poms and streamers would be nice. Thanks, Lav. I really should have asked you first, but I was just all caught up in being one of my favorite characters."
"Well, I understand that. Why else do you think I'm Celestina Warbeck? Despite the fact that I can't sing a note. Now." She quickly fixed Hermione's makeup while Hermione cooperated by closing her eyes so she wouldn't flinch. "There."
Meanwhile, Yusuke was snubbing some smart-mouth sixth year from Ravenclaw. "I don't see the problem. It's a costume. Not like she dresses like that everyday. Besides that, I'd like to see the man with nerve enough to mess with her. If she doesn't cripple him, I'll kill him and leave his corpse to rot." The girl opened her mouth again but closed it without saying anything. Yusuke nodded. "And your voice will come back when you're a little less self-satisfied and rude. Go." The girl scurried away.
The whispers continued for a few more moments, then Hermione appeared on the landing again. Her new costume consisted of white nagajuban, haori and hakama. Hermione had chosen to lace the sleeves with purple ribbons the same color as her streamers, instead of the traditional red. She also wore tabi and waraji, the straw sandals. These were the same as Yusuke was wearing in his role as Himura Kenshin.
She stood for a few moments then, when Yusuke called to her, she walked calmly down the stairs and joined him. "Well, that was embarrassing. Wizards. Seriously."
"Exactly. When I'm shed of this ..." he waved a hand. "I'll be happy. Come, mingle."
So they mingled. Hermione took a bit of grief for her earlier costume but she held her head up and refused to be baited. Her usual reply of, "My Father would not have objected," shut up most of them.
Draco Malfoy wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. He actually hadn't seen anything to object to; all Hermione's skin had been decently covered, long boots covered her legs from knee to ankle and that 'magic' thigh wasn't indecent, as far as he was concerned. He assumed the flash of panty was from the angle rather than the shortness of her skirt.
The other Slytherins kept to their own group and their comments to themselves. Professor Snape had intimated that any trouble while the guest schools were about would not rebound on his House. He would take any backstabbing personally and deal appropriately.
There was a loud bang to signal the beginning of seating and all the students made their way to their tables and seated themselves. It was time for the banquet to begin. The hall was decorated with floating candles, swooping bats and magical cobwebs, very nice but so standard as one Slytherin commented.
"Welcome, welcome. I am happy to see all your shining, happy faces." Dumbledore beamed at the student body. "There will be a few announcements after the other schools enter, then we'll all indulge in a wonderful meal." He babbled on for a bit about good sportsmanship and cooperation, and a bunch of other boring things that no one listened to. He finished up, "So, now that I've had my say, Assistant Headmistress McGonagall will have hers."
Acting Headmistress McGonagall sneered genteelly at Dumbledore then announced, "I'll keep the blather to a minimum. Welcome, Beauxbatons!"
The girls marched in throwing rose petals and tiny paper birds. The petals dissolved into a mist that smelled of roses and the birds fluttered around until one of the girls, who had remained standing in the doorway, did a series of back flips clear up to the high table, then they also dissolved into showers of silver sparkles as she passed.
"Madam Maxim, welcome to Hogwarts." Dumbledore took the half-giant lady's hand, kissed it and led her to her seat at the high table. At a signal from Madam, the girls all filed to the empty table between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. They settled in with a minimum of fuss.
Then it was Durmstrang's turn. Martial music started to play and the students of the school entered. They marched in, banging staffs on the floor, creating showers of sparks. Ron whispered, "Victor Krum. Golly."
Yusuke looked up just in time to catch the boy's eye. They eyed each other for a moment, Krum raised an eyebrow, Yusuke nodded. Victor went on.
Karkaroff greeted Dumbledore with a hug. They chattered about nothing much for a moment, then Karkaroff seated himself on the other side of Professor Snape from Madam Maxim. She turned and scowled at him across Snape. Karkaroff sneered at her. Yusuke noted this and filed it away for later.
The Durmstrang boys filed to their table between Slytherin and Gryffindor. They seated themselves with a clatter.
Dumbledore announced, "Welcome to the boys of Durmstrang and the beautiful ladies of Beauxbatons." Again, he kept everyone waiting while he nattered on about not much of anything worth listening to, then he ended, "And now ... we feast."
The food appeared on the tables. Yusuke was a bit surprised to see that the dishes were from the cultures of all three schools. There were Russian dishes, French offerings and good, plain English fare.
The meal was conducted much as any other meal. Serving pieces were passed, people took food, they ate, talked and, as Yusuke sneeringly put it, wondered and marveled over nothing much.
When they were finished eating, Madam Maxim started to get up, but Dumbledore thwarted her. "Now, Professor McGonagall has an announcement to make." He waved his hand at her as if giving her permission to speak.
The lady stood in front of the high table and waited until everyone was quiet and looking at her. "Now then. This is the last of the announcements. The Goblet of Fire will be placed in the Entry Hall on December 20th. It will be accepting names for exactly one day, 24 hours. It will be guarded carefully until the leaving feast on the 22nd, to prevent tampering. There will be an age line to prevent anyone under sixteen from entering; the protective wards will work, even if you have someone else put your name in. So don't. The names of the champions will be drawn at the leaving feast." She nodded once then continued, "All lower grades will return to their Houses now. If you have a date, find them and stay by their side." She smirked at a dumbfounded Dumbledore and took her seat at the foot of the table.
Dumbledore cocked his head, frowned at her then mouthed, "We'll talk later." He waved his hand and all the tables disappeared, all the chairs too. Any student who'd been foolish enough to remain seated found themselves seated on the floor. Dumbledore nodded genially and announced with a twinkle, "Let the ball begin."
Headmistress McGonagall led the way to the teacher's lounge behind the Great Hall. Dumbledore followed. Fortunately, for him, he was distracted from his proposed complaints by a floo call. An elf popped in to tell him that someone wanted him on the floo in the Head's office. He scurried out, garish robes flaring around his heelless slippers.
Professor McGonagall glowered after him, grumbling, "Call me on the carpet, will you? Ye owd scunner. Away an bil' yur hed, ye bampot."
Dumbledore wasn't sure what the man on the other side of the floo was talking about, something about the Russians complaining that the Chinese were taking advantage of them somehow. He stepped through to see what was going on, completely forgetting about his complaints with Minerva.
.
The ball was fun. Everyone wandered around in clumps of friends, admiring costumes and chatting. The Durmstrang boys and the Beauxbatons girls huddled together at first. But Headmistress McGonagall called a mixer. At the call of 'Form up.' all the boys and girls formed separate lines and walked around the edge of the room, girls to the right and boys to the left. Then Hagrid, as having the loudest voice without shouting, called, 'Face your partner.' The music started and the couples were formed by simply dancing with whoever you were facing.
After the second mixer the students were allowed to dance, or not, with whoever they wished. Yusuke was glad of this as he hated dancing Western style, especially the old-fashioned dances that were still popular with Wizards. He liked loud techno and J-pop, and appropriate dances. If he danced at all.
Hermione danced with several boys, then came to sit with Yusuke and Neville, who were sitting out a couple of dances. "Oh, man, my poor toes. That last one was just horrible. I'm not dancing again unless I'm sure my partner can actually dance."
Neville nodded. "You can refuse. I know most of the good dancers in Hogwarts. Durmstrang enforces dancing lessons for everyone. Wonder why they only brought boys."
Yusuke offered, "Probably because only boys will be allowed to enter the tournament. Beauxbatons only brought girls for the same reason, only their girls are going to be allowed."
Hermione snorted. "Well that makes sense. Not. Stupid ..." she mumbled off, rubbing her crushed toes.
Neville offered that they didn't have dates, so they weren't required to stay the whole ball. Yusuke admitted that he was bored and really not interested in dancing with some giggling featherhead.
Hermione sighed, "So now I'm a giggling featherhead? Thanks so much."
Yusuke just stood up and offered his hand. "I'll dance with you. You're a good conversationalist and don't irritate me. Come."
Hermione gave him her hand then looked down. "Oh, shoot. My sandals."
Yusuke just knelt down and put one of Hermione's feet on his knee. He tied her sandal for her then did up the other. "There."
They made their way to the floor and waltzed; when the music ended Yusuke turned Hermione over to Neville.
Neville was glad that their dance was also a waltz. He needed to have a very private conversation with Hermione.
"You're not going to get all heart-burning over Yusuke, are you?" He gave Hermione a worried frown.
"Oh, not only no, but hell no." She smiled to take the sting out of her words. "I love him to death. Like that annoying older brother that you know has your best interest at heart. I'll always be his friend, but marry? I'd have him hexed into oblivion in a month. Stop making that face."
"Ok. I'll stop. I was worried, I'll admit. I'm happy now. I love him, too. Just the same as you do. He's the best friend I've ever had, and I intend to keep him, even after we graduate. I have businesses in Japan, and I intend to increase them. He'll see more of me than he expects. At least three times a year."
The music stopped and they made their way back to the table, well satisfied with themselves. Yusuke gave both of them a sharp look― not like he hadn't read their lips easily enough. He was relieved that Hermione didn't have romantic interest in him, he had a fiancée. His father had picked her; they would get acquainted after he was done with this foolishness. If they didn't get along, that was ok, they would move on without repercussions. He was also glad that Neville wanted to keep up their friendship. He would make sure that Neville's businesses went well. Protection for free, if you would.
They settled to watch the dancing for a bit, drinking tea provided by the house elves. A few people stopped by the table to sit awhile and chat.
Moody even stood at the table for a moment. "Not gonna be a problem with that Bulgarian boy, Krum, is there?"
"No. Do business with his father from time to time. That Russian boy might be a problem. If he is, I'll handle it." Yusuke frowned slightly. "Unless you want to warn him off now?"
Moody considered for a moment. "I'll drop a word in Krum's ear." He stumped off, grunting under his breath.
Yusuke finally looked at his watch, remarked that it was getting late and they could now leave without someone considering them antisocial. Not that Yusuke cared, but he didn't want Hermione and Neville to have problems because he, Yusuke, was an antisocial sociopath. He was, but that wasn't the point.
They headed up to their dorm, but had an interesting experience on the way.
Hermione tugged on Neville's sleeve. "Shhhh. Listen."
Yusuke had already stopped. He tugged both of his friends into a niche behind a suit of armor.
overheard
"I don't like it. Why are we staying in Hogwarts instead of on board?"
"Because McGonagall made the arrangements. I don't want to cause more trouble than necessary. Our things have already been moved."
A third voice. "I 'ave no objection. Et es fine. Ze quarters are ver' nice. Enough. I go."
end
They watched as Karkaroff, his Head Boy, Victor Krum, and Madam Maxim walked by. Obviously, Karkaroff wasn't that pleased with the new arrangements.
After they went by, the three made their way to their dorm where Hermione wondered out loud, "Why would anyone want to stay on that drafty old boat when the refurbished visitors' quarters are so much nicer?"
Yusuke shrugged. "Don't know, but it's a bit suspicious. We better keep an eye on Karkaroff. Krum, not sure about. I'll get with him to see what's what. Maxim? She's a smart lady, likes the quarters. That makes Karkaroff's attitude even odder."
Neville put an end to the conversation by yawning widely then announcing, "Worry about that later, sleep now. Hermione, get out. I'm going to change."
Hermione left, yawning herself. "Ok, good night."
_______________________________
Tadaima! Nanika atta - I'm home. What's up?
Damare - shut up
o-he wo koku - honorable fart - Voldemort