Summer Vacation III: Honeymoon in Japan, Part 6
by Geri ([email protected])
My homepage: http://www.geocities.com/geri_chans_fics/index.html
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Aric/Takeshi, Snape/Lupin
Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: Based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; no money is being
made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warning: This is a continuation of the Always series, but the main focus is on
Aric and Takeshi, and Snape and Lupin appear mainly as supporting characters.
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return
of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, Aftermaths, The Revenant, and
Ash's Story. Although it's not so much a sequel to the latter two stories as it
is a companion piece. The Revenant, Ash's Story, and Summer Vacation III all
begin at around the same time, a couple of days after the ending of
"Aftermaths," and pretty much run concurrently.
Summary: The day of the royal wedding arrives; Aric meets more of his in-laws;
Lupin takes an interest in Takeshi's cousin Tsubasa.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Glossary of Japanese terms:
Mahou Gakkou=The Japanese school of magic; their equivalent of Hogwarts
ippanjin="ordinary people"; what the Japanese wizards call Muggles.
Ojiisan=Grandfather
Oniisan (or shortened forms Niisan and -nii)=Older brother; can also refer to an
older male relative or friend.
Onmyouji=soothsayer/shaman/sorceror; one who practices the art of Onmyoudo
Onmyoudo=type of magic based on the principles of Yin and Yang
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The tengu clan arrived the day after the full moon. Aric watched from the porch
of the guest cottage with the Kimuras as the procession made its way through the
valley to the palace of the crane King. Just about everyone in the valley had
turned out to watch the procession--standing in front of their homes as Aric and
the Kimuras were doing, or peeking out timidly from doorways and windows. There
were also a number of crane folk watching from high up on the mountain walls,
like a flock of exotic birds in their brightly-colored kimonos.
The tengu folk were quite handsome, but less delicately built than the graceful
crane people. They looked strong and sturdy, and walked with a confident
swagger, even the women. Their hair was jet-black like that of the cranes, but
coarser and less silky; most of the tengu had it tied up in a topknot or
ponytail, and only a few of them had hair longer than shoulder-length. Most of
them of them wore kimonos that appeared to be made of cotton rather than silk,
in bright, almost gaudy colors, and were obviously of a lesser quality than the
beautiful robes that the crane weavers made. All of them carried weapons: swords
tucked into their belts, or long spears and staves that they carried in their
hands; even the children carried small daggers. But Aric noticed something odd,
that the heads of the spears were wrapped in cloth, and that each dagger and
sword had a cord wrapped and knotted around the hilt and scabbard.
"Those are peace bonds," Takeshi explained. "The tengu are warriors and never go
anywhere without their weapons. But the crane folk frown upon violence and
bloodshed, so to show their peaceful intentions, the tengu have covered their
spear heads, and bound their swords and daggers to the scabbards, so that they
cannot draw their weapons without warning. Not that anyone really expects the
groom's party to make a surprise attack; it's mainly symbolic."
The procession was led by the bridegroom Karasu, a fierce-looking young man
dressed a little more soberly than his companions in a black silk kimono and
loose, skirt-like trousers that Takeshi said were called hakama. Over the first
kimono and trousers, the tengu man wore a loose, thigh-length kimono coat ("A
haori," Takeshi murmured to Aric), also made of black silk, and emblazoned in
gold with what looked like a House or family crest: a sword crossed over a
feather. The man wore his long black hair in a topknot, and he was very handsome
except for his large, Snape-like nose. In fact, all of the tengu seemed to have
rather pointed, beaky noses. But in the middle of the procession was one young
man with a normal-sized nose and silky-looking black hair that was tied up in a
topknot, the resulting tail of hair falling nearly to his waist. He wore a
kimono of pale green silk and hakama trousers in a darker green, and he moved
with the graceful, gliding gait of a crane instead of the tengu swagger.
"That's your cousin, isn't it?" Aric asked, pointing at the graceful young man
in green.
"Yes, that is Tsubasa," Takeshi replied with a smile. "You're very observant, my
love."
Aric suddenly noticed that Tsubasa had two swords tucked into the belt of his
hakama--one long and one short, barely longer than a dagger. "Your cousin is a
swordsman?" he asked excitedly. "Is that the surprise you didn't want to tell
me?"
"Why else did you think he was living among the tengu?" Takeshi asked, looking
amused. "I know that you studied about the tengu and other Japanese
shapeshifters in your Interspecies Relations class at Hogwarts."
"The tengu are warriors," Aric said, remembering his lessons, although he had
not really paid them much heed at the time.
"Not just warriors, but teachers of martial arts and strategy to those whom they
deem worthy," Takeshi elaborated. "Such as the legendary Japanese hero
Yoshitsune, who is said to have been trained by the tengu in his youth."
"And the crane folk are not warriors," Aric said. "So if your cousin wanted to
learn swordsmanship, he'd have to leave the valley to do it. He went to study
with the tengu?"
Takeshi nodded. "He has been living with them for about ten years. He is quite
good, from what I understand, the equivalent of a Master in rank. He is one of
the instructors who train the tengu children in swordsmanship, a responsibility
given only to the best of their warriors."
"I wish I'd brought my rapier; I didn't think I'd get a chance to use it here,"
Aric said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Do you think that your cousin
would spar with me?"
"I'm sure that he would be delighted to," Takeshi replied. "But be warned,
Tsubasa is tengu-trained, and the tengu are said to be quite demanding and
merciless instructors. You will likely receive more than a few bruises during a
session with my cousin."
"I'm used to it," Aric laughed. "Lukas was always beating up on me in Physical
Defense class, remember?"
"Lukas is an amateur swordsman compared to Tsubasa," Takeshi said, giving Aric a
speculative look. "Although it would be interesting to see how skill and
experience fare against werewolf strength and speed. I shall speak to my cousin
later and see if he would be interested in a match."
"Thank you," Aric said. "It's not like I expect to beat your cousin, if he's as
good as you say. But I'm sure that I could learn a lot from him. Lukas says that
you learn something from every match you fight, even the ones you lose--or
rather, especially the ones that you lose."
Takeshi smiled fondly at him. "You've changed a lot from the spoiled, arrogant
boy who first came to serve detention at the clinic."
Aric flushed and complained, "Aw, you're never going to let me forget that we
met when I was serving detention, are you?"
Takeshi laughed and his parents politely pretended that they couldn't overhear
his and Aric's conversation even though they were standing just a few feet away.
"But if Remus hadn't given you detention, we might never have met and fallen in
love," Takeshi pointed out. "So we should be grateful for that detention."
"Yeah, I guess so," Aric muttered a bit grudgingly, still blushing. But when he
thought about it, he realized that a complicated set of circumstances had led to
him meeting Takeshi. If Rafe hadn't been killed by Thaddeus, Aric would never
have left Durmstrang for Hogwarts in order to seek revenge on his cousin Theo,
whom he had mistakenly blamed for their uncle's death. If he hadn't left
Durmstrang, he wouldn't have been taking classes from Professor Lupin. And a
less idealistic and eccentric teacher than Lupin would have given Aric a normal
detention, like writing lines or scrubbing bedpans instead of forcing him to
volunteer at the clinic. And Takeshi wouldn't have been working at the clinic if
Dumbledore hadn't convinced the Ministry to start the Wolfsbane Potion
Distribution Program in an effort to win the werewolves over to their side
during the war. For that matter, if Takeshi's parents had not been farsighted
enough to see that Voldemort was a potential threat to their country, they would
never have left their home in Japan to come to England in order to help build an
alliance between the two countries. If any of these factors had changed even
slightly, Aric and Takeshi would never have crossed paths.
That thought frightened Aric, and he reached out and clasped Takeshi's hand
tightly. Takeshi smiled at him, looking pleasantly surprised, since Aric was
still a little shy about engaging in public displays of affection, even in the
valley where everyone knew that they were mates.
"Remind me to thank Professor Lupin for giving me detention when we go back
home," Aric said.
"You can thank him tomorrow," Takeshi said with a grin. "He'll be attending the
wedding with Professor Snape, remember? I believe Professor Dumbledore is coming
as well."
"Oh right," Aric said. "I forgot. Well...I'll thank him tomorrow, then." It
would be a little embarrassing, but he supposed that he really did owe Lupin
thanks for bringing him and Takeshi together.
"Ah, young love," Haruko murmured to her husband as she watched her son and his
mate hold hands, completely wrapped up in each other and oblivious to everything
else around them at the moment.
"Our courting days do not seem so long ago," Isamu replied gallantly, smiling at
his wife. "It seems almost like yesterday that I met a beautiful young girl at
Mahou Gakkou."
Haruko laughed. "I remember that you courted me by bringing me bento lunches
every day."
"Ah well," Isamu said, smiling sheepishly. "I wasn't very handsome or a smooth
talker, nor was I a great mage who could impress you with my magical skills.
Cooking was my one true talent."
"You are a fine cook, my dear," Haruko said firmly. "And a fine husband and
father." She laid her head on Isamu's shoulder, and he slipped an arm around her
waist, and the two couples continued watching from the porch with quiet
contentment as the procession passed by.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The rest of the wedding guests began arriving the following morning. Isamu's
parents and brother joined them for breakfast, and although they were polite to
Aric, he thought that he sensed disapproval from the elder Mr. and Mrs. Kimura.
Isamu's brother Tsutomu was harder to read; he seemed quiet and serious, and
said little while the others made polite small talk.
Isamu's father Masaru, thin and stern-looking in contrast to his plump and
genial son, muttered something under his breath. Aric doubted that it was a
compliment, because Isamu snapped, "Otoosan!"
"Otoosan, Aric cannot speak Japanese very well," Haruko said gently. "So it
would be courteous to speak English for his sake."
"And if what you have to say is less than courteous, perhaps it would be better
to leave it unsaid," Isamu said pointedly.
Aric smiled nervously, looking to Takeshi for help; he certainly didn't want to
be the cause of a family argument. Takeshi just gave him a resigned smile in
return and shrugged slightly.
"He said only that it is a pity that Takeshi will give us no
great-grandchildren," Isamu's mother Junko said in a falsely sweet voice. Aric
winced; this was a little too much like being at home with his own family.
Although things were probably a lot more civilized than they would be if Aric
ever tried to introduce Takeshi to his parents and grandparents! Aric could
picture his grandfather going into a towering rage, and he winced again, but
frankly, he would have preferred to deal with angry shouting than this subtle
air of hostility veiled behind polite platitudes and smiles. He ought to be used
to it, but he supposed that he had lost his taste for dealing with pureblood
politics.
"Ichiro already has two little girls," Tsutomu said mildly.
"Yes, but they will likely grow up to be weavers, and not carry on the family
tradition of Onmyoudo," Masaru said, frowning. He added with a faint hint of
disdain, "My youngest son has already set aside tradition to become a cook, an
occupation that any ippanjin could perform, and neither of his sons have chosen
to become Onmyouji."
"But I have," Tsutomu replied calmly. "I am the eldest son and heir, and as
such, it is my place to carry on the family tradition and take my place as your
successor when the time comes. And my son is a promising young Onmyouji, so the
succession is secure for the next generation." He smiled at Isamu. "Therefore, I
see no reason why my brother and nephews and nieces should not be free to follow
the paths of their choosing."
Isamu, Haruko, and Takeshi smiled gratefully at Tsutomu, as did Aric, suddenly
feeling much warmer towards his new "uncle". He didn't much care for Takeshi's
grandparents, though, and had to repress a growl as he turned to address Masaru.
"I am sure you know that Otoosan is more than a simple cook..." Aric began in a
coolly polite tone of voice, then hesitated. Somehow he doubted that Masaru
would care to be called "Grandfather" by him, so he settled for, "...sir. He and
Okaasan maintained the Portkey at the Sakura all these years so that Britain and
Japan might remain allies, and prevent the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord from
carrying the war over to your country. It seems to me that you ought to be proud
of him. Sir."
"He is an insolent young puppy," Masaru said to Isamu, scowling.
"But at least he is loyal to his new family, Otoosan," Tsutomu said, giving Aric
a faint smile.
"Well, there is that," Masaru grudgingly conceded.
"Perhaps it is not necessary for Takeshi to provide an heir for the Kimura
family," Junko said, sighing regretfully, looking less disapproving and more
wistful. "But still, I am sorry that he will never give us great-grandchildren."
"Obviously Aric cannot bear me any sons or daughters," Takeshi said, smiling
mischievously. "But that does not necessarily mean that there will be no
grandchildren. Perhaps someday if we wish to become parents, we might adopt a
child."
Aric was startled by his words. He had assumed that they would never be able to
have children; the thought of adoption had never really crossed his mind. Before
he had met Takeshi, Aric had taken it for granted that he would someday marry
and have children, and he had vaguely regretted, in a hypothetical sort of way,
that he would never become a father. Although he certainly wasn't ready to
become a father right now, the idea that they could adopt a child someday if
they wanted was comforting to Aric.
Junko looked slightly mollified, while Masaru still looked rather sour-faced.
Aric half expected him to make a snide comment about mongrel children, but he
remained silent, which Aric had to admit showed more restraint than his own
father or grandfather would have shown. Haruko tactfully changed the subject,
and soon they were all making polite small talk about the wedding again. After
breakfast, Masaru, Junko, and Tsutomu went ahead to the palace to mingle with
the other wedding guests, with the rest of them promising to follow along
shortly.
"I'm sorry, Aric," Isamu apologized. "My father is a bit old-fashioned and
stubborn."
"It's all right," Aric replied. "I'm sure that my father and grandfather would
have been nowhere near as polite in the same situation."
"Ojiisan isn't really so bad," Takeshi said, giving Aric an apologetic smile.
"But he has very rigid ideas about family duty and tradition."
"But you showed loyalty towards Isamu," Haruko said, placing a hand on Aric's
shoulder. "Masaru will respect you for that, even if he does not approve of you.
And we most certainly do approve of you, my son." And she planted a gentle kiss
on Aric's cheek. "Come, let us get ready for the wedding."
Aric felt the same sense of warmth and belonging that he felt when he was with
his pack, and it didn't seem to matter so much that Masaru and Junko disapproved
of him. "Yes, Mother," he said softly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lupin and Snape arrived in Japan, and Professor Kamiyama took them to the valley
of the crane people via a temporary Portkey that had been enspelled for the
duration of the wedding festivities. The Professor's daughter and granddaughter,
Tsuneko and Miyako, accompanied them, as well as his son Mamoru, but Lupin saw
no sign of Tsuneko's husband Seiji; he had been looking forward to talking with
the other werewolf.
"He is not coming with us," Kamiyama explained. "The werewolf tribe is even more
shy and insular than the crane folk. Seiji would feel uncomfortable being around
so many strangers. But perhaps you can meet with him later."
"I wonder what it would have been like, growing up in a pack?" Lupin mused, a
little wistfully. "Until Lukas came along and started forming his pack,
werewolves in England had usually lived in isolation; we were trying so hard to
conceal our true identities that it never occurred to us--never occurred to me,
anyway--to seek out the company of other werewolves. My parents fled their home
in France, where other werewolves from my clan had once lived, to escape the
suspicion and stigma of lycanthropy. They tried very hard to conceal their past,
so they probably would have thought that being around other werewolves would put
me at greater risk of being discovered and ostracized. But a burden shared is a
burden lessened, something Lukas was wise enough to understand. Whatever
hardships they endured, the pack was able to bear it, because they all supported
each other." He smiled tenderly at Snape. "It wasn't until I was able to live
with Severus and Theo and Dylan that I truly felt like I belonged to a pack of
my own."
"Please forgive the werewolf," Snape growled to the Kamiyamas, his pale face
flushing slightly. "He has an annoying tendency to babble."
The Kamiyamas just smiled, and Lupin laughed good-naturedly. Professor Kamiyama
led them to the palace, a large pagoda-like building four stories high. The
actual wedding ceremony would be witnessed only by the immediate families of the
bride and groom, and the official reception would not take place until later
that evening, but the guests had been invited to mingle and take light
refreshments in the castle courtyard throughout the day, a chance for them to
socialize in a less formal atmosphere.
The courtyard was a large, open grassy area with a koi pond and an artfully
arranged rock garden. It was square-shaped and bordered on all four sides by a
verandah, where the adult guests were sitting or standing, chatting with each
other and smiling indulgently as the children played in the courtyard. Snape and
Lupin were wearing formal dress robes, but nearly everyone else seemed to be
wearing kimonos. The men, for the most part, wore kimonos in darker, more sober
colors than the women (brown, black, dark blue, and gray), often with haori
coats and hakama. The crane people were immediately recognizable by their long
and silky hair, elaborately embroidered kimonos, and graceful demeanor. And the
tengu were just as easy to recognize with their beaky noses and boisterous
manners. One of the tengu men was flirting with several young crane women, who
were giggling at his outrageously extravagant compliments, daintily lifting a
graceful hand or a pretty silk fan to their faces to conceal their smiles as the
elder cranes frowned disapprovingly. Meanwhile, a young crane man with a shy and
diffident manner was strolling through the courtyard with a tengu maiden who had
a bold smile and an impish gleam in her dark eyes. She said something that Lupin
couldn't hear, perhaps a bawdy joke, because her companion blushed a deep red
and hastily looked away. But he quickly regained his composure and turned back
to face her with a smile (although he was still blushing slightly), and the two
of them laughed together, receiving more disapproving looks from the elder
cranes.
The Kamiyamas stopped to chat with some Japanese wizards that they knew, and
Lupin accepted a glass of fruit juice and Snape a glass of wine from a pretty
crane girl who was circulating around the courtyard with a tray of drinks. Lupin
sipped at his drink, refreshingly cold in the summer heat, and idly looked
around. Most of the faces were unfamiliar, although he did spot Satoshi flirting
with a tengu woman who seemed unimpressed by his overtures. Then he noticed a
figure clad in British-style black dress robes, and saw that it was Aric.
Lupin and Snape made their way over to their former student, who was sitting on
the edge of the verandah with Takeshi and a crane man that Lupin had never met
before. Takeshi was wearing a long silk kimono that was a very pale blue, nearly
white, at the neck, gradually shading to a deep navy blue at the hem. The
shading was so subtle and gradual that it was almost impossible to determine
exactly where the colors changed; the various shades of blue seemed to flow
smoothly into each other like water, and it was a very beautiful effect. Lupin
also noticed that the young mediwizard was wearing his hair in a loose ponytail
instead of his usual braid, tied back with a sky-blue ribbon. The stranger
sitting next to him was wearing a pale green kimono with a haori coat and hakama
in a darker forest green, with his hair tied up in a topknot with a length of
gold cord. The haori was embroidered with a feather design in gold metallic
thread, and was loosely fastened at the waist with a pair of tasseled gold
cords. There were two swords tucked into the belt of the hakama, half-concealed
beneath the haori coat. Lupin's interest grew when he noticed that the stranger
was carving a thin piece of wood with a small knife while a cluster of tengu and
crane children watched eagerly.
"Professors!" Aric called, waving at Snape and Lupin when he spotted them.
"Hello, Remus, Professor Snape," Takeshi said, smiling pleasantly. "It's good to
see you again."
"Likewise," Lupin said cheerfully, while Snape just nodded curtly. Lupin loved
weddings, but for Snape, they were just another social obligation to be endured.
"This is my cousin Tsubasa," Takeshi said, gesturing towards the green-clad
crane man. "Tsubasa, this is Remus Lupin and Severus Snape; they are both
Professors at Hogwarts, and former colleagues and comrades of Karasu-sama and
Chizuru-hime."
Tsubasa paused to incline his head politely and say, "I am very pleased to meet
you," then resumed his carving.
Lupin sat on the verandah next to him and said, "Woodcarving is a hobby of mine
as well. Do you mind if I ask what you are making?"
"A dragonfly," Tsubasa replied, although it seemed to Lupin that he was carving
a thin strip of wood into what looked like a propeller.
"He's making a take-tonbo, a bamboo dragonfly," Takeshi explained. "It's a
traditional Japanese toy."
Tsubasa deftly spun the tip of his knife in the center of the "propeller,"
drilling a small hole between what Lupin assumed was supposed to be the wings of
the dragonfly. One of the children handed him a stick that was about the length
of wand, but much smaller in diameter, more like a kebab skewer. Tsubasa set the
dragonfly wings on the tip of the stick and handed it back to the child, who
spun it between his hands, then quickly tossed it up and released it. The whole
thing, both propeller and shaft, went flying, twirling around through the air,
and the children laughed and chased after it.
"You're very talented," Lupin told Tsubasa.
The crane man just smiled and shrugged modestly. "Oh, it's just something that I
do to amuse the children. It's not really that difficult."
"Actually, you do have to make sure that the wings are balanced properly, or it
won't fly," Takeshi interjected.
"Perhaps you could teach me how to make one sometime, if it wouldn't be too much
trouble," Lupin said.
"Of course," Tsubasa said pleasantly. "Will you be staying in Japan for awhile?"
"Yes, Severus and Kamiyama-sensei are working on some Potions research, so we'll
be staying at the temple for a few weeks," Lupin replied.
"And I'll be staying in the valley for a few weeks as well, to visit my
parents," Tsubasa said. He smiled at Takeshi and Aric. "And my cousins. So we
could get together sometime, and I can teach you how to make a tonbo, and
perhaps you can show me some of your work."
"Thank you," Lupin said, and he and Tsubasa began chatting about carving--Tsubasa
mostly made simple toys for the tengu children, while Lupin liked to carve
figurines. Snape scowled at them, feeling a trifle jealous, the way he did
whenever Lupin seemed to be getting friendly with a handsome man. It wasn't that
he really thought that Lupin would ever be seduced by another man; it was just
an instinctive (and somewhat childish, Snape reluctantly admitted to himself)
reaction to seeing someone else become the focus of Lupin's attention, however
briefly. It probably dated back to their days at Hogwarts, when Snape had been
forced to watch the object of his obsession from a distance while Lupin laughed
and joked around with the idiot Marauders. As if reading his mind, Lupin glanced
over and gave Snape an affectionate smile; the Potions Master scowled back at
him even more fiercely, but was inwardly reassured.
Meanwhile, the children were taking turns flying the dragonfly toy. A very young
crane boy, perhaps three years old, spun the stick and tossed it into the air,
but it almost immediately fell back to the ground. "It won't fly," he said in
Japanese, looking crestfallen.
"That's because you're not doing it right," a tengu girl replied, bluntly but
not unkindly.
Tsubasa smiled and gestured for the little boy to give him the toy. To Lupin's
and Snape's surprise, he pulled out a wand from a hidden inner pocket that must
have been sewn into the lining of his haori coat, then tapped the tonbo with it
and cried, "Transformare Libelle!" And suddenly there was a real dragonfly
perched on the stick instead of a wooden propeller, its four transparent
iridescent wings fluttering slightly. Tsubasa handed the stick back to the awed
child, who laughed delightedly when the dragonfly launched itself off the stick
and flew up into the air. Then the crowd of children ran across the courtyard,
chasing the dragonfly.
"Quite impressive," Lupin said. "That was Transfiguration magic, wasn't it, not
merely an illusion?"
Tsubasa nodded. "Yes, although it won't hold that shape for long. It should turn
back to normal in a few minutes."
"That was a Latin spell," Snape said, now regarding the handsome crane man with
curiosity instead of hostility. "And I've never seen any of the other Japanese
shapeshifters use a wand except for Satoshi, and I suspect that's only for
show."
"Oh, that's because I was educated at the Salem Witches' Institute," Tsubasa
replied casually. "My stepmother is American, so we lived in the United States
for most of my childhood. I can perform wandless magic, but I've grown
accustomed to using a wand, and it does seem to help focus and intensify my
spells."
"Tsubasa's specialty is Transfiguration magic," Takeshi added. "He was top in
his class at Salem."
"Really?" Lupin said, exchanging a significant glance with Snape. "How
interesting."
"I don't really put it to much use these days, except to amuse the children,"
Tsubasa said with a smile. "In fact, the job I have right now is non-magical in
nature." He touched the hilts of his swords with one hand. "I serve as a fencing
instructor at the tengu clan's main village."
"Really?" Lupin repeated, sounding impressed.
"I teach only the beginning students, mostly youngsters like those," Tsubasa
said modestly, motioning towards the crowd of children chasing the dragonfly. "I
am still a beginner myself, compared to the more experienced warriors like
Karasu."
"You're being modest, Tsubasa-nii," Takeshi said with a grin. "Karasu himself
once told me that you were such a good swordsman that you should have been born
a tengu."
Tsubasa smiled, looking a little embarrassed. "That is a tremendous compliment,
indeed," he murmured.
"So you work with children," Lupin said, exchanging another glance with Snape,
and Tsubasa nodded.
"The Headmaster has just arrived," Snape said, looking out across the courtyard
where Dumbledore was being greeted by Professor Kamiyama.
"Then we should go talk to him," Lupin said enthusiastically, rising to his
feet. He bowed politely to Tsubasa, saying, "It was very nice to meet you. And
I'll take you up on your offer of teaching me to make a take-tonbo, whenever
it's convenient for you."
"Anytime after today is fine; I have no special plans except to attend the
wedding," Tsubasa said. "Just contact Takeshi and have him send a message to me,
or Kamiyama-sensei should be able to send a message directly to my father's
house, where I'll be staying."
"His father is Yokuto, the crane representative to the Wizards' Council,"
Takeshi explained.
"I'll do that, then," Lupin promised, then hurried off to talk to Dumbledore,
while Snape followed at a slower pace, a thoughtful, speculative look on his
face.