Harry Potter and the Dark Beasts
By Asuka Langley and Murase Asuka.

Yohji grabbed a goblet from a nearby house table and chucked it across the room. It ended up hitting a portrait at the other end of the wall.

"OW! Watch it!" Snapped the painting. Yohji didn't care.

By the time Breakfast was over, Yohji felt considerably calmer. Despite his green hair, he walked to the greenhouse confidently, and was not put off in the least when the students pointed and talked about him when they arrived. When everyone arrived, he started class.

"ALRIGHT!!!" He shouted above the din. Within a minute all eyes and ears were on him.

"You're not here to gawk at my hair, as gorgeous as it may be." He started. "You're here to learn about magical plants. My name is Prof. Kudou, but I'll answer to Kudou-sensei, if you're inclined to call me that."

Crawford didn't go to breakfast that morning. He left early for Hogsmeade, so he could talk to the person responsible for his team's being in England. Any excuse to bring Farfarello this close to his homeland had BETTER be a good one.

In the alley behind the Two Broomsticks, Crawford found his man, dressed in a shabby, dirty gray robe.

"What do you want with us?" He asked. "How goes things at Hogwarts?" "The others are already there." "Good..." The man in the dark robe replied. "So is Weiss." Crawford pointed out. "Who is Weiss?" "Four noisy flies buzzing around."

Inside his hood, the dark man narrowed his eyes. Insects were buzzing around. Flies. There were flies that bit. Did these ones bite?

"Swat them, then." The dark man replied. "As you wish." "Have you located a host for The One?" The dark man asked. This time the question was posed with slightly more urgency. "Yes. It's a young girl whose body has not aged since she entered a coma, two years ago." "Good, good."

Crawford's eyes lost focus, as his mind was forced to focus on some other thing. Then, they came back into focus again.

"Your servant is listening around the corner." He told the dark man. As if to confirm the prediction, the sound of falling boxes around the corner was heard as the servant tripped. He then fell into place beside his master.

"Master, You should not stay here much longer. What if someone spots you?" The servant insisted, hardly daring to lay a finger on his master's robe.

"As much as you annoy me, you are correct." The dark man told his servant. "We will leave." He turned to go, and stopped.

"Crawford." "Yes?" "Use the Potter boy as the sacrifice. I leave it to you." With that, the dark man started to leave, slowly enough so Crawford could answer. "As you wish, Lord Voldemort."

Harry, Ron and Hermione wandered along the halls, on their way to lunch, after their first lesson of the year. It was transfiguration, and it had been brutal. They were in the midst of conversation when a teacher cut in front of them from another hall.

"Say, isn't that one of those new teachers?" Ron asked. "That's Professor Fujimiya." Hermione said, remembering the incident that morning. "He's new." He's new... that made Harry stop and think for a moment.

"We have a lot of new teachers, don't we?" He asked. "Six of them." Hermione replied. "Why on earth did we need so many this year? Usually the only position to be filled is Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry pointed out.

Ron caught on to Harry's line of thinking. "I don't know," he said. "But I'm going to find out." When Fujimiya went down a hall that did not lead towards the Great Hall, So did Ron. And then so did Harry and Hermione.

"It looks like he's going to the Infirmary! At least that's the only thing in this direction worth seeing, anyway," Hermione speculated. Ron rolled his eyes. "This means we're following some teacher who could just have a headache?" He scuffed his shoe on the ground. "Joy. I'm so glad we have this knack for things like this. And chances are we'll stumble upon some big plot of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's, just like the five years before this."

Harry had to agree. The group did have a peculiar tendency to stumble upon big mysteries that technically should have been way out of their league.

The group stopped walking to give the professor a bit more of a head start. "Not only that, but Hogwarts is supposed to have some of the best professors out there! Shouldn't they be able to figure out most of this? You'd think they were incompetent or something like that."

"Now Ron," Hermione said, looking disapprovingly. "That's not nice at all to say! After being here for a full five years and starting your sixth term you KNOW that's not the truth! Besides," she said, clearing her throat and leading them again, "most of the time it seems as though Professor Dumbledore knew the whole time what we were doing."

"Then why doesn't he HELP?" Ron asked, a bit spitefully.

"Shush!" Harry held his finger to his lips. "He's stopped in front of the Infirmary. If he goes in we should wait until he comes out to see what's going on."

Hermione bit her lip. "I haven't heard anything about anyone getting hurt here already!" Suddenly she giggled. "He has cute boxers."

Harry and Ron let out collective groans.

Aya entered the Infirmary, nodding politely to Madam Pomfrey as he sat down in a chair beside the only occupied bed in the room. Madam Pomfrey came and stood next to him.

"I've looked her over multiple times and I can't find anything wrong with her. Physically she's just fine, but emotionally, that may be what's holding her back from waking up." She had been told most of what happened that night as if it might help her figure out what was wrong, but she and the remainder of all the professors were completely in the dark that Aya and Yohji were a part of Weiß.

Aya let out a noncommittal grunt as he smoothed down his sister's hair that was coming out of its braids. WHY was it always the innocents who were harmed the most? Two years of her life were brutally stolen away from her in the hit and run. When she woke up, if she woke up, all she would have would be her brother, the one who stole her identity away from her. No parents, no home, no innocence.

Madam Pomfrey left to do her tasks and Aya felt it was secure enough for him to talk to his sister again. "I don't think you'd believe it if you saw me now. I'm wearing a black robe, of all things, and teaching about our kind of people to a group of relatively snobby individuals. You would like it here, I think. The people in the portraits move from place to place and talk to you. Ghosts roam the hallways and there's even a poltergeist here who, oh you'll love this, stole those boxers you gave to me a few years ago. He put them in the Great Hall. At first I thought I was in the clear and no one knew they were mine until he came in and announced it to everyone. Thankfully Yohji came in at that point and distracted them all. Evidently Peeves, that's the poltergeist, got him too. I've told you how self-absorbed Yohji can be; well, Peeves put green dye in his shampoo and soap. He'll probably match most of what he's teaching about. Herbology. Of all things, can you believe it? Then again, the idea of Yohji teaching is a bit terrifying in itself."

The smile that had been creeping onto his face as he spoke began to wan as it came back to him that his sister wasn't as awake as his mind was trying to create in his head. "I had hoped so much that they would find a cure for you here, but I guess not. If it IS your heart that's holding you back from waking up, then, please, find it within yourself to let go and live out the remainder of your life the way Kaa-san and Tou-san would have wanted it to be."

His eyes hardened as he stood up to leave and get ready for his next class. "And no matter what, I will avenge you."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all smashed behind a small pillar next to the door to the Infirmary. "What could be taking him so long?" Ron grumbled. "If he doesn't hurry, we're going to be late for our next class!"

"Oh stop growling Ron! He has classes to teach, too, so he'll have to come out any moment now!" Hermione patiently reasoned out.

"To be honest, I don't really want to take my chances either, Hermione. We have Potions next and I'd rather start of my year a little better than with points taken from Gryffindor as well as Detention all because we're spying on a teacher who went into the Infirmary. In all our experience figuring out evil plans, none of them have involved Madam Pomfrey OR had their base of commands in the hospital ward."

"Cynic." Hermione muttered. "Fine. Go if you want, but I'm staying here." As she said it, the door opened and Aya's figure was silhouetted in the light.

They waited until Aya was safely down the hallway and then Hermione made her way to the door.

"Hermione! Wait!" Harry whispered urgently. "What will we tell her to explain why we're here?"

But it was too late; Hermione was already in the room. Ron rolled his eyes yet again and he and Harry followed her.

"-Oh a headache? What a horrible way to begin the new school year. Here, I knew I had some of this!" Madam Pomfrey held up a small vial. "One drop of this in a glass of water and you'll be on your way," she pronounced, readying it for Hermione whose attention was directed towards a bed in the corner.

"Madam Pomfrey, who is that?" She asked, walking entranced to where the girl slept. "She's so pretty!"

"Ah." Madam Pomfrey nodded her head. "That she is. I don't think it's my place to tell you who that is, though. I can tell you that she's in a coma right now."

"Blimey," Ron whispered. "Will she ever wake up?"

"It's up to her if she wants to."

Harry stood there for a moment just staring. She was lovely, with bluish black hair pulled back in two braids and a fair complexion. She was Japanese, which meant she must have some connection to the new teachers or exchange students. Since it had been Professor Fujimiya in here, it was natural to assume that was whom he was visiting. Maybe she was his girlfriend or a relative of some sort?

"Oh, well, we're running late to our next class so we better be going, but thank you Madam Pomfrey!" Hermione called while pulling Ron and Harry out to the hall.

Ken's next class was Muggle studies, which would be something of a relief. Apart from not being able to hear the end of his "unique" rendering of We are the Champions, he had had a hard time understanding Flitwick-sensei. Instead of shooting a flower from his wand, he shot a cloudy, odd coloured slime that had the distinctive aroma of rotten eggs. He had a lot to catch up on.

Muggle studies would probably be much better for two reasons: Aya-kun... oops. Fujimiya-sensei was teaching, and his new friend Sean was in the class. Fujimiya-sensei started the class by writing his name on the board in Romaji and in Kanji and started a discussion on Japanese Nomenclature. It seems that Fujimiya would be teaching about Japanese muggles. Ken WOULD do well in this class.

((AN: Sohryu here. Well, YOU tell me how much Aya knows about British PPL if you don't like this idea.))

This was about the time Farfarello decided to crash in on the class. Peeves was a ghoul after his own heart, but his smalltime pranks got boring. He stood in the doorframe for a minute and surveyed the class. He narrowed his eye as he entered.

"Ugh." He said, spotting Fujimiya. "Why is everybody here so BORING? I don't CARE what you stupid Profs say, I CAN'T sit still any more." At this point, his eye softened and he broke into a grin.

"I want to play with someone. Guess what Prof? I pick you." Farfarello produced his blade and gave it a playful lick. Whether he wanted to look menacing, or just liked the taste, Ken didn't know. He just wished he had his bugnuks with him. But they were locked up in Ravenclaw, not doing him an ounce of good.

Despite being faced with a complete lunatic, Fujimiya kept his cool. He merely looked annoyed.

"I'm busy." He said. "Don't interrupt my class." With that, he pointed his wand at Farfarello and muttered something Ken didn't hear properly. Farf collapsed on the ground snoring, and the class went back to their lesson. Most of the students seemed to be acting as if they had been interrupted by Peeves.

After lunch that day, Omi had Potions with Hermione and the other Gryffindors, the Slytherins, and the Infamous Professor Snape. He had placed Omi in the seat between Hermione and another nervous-looking boy named Neville Longbottom.

"Hi!" Omi said cheerfully. "I'm Omi."

"N-Neville." Said Neville. He didn't look too good, Omi thought.

After Omi was seated, Snape turned to him.

"Let me make it quite clear, Mr. Tsukiyono, that if I hear one word in a language I do not understand, you will receive an immediate detention, regardless of what it is."

"Yes sir." Omi blinked. He would have to remember not to call him Sensei.

"Sorry about that." Harry whispered. "It doesn't get any better, I can tell you."

"Yeah." Ron agreed. "It's just weird for him not to pick on Harry by now. What's he got against you?" Severus Snape picked on Harry mainly due to a grudge he held against Harry's father.

"Is there something you wish to discuss with the class, Mr. Weasley?" Snape was hovering about them again.

"No, sir." Ron said.

"Then get back to work. All of you." With that, Snape went away, but not without shooting Harry his typical menacing glare. And people thought AYA- kun needed an attitude adjustment.

"So Weasley, can't stay out of trouble at all, can you?" Malfoy's snide comment drifted over to them.

"Why can't you mind your own business, Malfoy? Or are the low IQs of Crabbe and Goyle finally boring you so much that you're trying to find better company?" Harry shot back, not really caring if Snape heard him. Not that he did, he was too busy putting out a fire from a Slytherin's exploding cauldron. He didn't even take points away from them, either.

"Oh, nice comeback, Potter. Learn that one in your first year?"

"At least it's an advancement over the crib!" Hermione countered, angrily.

Omi shifted nervously as the insults went back and forth. "Sorry to interrupt, but, umm, the fire's out and it looks kind of like Professor Snape may be about to come over here, and-" He was cut off before he could finish.

"Is there something going on here? Mr. Malfoy, are these Gryffindors bothering you?"

"There's no problem, Professor Snape, I was just saying hello to the new Gryffindor," Malfoy smirked as he spoke.

Omi sunk down in his chair as Snape looked at him. "Fine then, but don't be causing any trouble like that Kudou," he said, scowling the whole time.

All in all, Omi might have liked potions if it hadn't been for Snape's grumpy demeanor. It was kind of like chemistry, but instead of making apple- less apple pies, he got to brew concoctions that had ingredient lists straight out of Shakespeare's Macbeth, with its Eyes of Newt and Tongue of Dog. This particular concoction was some form of invisible ink.

All the same, Omi was glad when the class was over.

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