I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Harry Potter. Rated for adult language and situations.

I have absolutely no excuse for updating this late.

Chapter Five: Demons in the Market

Early the next morning, a certain Chosen One was tossing in his sleep from one of his many nightmares and woke up in a huff with sweat rolling down his forehead. Looking across the room at the still-snoring form of his best friend, he smiled and ruefully pulled himself out of the bed, knowing there would be no getting back to sleep for him. He saw from the clock that it was just about breakfast time so he might as well head downstairs to get ready for the full day ahead of them.

Knowing the danger of waking up the "she-bat from hell" (Walburga Black), he did his best to walk as softly as he could while he walked down the stairs towards the kitchen when he happened upon a scene that made him question the hearing of everyone else in the house.

"MUDBLOOD FILTH! BLOOD-TRAITORS AND THIEVES! YOU SHOULD ALL BURN LIKE THE FILTH YOU ARE! IN MY DAY…!"

"GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU DEAD CRAZY RACIST BITCH! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO BRING YOU BACK TO LIFE AND KILL YOU ALL OVER AGAIN YOU…!"

He was then treated to the sight and sound of Yūsuke Urameshi exchanging a vicious word-fight with Mrs. Black's painting with a slew of swear-words that Harry had never heard of and very likely never would hear again.

After a full minute of this, Yūsuke finally and reluctantly restrained himself and closed the curtains forcefully, muffling the woman's protest. He then turned around to the awkward scene of a teenage boy who had just listened to his curse-fest.

Looking at the green-eyed boy and back towards the kitchen area, he spoke up.

"You want anything to eat?"

At a loss at what to say to his worst enemy's son, Harry simply nodded and followed the older man's frame as they reached the kitchen doorway.

They were immediately beset by the mothering presence of Molly Weasley as she quickly shuffled them to their seats and smothered everyone's plate with food.

Taking their respective seats near their friends (and after Ron woke up) they then tucked in with gusto to prepare for the shopping day.

There was still some leftover awkwardness and apprehension from yesterday as most of the table was uncertain how to talk with the newcomers. Regardless, Yūsuke blocked out most of the uncertain atmosphere and focused on his meal while diverting some of his attention to the green-eyed teenager he now knew to have thwarted his sperm-donor several times, trying to get a better feel over who he would interact with.

Hell, if he's given that shit-head such a hard time he can't be that bad.

Similarly, Harry was also trying to size up their unknown guest, trying his best to see what he might have in common with the memories he had of Voldemort, both as an adult and as a teen.

Hermione was trying to size up Yūsuke as well, along with his comrades who had already piqued her curiosity from the words they'd spoken yesterday despite Kuwabara's similar feline caretaking.

Ron was putting more effort into actually finishing his meal and didn't care about any nosiness as of now.

After the meal had concluded, along with the newcomers' learning how to use utensils, Molly Weasley piped up about her journey to Diagon Alley to pick up their new school books alongside their new guests while the rest of the children were to stay and continue cleaning the many dirty and cursed objects of Grimmauld Place.

Despite Yūsuke's grumblings, it was still necessary and the rest of his friends (most importantly his wife) were going to be waiting there along with a guide. He gave in and made his way to get as properly dressed as possible so they could leave alongside his mom, Mrs. Weasley, and Professor McGonagall. 'Properly dressed' for them of course entailed wearing their best casual clothing on hand.

"Well, no matter," McGonagall stated briskly, "we'll be heading to Gringotts first anyway so your clothes won't make much of a difference."

Yūsuke and Hiei shot glares at her back that stated they would wear whatever they damned pleased but they knew it wouldn't do them any good so they restrained themselves.

Her statement finally sunk into their heads and Yūsuke questioned Kurama "What the hell is Gringotts again?"

Smiling as though enjoying a private joke, the team's fox replied "The wizards' bank; apparently it's managed by goblins and its deepest vaults are rumored to be guarded by dragons."

The demon heir's eyes lit up with some excitement. "You think it would make for a good fight?"

Hiei snorted derisively next to him. "If it's similar to everything else we've seen so far, I doubt these types of dragons would be much of a workout."

"Oh pipe it, shorty" Kuwabara interrupted.

They left the doorway involved in yet another argument whilst a nosy bushy-haired form walked back up the stairs pondering over yet another mystery.

:::Break:::

Getting off at the Leaky Cauldron from the ever-chaotic Knight Bus, they managed to pass through the small crowd inside the pub quickly and without much fuss despite the three older adults being winded from their 'transportation'. The shifting bricks in the alleyway raised their eyebrows which led to surprise at the mass of color and differences that defined Diagon Alley.

Snapping them after their staring, McGonagall and Molly ushered them in the general direction of Gringotts ignoring the unimpressed expressions on their faces and Atsuko's face (since she knew better than to usher them at all). Walking further down the streets, stray objects occasionally catching the attention of the two delinquents and the two thieves, the short trip was silent up till the bank came fully into view.

Looking over the large structure and the foreboding poetic threat on the front, it didn't escape Hiei's notice that Kurama was trying to fight back a smile.

Eyebrow raised, he questioned "You once stole from this place, didn't you?"

This caught the attention and surprise from their teammates as they diverted their attention to the smug fox thief.

Still fighting a smile, he replied "Once, and they've been rather sore about how much I stole from them. If they found out who I am, things will turn very, very unpleasant."

Smiling in amusement, they proceeded through the entrance while taking in the unpleasant expressions of the goblins around them. Making their way to the front, Atsuko stepped forward and presented her key asking to be taken to the Urameshi vault.

Aside from a raised eyebrow at the return of an Urameshi to access a long-unused vault, he proceeded in a very business-like fashion in confirming the key's authenticity and ordering one of the attending goblins to escort them to said vault via the dreaded Gringotts cart-ride. Likke before with the Knight Bus, this didn't seem to affect the four men at all, though they were surprised at the modestly large amount of coins resting untouched in the family vault.

Catching her son's shocked look, Atsuko lapsed back to Japanese.

"I never bothered tapping into this because I didn't want to give any clue to where we were, even though it would have made our lives easier."

Yūsuke held eye-contact with her for a few more seconds before shrugging and offering a small smile, which loosened the tension in Atsuko's body knowing that her son had accepted her meager apology despite how much her actions had affected his upbringing.

Taking out the necessary money, with a little extra for the boys to spend it however they pleased, they made their rocky way back up to the entrance where the goblins saw them off, though not without a hint of suspicion at the smug look of the long-haired male in the group who casually walked out the door as though he had nothing to fear whatsoever.

Casually making their way back down the streets, a sudden shout in Japanese caught their attention and made most of them smile when they caught sight of the source.

Keiko, Shizuru, Yukina and Botan were there along with a resigned Koenma and Genkai. Lupin stood by their sides, waving his hand in greeting towards the surprised group.

The crowd didn't stop them from rushing over to their location where Yūsuke lifted Keiko off the ground in a happy hug with her admonishing him half-heartedly. This brought a smile to the women's faces, with the rest of the crew finally together. The meaningful glance exchanged between Koenma and Yūsuke did not go unnoticed, but any curiosity was cut off by Genkai's usual abrasiveness.

"Happy reunions aside, can we hurry up and get done with this? I did not travel half-way around the world to spend my afternoon cramped in a mall full of noisy, babbling wizards."

Nodding in perfect understanding and ignoring the shocked looks of the other two witches and one wizard, they made their way through to the bookstore, which was the first stop on their list.

Not wanting to wait one more moment, Yūsuke swiftly moved next to the hapless god and began grilling him.

"So what's the deal with your shitty Fates? Am I still gonna have to ignore the bastard's existence? Or do I have the chance to snuff him out?"

Wincing at his abrupt wording, Koenma gathered himself and responded evenly.

"Yūsuke, there really isn't much to be done. This prophecy has been in the making for 15 years. This isn't going to go away that easily. Another prophecy even foretold his return and emerging even more powerful than before. I'm sorry, but there isn't much headway I could make on this." He rushed the last two sentences in order to head off any outbursts on his friend's part.

As the Tōshin heir took in deep breaths to control himself, the Spirit Judge's face slowly turned from apologetic to slightly mischievous.

"However…"

Yūsuke started in slight surprise at his ex-boss's new tone.

"The Fates aren't the type to kick up a fuss over a broken prophecy that has only existed for less than two years. Besides, that monster and the boy are only foretold to kill or be killed by the other. There isn't any mention that he has to be at full power or not have his forces decimated by the time their fated duel comes about."

Smiling slightly at the shocked expression, Koenma smiled.

"You tend to get a thorough grasp on loopholes after dealing with afterlife bureaucracy for 700 years."

Brief though it was the satisfied grin that appeared on Yūsuke's face sent chills through some passing wizards who had caught sight of him while walking past them towards another store.

By the time they reached Flourish and Blotts, Keiko and Shizuru had engaged McGonagall and Lupin respectively in conversation about the Wizarding world's history and politics.

Entering the store, they all glanced at the booklists before moving around searching for said books with some resignation on two of the demons' faces and interest on everyone else's. The interest of Yūsuke and Hiei peaked when they caught sight of the books detailing hexes and curses, drawing them towards the no doubt dangerous information being closely followed by Keiko and Botan. Kuwabara wandered around with Yukina glancing at some of the interesting titles while the others set about gathering the necessary texts needed for the school year.

When the terrible twosome made their way towards the subjects about magical creatures, Kurama followed closely behind with his own interest lighting up his gaze. Passing over the sections about volatile creatures that Yūsuke and Hiei were helping themselves too, he managed to get a glimpse of a familiar language covering an old book.

This particular book was resting in the corner bookshelf, moved off to the side and covered in dust as though it had been ignored for a long time. Moving over and picking it up, he read the cover with satisfaction.

Yōkai: Beasts Most Feared

A Look into the Myths and Lists of Legends

By: Ulysses Echidna

Walking over to the front desk where the rest of the group was waiting, he handed in the book with some amused expressions from his companions. He set it down on the desk and gave a charming smile to the bookseller.

"I would like to purchase this book, please."

Looking at the title, the wizard recoiled with disgust.

"Good grief lad, why would you want to learn about these monsters?! Have you any sense about you?!"

His smile thinned considerably even as he maintained his genial tone of voice.

"We have many legends about them back at home, and I wanted to see how this measures up to our own records. Surely there isn't anything wrong with trying to compare others' respective facts about them?"

Despite the uncomfortable looks on the faces of the wizards and witches, they all felt an inexplicable chill as they caught a flicker of something in the young man's eyes.

The bookseller finally moved his hand slowly to exchange the Galleons offered while staying uncomfortably silent.

Smiling again, Kurama said "Thank you very much, sir" and turned to walk out with the others.

:::Break:::

The next stop they made was at Madame Malkin's, and boy was it difficult to get all four young men into getting measured for their robes.

After a full half-hour convincing them that it was necessary and it wasn't that bad in the long run, Hiei still shot scorching glares at the tailors and the others still fidgeted over being measured to wear something they considered aesthetically appalling. They resigned themselves to this with grumpy looks on Yūsuke and Kuwabara and with a patient expression on Kurama's face.

After finally wading through this long process, the team finally left the shop with a pile of their unwanted robes in a trunk moving past the rest of the bustling crowds in order to finally leave the market and return to the depressing House of Black with the rest of their motley crew backing them up.

Opting instead to take Muggle transportation this time around, they arrived at one of the bus-stops right on schedule as planned ahead of time in order to board the vehicle with some befuddled looks from the driver and few passengers.

Chatting with their companions in some small talk along the way, they finally reached their destination and exited, earning another look from the driver who wondered what so many people would be doing in this unfamiliar and populated length of visible houses.

Once the bus had left, McGonagall took the liberty of handing around the slip of paper with the address of Grimmauld Place written on it. As soon as the rest of them finished reading the letters, the house itself formed out of nowhere in its usual magical fashion. This prompted looks of wonder from Yukina, Botan and Keiko while Shizuru, Genkai and Koenma looked completely unaffected.

Walking up the steps and through the doorway, the new guests brought their trunks inside and set them on the floor, looking at their new surroundings with some curiosity. The other adults moved in with the school supplies while Mrs. Weasley bustled about with the newcomers.

"Oh, I hope you all had a good trip, going across continents can be really stressful; just let us take care of your things and we'll have supper ready –"

"Charmed as we are," Genkai interrupted, "perhaps it would be better if you'd introduce us to the eavesdroppers behind that door over there."

A squeak could be heard on the other side and the door opened to reveal the Weasley children along with Hermione and Harry.

Somehow not surprised, McGonagall ordered them to stop hiding away and offer introductions like civilized beings.

After some muttered apologies and introductions, the new foreigners stood forth.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Keiko Urameshi."

Looking at the silver band on her finger, they deduced with some shock that she must be Yūsuke's wife.

"I am Yukina. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Shizuru Kuwabara."

"I am Koenma Kaiō."

Some of the current students had a red tint to their cheeks at how attractive some of these newcomers were.

The elderly pink-haired woman gave an unimpressed stare.

"Genkai."

They noted that this lady seemed just as strict as Professor McGonagall, only with more of an attitude.

Finally making some momentum, they all began moving their stuff around in order to get ready to what was sure to be a feast.

However, a certain trio found themselves staring after Kurama as he took out an unusual looking book with odd letters that made Hermione's academic senses tingle.

Unaware of the knowing smirk forming on the fox's face.

And also unaware that Voldemort was now in deep, deep shit.

Fin

Seriously, if I keep this up, this story won't get finished till 2020.

Notes: Ulysses = Odysseus and Echidna (mythology) = Mother of Monsters. Kurama may be the most polite of the Tantei but he is by far the most ruthless, enough so that Hiei doesn't want to get on his bad side.

Read and Review!

Merry Christmas!

…I mean, Happy Holidays…?

Fuck. Being politically correct is a real pain in the ass.