A/N: Sometimes I get an idea that won't go away until I write it down. This is one of those ideas. There've been fics where Soul and Maka go to Hogwarts, Death the Kids goes to Hogwarts and they fight evil. I've never seen a fic where Stein goes to Hogwarts as a teacher.

This story will have a rather steady pace so don't expect to see Hogwarts in chapter one.

Please Read and Review.

I don't own Soul Eater or Harry Potter

Prologue

He leant back on his chair, the smoke from his old cigarette caressing his chin with the touch of a lover. The computer screen was the rooms only source of light. It bathed the place in a soft blue glow, casting long and terrible shadows along the wall. The room was in every way similar to that of a normal large living room. It had two sofas with a small coffee table inbetween. A couple of recliners that had been gifted to him upon buying the house. His desk and computer, of course, which sat in the corner of the room, nice and out of the way. A large mirror stretching from the floor and almost to the ceiling hung from the wall near the entrance to the house. All immaculately clean, all normal.

What did stand out were the stitches.

Across the walls stretched long patterns of stitches, criscrossing into the ceiling and one another, as if they were somehow holding the room together. A lab bench sat next to the computer, holding countless beakers and glasses and other instruments of a scientific nature. Some were full of strange substances, a menagerie of colours and smells enough to set the senses of an ordinary man on fire.

This house belonged to no ordinary man however.

Dr Stein continued to recline back into his chair. It was his favourite. A plain black colour; it had five wheels arranged in a star pattern below the seat. It could raise him upwards and downwards, it could spin him around and best of all, it didn't wobble whatsoever. It was in the Doctors humble opinion, a fantastic marvel of engineering and design.

It was while reclining in this great chair, looking over his medical work, that he heard a pinging noise coming from the other end of the room. Swiveling around on his chair, and taking a great delight in doing, so he surveyed the room in which he was supposedly alone.

Ping.

Stein's sharp yellow eyes focused in on the disturbance. Standing up and adjusting his labcoat so that he looked somewhat presentable, he was unable to contain his curiousity. Why exactly was he being contacted now? He hadn't had much to do with that place since he graduated. Sure he had been good. Very good in fact. The best, many would be quick to point out. But he wasn't right for teaching there, he had been told. He couldn't control himself, couldn't control his madness.

Well, Stein had had a good decade to practice since.

Ping.

He walked over to the other end of the room and stood, slouched slightly, in front of the mirror. He raised his left hand and gave the large bolt wedged into his head a couple of turns clockwise.

Crank! Crank!

Ping.

He sighed as the world came back into focus. It was time to answer the call, the mirror was glowing.

"Yes Lord Death. I'm here." He said calmly to the mirror. As if in response to his speech; the glowing parted revealing another place as well as another person standing in front of the mirror.

"Hey, hey, hello! How's it goin' Stein? It's been a while since I've seen you!" The creature known as Lord Death replied jovially.

He was much taller than Stein, only a good three quarters of his body could be seen. Not that there was much to see. Rather than arms and legs, Lord Death appeared to be made entirely of a tattered piece of black cloth, with many jagged edges poking out randomly in places. This stood on what could only be described as a stalk of black cloth which extended to the ground rather like a single leg and foot.

"No need to bother with formalities. Just Death is fine." The Grim Reaper continued with obvious cheer. A simple cartoonish skull mask, with three simle circles- two for the eyes and one for the nose- covered the place where his face should have been. The overall picture certaintly couldn't be described as scary or even funny. Just...surprising.

"Very well sir." Stein replied formally. "I've been doing more research into the nature of souls. Unfortunately many of my research subjects," here Stein couldn't help the slight grin that threatened to split his face, "didn't hold up long enough for me to gain some conclusive results."

Death merely nodded,

"The pre-kishin that have been appearing seem to be decreasing in power." The eldritch being stated, "This can only mean that we've been catching them more quickly than before. Before they have time to eat too many souls."

Stein couldn't help but feel disappointed, although his powerful mind had other questions.

"Lord Death, not to be rude, but it isn't like you to make calls just to check up on people." Stein said accusingly. Death remained unshaken and didn't comment on him ignoring his order; but his voice lost a little of it's cartoonish quality,

"You are right of course. Dr Stein, I need you to come here as quickly as possible. I have a mission that only an experienced meister can accomplish."

Stein nodded ready to step into the mirror, but death held out a huge white foam-like hand.

"I think it would be better for you to take the longer way round." Stein raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"If that's what you wish." The Reaper raised his hand in farewell,

"See you soon!" The next moment he was staring at his reflection. He cranked his bolt a couple more times.

Interesting. Lord Death had ordered him back to Shibusen. What could it be? A large gathering of pre-kishin? Or had a particularly powerful witch made her prescence known and Death wasn't willing to risk his unexperienced students? Whatever it was, Stein had a duty and with any luck he'd probably be able to dissect something afterwards.

He grinned.

The mad doctor gradually made his way up the steps towards the school. Still his mind was wondering what task Death had for him that couldn't be accomplished by any of the other experienced meisters at the academy. If it was merely a powerful witch or pre-kishin then Death could have just told him so over the mirror and he could be on his way to deal with it.

Stein finished climbing the steps and began walking towards the main building. It looked just like it did when he left. Large red spikes, huge cartoon skulls and massive burning candles. It was all exactly the same.

Walking into the main entrance, past the woman who handed out missions who looked astonished as she sstared at him. There were students from the advanced class loitering about, staring up at the mission board as he walked past. A couple were complaining about no interesting missions being on the board. He continued walking towards the Death Room. A door was open on his left, with a familiar figure standing next to it. He grinned at Stein as the man stopped to talk.

"Heya Stein! How've ya been?"

"I've been alright Sid." Stein replied, "how's that little hellion you decided to adopt?" The dark-skinned man gave the scientist a thumbs-up.

"Ha-ha! He's doing fine! He has a powerful soul wavelength so I'm thinking of enrolling him here."

"You sure you won't treat him differently? You're his parent after all." He simply laughed,

"I don't treat any of my students differently, that's the kind of man I am." Stein smiled to put the man at ease.

"You haven't changed Sid." He made to move on when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Hold on a second, before you go talk to Lord Death, I was just wondering if you'd do a little demonstration for the class? They've been getting rather arrogant lately." He gestured towrds the open door where Stein could make out were children sitting in the lecture theatre awaiting their teachers return.

Stein also wondered how Sid knew he was going to see Lord Death.

"Alright." He answered, he would get to see how things were going since he'd left. And he could never pass on the chance to scare a few arrogant teenagers.

He turned around and walked through the door along with Sid and into the classroom. Students looked up from their books to stare at him. Particlarly his stitch-infused outfit and the bolt sticking out of the left side of his head.

"Class, today we'll have a practical demonstration." He gestured towards Stein, "this is Dr Stein, he is a graduated meister from Shibusen. I expect you to show him the same respect you show me. Got it?"

A chorus of 'yes Sid's and 'yes sir's confirmed his expectations. Sid then pointed towards two students,

"Clay and Akane, get down here." Two 13-14 year-old boys stood up from their seats before walking down to stand on the platform in the middle of the room. They grinned at one another.

'How cute' Stein thought to himself, adjusting the bolt in his head. 'It should be fun to knock them down a couple of pegs.'

"Tsubaki and Ryoku. You two as well." A long black-haired girl calmly walked down with her partner a rough-looking blond-haired boy. The girl, about thirteen Stein estimated, looked visily nervous while the boy just glared silently at Stein.

'A temper, huh?' he thought to himself.

"You four are the two highest scoring pairs in class so I think you'll learn the most from this" Sid declared. "For this demonstration your opponent will be Stein." The four looked right at the scientist. He waved.

"Any conditions Stein?" Sid asked him.

"Just one." Stein replied looking at the four in front of him. "If you can cut me a single time, you'll be instantly promoted to a two-star meister." That grabbed their attention. The whole class sat up straighter and began whispering as the four looked startled before confidence came back into their features.

Sid just smirked,

"You're a cruel man Stein" he murmured before adressing the class, "You heard him. If you can cut him you get promoted! So transform and get ready for me to begin."

The one known as Clay transformed into a sword as Akane caught him and rested the weapon on his shoulder.

The girl, Tsubaki, in a flash of light became a chain scythe and was caught by her partner Ryoku who also got into a battle stance.

Stein observed their souls in disappointment. None of them were filled with anything but sheer confidence and a little bit of anger in Ryoku's case.

"Sir, where's your weapon?" One of them, Akane suddenly asked Stein as Sid moved off the platform to give the start signal. Making a show of turning the bolt in his head a couple of turns clockwise, Stein gave him a dry look,

"It appears I forgot to bring my weapon" he shrugged, "oh well. It doesn't matter really." Observing their souls once more he found himself interested all of a sudden. Other than the usual bristling with anger at his dismissive comment, the girls soul was different. Cautious.

'Interesting, she alone seems to have picked up that things aren't as simple as they appear. What wil she do though, I wonder?'

"Ryoku, I think we should be careful. Something doesn't seem right about this." Tsubaki quickly told her partner.

"Shut it Tsubaki. He insulted us, he's going down!" The boy responded harshly. Stein raised an eyebrow,

"You should listen to your partners advice." he turned to look at Stein whose expression turned dark, "Who knows, it might save your life one day." He said in his usual dry tone.

"Shut up!" The kid roared, it was clear only the lack of Sid saying start was holding him back.

Scanning the rest of the class, Stein studied their souls for any hints of something interesting. There was the usual apathy you get from young teenagers along with a hint of curiosity in a few. But there was outright fear in a couple of them. Stein smiled. They were the ones with some form of Soul Perception. The only ones who've realised just how outmatched their classmates truly are.

"Ready?" Sid asked. Akane and Ryoku tensed up, ready to spring. Stein put his hands in his coat pockets.

"Go!"

Instantly Ryoku launched himself towards Stein, with Akane right behind him. He gave a battlecry, throwing the scythe-part of his partner straight towards Stein.

He simply stepped aside, letting her sail right by him. Ryoku then struck out with the other scythe straight towards Steins face. Stein's knee quickly struck up, knocking Tsubaki out of his hand and keeping him off-balance. Stein then simply ducked, sending the student tumbling over his head before straightening, throwing Ryoku behind him into the blackboard where the part of Tsubaki he first threw was embedded.

Akane then swung at him, forcing Stein to backstep to avoid the blade. He recovered, turning his next attack into a stab towards Stein's chest. Stein dodged to his left this time before grabbing Akanes hand, pulling him off balance. Then, showing impressive strength, with one hand throwing him into the recovering Ryoku. The two boys, along with their weapons, became a tangle of limbs as they tried to sort themselves out.

Stein watched impassively, his hands back in his pockets, waiting patiently for their next move. Eventually the boys sorted themselves out and continued staring down Stein.

"He's good" Akane said simply, hoisting Clay in front of him. "He dodged our attacks effortlessly and didn't even bother to counter."

"We should work together." Tsubaki said hopefully, "We might be able to win then." Ryoku snorted,

"Didn't you hear what he said? Only the one who cuts him will be promoted. It's every pair for themselves."

"Well then you're welcome to go first and create us an opening!" Clay yelled, speaking up for the first time.

"Hey, we'll win and definetely be promoted!" Ryoku yelled back, while Tsubaki stayed strangely silent.

Stein smirked evilly at them, but inwardly he groaned. Why didn't he just finish it instantly when they first attacked? Listening to them argue was annoying. His gaze instead turned towards Sid, who was watching stoically, giving nothing away.

'You knew I was coming here. Lord Death must have told you. That means he wants me to take part in this exercise then. But for what purpose?' A sudden aggressive change in Soul Wavelength ahead of him brought Steins attention back to the fight.

"-then we'll go! Tsubaki!"

"Right!" Then to Steins utter surprise Tsubaki transformed again. This time from a chain-scythe into a large shuriken which the boy grabbed round the hole in the middle.

'She must be descended from the original Demon Weapon!' Stein thought, feeling excitement for the first time in the fight. His previously unconcerned stance changed as a small smile crossed his face. Sid watched him carefully.

Imagine what he could find out! Strapped down helpless as his scalpel ripped her open, revealing her bodies secrets to him and only him. Her delicate skin parting as he carefully cut...

'Woah, woah, woah...' Stein caught himself, giving his screw a few more turns clockwise. His thoughts quickly returning to the fight. 'Almost lost it a little there...'

Ryoku shifted to a two hand grip on Tsubaki then charged towards him, swinging the oversized shuriken at Steins torso. This time however, Stein had no intention of going easy. Picking his moment he reached out and simply seized Tsubaki, his strength stopping the pair dead. Ryoku's eyes only had time to widen in horror before Akane, seizing his moment charged towards Steins other flank, raising Clay, ready to strike.

Stein almost chuckled. He held his palm out towards the oncoming sword, as if he was going to stop it dead with his mere palm. He smirked. Once the sword made contact there was a crackle of lightning as Akane and Clay were forced back and away from Stein in severe pain. Clay was forced back into his human form as the two boys lay on the floor groaning.

Satisfied Stein then turned to the immoblised pair standing in front of him. He could see the fear in their souls, they were practically shaking. He gave the meister a sickening grin that threatened to split Steins face in two. Ha! His knees were knocking against one another!

Stein placed his free hand on the boys head, feeling him stiffen beneath him. Sid rushed forward alarmed.

"I win." Silence ruled over the class.

His words stopped Sid in his tracks. Dropping his psychotic grin, Stein settled for a more normal looking smile. "You both did well. But think before you attack. Never rush at an opponent you know nothing about blindly. Using a different weapon form was a good tactic to catch me off guard but next time make sure you can actually use that form as well."

With that he released the two and Tsubaki quickly changed back to her human form. He then walked over to the other two boys.

"Come on. Don't tell me a little attack like that knocked you two out." At this insult to their pride, the boys quickly sat up and muffled their groans of pain.

"You two also did surprisingly well. You capitalised on the attacks of the other two in order to try and get some hits in, which was the aim of the exercise. However you tend to overstretch your reach leaving you vulnerable to a counterattack."

Stein helped the two to their feet before turning to the rest of the class, "I hope you all learned something from this little demonstration. Now if you'll excuse me I'm late for a meeting." He waved and without a single goodbye left the classroom.

Stein was barely a few steps out of the classroom before a voice called after him. Turning around he saw Sid standing there a look of appraisal in his eye that hadn't been there before.

"Good job Stein." He said simply, a hint of respect in his tone. "I'm the kind of man to be honest, I was expecting to have to interfere for a second there, but it turns out I didn't need too."

Stein raised an eyebrow,

"I take it Lord Death asked you to do this?"

"He did and I have to say you passed with flying colours. Head on over to the Death Room. I think you'll be interested in what he has to say." Sid waved goodbye as he strolled back into the classroom, shutting the door behind him. Stein continued on his way towards his meeting.

Back in the classroom a student put their hand up,

"Sid? Who was that guy?" Sid sat down in his chair, putting his feet on the desk as he reclined back in his chair.

"As I told you before; his name is Dr Stein. He is a three-star meister who graduated from Shibusen years ago." He looked up to make sure he held all of their attention, especially those of the four Stein had just beaten. "Some say he is the greatest meister this academy has ever produced. Alone, he has created at least two Death Scythes and is the former partner of the current DeathScythe that Lord Death himself weilds." If Sid had expected the students to buckle down and continue the lesson where they left off, he was sorely mistaken.

Stein knocked on the black door. Written in scratches were the words 'Death Room' at about head height on the door. When the door opened Stein couldn't hid his surprise. A small child, wearing a neat black suit with skull cufflinks and bright golden eyes stared up at him.

"Yes? Is there something you need?" The child asked politely. Almost creepily polite.

"My name is Dr Stein. Lord Death is expecting me." He had knocked on the right door hadn't he?

"Ah yes, my father mentioned you would be arriving soon. Please follow me."

Stein's eyes widened, 'Father!? You mean he actually split his soul again?!' Alarmed Stein's eyes quickly focused on the boys hair. Confirming his fears, there were the three incomplete sanzu lines running horizontally across the childs hair. How could he be so irresponsible?!

The child led him through the guillotine hallway and towards the platform where Death resided. And there he was. Standing proudly on the raised dias, was the Grim Reaper himself. He raised a large white hand in greeting,

"Heyo! Hello! Thank you for bringing Stein here Kid."

"It was no problem father." The kid bowed. The kid actually bowed! Then straightened up. Quickly checking his suit he then walked past Stein and away into the distance. To do whatever it was the child did in the weird spatial rend that was the Death Room.

"I apologise for Kid, he's a little anti-social." Death explained, "He doesn't like talking to people who aren't symmetrical." Stein reached into his pocket and brought out an unlit cigarette. He lit it with his Soul Wavelength before taking a deep breath. It calmed him as the smoke formed the shape of a skull before losing its shape and fading away.

"You fragmented yourself again" Stein stated looking at Lord Death quizically. "Isn't that dangerous? We don't want another disaster on our hands."

"I assure you I know what I'm doing" Death said without once losing his cheerful tone. "I was utterly clueless last time; not knowing how to raise a child. This time will be different. Not to mention Kid is made of sterner stuff than Asura, this I know for a fact."

"Kid?"

"Short for Death the Kid." Stein chuckled. How original.

"Why now though?" Stein questioned, "What made you decide that you wanted a child now?"

Here Death seemed a little sheepish. He pushed his two index fingers together nervously,

"Well Spirit kept going on and on about his little Maka and she was just so adorable I thought it would be nice if I were to have a child as well. Our shared burden of fatherhood could strengthen our bond and allow us to fight more effectively. Not to mention giving us something to talk about at awkward parties."

Stein took a long drag on his cigarette, processing that information.

"Speaking of Spirit where is he? He should be here along with you." Stein questioned, rather surprised at the red-headed mans absence.

"I gave him the day off when I found out it was his daughters birthday. She's ten now I believe." Death explained jovially. "She's truly adorable. She's growing up to be just like Kami."

Stein twitched a little. He'd never really gotten over her taking his favourite experiment away from him.

"As long as you know what you're doing. Just make sure Kid interacts with people. It isn't healthy to shut him away from the world." Stein said quickly changing the subject back to Kid.

"Like what you've been doing?" Death questioned, causing Stein to shrug.

"I'm already messed up. What I've been doing is a necessity. I've been protecting the world from me."

"Now Stein, you're certaintly not that bad. Especially if your performance from earlier is to be taken into account."

"You saw that?"

"Indeed. You have a knack for teaching. Getting along well with children seems to come naturally to you." Stein snorted,

"It's flattering that you think that, but I'm a danger. The madness inside me could strike out at any time."

"You often say that, yet it never has. I can see your soul Stein. The madness within you is kept tightly under lock and key. I have the utmost faith in your abilities." Stein took another long drag on his cigarette. It somewhat calmed the worry that sprang up at the faith his boss seemed to have in him.

"Speaking of abilities, why is it that you wanted to see me exactly?" Stein questioned, looking at the featureless mask of his boss.

"Ah," Death brought his oversized hands together in excitement, "now that is an interesting matter."

Stein extinguished his cigarette, looking seriously at his boss. Death had his full attention.

"How much do you know about Witches?"

"The same as everyone else." Stein said, " Inherently powerful beings, all female, with bright purple souls who use their powerful destructive magic to accomplish their own ends and goals. These goals generally being damaging to Shibusen and to World Order in general. A long time ago they moved to another dimension to better co-ordinate a response to being hunted by Shibusen. They are able to move freely between our dimension and their own dimension. How they do this is unknown." Stein finished looking at Death expectantly. There was more of course, but those were the basic facts.

Death nodded,

"Yes you are correct. But there is a lesser known breed of witches that has existed for a short while." Stein grunted. Knowing Death, a short while could be anything from a couple of weeks to thousands of years.

'He doesn't see time in the same way as mortals do' Stein thought, 'Shouldn't be too much of a problem though.'

"They seem benevolent so I ignore them most of the time; although I have occasionally interacted with their kind." Death admitted, "There are quite a few of them now and I'm rather startled at how little we know about them. They certaintly aren't as destructive as the witches we usually deal with. The sway of magic doesn't seem to affect them too much."

"Sounds interesting" Stein lit another cigarette and took a calming drag. A new subspecies of witch? It sounded exciting. He couldn't wait to dissect them. "Where do I come in?"

"I need you to find out more about them." The Grim Reaper stated. "As of current we know little of their capabilities, their motives or their loyalties. We need to know if they're allied to the Witches and what goals they may possess."

"Makes sense. But why now?" Stein's mind was racing, "Pre-kishin activity is at an all-time low, why is it so urgent to check these people out now of all times?"

"That is exactly what worries me Stein. While Pre-kishin activity has dropped recently, the number of Witch sightings is on the rise. I feel they may be planning something big and the decreasing number of pre-kishin may have something to do with it."

"So I'm to gather information?" Something didn't add up. He rolled the cigarette to the otherside of his mouth in thought. What was the point in the classroom incident if he was just going to be information gathering?

"Yes. And you'll be doing it in what is considered possibly the best place to gather information."

Death's voice had lost whatever serious tone it possessed and was back to being wackily joyful. It made Steins heart plummet in his chest. The test earlier had involved him interacting close with children. Death had just said he got along well with children, he said he had a knack for teaching...

An ice cold feeling shot through Stein's veins.

'No...he can't possibly...'

"Yes Stein. You're going off to school!" Death said with damnable cheer. Steins cigarette fell to the ground.

He stared in uncomprehending shock at Lord Death. There was no way he just heard that. No way that he had just been ordered to teach a group of children about something he himself knew nothing about. It made no sense! His cover would be blown on the first day! Was there something he had missed? Some factor that made this mission actually possible for him accomplish!?

Despite how he may act, Death was far from stupid. Everything he did tended to have some purpose to it. But no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't see a way in which this mission didn't end in abject failure and he'd have to fight his way out of a school, he'd be among children, full of enemies he knew nothing about.
Taking a shaky breath Stein began to speak,

"Sir, quite frankly this sounds like a terrible idea. For one thing, how am I supposed to keep my cover teaching young children magic when I can't perform magic myself?" Before he could continue Death interrupted; again in that damn happy voice.

"Oh that won't be a problem. You'll be applying for the position of Professor of Muggle Studies. You won't have to actually teach any magic at all!" Stein paused,

"What's a muggle?" He asked wth disdain. Even the word sounded silly.

"I believe that's what they call non-magical folk like you and myself."

While it was flattering that Death considered himself a non-magical person, if not very accurate, it certainly didn't do anything to elevate these people in Steins eyes. He'd take great personal pleasure in dissecting anyone who called him a muggle. But at least it was a subject he could teach without raising suspicion.

"Second, I still know nothing about their world. How am I supposed to blend in? I mean I'm hardly inconspicuous." He gestured to his stitch-covered body and large screw sticking out of the side of his head.

"From what I've seen you'll hardly stick out among them. They're a pretty odd bunch themselves. And as for their way of life; the Death Scythe of Western Europe will be taking care of that. He has located a place where he can gather quite a few books on the subject, as well information on the school where you will be employed. Not to mention no-one will be looking for infiltrators. They aren't at war as far as we know, so it's unlikely anyone will go sniffing around into your personal buisness." Stein gritted his teeth and gave his screw a good couple of turns.

"Why me specifically? Sid's specialty is infiltration and he's not likely to dissect any children either." Death actually looked disappointed at that,

"Don't be silly Stein, I can't have Sid leave on a long term infiltration mission. Who would look after the child he's taken uner his wing?"

"What about Kami?" Stein asked desperately.

"Maka."

"Nygus?"

"She has the students to look after. Even with the help of an extra nurse we may need her expertise."

"Spirit?"

"He's my personal DeathScythe. And Maka."

"Marie?"

"She has Oceania to look after and can be rather eccentric."

"Azusa?"

"East Asia."

"Justin?"

"He's too young."

"Spirit?"

"Again, he has Maka to look after."

"...Tezca?" He knew he was clutching at straws now.

"South America. You know this Stein." He gave his screw another few turns but he was drawing up a blank. Taking his silence as an affirmative Death clapped his hands together.

"Wonderful! Now all you need to do is pass the interview and your new job will be set!"

"B-but what about qualifications?" Stein cried out in triumph, "I have no qualifications for teaching at the school. They won't accept me!"

"Don't be silly, we've already taken the liberty of forging them. You've already made it to the interview stage. Congratulations!" Stein closed his mouth. Clearly Death had been planning this for a while now. There would be no wriggling out of it.

"Here is a list of your qualifications," handing him a small piece of paper Stein glumly peered at the list.

He'd received his magical education at a rather obscure school in North America. Outstanding marks in Muggle Studies (and only muggle studies) whereas he received average marks in everything else. He had then supposedly attended a specific course which allowed wizards and witches to live with muggles in order to gain a greater understanding of how they live. He had received top marks in this course.

"You'll be sent to Europe tomorrow. Justin will be showing you round and getting you settled in. Feel free to say goodbye to everyone in Death City. It's unlikely you'll be seeing them until the start of the summer next year. Oh and could you please give this letter to Spirit? He should be at home right now."

Resigned to his fate, Stein escorted himself out of the Death Room. Ignoring Death the Kid who tried to insist on escorting him through the hall of guillotines. He walked blankly through the bright corridors of Shibusen, letter to Spirit clutched tightly in his hand.

'What the hell is he thinking? Putting me with so many undefended children. I'll cause a massacre!' He walked past the mission board without sparing any of the children there a glance. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't see the group of students coming until it was too late.

"It's Dr Stein!" Members of the class he'd partcipated in flocked around him attracting the attention of many other students.

He stopped abruptly in order to not bowl a few of them over.

"You were so cool in class!"
"You took down those guys without breaking a sweat!"
"Are you going to become a teacher here?"

"How did you create two Death Scythes?!" Staring in shock down at the sea of little faces, chattering at him and with each other, he was drawing quite a crowd.

This was new.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the woman at the front desk holding in a snicker at his expense. He glared. Then he looked down at the students, the sheer admiration they had for him was unsettling. He had barely been in that classroom for five minutes and they were already enamoured with him. Is this what Sid felt like all the time?

"Can you teach me that cool lightning thing you hit Clay with?"
"Are you stronger than Sid? Could you kick his ass?"
"Why do you have that screw in your head?"

Holy Death, they were still talking?! Deciding to put a stop to this Stein spoke up, his voice emanating authority.

"Hold it. Right now I'm on a mission from Lord Death, so questions will have to wait." With that established he made his way through the small crowd of children and towards the exit.

"Will you come teach at Shibusen afterwards?" One of the little guinea pigs piped up.

"Sure..." he replied not looking back and giving a lazy wave.

'Ha! Not fucking likely', Stein thought to himself. Honestly did kids these days have no concept of personal space? It made him just want to cut them open.

It wasn't a long walk to Spirits house; although it was more like a mansion. Being Death's personal weapon had quite a few perks clearly. And Spirit wasn't afraid to use them.

Stein gave his screw a good couple of turns. It would be fun to see Spirit again. It had been too long since he last saw his friend. It was a testament to that mans character that he still called Stein a friend even after finding out about all the experiments he did to him when they were younger. They hadn't been life threatening. Stein had still been learning how to control his... less-than-good intentions. Spirit as well as acting like a moral choke-chain; helped satiate those desires when he fell asleep.

Spirit was a very heavy sleeper.

Walking up to the front door, Stein rang the doorbell and waited. It had been awhile since he saw Spirit. Stein wondered how marriage was treating him. Spirit had always struck him as the kind of guy who wouldn't get tied down like that. But then again Stein wasn't very good with people. He and Kami obviously loved one another enough to have a child.

Soon footsteps alerted Stein to someone coming to the door. He could have used Soul Perception to see who it was but figured it'd be impolite. The door opened revealing a red-haired man,

"Look I'm sorry buddy but it's my baby girls birthday today; so why don't you scra...agh...aaaa...gah" Spirit stammered staring at Stein with a sort of shocked horror.

"Hello Spirit" Stein greeted politely.

"..gah..." Spirit choked his mouth wide open.

"It's been awhile since we last spoke."

"...gah..."

"How have you been?"

"...gaaah."

He didn't seem to be getting anywhere. So Stein decided to make the first move.

"May I come in?"

"...gagaah..."

"Thank you." Stein walked past the stunned man and into the foyer. He observed the room. It was certainly a nice place. Oak wood, beautiful paintings. Clearly Kami was a classy lady.

"Wow Spirit, you've done well for yourself."

"...gah..."

Ok now this was honestly pathetic. How could he wake him up? What would Spirit prioritise over his (completely irrational) fear of Stein?

"I wonder where your daughter Maka's at?" Like a switch had just been flipped Spirit went from paralysed with fear to angry beyond measure.

"What did you say?! Stay away from my baby girl!" He yelled slamming the door.

"Ah good. You're awake." Stein greeted as warmly as he could. As much as he liked teasing Spirit, he hadn't even done anything yet. "I have a letter for you from Lord Death" he handed Spirit the envelope who quickly took it but didn't open it.

"Thanks. So why are you running errands for Death? It's... not the sort of thing I'd imagine you be doing." Spirit crossed his arms, looking expectantly at his old friend.

"Lord Death wants me to take part in a long-term infiltration mission. So he recommended that I say goodbye to everyone since you won't see me around for quite some time. Not that we see much of each other anyway."

There was no bitterness in Steins voice it was just simple cold fact that he and Spirit hadn't talked much for quite a while. Yet despite this his former partner still looked rather sheepish. He rubbed the back of his head while looking utterly miserable

"Look Stein, I'm sorry you weren't invited to the wedding, I wanted you to be best man, but Kami was against it. Err...sorry." Stein gave the man a withering look.

"I highly doubt that I would have been your best man. Don't make up obvious lies. Anyway I'm not angry about it at all."

"Oh good" Spirit sighed with obvious relief while rubbing the nervous sweat from his forehead. That was one thing about Spirit that Stein had never understood. The eccentric man always wore his heart on his sleeve. Everything he did he did with a great passion. That was probably the quality that had so many women running after him in their younger days. Before Stein could say anything another voice cut in.

"Papa! What's taking so long?!" A little girl ran into the room before stopping to stare in wonder at Stein, who stared impassively back. "Oh hello. My name is Maka." She quickly said politely bowing, "What's yours?" Stein was vaguely aware of Spirit having utterly frozen once again by the door.

"My name is Stein. Dr Franken Stein." He said, introducing himself with flourish. The little green-eyed girl looked thoughtful all of a sudden.

"Like in my book!" She realised happily, smiling up at him.

"Yeah," Spirit interjected walking over to stand by Maka and kneeling down to her height. "He's like that monster isn't he? Grrr!" Spirit continued to make growling sounds at his ten year old daughter, who regarded him with a fond if exasperated expression.

"Don't be silly Papa! Frankenstein was the scientist not the monster! Isn't that right?" She turned to him and Stein couldn't stop the smile.

"That's indeed correct. It's a comment misconception held by all truly stupid people." He said jokily. Spirit spluttered, indignant while Maka, trying to be polite, put her hands over mouth to hold in her giggles. One more push and she'd break,

"Ten years old and already smarter than your father" he finished with a friendly air. Spirit looked annoyed, while Maka's cheeks bulged and her face grew red from holding in her laughter.

"Maka!" Spirit cried, "Your papa's not stupid, is he?"

After a moment or two of looking at the expression on her fathers face she broke utterly.

Her joyful laughter rang throughout the house as the little girl clutched her sides laughing. Spirit gave Stein an odd look for a moment, before continuing his role of 'indignant dad' and trying to act grumpy and failing miserably. Truly only a child could fall for that act. Spirit was in his element. After a minute or two, when Maka had composed herself, she managed to ask another question,

"How do you know Papa, Dr Stein?"

She was a curious little thing wasn't she? Almost like a mini-Kami.

"I was your Papa's meister before your mother made him a DeathScythe." Stein explained. The little girls mouth opened into a wide little 'o'.

"Oh you're the 'crazy guy' Mama talks about." She said with the typical tactlessness of a ten-year old. "You don't seem crazy to me." She wondered out loud. Spirit quickly interjected,

"Yeah well he is!" He claimed indignantly pointing an acusing finger at the doctor. "The scars from the experiments you performed on me have only recently healed as well! I'm not scared of you anymore!" Stein raised an eyebrow,

"Oh really?" Stein asked innocently. He caught Maka's eye and winked. "Then you noticed that I swapped the middle toe on your left foot with the one on your right?" Spirit faltered.

In a flash he was sitting on the floor desperately ripping his shoes and socks off to examine his toes.

"It's not possible! You can't have! You can't have!" He was closely examining his toes, as if they held some sort of hidden secret from him. Stein risked a glance at Maka. She had her hands over her mouth again.

"Made you loook" Stein sang with a smug smile on his face. Spirits expression was priceless.

Maka seemed to agree as she bent over laughing herself hoarse at her silly Papa. There were tears in her eyes.

Stein took the opportunity to examine Maka more closely. She definitely took after Kami in appearance. Her ash-blonde hair and big green eyes were her most obvious features. Although there were traces of Spirit in her facial structure when he looked closely.

Her soul had an interesting wavelength; she'd be a meister for certain. Most likely a scythe-meister like her mother, one with an anti-demon wavelength. It was impossible to tell whether or not she was a weapon like her father through looking at her soul, but either way she would become a meister for certain.

Eventually the little girl calmed down enough for Spirit to gently tell her to get back to her party. She said a disappointed "ok" before turning to Stein,

"Nice to meet you Dr Stein" she bowed again before running off into another room far off. "Black*Star no! Don't do that-" She shut the door behind her leaving Spirit and Stein alone in the room. Spirit put a hand to his forehead.

"Kami's supervising." He explained, "I don't know how she does it. Little kids are exhausting." Stein murmured an agreement.

"You're her Godfather you know" Spirit said suddenly, taking Stein off guard. "If something happens to us then you'll be taking care of her." The sudden seriousness in his tone utterly shocked and disorientated Stein.

"You couldn't convince Kami to let me come to the wedding, but you convinced her I'm suitable enough to look after her daughter?!"

Spirit shrugged,

"I put my foot down for once. Anyway, anything tough enough to take both me and Kami out could only be matched by either you or Lord Death himself. Plus I do trust you." He put a hand on Steins shoulder, "You've really changed since we last talked."

It was a clear compliment. Since Stein hadn't made any move to dissect anyone from the moment he entered the house he'd unwittingly passed Spirits test. Stein sighed,

"You have as well. Looking around at all this," he gestured towards the oak furniture, the large posh paintings, "who'd have thought you'd settle down and have a kid?" Spirit leant against the wall, worry lining his features, easing into the old groove that was his friendship with Stein.

"I haven't changed, not really. I'm still irresponsible, I still flirt with women, I can't help it! It's a matter of habit. I make sure to never go further though." He said the last part with conviction and Stein couldn't help but believe him. "I love Maka and Kami more than anything in the world. But well sometimes, Kami gets a little..." he looked uncomfortable even admitting his wife had flaws, "...possesive. I'm constantly worried she'll take it the wrong way and do something drastic."

That was Kami alright. She was passionate, like Spirit, as well as noble and strong. She did however have a short temper, which had gotten her in trouble before, and quite often overreacted to certain things. Not Steins insanity however. Stein had to agree that she had been in the right to take Spirit away from him before any permanent damage occurred. He hadn't been able to control himself at all back then. If it wasn't for the efforts of quite a few good people he'd be locked in an aylum somewhere, or dead.

Stein knew he wasn't very good at this comforting business but he decided to give it a go. Leaning against the wall next to Spirit he spoke,

"When I first saw you and Kami interact I thought it would be just like all of the other girls you'd ever dated. They'd pick you for your looks then leave in a huff when your eyes wondered somewhere else. But with Kami you were different.

Whenever she was there you had eyes only for her and wouldn't give another women the time of day. I watched in shock as days became weeks, then weeks became months and the two of you were still together. Next thing I knew you two were married and couldn't be happier. I remember thinking to myself that, 'Well, perhaps theirs is a love that will last forever through all adversity that might threaten to tear them apart.'"

Stein finished solemnly looking out of the corner of his eye at Spirit. He was lying through his teeth of course. Stein didn't understand concepts such as love. He knew this was true. Spirit knew this was true as well. But the thought was there.

"Thanks man." Spirit sniffed, "That was really beautiful." Stein stood up straight and made his way towards the front door.

"I should go. Tell Kami I said hello." Spirit nodded,

"Good luck with your mission." Stein walked out of the door, the wind causing his labcoat to billow out behind him. Spirit watched as he slowly walked out of sight.

"I knew he'd change." He smiled then closed the door with a click.

A/N: Let me know what you think. Was everyone in character? Did you chuckle a little? What was your reaction?

Please read and review, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

I'm really busy with my other fic so I can't promise regular updates.