Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke nor Harry Potter, nor I make any profit from writing this. Beta-ed by the wonderful, wonderful Joh or unicornfarmer on Tumblr (she did the cutest akakuro cosplay, check them out!)

"Kise Ryouta," the headmistress announces, and the Great Hall thunders in reply. Kuroko sneaks a peek to the Gryffindor table—Kise himself, not surprisingly, is surrounded by his housemates, getting hugs and hearty claps on the back. Aomine is one of them, though he looks a little bit disgruntled. It's obvious that he's jealous, and Kuroko personally thinks had Aomine put his name in the goblet he'd be the one basking in glory today. Aomine intended to join the cup, but he kept procrastinating in putting his name in and in the last hour of submission he fell asleep. Or so Kuroko heard. He's not surprised if it were true.

Akashi Seijuro is the Durmstrang champion, and from Beauxbatons there is a beautiful girl whose name Kuroko cannot pronounce without choking. The champions are ushered somewhere by the teachers, and noises explode when they're gone from sight. Everybody is talking about the first task; about dragons and eggs, and this girl somewhere from Kuroko's left wagers this time it will be Chinese dragons. Kuroko agrees silently that they are beautiful in a different way from their kind, but he keeps it to himself that he thinks there will be no dragons this time around. The purpose of this year's Triwizard Tournament is to prove that it could be held without the horror it evoked the last time on which the great Harry Potter himself was in attendance.

Kuroko is thankful that all the food has disappeared, because he feels like he wants to throw up when he thinks about the danger Kise is about to face, whatever the first task is, and the sight of food will not make his stomach feels any better. Midorima looks at him in concern.

"Not that I'm worried," says Midorima, pushing up his glasses with his index finger. "But if you don't feel well you should see Madam Poppet."

Kuroko shakes his head. Midorima is one of the few people who is able to notice Kuroko, but they're not quite friends, or so Midorima exclaims.

"I-" he's about to say, but he's distracted by movement from across the room—Aomine stands out like a sore thumb because he's getting up from his spot while everybody else is still seated and he leaves the Great Hall even though they have not been dismissed.

"What is it," asks Midorima.

"I'm going ahead to the tower. I'll just sleep my headache off," Kuroko lies. A good thing about being himself: when he slips out from the table and practically runs out of the Great Hall, no one notices.

Finding Aomine isn't hard. If he's not in the Quidditch pitch, he's napping somewhere close to the Black Lake. Kuroko finds him in the broom closet in the school's storage room.

"Going for a fly?"

Aomine jumps, his hand flying to his wand automatically. Kuroko steps in beside him and nonchalantly joins Aomine in picking up a broom.

"Bloody hell, Tetsu, don't do that. What if I accidentally hex you?"

"You won't," answers Kuroko, weighing a broom on his palm. This one seems fine—not as good as his own Thunderbolt, but if Aomine is not using his own broom neither will he.

"I swear I will next time," Aomine grumbles, but he said that last time, and the time before that. Aomine will never hurt him, Kuroko knows.

They both fall into a companionable silence. Aomine finds his choice and they race to the pitch, kicking the ground to soar into the night sky.

Aomine flies like a mad man afterwards, whooping and doing crazy feints that always send Kuroko into near heart attacks. Kuroko doesn't chide him this time though. He silently throws a notice-me-not charm Aomine's way when he's close enough, because flying at this time at night is not exactly following the rules. Kuroko doesn't need one, really, but he does it to himself too just in case.

Kuroko keeps his eyes on Aomine, lest the charm trick him too. He floats to Aomine when the boy is done venting his frustration.

"Daiki," he calls, as quietly as possible, because if he surprises him too much he's afraid Aomine will fall. Again, Aomine jumps, though thankfully he doesn't budge from his broom.

"You twat!" hollers Aomine. He swats a hand towards Kuroko's head that the shorter boy avoids easily on his broom.

"Quiet, Daiki, or the notice-me-not charm won't work at all," Kuroko shoos. The glares he receives do not deter him a bit.

"Let's just go back, Tetsu," Aomine sighs. He motions Kuroko to fly closer, and once Kuroko is sure the Gryffindor isn't about to extract revenge, he obliges. Aomine reads this and rolls his eyes. "Thank you," he says, turns out that he just wanted to muss Kuroko's hair.

Kuroko shrugs. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nah, I'm good," answers Aomine as they land. "It's my fault in the first place anyways."

"I'm glad you're okay, Daiki. Ryouta will need your help to get through the tournament."

Aomine snorts. "He's going to need you more than me." He nudges Kuroko's side. "I'm not the one he follows around like a bloody puppy. Bless Merlin you ended up in Ravenclaw, Tetsu, or he'd practically stalk you twenty four seven,"

"We're both going to support him, then," amends Kuroko.

Aomine puts his arm around Kuroko's shoulder. "Well, I guess I'll lend you to him for a while this time."

It's not curfew yet and they both walk to the Ravenclaw tower because Aomine insists on accompanying him back. They meet a distraught Kise on the way, who quickly attach himself to Kuroko after they make themselves known to the blond.

"Tetsuyacchiiii! I was about to visit you!"

Kuroko lets Kise cling to him, patting the Hogwarts champion on the back.
"Congratulations, Ryouta," he says. Kise lets out some kind of a screech of happiness in response.

Both Aomine and Kuroko ignore it. "Do you know what the first task is?" asks Aomine.

"Not yet." Kise shakes his head. "It's supposedly a secret, remember? That bloke from Durmstrang, though, I think he knows already."

"You reckon it's going to be dragons again?"

"I doubt it," Kuroko speaks up. "I think it's going to be easier than that. I think they put dragons last time because Harry Potter was one of the champions."

Kise fiddles with Kuroko's striped blue and bronze tie. "I can defeat a dragon anytime," he sniffs. "I read what the last champions did to get the egg. I remember all the spells they casted and I just needed you or Daikicchi to show it to me so that I can learn it."

"You and your perfect copy," says Kuroko, exasperated. "What if we're not there? You should start learning on your own."

"But you're not going to leave me, are you Tetsuyacchi?" Kise whines, as if Aomine isn't there. "I won't let you leave anyways."

Aomine delivers a hit to Kise's head. "What was that for!" the blond yowls.

"You're getting on my nerves," the other says. They bicker for a while until the Ravenclaw Head Boy—Midorima, that is—yells at them to go back to their own house or he'll start docking points.

"I'm a Head Boy, too, you can't do that," Kise points out.

"Well Aomine isn't one," Midorima snaps back. He takes a good look at Kuroko who's trapped in the middle of them. Sighing, the bespectacled boy grabs him from Kise's embrace and pushes the boy to the Ravenclaw's common room entrance. "Not that I care, but Kuroko's a fellow Ravenclaw and he says he's got a headache, so both of you will do well not to disturb him."

Aomine frowns. "You have a headache and you flew with me? Merlin's beard, Tetsu-"

"Tetsuyacchi," starts Kise, at the same time as Midorima's Kuroko, you.

Sensing a storm brewing, Kuroko flees the scene.

Midorima is the only seventh year who takes Divination, and he's good at it.

"I saw snakes."

"Pardon me?" asks Kuroko.

"Your friend, Kise," Midorima says, finally looking up from his crystal ball. Kuroko doesn't find it in himself to remind him that Kise is Midorima's friend, too. "I'm trying to gauge what's his first task is. I definitely saw snakes,"

Midorima gestures to the ball, and all Kuroko sees is fog and something round and orange bouncing. "Ah," he hums. Kuroko makes a mental note to check the library for books about magical snakes and spells that can be used against them. He doesn't really believe in divination, but he believes in Midorima. "What will you do if you face them, Midorima?"

True to Midorima's words, Kise has to face three-headed giant snakes for the first task. The other champions also have to fight other three-headed, humongous magical beings and get their eggs. Kuroko doesn't get the chance to see what they are, because Kise gets the first turn and once he's done Kuroko is busy running to the hospital wing where the blond is brought.

"Tetsuyacchi!" Kise waves excitedly from his place in the bed. On his lap, there is a big golden egg.

"I'm here too, you know," Aomine remarks, though not heatedly. Kise grins at him.

"Are you hurt anywhere? I saw one of the heads breathed fire on you," asks
Kuroko, hovering around Kise's bed. Aomine makes himself comfortable on the empty bed beside Kise's.

"I'm fine, thanks to the lucky item Midorimacchi gave me!"

Kuroko nods, remembering a small rock Midorima handed to Kise before the first task began. There must be some properties on it that makes the owner resistant to fire or something. "Why are you in the bed, then? Do you have any other injuries?"

"Aaah, I'm so happy that Tetsuyacchi is worried about meee!" Kise cries, tugging Kuroko's arm so he can properly hug the smaller boy. "Madam Poppet forced me to stay in the bed for an hour, and then I can leave."

A tension that Kuroko doesn't even know he has leaves his chest in a whoosh. He looks up, noting the tiredness under Kise's eyes and the grin that looks a little bit crooked today. He must be staying up late these days to practice spells.

Kuroko's about to tell him to get some rest, but he's interrupted by the sounds of frantic footsteps getting louder outside the hospital wing. He extracts himself from Kise, ignoring the blond's whine, because he does not need to add fuel to the fire by letting himself get caught in an intimate position with the Hogwarts champion. The student body already thinks he is having threesomes with Aomine and Kise, and now that Kise is more famous than ever—his face is on the cover of the latest edition of Weekly Witch—more people are going to snoop in their innocent business. Kuroko does not want to get caught in the middle of it all.

It's Florence from Beauxbatons, it turns out. She's pallid, her sides are bloody and her right hand seems badly burned. She has her golden egg, however, and the girl pets it with her uninjured hand lovingly, almost like a mother to her child. Madam Poppet floats her from a stretcher to the closest bed by the door, yelling at Aomine to get off at the same time, which the boy obeys because healers are scary.

The witch fusses over the girl, giving her vials after vials of potions—Kuroko has it all sorted in his head: the maroon one is a blood-replenish potion, the one in the brown container is to reduce pain because Kuroko has been here enough times to remember all of that. When she's done fixing the Beauxbatons beauty, she stalks off in their direction.

"Thank you so much for taking care of Ryouta, Ma'am," says Kuroko, ever the polite and formal one.

"Oh," Madam Poppet smiles. She has a soft spot for Kuroko. "Don't mention it, dear. I'm just doing my job. Now—are you getting enough sleep, Mr. Kuroko? You look more exhausted than Mr. Kise here."

Kuroko denies it in reflex, but then he notices the ache in his eyes and the exhaustion in his bones. He remembers fleetingly Midorima's quiet prod to get pepper-up potion and Aomine endless questions of are you okay, but back then it all didn't seem too important because Kise could have died if Kuroko didn't help. Not that the headmistress would allow anything to happen to her students, but accidents have happened before.

Aomine clears out of the way when the healer steers Kuroko to the bed beside Kise. It's still warm from Aomine's recent nap on it, and his lids are getting heavy.

"Told you so, Tetsu," comes Aomine's voice, and big hand musses his hair. "No reading after your bedtime anymore. Especially if it's for that idiot's sake. He should stop copying and start learning on his own."

Kuroko doesn't dignify that with a reply. Then he imagines the guilt he must be causing Kise right now, and he mutters, "I'm fine. I don't mind." After a while, he adds, "Don't even think to sneak up to my bed after I fall asleep, Ryouta."

"He did that?!" Aomine raises his voice, half an exclamation and half a question. Madam Poppet shushes him.

"Last Quidditch match against Gryffindor. And the one before that."

Kuroko hears Kise yelps as Aomine backhands him. He falls asleep to the sound of Madam Poppet's gentle scolding in the background.

When Kuroko wakes up, Kise and Aomine are gone and there is a stranger staring him down from the bed across the room. His hair is even redder than that of the Weasleys, and his eyes are fascinating dichromatic colors.

It's the Durmstrang's champion. Kuroko has heard rumors about him, the bad ones more than the good. Don't cross him. Flee on sight. Last summer he killed a chimera and ate it for dinner.

Rumors are based on some truths, so Kuroko breaks their eye contact and sits up to leave. He has not yet put his feet on the ground when Akashi says, "How could I not notice you before? Were you under a disillusionment charm?"

Kuroko carefully looks at him. "There are more than a thousand people in the castle right now. I doubt you can pay attention to every single one."

Akashi's eyes narrow. Kuroko dares himself to observe the ginger. He doesn't look injured at all. The golden egg is nowhere in sight, but Kuroko is sure he won the first task.

"Were you lying in that bed the whole time?"

Kuroko looks away and nods. He feels Akashi's stares grow heavy on him, and when he hears the other murmur "Hmm, interesting," loud enough for him to hear, he jumps to his feet and exits after muttering a hasty goodbye.

Kuroko usually doesn't draw attention to himself. But when he does—accidentally, most of the times—he always gets the weird ones.

It's harder to hang out with Kise nowadays, especially with girls and boys trying to hang off of his arms. Kuroko realizes this loss with a little jolt, because usually by this time Kise would be leaning hard on him and putting his chin on top of his head while quarrelling with Aomine by his side. It's just Aomine and him today. It's quiet for once, but it's not uncomfortable.

Aomine maneuvers his head so it ends up on Kuroko's lap. He wiggles to get a more comfortable position, and when he does, he tugs Kuroko's arm down and signals him to continue with his reading.

It's warmer with Aomine so close. Today they are not on their usual picnic spot close to the Black Lake because it's too cold and snow has gathered a few inches on the ground. Kuroko sighs. When Aomine is acting spoiled like this, it means he wants to talk about something. Kuroko doesn't ask, however, and settles himself for a read. Aomine will talk when he's ready.

"Tetsu."

"Hmm."

"Tetsu," Aomine tries again, this time knocking Wonders of Merlin from Kuroko's grasp.

Kuroko was at the good part of the book, so he's annoyed. "Are you still jealous of Kise?" he bluntly says, intending on a scathing remark.

Aomine laughs, and it's forced. When he calms down, the line of his mouth is serious and a little bit angry. "Pfft- Merlin's pants, no. Not worth my time to be jealous of the bloke."

He does not continue, however, and that irritates Kuroko. He set aside his reading for this; Aomine may as well get it over with.

"I'm not able to be that much of a help if you don't elaborate that, Daiki," Kuroko tonelessly points out.

The taller of the two turns on his side in response, circling an arm around Kuroko's waist. "For a Ravenclaw, you're awfully dense, you know."

Kuroko ignores the jibe. He always thought he was better suited in Hufflepuff anyways. In his first year he was so shocked that a hat talked inside his head that he didn't even argue when it wondered quite loudly in his mind whether to place him with the loyal or the intelligent. As the Great Harry Potter said (bless his soul) on Severus Snape's biography: sometimes, the hat sorts too soon.

"Daiki."

"Who are you taking to Yule Ball?" asks Aomine abruptly. Whatever he's supposedly confessing to Kuroko right now, this is not it; that much Kuroko can deduce.

He doesn't comment on that. "Satsuki."

The hand splayed on his back tightens. "Who is she?"

"One of the Beauxbatons. She asked me a while ago."

"How did she come to know you?" Kuroko feels Aomine curling his lips more than sees. He doesn't take offense in Aomine's surprise because, well, he doesn't exactly have a presence in the first place, so it's a rare occurrence when someone is taken to him.

"I… helped her with something." Kuroko grimaces. Momoi's advances are not unwelcome, but it feels like there are two Kises now in his life. It's a little bit tiring.

"How come I never saw her?"

"Yes, you have. I introduced you to her once. She's the one with pink hair."

"Oooh," Aomine leers. "Big Tits?"

"That's why she avoids you, Daiki."

Aomine's chuckles are warm on his stomach. "Ha. Ryouta will be so livid."

Kuroko may make a bad Ravenclaw, but he is a Ravenclaw nonetheless. When he has clues and is presented with facts, he can draw a line between the dots and make a decent conclusion. Observing and deducting is what he does every day, because there is less to do when nobody bothers him—they do not even realize he is there, after all. Hence Kuroko can say, or as quoted from the Hogwarts gossip mill, Kise may (or may not) have homoerotic feelings towards Kuroko.

One does not have to be one of the eagles to say that—it is as plain as Kneazle's fur: Kise, who hugs Kuroko in every chance he gets, who practically begged his head house to change his schedule around so that they could share almost every class together for the same subject. In fact, nobody would probably know Kuroko exists at all if not for Kise who shows the Ravenclaw off every time they hang around and sings praises of him ("What do you mean you don't know Tetsuyacchi, he's just about the smartest Ravenclaw I've ever met, he's really good at Quidditch too, you see, and, and-"). Problem is, Kise is the popular bloke of the school-like those smirking assholes from the muggle telly Kuroko happened to watch once, ones that have people kissing the ground they walk on-so everybody does listen.

Kuroko's title changes from the-bloke-who-follows-Kise-around to the-bloke-Kise-has-a-man-crush-on. Kuroko is averse to that, but his opinion doesn't count and, Kise, used to attention, is well-versed to playing deaf. Kuroko doesn't know whether Kise is aware of the inaccurate opinions, but if he is, he never mentions it.

The Hogwarts gossip mills, however, also states that Kise and Kuroko shag frequently in the broom shed every Friday and have a threesome with Aomine on full moons, so Kuroko isn't quite sure about the whole Kise thing. He never really thinks about it, because so far, his virginity is intact. Yet lately the subject comes up a lot, and even Aomine who usually doesn't give a fuck about things besides Quidditch and scantily-clad witches hints at it.

"Who will you bring to the ball?" Kuroko changes the subject. He's doing a poor job at making it subtle, but Aomine laps it up nonetheless. It never quite occurs to Kuroko until they leave for dinner that the Gryffindor never really talked about what was bothering him.

The moment Kuroko steps into the Great Hall he is tackled by a golden blur.
"Where have you been," asks Kise, his tone lacking his usual cheer.

Aomine answers for Kuroko, and there was a sharper edge to Kise's stance. "I was looking for you two everywhere. Why didn't you bring me along?"

At that point, Aomine has left for his usual spot at the Gryffindor table and Kise tails Kuroko who walks to his respective table.

"You were quite busy when we found you," Kuroko explains neutrally. "It looked like an important interview."

Kuroko opts to sit in the less-crowded part of the long table because he's sure Kise is not going to eat with his housemates tonight and, well, fewer ears are always better. Kise tends to be dramatic in a lot of situations.

"We didn't hang out yesterday either," cries Kise.

"We had Potions and DADA together," Kuroko counters.

"That doesn't count," says Kise sulkily, stuffing beans and roasted chickens to his plate. When he sees Kuroko's mostly empty plate save for some tarts, he puts some on it, too.

"You were busy, too, if I recall," Kuroko says. He isn't sure why he's humoring his friend. "You were talking with your friends. I didn't want you to spend all of your time with Aomine and me."

Kise drinks his pumpkin juice loudly, his eyes narrowed. When he turns to Kuroko, however, his expression is back to normal. He keeps his frustration in his tone, however. "They're my fans. I'd rather spend my time with you. I'd be more than happy to."

Instead of pointing out that Kise is overreacting, Kuroko nods. They eat in silence then, with their elbows and knees touching. At one point Kise says that he met a lovely pink-haired girl who asked about Kuroko's whereabouts a while ago, and he asks how he knows such a pretty Beauxbatons girl.

"Oh, Satsuki is my date, actually," Kuroko says, and for a second he is afraid Kise is going to break his glass.

The Hogwarts champion refuses to look his way. Kuroko wants to take the pumpkin juice out of his hand because it's too much work to scourgify it if it spills.

"Tetsuyacchi," Kise begins. Kuroko is still not able to look at his face properly, for the other has looked away. "I joined this tournament because— had I known it would take you away from me—"

Sometimes, Kise says more embarrassing things in a more straightforward way than Kuroko does. The students around them who have been eavesdropping are no less stumped than Kuroko, and after a minute ticks by, a furious whispered discussion erupts among a group of girls to their right.

"No one's taking me away," Kuroko says patiently, in the same cadence as what are you talking about.

Kise continues to sulk. Kuroko is more worried about what the Witch Weekly has to say about this than Kise's brooding.

The Witch Weekly didn't mention anything about Kise's love life except that he's bisexual—but everybody practically is in this era—and he's single. That's good. The rumor mill now says they are shagging twice a week, and now eyes find his person more often because they want to check for a limp.

Kise ends up going with Florence. They make a stunning couple, and when they open the dance it's like watching a pair of swans doing a tarantella. Satsuki is gorgeous tonight, too. Kuroko finds Aomine looking at her chest several times and knocks him hard on the head. Not hard enough, because he's still doing it five minutes afterwards.

Kuroko dances three times, twice with Satsuki and once with Aomine. He's bad at it, so before his friends rope him in he makes himself as small as possible and situates himself in the middle of huddling fourth years. The similar heights help his absence. He watches Kise be swarmed by people asking for a dance and Aomine, who's snogging the life out of his date—a sixth year Gryffindor that Kuroko doesn't know—behind the Christmas tree.

He doesn't expect anyone to talk to him, so he may or may not have (the answer is not) squeak when a hand appears on his elbow and someone calls his name. So this is what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a surprise attack, Kuroko thinks.

It's Akashi. Kuroko politely bids him a good evening.

"May I have this dance?" asks Akashi, and it's an order. Kuroko lets a second of silence evaporate to give himself a moment of illusion that he actually has a choice to say no.

"This is a bad idea. I can't dance," tries Kuroko. Rather than stepping on Akashi's feet, however, he's more horrified of the idea of hundreds of pairs of eyes focusing on him.

"When I'm leading, none of my partners are clumsy on their feet," Akashi promises. True to his word, for once Kuroko feels like he's doing it right—Akashi leads him so that somehow his body is in one spirit with the music.

"What do you want?" Kuroko asks, once he feels confident enough not to focus only on his feet.

"Simply a dance with a pretty little thing," answers Akashi by his right ear. The answer makes Kuroko want to blast the other to Pigfarts.

"We only talked once. You don't know me. There are… prettier things in this room, yet you chose me. What do you want," Kuroko repeats.

Akashi titters. His chuckles raise the fine hairs on Kuroko's nape. From the corner of his eyes, Kuroko sees Aomine with a thumb on his wand holster. Kise, on the other hand, looks like a second away from ripping someone's throat.

"If this is about the egg, I don't know how to get it open," Kuroko says, because that's the only logical reason as to why Akashi has any business with him.

Kuroko has read every single book concerning the Triwizard Tournament and the 1994 newspapers to look for clues in opening the golden egg, but he found none. The newspapers gave out the first task in details, but it didn't explain what the four champions did to the eggs afterwards and its connection to the second task. In fact, there was no mention of the eggs in the lengthy article of the second task at all.

Regardless, if Kuroko knows how to open the egg, Akashi is so wrong if he thinks he can threaten the knowledge out of him.

To Kuroko's surprise, Akashi laughs again, another pitter-patter sound that is sort of sad and beautiful to the ears.

"You are amusing, Tetsuya," Akashi says, when his mirth is over. He eyes Kuroko like an indulgent adult. "But no, not that. It surprises me, however, that Ryouta hasn't been able to open his egg yet."

Kuroko can't keep hope out of his voice. "You know how, then?"

"What are you willing to pay for the knowledge?" Akashi quips, twirling Kuroko around. Kise is now standing impatiently on the sidelines, staring at them intently. Kuroko signals him with a roll of his eyes, willing him to understand that he has it under control, which Aomine picks up but Kise chooses to ignore (Aomine does, too, to be fair, but at least the boy feigns his ignorance).

Kuroko wrecks his head, trying to figure out what Akashi might want from him. They only had an encounter once, so maybe it's something Kuroko did when he was in the hospital wing…

The Durmstrang champion had questioned his presence and said that he was interesting.

The key must be lying in that conversation, Kuroko figures.

"Were you using disillusionment charm?"

Disillusionment charm… Akashi is hardly the first person who thought so, truth be known. Kuroko attracted the headmistress' attention because she thought he was developing a new type of disillusionment charm. When Kuroko denied it, let it be said, it was absolutely tiring to be under a constant watch from the powerful witch because she was sure he was lying…

Ah.

"Money?" Kuroko stoically says. That is not the prize, but he'll be damned if he doesn't try.

What marrs Akashi's features is what could be described as disappointment. It's the only sign of displeasure he has shown Kuroko tonight. "Don't play dumb, Tetsuya. That's unbecoming of a Ravenclaw."

Kuroko shrugs. "Oldest trick in the world. I have to try."

Akashi smirks, clearly back to thinking that Kuroko is a kitten and he holds the other end of a ball of yarn. "Well, let's try again, shall we? Tell me, Tetsuya, what's worthy of a clue that might just save your friend's life?" he rhetorically asks. He is rough when he pulls Kuroko closer. "An equivalent trade, my dear, is only proper."

The only thing that runs through Kuroko's mind is the fact that Akashi is not as tall as he appears to be. His piercing stare and overbearing presence are so great, however, that everyone seems to agree that Akashi towers over everybody.

Kuroko wills his expression to change to that of regret, but he thinks he fails. "The secret to my invisibility," Kuroko offers, and hopes his shaky frame doesn't give him away. "An equivalent trade."

"Good boy," Akashi coos. "Shall we take this outside, then?"

"Later," Kuroko pleads. He has to retreat first—to make a strategy of how he's going to escape when Akashi realizes that he's been tricked. "Midnight. Third floor, the first class that you see. It's locked, but if you point your wand to the right corner and say bemora, it will open."

"Isn't this a little bit too easy, Tetsuya," Akashi murmurs. Kuroko's heart skips three beats, but it goes back to normal when Akashi seems to come to the conclusion that nobody, let alone an unimportant thing like Kuroko, would be able to deceive him. "Ah, no matter. Let's return you to your dog, shall we?"

Akashi holds the tips of Kuroko's fingers an arm's length away. It is so 1800 and so deceitfully chaste, but Kise is not one to fool. He agrees to play the game, however, by accepting Kuroko's hand in half a bow and thanking Akashi for returning him in one piece. Kuroko feels like a butterbeer illegally traded between a dealer and an addict.

Once the redhead goes away, Kise drops his smile and drags Kuroko to a secluded place—it annoys Kuroko that he has been manhandled quite a lot today, but alas, Quidditch players tend to have a good grip on things, and Kuroko isn't really sure the Durmstrang champion is a player, but with his reputation it is safe to say he'll die trying to get away.

Kise whips out his wand and whispers the incantation for a privacy bubble and a silencing charm. Kuroko scourgify himself but his body still itches where Akashi touched him.

"I'm fine, Ryouta," assures Kuroko when the other pokes and prods him for injury with his wand and then his hands when he isn't satisfied. "Sod off," he says when Kise doesn't stop, although he hardly moves to stop the other. It's hard to escape from Kise when he's persistent.

"He was groping you!" Kise growls.

"So what, now you're going to reclaim your territory like an animal?" Kuroko raises an eyebrow. He's good at that, patronizing people and making them feel guiltier than a First Year stealing cookies from the kitchen, but his plan seems to backfire because Kise looks like he is tempted to do just that. Hastily, Kuroko adds, "No, he wasn't groping me. You are."

Kise doesn't have the decency to look embarrassed when he backs off. "He put his hand on your arse," the blond hisses.

"He didn't," denies Kuroko, though he isn't quite sure. What's a grope here and there, anyway. Aomine does that all the time.

Kise rakes a hand through the perfection of his hair and makes an agitated noise. Kuroko's stubbornness has a habit of doing that to people.

"Ryouta," Kuroko calls, but the other does not turn around to face him. The Ravenclaw does not call again; nonetheless he takes one balled fist and clasps it as he walks around the blond. "Look at the mess that you've made," Kuroko gently says as he tiptoes to reach for Kise's hair. He smooths it with one hand, combing it to the side to reach its previous look. He has a lot of practice in this—every morning, in fact, what with his own crazy bed hair.

Kise has stilled—his eyes do not flutter close, his gaze falls heavy on him instead but Kuroko is an expert on not moving a muscle in his face. When he is done Kise is the one trapping Kuroko's hand in his while he catches the other one and puts it on his chest. Kise's heartbeat is thumping hard and fast against Kuroko's left palm.

"You're being unfair," murmurs Kise, almost brokenly. "At least tell me what you two were discussing? He didn't blackmail you or anything, did he?"

Kuroko goes rigid for a millisecond but Kise is too distracted to notice. That hit too close to home.

"Drop it, Ryouta," says Kuroko, and he widens his eyes for good measure.

Under all the decorating lights Kuroko sees Kise's pupils dilating, making the golden flecks in his iris more apparent than before.

"Fine," Kise accepts, and he's back to wide grins and charming winks. "But you owe me a dance."

Notes: Comments, critiques, and feedback are greatly appreciated :)