Well here's chapter Four! Please excuse any mistakes that are made as these are all raw chapters. I'm still looking for a beta... or well I should be looking for one but because its a haitus story... well I'm sure ya know how difficult that can be. Anyway, enjoy!

Roughly 1 month since Chapter 3

Fai and Kurogane stood in the courtyard practicing spells they had learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts class that day. Kurogane was doing pretty well with the spells, but Fai seemed to have trouble with them. Especially the Disarming Spell, which he and his red-eyed friend were practicing at that moment.

"Kuro, this is hard! Can't we take a break for a few minutes?" Fai moaned, his wand flying out of his hand yet again. Scrambling to find his wand, Fai secretly wondered why he had such a hard time with Defense Against the Dark Arts and the spells corresponding to the class. Maybe it's because I'm used to running away when something gets too difficult for me to handle.

A well deserved smirk was in place on Kurogane's mouth, having successfully disarmed his blond haired friend multiple times he'd gotten used to the expelliarmus spell and then some. Shaking his head at Fai's unhappy face Kurogane wondered why he couldn't do such a simple spell. "You need to be more firm..." Racking his brain for a good way to describe the fighting spell style the raven haired young man continued. "Try to be confident when you say your spell." Having no other way to explain it to the other, Kurogane sat down under one of the many trees in the court yard.

"How about you help me with that charms spell?" He asked suddenly. Just as his parents had always said the two of them were truly Yin and Yang. Fai, who wasn't good at fighting spells was actually really quick about getting used to the charms that Kurogane couldn't seem to grasp.

The blond nodded as he picked up his wand. "Alright Kuro-rin!" Turning around, the blue-eyed wizard smirked. Knowing that his friend had trouble with Charms in general, he figured it would be fun showing off his ability when it comes to the subject to Kurogane. "Let's try the Hover Charm again!" Fai exclaimed, purposefully picking the charm that Kurogane seemed to have trouble the most with.

Surveying the area, Fai looked for something they could use to levitate in the air. Finding nothing, the blue-eyed wizard wondered if it would be a good idea using the charm on each other. "Hey Kuro-puu, how about we use the Hover Charm on each other? It would be fun to levitate in the air!"

Kurogane's face seemed to freeze for a moment as he contemplated on how to respond. The first idea was to simply call the blond a baka and ignore his request, but after being around Fai for so many years one would pick up on his devilish ideas. So instead the red-eyed young boy smirked. "Alright," getting to his feet in a rather hasty way Kurogane nodded. "Only way I'll do it is if I can try it on you first." His smile growing into that of pure evilness, Kurogane advanced toward Fai. "And no wussing out!"

Fai smiled charmingly. "Of course!" And, ignoring his friend's "request" of getting to go first, he added, "I get to go first though!" Pointing his wand at Kurogane, the young wizard moved his wand the way they were taught to while saying, "Wingardium Leviosa." Still smiling, Fai watched as his raven-haired friend rose into the air with ease. "Scared Kuro?" Fai inquired, a goofy smile still on his face.

Face twitching in anger Kurogane snapped, "I said I was going first you moron!" Looking down the young boy felt a twinge of unease as his feet dangled only a few feet in the air. Trying to calm his racing heart and look unfazed at the same time the young man thought about quickly ending Fai's spell simply by disarming him.

As the idea rolled though his head, Kurogane's smirk came right back into place as he moved his wand with a confidant wave. "Expelliarmus!" Watching as Fai's wand was jerked from his hand, Kurogane neatly hit the ground and rolled to break his fall. "Ha! How was that?"

"Aw Kuro-vil, you're no fun." Fai pouted, picking up his wand once more. Deciding that trying to disarm his friend would be a good comeback, Fai turned around and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" Unfortunately, the spell backfired instead and sent his own wand flying. Looking despairingly in the direction it flew, the blond moaned, "Not again!"

Laughing at his friend, Kurogane followed Fai's example of using a bad spell and roughly swished his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa." Speaking the spell with a calm and steady voice the young boy was irritated to see nothing happen. Shaking his wand rather heavily Kurogane growled at it. "Come on, work already! You'll spit out an attack spell but not this?"

Grinning and trying hold back his laugh, Fai found his wand in a bush and grabbed it. "Kuro, you're too rough. You need to be more..." Looking for the right word, the blond couldn't hold back his laugh anymore as he noticed Kurogane waving his wand around gruffly and quite comically. "...You need to be more delicate, which is clearly something you aren't."

Shooting a glare at his friend Kurogane huffed. "I'm not delicate," he spat the word out as if it were poison. "I've been trained to fight not waist my time with this flashy crap." Flopping down on the grass with an irritated look the young boy turned to look across the lawn before mumbling to himself. "And its only the first year, to think I have six more years of this crap."

Flouncing over to where his friend sat, the blond gracefully sat down next to his friend. Crossing his legs, Fai leaned forward and put his chin on the palms of his hands while propping his elbows on his knees for support. As he tucked a loose hair that found it's way in front of Fai's ice-blue eye, the young wizard turned to look at his friend with a bemused smile on his face, "Well I'm not trained to be a warrior, as you know. Truthfully, I'm used to dodging or running away when something gets too difficult. Maybe that's why I'm terrible at offensive magic."

Shrugging his shoulders out of his school robes Kurogane gave a light hum. "I can see that," turning his red eyes toward Fai's own blue he was, as always, amazed by how blue they were. "Your too much of a wimp to face the attack head on and I have to save you all the time." Turning his head away in a cocky manor the young boy smirked proudly. "But then again I guess that I don't mind having to save you, just goes to show how truly awesome I am."

Finding being idle a pain, the young boy gently turned his wand in his fingers. "All I want is strength, if I can be strong then no one I care about will be harmed." Allowing his eyes to lower to the lush grass upon which they sat Kurogane's voice dropped to a low tone. "I've watched Chichiue protect Hahaue and I know that some day it will be my turn to do that, and for me to be strong enough to help him I have to study as much aggressive magic as I can."

Realizing his subject of choice was such a dark one, Kurogane quickly changed the subject before the blond found something to berate himself about over it. "Hell I think that after a while I'll even be good at that charm if I keep trying," giving a light shrug of his shoulders Kurogane sighed. "Its all about the hard work..."

Despite the fact that the temperature out was warm, a cool breeze seemed to find its way into the courtyard and lightly blew at the two boys' backs. As Fai's hair gently shifted in the breeze, he found himself shivering from the cool wind. Swiftly standing up, Fai turned to look down at his friend and said, "Hey Kuro, I'm getting cold. I'm going to go inside. You coming?"

Spacing out for the briefest of seconds after he's spoken so much, Kurogane nodded; red eyes deep in thought. Getting to his feet much slower then his friend, the taller boy gathered up his school bag and walked after Fai as the other headed toward the castle.

Just as they walked through the massive front doors, Kurogane's stomach announced itself loudly. "Eh.. guess I'm hungry after all that practice." Grinning sheepishly Kurogane shifted his weight. "Hey, I'm going to go put my stuff up then take a shower. I'll meet you down here for dinner once the crowd thins out, ok?"

Glancing back at his friend, Fai nodded. "Okay Kuro! I'll meet you down in the Great Hall when your done! Just don't take all day."

Fai entered the Great Hall to see many students still eating. His ice-blue eyes skimming the students and tables around him, the blond could not find Kurogane in the mass of students. Guess Kuro's not down here yet. I'll just go and wait for him outside the Hufflepuff House entrance then! Dashing out the entrance to the Great Hall, Fai couldn't help but turn his thoughts back onto his and Kurogane's conversation and the dark turn it had taken. Though he hadn't let it show through at the time, the young boy had been secretly bothered by the subject. I've always been protected...Haven't I? Kuro, Yuui...Even père sheltered and protected me from the harshness of the world. Realizing he was letting himself be taken in by his dark thoughts, Fai pushed them away and tried to think of something happy. Soon, after failing at imagining himself getting good at offensive spells, the young wizard's imagination gave him an image of Kurogane trying the Hover Charm another go on a rock and had made himself levitate instead.

Easily sliding to a halt, Fai couldn't help but smirk and had to bite back a laugh as his friend came into view. Shaking the rest of the water from his black spikes, Kurogane sauntered up the last flight of stairs that lead from his common room. A small boyish grin turned up the boy's lips as Kurogane saw Fai panting before him. "Couldn't wait to see me huh?"

"Since you were so slow, I got bored waiting and came down to get your Kuro-rin!" Fai grinned, turning around gracefully in the direction of the Great Hall. "Come on Kuro, I'm hungry. You took so long that dinner's almost over with!" Nodding along with Fai, Kurogane just gave him a knowing look and began walking to dinner. Thankful that his house wasn't too far from the Great Hall, Kurogane kept an easy pace just to annoy the blond about his 'slowness'.

Though Fai did complain about the speed Kurogane was walking at, the young blond couldn't help but grin as he walked with his friend. He felt at peace, for what could be more serene than enjoying the company of a friend? "I wish it could always be like this." Fai mused, lost in thought. "Then it could always be this fun. I could always tease Kuro-beau and there would be no problems or care in the world." Turning towards his friend, a thoughtful expression came over the young wizard's face as he inquired, "Don't you agree Kuro?"

Giving a light shrug as he sensed the depth of Fai's question Kurogane pondered for a moment. "I like peace and all," he cast a look to Fai. "Seeing how I don't get much with you around but hardships are how you grow." Turning to face where he was walking once more, Kurogane continued. "I like the challenges that life throws my way, I grow just a little bit more toward my goal of protecting the ones I love."

Fai, realizing the conversation was heading to a point where he would end up exposing his hidden feeling towards the subject, decided to change it. "Hey Kuro, after we eat do you think we could maybe practice some more spells? It would be fun watching you levitate in the air again."

Shooting a glare toward the blond Kurogane walked through the doors to the Great Hall. "Tch, fine we can practice some more after dinner."

Fai sat in the Slytherin Common Room on the black leather sofa. A quill in his hand and a piece of parchment full of messy handwriting, he read the letter once more and, finding a mistake, put a strike through the word and replaced it with the correct one. Satisfied that his letter was at least presentable, despite being messy, he signed it with his graceful signature and set the quill down. Perfect. Now it's ready to be sent to mère! Quickly standing up and stashing the letter hastily in the pocket of his school robes, Fai hurried out of the Common Room and into the dungeon, where he had told Kurogane to meet him with Tawny an hour after dinner.

Looking around the empty dungeon, it wasn't hard to spot his friend and his big Australian Owl sitting on his shoulder. "Hey Kuro!" Fai greeted, waltzing up to his friend. "Thanks for letting me borrow Tawny!"Gently running his fingers over the birds plumage, Kurogane nodded. In his hand was a second letter that he himself had written out before coming to meet his friend. "I was sending a letter to Hahaue anyway, you know she likes weekly updates." A light blush crept up on the boys tanned cheeks as he spoke about his mother's need to be kept informed. Tawny, knowing she was about to go on a long flight, billowed her large wings against Kurogane's forearm. "Ouch, easy already Tawn, I know you haven't been out in a while but those wings do hurt!" Scolding is beloved bird gently, Kurogane smoothed out his painful expression as the bird hooted softly as if in apology.

Smiling, Fai took the now crumpled letter out of his pocket and handed it to Kurogane. Soon as the letter was out of his hand, Fai looked smirked slyly at Kurogane and said, "Kuro, didn't you tell me you would tell mère that you weren't going to send her weekly letters anymore? Or are you too much of a mama's boy to do so?"

"Tch, I'm not going to have a howler sent to me by Hahaue." He blushed lividly. "Besides she keeps going on about being lonely now that your not there to bug her."

Rolling his eyes, Fai exclaimed, "Hmm...Maybe I should start sending her weekly letters to so she won't be lonely anymore! Or would you be too jealous since I'd get all the attention from mère?" Raising his brow as if he was uneffected Kurogane mentally scowled. "Just give me your letter so that Tawny can take it!" Barking roughly at Fai, Kurogane took the letter in a huff before sharply turning on his heels. Banking her wings backward to stay upright upon his arm, Tawny gave a shrill hoot at her owner. Mumbling an apology to his bird the raven haired boy continued walking up the steps to the great hall.

Exactly one week later, Kurogane was astonished to see Tawny flying in through the dorm windows carring a large package. Dropping the object down on his bed with a rather tired hoot, the owl slowly landed upon the foot of Kurogane's bed before settling down to clean her feathers. Raising a brow at his bird, the red-eyed young boy set to work unwrapping the object Tawny had flown in.

After removing all the paper, Kurogane's mouth dropped open ever so slightly. Hahaue's staff? As a certain blond haired baka popped into the boy's mind, Kurogane quickly rose from the bed in hot pursuit of his friend. Having been at the castle for almost three months now, Kurogane knew of all the shortcuts between the Slytherin dorm and his own. Taking them in an effort to cut back the time it would be needed to reach Fai's dorm before he missed him at lights out, Kurogane slide to a halt before Slytherin's dorm entrance.

Exiting his dorm to go and ask Kurogane if a reply to his letter came for the fifth time that week, the blond was surprised to find his raven-haired friend at the entrance to his dorm. "Hey Kuro, what's up? Did mère reply back yet?" Then, noticing the staff located in Kurogane's grasp, became excited and exclaimed, "Yay, she did! She sent it! Is that the real one though? It looks real." And, upon grabbing the staff out of Kurogane's hand, Fai looked at it more closely.

The staff was a golden color, and was extremely long. Situated near the top of the staff sat a huge purple gem, and above the gem the staff extended outward. Located on both the left and right side of the top of the staff were three gold, decorative "rods" on each side. Each "rod" held two stones, on near the very edge of it and near the main body of the staff itself. And the most dazzling jewel of all lay between the two sides of the staff near the top. The jewel was much bigger than the rest, about four times as big, and looked to be made out of crystal.

Whistling at the sight, Fai observed, "This has to be the real one! Nothing fake could look this amazing! You know, mère is so thoughtful, sending the real staff here instead of a fake! It'll look great with my costume." Smiling at Kurogane, Fai inquired, "Was there anymore packages? 'Cause I asked her to send the costumes as well." Feigning a look of concern, the young blond added, "I hope she didn't forget."

Giving his friend a disgruntled look Kurogane demanded, "what costumes and why did Hahaue send you her staff?"

"The Halloween party of course! You have to wear a costume in order to be let in!" Fai exclaimed. A look of boredom crossed Kurogane's face as Fai filled him in on his latest 'evil scheme'. Wanting to have no part in the idea what so ever, the young boy turned on his heel to leave. "Well have fun with that." Kurogane muttered under his breath.

Getting in front of his friend to cut him off, Fai said, "Wait Kuro! Why don't you want to go? It'll be fun!" Looking upwards, Fai noticed two large owls, both carrying equally large packages, enter the dungeon and head straight for them "Oh, those must be the costumes." Dropping the two packages on the ground in front of the two young boys, the two owls hooted before leaving.

Staring at the package at his feet Kurogane growled as he bent down to pick it up. "I swear to Kami, Fai, if its something stupid looking I'm going to hit you across the head!" Slowly tearing into his package, Kurogane was moderately surprised to see a costume that he found relatively interesting. "Hahaue picked them out didn't she?" He asked as he pulled out a long black and red overcoat.

"Well she picked out the design of your costume, but I was the one who suggested it." Fai explained, a boasting tone entering his voice. Raising a brow at his friend Kurogane gave a quiet tch as he continued to walk. "I have homework to do and I'm sure you do too. Go grab your bag before I leave you to do it by yourself."

Smiling, Fai carefully picked up his package. As he turned to walk back towards his common room, the young wizard suddenly stopped to ask, "Kuro, you're going to the party too, right? It won't be fun going alone."

"Tch, I already told you baka! I'm not going!"

Scowling at his friend as Fai pushed the red-eyed youth into one of Hogwarts 'public' bathrooms Kurogane glared at the fabric in his hands. "I told you I don't want to dress up." Turning to face his friend with a grumpy look Kurogane didn't stop in his rant. "Hell I don't even want to go!" He complained.

"Aww but Kuro, mère spent so much time making that for you! You wouldn't want it to go to waste, right?" Fai teased, his eyes sparkling. "I mean, take a look at my costume! I'm surprised she was able to finish it so quickly!" Fai made a 360 degree turn, laughing as he showed off his costume.

Made out of heavy blue cotton and light white silk, the costume seemed extravagant to say the least. Long, light-blue sleeves hid under a heavy light-blue robe, the end of it laying on the ground in a light-blue pile of cotton. Engraved with a lavish design of silver colored swirls, creamy-white silk lay under layers of cotton. Sewn to the collar, edge of his robe and to the end of his sleeves; dark-blue fur seemed to bring an added luxurious touch to the outfit as a whole. Accompanied with his outfit was Lady Suwa's staff, which Fai held onto tightly.

Looking upon Kurogane's outfit that was still in his friend's hands, Fai whistled and said, "Kuro, you costume looks amazing! Not as elegant as mine but it definitely suits your gruff style."

"Gruff style huh?"

Staring down at the costume that his Hahaue had sent him, the young wizard felt a wave of annoyance at his friend. Shifting through the fabric Kurogane had to be somewhat impressed with his mother's work. Stitched together with great care was his family's signia. Composed of a long black coat, a red dragon scaling his back, Kurogane's coat would reach down to the heavy black boots. A wide collar spread out from the top of the coat, the chain hooked upon the collar would reach down to the fed bladed sword that his mother had sent. Hanging from the front of the coat, still attached to the collar was a small curled dragon emblem.

"Well come on Kuro! The party's going to start soon and I want to be there on time!" Using a fake tone of annoyance that contradicted the smile that was present on Fai's eager face, the blond quickly grabbed Kurogane's school robe from off his friend's body and threw it to the ground. "Kuro-puu, if you don't hurry I'll have to undress you myself."

Attempting to talk was useless as Kurogane began to stutter the moment Fai advanced toward him with that mischievous look in his eyes before stripping the red-eyed youth of his school robes. Fighting a blush that threatened to creep up his neck, Kurogane stepped away from Fai and his threats to slowly undress himself. "Fine, fine." Loosening the yellow and black tie about his neck, the young boy managed to scramble out of his shirt and belt before turning away to slide out of his pants.

With rushed motions, Kurogane pulled on the black pants that his mother had sent him, as well as a tight shirt of the same color. Shrugging his shoulders into the long coat, Kurogane put on his boots before adding the final touches to his costume. After clipping the chain onto his long bladed sword, Kurogane carefully pulled on the red band over his right arm as well as the red straps upon his boots.

Once his friend was done putting on his costume, Fai ushered his friend out of the bathroom, leaving Kurogane's robes strewn all over the bathroom floor. "You're so slow Kuro-rin." Fai said loudly in his friend's ear. "I don't have to drag you all the way there, do I Kuro-chiot?"

Giving the blond a light push to generate some distance between them Kurogane growled lightly as he bent to pick up his cloths. "I'll meet you down there, seeing how you wouldn't allow me to at least change in my dorm now I have to run these down to the common room." Bunching his cloths inside his school bag, Kurogane stomped past Fai to leave the bathroom.

Grinning happily as he watched his friend leave the bathroom, the blond quickly followed the raven-haired boy out into the corridor and headed in the opposite direction his friend had. Most of the party was being held in the Great Hall, the only thing that wasn't was the Haunted House (which the 7th years had decided to call "the Haunted Corridors" instead), which was being held at the Third Floor Corridor. At the thought of the Haunted Corridor activity, Fai shivered. He felt slightly apprehensive about it. Though he couldn't say he was afraid, the idea of a wizard version of a Haunted House was, for lack of a better word, intimidating. But once he entered the Great Hall to see many other students wearing funny or cute costumes, his apprehension left him and was replaced by pure excitement. Now if only Kuro-rin could hurry up then we could start having some fun...Oh, Butterbeer!

Noticing the mugs filled with butterscotch-colored liquid, Fai quickly rushed over to the table and grasped a cold glass, all thoughts of Kurogane now gone. Lifting the glass mug to his lips and letting the sweet liquid slip down his throat, some butterbeer dribbled onto his chin. Grinning sheepishly, Fai gracefully and swiftly putting down his mug and took a napkin from the table, using it to wipe off the the butterbeer from his chin. The blue-eyed wizard set down the napkin once it's usefulness was outlived and once again lifted the mug to his lips, drinking the remainder of his butterbeer in one gulp.

After several looks from his house mates, Kurogane had finally reached the great hall after returning from his dorm. Casting a look around the crowded dinning hall, the young boy gave a small sigh. I don't even know where the baka is. Scanning back over the crowd once more, Kurogane managed to narrow down the ideal places for Fai to hide. Weaving in and out of the groups of students, the red-eyed youth finally managed to find his way to the refreshment table, where Fai just happened to be; a small smudge of cream still on his chin.

"Figures I'd find you here." Giving a light roll of his eyes Kurogane huffed. "Now your gunna be hyped up on all that sugar." Ignoring the mugs of liquid, Kurogane opted instead to lean against the wall to the right of the table. Propping his right foot up on the stone wall, Kurogane leaned his head back while he crossed his arms. "So what are we supposed to do? If I'm going to be forced to come to this thing I want to at least do something fun!"

Fai wiped away the smudge of cream from his chin before answering, trying to figure out how to word his next sentence right. Coming to the conclusion that Kurogane would fight him on the idea either way, the blond decided to be straight-forward as he exclaimed, "The 7th years are hosting a Haunted House on the 3rd floor. Pr. McGonagall told us all about it during class, remember?" Not waiting for Kuroagne's reply, Fai continued, "She even asked the class if we were going. I asked you if you wanted to go and all you did was mumble something, so I told her we were going." Grinning goofily, the blue-eyed young wizard waited for his friend's reaction.

Weighing his options, Kurogane nodded. "I guess we can go." Lifting a hand to hide the smirk that was creeping up on his lips Kurogane said teasingly. "That is if you can withstand the horror," moving his hand away from his face the young boy wiggled his fingers in mock fear. Casting a doubtful look over his friend Kurogane pushed himself from the wall. "Speaking of which, why did you say that we'd go anyway? You've never been good with scary things." Talking as he walked, Kurogane headed out of the great hall and toward the floor that the 7th years had created their Haunted Corridor.

"Well, it sounded fun of course! Besides, I think you're the one who's going to get scared first." He replied, hiding the apprehension that had returned when Kurogane had mentioned his habit of being intimidated easily. Then, quickly putting his hand in his robe, Fai took out his Mokona doll. "I have Mokona and you to keep me company!"

Eyes bugging out at the sight of the doll, Kurogane's palm rose up to smack his brow. "The meat bun?" He exclaimed in disbelief.

"Of course! Mokona goes wherever I go! Well maybe not to classes, but I just had to bring him with me to the party." He closed his eyes and smiled, thinking back to the day he first got his doll. "Since he's a gift, I thought it was only right to bring him with me to Hogwarts and the Halloween party." Starting up the stairs that led to the third floor corridor, Fai opened his eyes and looked at his friend. "Why do you hate Mokona so much anyways?"

Opening his mouth to retort, Kurogane's words came out in a stutter. "I-I don't hate him, but I don't see why you'd bring him to the party." Speaking as if the doll were a person, Kurogane blushed lightly. "Tch, its just a meat bun, how can it be so special?"

Fai's eyes widened at his friend's question. He had never told anyone whom had given him the doll in the first place. And now of all times the doll was so important to him because he felt as if it gave him a close connection to the person whom had given it to him. Clutching Mokona closely and his eyes becoming deep round pools of sadness, Fai smiled to try and shake off the feeling of sorrow. "Père gave it to me one day when I was really young. I had been 4 then and I had been very upset that day. I don't remember why, but he gave it to me in order to cheer me up." A tear found its way into his ice-blue eyes, so he brushed it away hurriedly so that Kurogane wouldn't notice.

Instantly regretting his words, Kurogane's neck flushed. Turning to face his friend, the young boy's hand lifted with a light shake to whip away a stray tear from Fai's blue eyes. "That was uncalled for, I'm sorry." Turning his eyes away so that Fai couldn't see his expression Kurogane gave a sad smile. "I understand now why that doll is so important so I won't tease you over it again."

Reassured by Kurogane's words and wanting to change the subject, Fai said, "Hey Kuro, we're here!" It was true. Though it hadn't felt like it to the two boys, they had climbed three flights of stairs and in relatively good time and now found themselves at the entrance to the third floor. Fear suddenly casting a shadow over his mind, Fai moved his Mokona plushie to the hand he held that staff in and grabbed for Kurogane's hand.

Flinching slightly as Fai's cool fingers wrapped themselves around his own, Kurogane tightened his hold on the blond's hand in reassurance. Knowing he'd just pressed one of Fai's 'sad' buttons as he had started thinking about the subject, Kurogane wouldn't dare deny him the simple contact that the blond craved.

Straightening his back in an effort to look bigger then he was, Kurogane hoped that his posture would lend Fai a soothing effect to ease the scary atmosphere that the Haunted Corridor radiated.

Feeling relieved that Kurogane had not tried to pull away when Fai had grabbed his hand, the blond turned his head and smiled nervously at his friend. "Well Kuro, it's now or never." Pushing open the door that marked the entrance to the Haunted Corridor, the young wizard quickly walked in before he could come to regret the decision.

Upon entering the corridor, Fai noticed that it was quite dark and the intimidating atmosphere the blond had sensed outside the corridor entrance seemed to have doubled. Squeezing Kurogane's hand, Fai had hoped even the small contact would have calmed his nerves but he soon realized that this was not the case. Swallowing nervously, he focused on maintaining his smile, for what better way to distract oneself from fear than to concentrate on one thing other than the fear itself?

As Fai and Kurogane neared a mass of students whom were waiting patiently to start exploring the Haunted Corridor, the blond haired boy couldn't help but hear the story that the 7th year student in charge of the activity was telling. The tale seemed about a young former student of Hogwarts whom had entered the 3rd floor corridor in order to attend their next class. The 7th year student went on to explain how the former student had gone missing after the sound of a scream, and that their body had never been found afterwards. The 7th year also explained that her ghost seemed to haunt the corridor but, unlike all the ghosts present at Hogwarts, she seemed to be able to kill those whom were still alive.

Just as the 7th year finished telling the story, Fai felt a shiver go down his spine. Though he knew the tale couldn't possibly be real, it still had instilled a new found terror in him that had been less apparent before, or at least at a lesser extant. Gripping Kurogane's hand even tighter, the young wizard tried to forget the tale as the 7th year addressed the crowd and told them that they could start exploring the Haunted Corridor in pairs of two or three. "You ready Kuro?" Fai inquired, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

Having watched as Fai visibly paled upon hearing the sempai's words, Kurogane didn't bother holding back a grin. Each time Fai's hand tightened on his own, the young boy felt a sinister feeling of amusement flow through him at his friends stubbornness. "Fai we really don't have to do this if your that scared." Allowing a light teasing tone to enter his voice, Kurogane settled his red gaze upon his blond friend. "There's plenty of other things we can do..." his voice trailed off as he rummaged his brain for anything that Fai wouldn't be scared of at a Haunted party.

"No, really Kuro-rin, I'm fine." Plastering a weak smile on his face, Fai started walking towards the entrance to the Haunted Corridor. "I'm not scared at all, really. Let's just keep going. Besides, you still want to go right? I wouldn't want to ruin your fun just because I chickened out." Passing the 7th year whom was next to the Haunted Corridor activity, Fai noticed a drop of temperature in the air around him and, turning around to look back at the entrance that they had just passed through, found that he could see nothing but an empty corridor. "Where did the entrance go?"

Spinning on his heel, Kurogane looked behind him. Just as Fai had said the entrance to the corridor had disappeared, only a faint light was emitted from the very end of the hallway. Giving a light shrug of his shoulder, Kurogane huffed. "I guess they've got some serious spells going on in here." Taking a step forward as he pulled Fai along the young boy began to feel the temperature difference as the school hall way began to emit a dark aura.

Muttering to himself as his reflexes went on alert, Kurogane's mouth twitched in a cocky half-smirk. "They went all out huh?" Instantly his hand twitched to the long bladed sword hanging from his back, mind clicking back into the setting of a haunted house the young boy released the tension in his hand and let out a breath. "Bah, it would be bad if I killed someone... so don't scream Fai."

Nodding, Fai took a apprehensive step forward. Taking two more steps, the young blond couldn't help but scream despite Kurogane's orders when a suit of armor fell and a human skull rolled out. Though the Slytherin Common room contained skulls, none of them had been human so the skull did give him quite a scare.

Cackling as Fai let out a shrill scream right after he'd told him not to, Kurogane pushed his friend closer to the suit of armor. "Just look at it Fai!" He chuckled before leaning down to poke at the heavy metal. Forgetting about the 'haunted' halls, Kurogane instead inspected the defensive metal. "How in the hell did they fight with that?" He grumbled before standing up.

Casting a look to his timid friend Kurogane held his hand out once more. "Well lets keep going, don't want to ruin my fun right?" Kurogane asked as his eyes widened while he teased.

Fai took Kurogane's hand hesitantly, and though he couldn't summon the courage to smile, the young boy nodded at his friend's words. "Right, let's keep going then. It seems we can't turn back now anyways, since the entrance is hidden." As the two boys walked down the corridor, Fai made sure to stay only one step behind his friend so that he wouldn't have to be the first one to face anything scary that could pop up at any moment.

As they walked, the blond couldn't help but flinch or stifle a scream anytime there was a sound or a headless ghost appeared before him and Kurogane before suddenly disappearing. Each time that happened, the young blue-eyed wizard had to suppress the urge to run in the direction he and Kurogane had come from, but with each step it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so. Once or twice Fai had even stopped to think about the option, but never had actually gone through with it. It wasn't until a scream resounded around them that Fai had let go of Kurogane's hand in his terror and started running in the direction he thought the entrance to the corridor was located.

Scowling at his friend as a fellow first year group rushed by them, Kurogane was bumped to the side; his eyes loosing sight of the blond. Cursing under his breath, the young boy fought the tide of students and quickly headed the way he'd come only to encounter a dead end. Muttering death threats under his breath, Kurogane felt a rising panic as he ended up walking into yet another useless path in his search for Fai.

Deciding to stop and listen for his friend, Kurogane quietly knelt down, his fingers pressed into the floor to keep his balance. Shifting aside the sounds of any near by females, Kurogane heard a faint sniffle to the left of him and decided to follow it. Rounding a corner that lead to a long path way, the red-eyed youth spotted Fai as he skidded to a halt. "Baka!" He called out, face slightly red from his panic.

Fai, whom had been sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and his hands over his ears to ward off any remotely terrifying sounds, looked up at his friend's voice. Upon seeing his friend, tears spilled out of his eyes and he quickly got up before clutching Kurogane's chest. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't think i-it was going to be this scary and..." Fai hiccuped, burying his head in Kurogane's shoulder, "And when I-I heard the scream I couldn't help but run away..." Tightening his hold on Kurogane's costume, he desperately tried to think of a way to explain the reason why he had ran away.

Kneeling down beside side his friend, Kurogane felt Fai tug roughly on his front. Loosing his balance as the blond continued to pull him close, Kurogane plopped down on his rear and motioned for Fai to crawl closer. "Just shaddup." He spoke roughly while his hand gently closed over Fai's. "Haunted Houses just aren't your thing..." Spotting the white meat bun at Fai's side, Kurogane reached out to pick it up. "Besides..." he paused, eyes darting away. "You have me and the bun, right?"

From within his pocket, Kurogane's wand gave a light shake, its magic calling out to the young boy as he watched his friend cling to him. Slipping his right hand within his pocket, Kurogane's fingers wrapped themselves about the wand's handle. Pulling the wand out, the young red-eyed man gently tapped the head of the doll as he whispered a spell he'd heard his mother use quite a few times on the house's animated photos.

Fai's eyes widened as he watched Mokona seem to come to life. At first, all Mokona did was seem to stand there but, after a second or two, it noticed Fai's tears and walked up to clumsily hug Fai's side. The blond, though still surprised at the sudden life of the doll, quickly got used to it's touch and smiled warmly down at it. "Thank you Mokona," he whispered, patting it on the head. Turning his eyes towards Kurogane, Fai inquired in awe, "How did you make him come alive?"

Gapping at the doll as it moved, Kurogane shrugged. "I didn't mean for it to..." Fixating his blood-red gaze upon the now moving doll, the boy pushed the thought around in his head. "I guess... it was my wand." Recounting how Ollivander always said that wands had strange habits of producing unwanted magic while the wizard was still young, Kurogane could only assume that his own wand had read his emotions toward Fai and caused his spell to change unknowingly.

Clearing his emotions from his face and back into a calm expression Kurogane stood up, pulling Fai along with him. Whipping away at the last of Fai's tears, Kurogane gently ran his thumb over Fai's cheeks. "Just stop crying already... you're embarrassing me."

Fai, blushing slightly at his friend's gentle touch, nodded. Cautiously looking around, the blond couldn't help but notice that they were the only ones in the area. Wanting to get out of the corridor as quickly as possible before something else happened, Fai inquired, "Kuro...You do know where the exit is, right?"

Shaking his head the darker wizard sighed. "No, I had assumed we were almost there before you took off. Lets see if we can't find our way out." Stepping forward to lead the way Kurogane tightly gripped onto Fai's hand. "Just keep your eyes closed and don't open them." Giving his friend's hand a tight squeeze, something Kurogane figured he'd been doing to much as of late, the young boy pulled Fai down the hallway and toward what he thought was the exit.

Closing his eyes like Kurogane had told him to, Fai found that it wasn't as scary if he couldn't see anything. Though he did jump slightly at every noise, he didn't feel the urge to run away anymore. As they headed in the direction that they thought the exit was in, the corridor was starting to lose it's intimating and menacing atmosphere. Soon the menacing atmosphere was gone completely and, as Fai opened one ice-blue eye so that he could see where they were, saw a 7th year in front of them next to what seemed like the exit.

Not bothering to ask them if they had fun in the Haunted Corridor, the 7th year opened the door to reveal a light-filled hallway. Fai blinked as the light dazzled his eyes and, releasing Kurogane's hand, quickly exited the Haunted Corridor. Smiling, he breathed a sigh of relief, "It's so nice to be out of that corridor! Don't you agree Kuro-puu?"

Face twitching at Fai's nickname, Kurogane gave a loud 'tch' before heading down the hall. "Sure, now lets get something to eat!" Not waiting for his friend to follow, the young wizard began to head down the stairs toward the Great Hall. Imagining all the food that had been on display earlier, Kurogane rubbed his hands together in eagerness, unaware of a certain meat bun who's eyes followed him from Fai's shoulder.

Having reached the third floor stairs, Kurogane began to stomp down the stone stairs as Monoka leaped from Fai's shoulder onto the raven-haired boy's head. "Kuro-puu!" The meat bun echoed shrilly.

Fai's eyes widened when he heard Mokona use his nickname for Kurogane. "Wow, you can talk too?" Taking his eyes off of Mokona, the blond thought that he should probably thank Kurogane somehow for bringing Mokona alive and for getting him out of the Haunted Corridor, but just saying "thank you" didn't seem like it would suffice. So, with an idea forming in his mind, Fai exclaimed, "Kuro could you come here for a second?"

Turning quickly as a shadow of worriment fell over Kurogane's mind the young boy turned around expecting to see a rather flustered Fai but rather turned to see a teasing smirk upon the blond's lips. "Watcha want?" Kurogane asked slowly, he'd seen that smile upon his friends face more then once and never had he known it to be good.

"I want to thank you for getting me out of the Haunted Corridor Kuro. But since "thank you" wouldn't even describe how grateful I am..." Watching as if in slow motion, Fai leaned up on his toes to gently mess his lips against Kurogane's. Feeling the blond's cool lips against his own for the briefest of seconds, Kurogane's face blushed a vivid red as he stuttered.

"Why did you have to kiss me as a thank you!" Stumbling away from Fai in a rushed movement Kurogane's eyes shot down to the ground. "Damn French people, don't even know how to properly thank someone." Ranting on as he turned away to hide his eyes Kurogane stomped down the stairs. "A bow won't do will it? No he has to kiss me, always with the touching..."

Continuing his rant all the way down the stairs, the blushing Kurogane didn't bother to turn back and look at his friend who he assumed would be tickled pink.

Fai grinned, amused at Kurogane's obvious embarrassment. "Kuro-rin can be so shy sometimes, can't he Mokona?" Patting Mokona on the head (for the white creature had jumped back onto Fai's shoulder when the two had kissed), the blond laughed as he followed his friend down the stairs. My first year at Hogwarts is going to be fun, isn't it? Smiling at the thought, Fai quickly caught up with the raven-haired boy. Oh yes, this year is going to be quite fun indeed.

Authors' Notes:

Hahaue- Kurogane's Mother

Chichiue- Kurogane's Father

Pere- Fai's Father

Mere- Fai sometimes calls Kurogane's Mother.

French Nick Names that Fai uses.

Jolie- pretty

beau- beautiful

chiot- puppy

vil-mean/meanie