SpellBound

(3rd Person P.O.V)

Izaya was pretty sure that was the worst class so far. All they did was revise for one half of the class and the rest was wasted for some pointless story that the professor thought then was the right time and place. It wasn't even relevant to the subject at all!

'No wonder she's called Bathsheda Babbling...' The raven thought, now thoroughly annoyed. 'What does a sword that slashes in the name of love have to do with words engraved in rocks?'

Having already memorized his timetable his mood lifted, but only slightly. Next was Defence Against the Dark Arts which he normally enjoyed, but now they had someone from the Ministry of Magic teaching them. After racking his brain the auburn-eyed teen remembered something his father had said while eating dinner.

Flashback_____________________

"Itadakimasu!"

"So honey, how was work today?" Mrs. Orihara asked as everyone started eating.

Her husband, who was across from her, swallowed what he was chewing.

"It was pretty much the same as yesterday." He answered. "But I overheated the Ministry might be sending someone to Hogwarts to keep an eye on Dumbledore."

"Why would they do that?" Izaya questioned, biting into a piece of chicken. "Is it because of what they're getting the Daily Prophet to say?"

"Pretty much." the teen's father answered. "They might be teaching in a subject they think is too... out of hand?"

The two twins who had been sitting quietly groaned. Well, one of the did. "But father, none of the subjects are majorly dangerous."

"...dangerous... "

"Well, I personally think it's a good idea." Mrs. Orihara sniffed. "Sometimes Hogwarts can be very life- threatening. I mean look at what happened to... the youngest Weasely in Second year. She nearly died!"

The children shared looks as their father worked on changing the subject. "Well, enough of that. How was your day, dear? I'm sure it was better than mine..."

End of Flashback______________

Izaya entered the classroom, hoping he would at least learn something new. The raven looked around until his eyes settled on a familiar head of blonde hair. Shizuo seemed to be talking to Malfoy. 'Wait, what?!'

His auburn eyes widened in astonishment, not believing what he saw. What was he doing? Hadn't he warned him to be wary of the git? Yet there Shizuo was, chatting happily to Malfoy. A strange, burning feeling started to stir in his chest. Whatever it was, Izaya knew he didn't like it at all.

"Oi, Izaya! Are you just gonna stand there or sit in the seat I saved for you?"

The black-haired teen was jolted from his thoughts by the newly Sorted student, who was waving at him. Draco had turned to him with a smirk, which annoyed the male. He made his way over to where the two blondes were.

"Draco, could ya move please? I told you you could stay until Izaya arrived." Shizuo poked the other who slowly got up. If anything, it looked like he was reluctant to leave.

"Fine, fine." Draco sighed. "But tossing me aside for Izaya breaks my heart." The smaller teen put a hand on his chest and put on a fake hurt expression.

"I wasn't-!" the taller started, but was cut off.

"Don't worry, I'm only messing with you." the other drawled, ruffling the mocha-eyed teen's hair, but was slapped away a second later. "We can talk later or something." With that, the Malfoy heir walked off to his group of friends.

Izaya was glaring holes into the back of Draco's head. What did his fellow Slytherin want to accomplish? He'd confront him later...

The raven sat down and took out what he'd need for the class. Shizuo had already done that. Just as Izaya opened his mouth to ask why the blonde had been talking to Draco, everyone had settled in their seats and were staring in the same direction. The ravenette hadn't noticed that Professor Umbridge was already seated at the teacher's desk. She had a shiny smile on her face as she scanned the whole class.

"Well, good afternoon!" she exclaimed brightly. A few muttered 'good afternoons' were heard in reply.

"Tut, tut. That won't do, now, will it?" the plump witch said, eyes wide and smile still in place. "I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." they chanted back. Izaya rolled his eyes. He glanced over to Shizuo, who had propped his arm onto the desk and was now supporting his head with his hand. The blonde was staring at the desk, seemingly getting more immersed by it by the second.

"-as it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Shizuo was jolted from his examination of the desk at these words.from Around the room, students were sharing very gloomy and unhappy looks. Izaya sighed and withdrew his wand, not at all looking forward to what came next. Contrary to what the woman had just said, she'd taken out her own wand and had tapped the blackboard with it. Words started writing themselves up instantly.

Defense Against the Dark Arts
A Return to Basic Principles

"Well now, your teaching this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" Professor Umbridge started, referring to the numerous teachers that had taken the job, each lasting a year. The raven was now quickly losing the little interest he had for this class, preferring to gaze out the huge windows that were all around the class.

"The constant changing of teachers..."

The mousey-haired woman's voice had began to fade a bit. Looks like the teen would spend the class staring at clouds... Fun...
_____________________time skip...

"Using defensive spells?" A small, high-pitched laugh pulled Izaya back from his cloud watching. He had imagined one of them being a fish for some reason. He turned his attention to the matter at hand... whatever it was...

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron half-shouted.

'We're not using magic? What a great class this is.' Izaya thought sarcastically. 'And how are we meant to defend ourselves if we're attacked?'

"And your name is?" the short witch said to Dean, who had put up his hand.

"Dean Thomas."

"Well, Mr Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it?" the Gryffindor began. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free."

"I repeat," The infuriating woman flashed a fake smile. "do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"No, but-"

The professor cut across him. "I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school, but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wisards in this class, very irresponsible indeed- not to mention," Professor Umbridge let out a nasty laugh. "extremely dangerous half-breeds. She said the last sentence with malice and disgust laced within her voice.

"If you mean Professor Lupin," Dean furiously yelled, "he was the best we ever-"

Izaya had stopped listening to the conversation, having nothing to offer. Indeed, he did agree with Dean that Remus Lupin had been the best so far, but he had a fair bit of discomfort towards half-breeds. After all, the professor had turned and nearly harmed three students, which didn't sit well with the raven.

"Your hand is not up, Mr Thomas!"

The argument continued for another few minutes. Professor Umbridge had the final word in it, giving Harry a detention and sending him to Professor McGonagall.

"Well now, class." She sat back behind the teachers desk. "Resume reading 'Chapter One, Basics for Beginners'. Off you go. "

The classroom was filled with silence once more.
_____________________time skip...

"God, that was such a boring class!" Malfoy exclaimed, stretching.

Malfoy, Izaya, Kadota and Shizuo were making their way to the Great Hall. Izaya had half a mind to ditch the group, it's not like they'd notice.

"So, what do you think of Hogwarts so far, Shizuo?" the smaller blonde asked. "Better than Durmstrang?"

"Uh, well, it's a good school, " he began. "But, I think the classes at Durmstrang taught us a lot more. I didn't learn anything in most of them here."

"Oh really?" Draco sneered. "My father was actually going to send me there, but mother intervend. And I bet you didn't know what a Draught of Peace was. Did you know that if you put in all of the powdered moonstone and porcupine quills it-"

"-lessens the chance of the hellebore exploding, but rises the potency of the unicorn horn, as it carries toxins that normally check and sometimes purify something poisoned. It also might carry poison of the things it had purified." Shizuo finished the sentence for the teen, who now had a speechless look on his face.

"You're smarter than you look." remarked Kadota, smirking slightly.

"I try."

The group arrived at the Hall after a while, which was already packed with students. They split to their respected tables, Kadota and Shizuo to Gryffindor, and Izaya and Draco to Slytherin. The ravenette and the blonde joined up with Shiki and Akabayashi, who somehow made room for them at the chaotic table.

"So, first day back, how was it?" Shiki said, his plate already full with food.

"It was so-so." Malfoy replied as Izaya remained silent and started putting food on his plate.

"We saw you were talking to Heiwajima. Making aquaintances with him?" the Red Demon half growled out.

"Actually yes, we were." the auburn-eyed teen spoke softly. "And he is nothing like you said so far."

"Ohhh. So that monster is trying to blend in, is he?" Akabayashi spat harshly. "The little shi-"

"Aka, please. Not over dinner as well." Shiki interrupted tersely. "All you did today was complain about him."

"He did?" Draco sounded surprised. "What's so bad about him? He's rather shy as well so, I'm not sure how he's a monster. Wait, is shy the word...?" He trailed off into his own thoughts.

"I'm warning you two. Stay away from him. He's dangerous." the red-head stated in a low voice. He then finished off his plate and grabbed his bag. "Yo Shiki, you finished? I'm heading back to the dorms."

The brunette sighed and got up slowly, taking his bag. "I'm coming, just give me one second." He turned to the younger males. "I apologize on behalf of Mizuki's behavior. He is probably just saying all that since he's lost to your friend one too many times. A 'tch' from Akabayashi sounded in the background. "Well, enjoy the rest of your meal." And with that, the two left.

"Huh, lost one too many times..? I wonder how many..?"

"Mmm." Izaya hummed, not really listening. He stood up suddenly and turned to the other, surprising the blonde. "Malfoy, are you finished eating? I actually want to talk to you."

"You want to talk?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "That's a first but I'm not complaining." He remained seated. "Well, talk."

"I thought we could go somewhere more private." the raven said, picking up his bags. "It's a personal matter with a friend, you see. I'm having a bit of trouble with coming up with something for them, and I really don't want others to overhear."

"Fair enough. Where do you want to go? Any particular place?" he queried, standing up and getting his bag.

"Just outside the Hall will do. Not many people should be there at this time."

The two boys made their way out of the Hall and down a corridor, where it was pretty desolate and only had one or two students hanging around. The raven kept walking to the end and Draco followed, becoming more and more suspicious.

"Why are we so fa-!"

Izaya swiftly spun around, punching Malfoy square in the jaw. Before the other had time to recover, the ravenette quickly said 'Incarcerous'. A rope appeared from thin air and looped itself neatly around the dazed boy.

"What was that for?! You ass! What are you doing?!" Draco shouted angrily, furiously struggling against the rope.

"That," the raven teen stated calmly. "Was for what you did to Shizu-chan. I don't like how you made him suffer having a potion in his eye on the very first day. Then you have the gall to decide to become friends with him."

"I only did that for a bit of fun! I didn't know it would get in his eye, I thought it'd just spill on the floor!"

"Well you thought wrong, didn't you. I wonder, what would a 'reformed' Malfoy would look like, ne~?" Izaya feigned a thoughtful look, a despicable glint in his eyes. "Ooh, I know~!" The teen waved his wand around.

"You wouldn't dar-!"

"Densaugeo."

The blonde's front teeth grew to an alarmingly enormous size, going over his bottom lip and just about touching his chin. He tried to express his anger but all it came out as was 'MMMMHHHMM!'. Izaya cupped his ear and leaned in closer, smirking.

"Are you trying to say something~? I'm afraid I can't understand~."

"UURMMMAAAHHHHMMMNNNN!!!!"

Draco furiously lashed out with his legs, sending a vicious kick to Izaya's stomach. Of course, the teen dodged it with ease, still wearing a mocking smirk. He shook his head and waggled his finger, making a tutting sound.

"Now, now, no need to get violent~. I'll have to do something about that~. Locomotor Mortis."

The Malfoy heir's legs automatically snapped together, making him fall over. He shot a menacing glare at the raven, who let out a little laugh.

"Oh, what's wrong~? Wait! I know what it is~!" Izaya rooted through his bag and pulled out a pair of bunny ears and a tail. He than tried to attach both onto his fellow Slytherin, who snapped at him when he attempted to put the ears on. Instead, the auburn-eyed teen chose the safest way possible and used the Levitating charm.

"My, my~! Don't you just make an amazing sight~!" the teen exclaimed, admiring his handiwork. "I do wish I could do more, but I can't play with you all the time. I do have other friends~. I'd run along now if I were you~. Well, hop along is more appropriate, wouldn't you say~? Such a shame the Hospital Wing is quite a bit away and your friends don't know how to reverse any of these spells~. Ta-ta, hopefully this won't damage your pride too much now~."

Ignoring the teen's protests and shouts (can they be called that?) of indignation, Izaya took off and left Malfoy. He had originally planned to do some of his homework but now he didn't feel like it. He turned a corner and started making his way to the Slytherin dorms. Maybe he'd just go for a small nap or something?

"T-there you are!"

Izaya's eyes widened as he turned around to see Shizuo... with both of his pest sisters clinging onto one half of him, literally. The poor blonde had Mairu on his back and she kept moving around while Kururi had latched onto his arm, looking like nothing could move her. The smaller male facepalmed. Of course the two troublemakers had to take a liking to Shizuo. The raven than noticed that the twins were looking at a black, furry ball that the taller teen was holding out of their reach. He seemed to be trying to shake the two off of him.

"-No! For the last time, you're- hey! -Stop! You said this was Izaya's cat! Stop it! -Argh!"

'My cat..? Serapha?! He found her?!'

As soon as the raven heard that sentence, the fur ball resting in the palm of Shizuo's hand came into visibility. Her eyes were dialated and she was clearly terrified of what was going on. Just as the younger male rushed to help, Mairu tugged at Shizuo's arm, causing him to jerk suddenly. Serapha hissed and leaped onto the blonde's face, who shouted in shock. The three than toppled to the ground, the feline jumping off at the last second. She rushed over to her owner, who scooped her up into his arms. He than walked over to where they were sprawled out on the ground.

"What is going on?" He glared at the twins accusingly, to which Mairu pouted at.

"Shizu-nii won't let us play with Serapha. He's acting selfish and took her off us!"

"(...cat... play...)"

"Oi! Don't make me look like the bad guy! You were about to practice spells and stuff on the poor cat!" the blonde's voice cut in. Izaya stared at the pests in astonishment and anger. How dare they try that!

"I thought I told you not to touch Serapha." he scolded, still glaring sharply. "I'll inform mother if you lay a finger on her. I would punish you myself but Shizu-chan is here."

Mairu stuck out her tongue. "You just don't want to look bad in front of your boyfriend."

"(...love...)" Kururi murmered.

Izaya blushed furiously. Boyfriend? Where did they get that idea? He cleared his voice.

"Excuse me? I do believe Shizu-chan and I are strictly friends." The raven's brow twitched.

"But you came up with a pet name for him! And you never have done that! We don't even have pet names, and we're your sisters!"

"Maybe that's because he's actually nice and doesn't try to kill my pet. Ever thought of that, ne~?"

"Wait... Why do I have a pet name? And why does it make me sound like I'm a girl?" Shizuo asked.

"It's not like anyone will know." Izaya waved him off. "Anyway, can we go outside? I'm bored here and I don't want to deal with these two brats ~." As he said this, he wrapped his arm around Shizuo's. "Please~?"

"Uh, sure. I don't mind." the blonde said. The duo started walking to the exit to the school grounds. The twins stood up and watched them leave. Through the 'sibling link' they thought the exact same thing.

'Exactly like a couple.'

________on the school grounds...

(Izaya's P.O.V)

"She seems to have taking a liking to you."

Shizu-chan was currently playing with my cat, sitting on the floor. He had one of those Muggle cat toys. I didn't get why she was so interested in it. All it was was a... piece of fluff on a flexible stick? Serapha has never been interested with toys so I figure it's just Shizu-chan. He stood up and sat down beside me, my feline following him closely and snuggling into his lap. He started searching her behind her ears, this making her purr.

"I really like animals... They're way more understanding than most humans." He frowned but smiled fondly at Serapha, who seemed to smile back. I felt a small bit of jealousy stir inside me for some reason, but it wasn't for Shizu-chan. It was for my cat, I realized. Why am I jealous of my cat?!

"Maybe it's because he's paying more attention to the kitty." my devil's advocate whispered.

Come off it. No way. Its probably nothing and I'm just imagining it. I glanced over to the two, catching a glimpse of a dazzling smile on Shizu-chan's face. I quickly looked down at the grass, feeling a blush coming and my jealousy spike a bit. One day... I... I want him to smile like that again... but not for a cat... for me... possibly..? The image of him smiling at me made my face grow even redder.

"Umm, are you okay?"

"Y-yes! Why I'm quite fine, thank you for asking!" I managed out, flustered. What am I thi-what is he doing?! Shizu-chan had pressed his forehead against mine. Is he checking my temperature? Isn't this way normally what couples do?! Mairu and Kururi's voices echoed in his head.

'Exactly like a couple.'

Eeehhhhhh?!?!?! What? Why are their voices in my head? I don't get it. No, Izaya, keep a calm head. Whoooh, okay, I am calm... ish...

"Well, your temperature is normal so, you don't have a fever." Shizu-chan confirmed as he pulled away. "That's a relief." He sat back against the tree behind us and closed his eyes. I looked at him curiously.

"Ano, do you have any pets?" I asked.

He opened one eye. "Yeah, I have a dog back in 'Bukuro and two owls here."

"What are they like, the owls?" Two owls and a dog? We have a family owl. Mairu and Kururi take care of him.

"I can call them so you can see for yourself. I'd cover my ears, though." I quickly covered mine, wanting to see them. He put his fingers to his mouth and let out a long, ear-piercing, high pitched whistle. Even with my ears covered, I winced. A few seconds of silence followed, then, I saw them. I'm not sure of the species, but they looked very similar in shape.

One of them had a striking brownish-orange plumage. On the underside, it was a paler shade. It's eyes were a mix between amber and orange. It's wing beats were powerful, cutting through the air easily.



The other had a grey, white and dark grey plumage. The underside of the wings was more white with bits of grey. It had bright yellow eyes that gleamed brilliantly. It looked as equally powerful as the other, just slightly smaller.



They looked beautiful together, gliding side by side, the wind not bothering them in the slightest. After a bit of flying about, they turned in sync and swooped towards us.

"Ah... shit. I don't have my gloves... Oh, well."

Shizu-chan walked away from the tree and stuck out his arms. Is he going to let them land on him? As the owls got closer I noticed they were bigger than I originally assumed. He's going to let those two massive avians land on him?! What about their talons? Both of them landed with little noise. As they settled, he brought them over to me. I couldn't help but stare in awe at them. They returned it with an unblinking stare of their own.

"Well, here they are. I know they look like the same species but they're not." Shizu-chan gestured by moving his arm slightly. I noticed their talons, though not too deep, had dug into his skin. "This," He nodded towards the bigger of the two. "Is Kyōryokuna, meaning powerful, elite. He is an eagle owl. The other," The blonde nodded at the grey one. "Is Shiryoku, which means locate, sight. He is a great horned owl."
The magnificent birds kept their gaze on me, as if they were scrutinizing and seeing if I was worthy of their attention.

"They're breathtaking..." I trailed off, wanting nothing more than to touch them. I could tell they were well kept, as their feathers looked glossy and soft. Shiroyoku seemed to hold an intimidating air of wisdom while Kyōryokuna held an air of dominance and authority. Even if they were only owls, each seemed rather...scary. Our family owl was full of pride and refinement, but his presence would seem very small to these two.

"Ne~, where did you get them? Eyelops Owl Emporium?" The owls there were very high in standards, we got ours from there as a chick.

Shizu-chan shook his head. "Nope, I sort of took them in back in Durmstrang. Two kids had left them at the school as chicks and I found them hiding in one of the classrooms. They were pretty young but had nearly all their flight feathers."

"What did your parents say?" I inquired, cocking my head to the side. "Did they approve?"

"Well, we already had an owl at the time so they didn't really mind. Once they didn't disturb anything and kept what they hunted outside, that is." Shizu-chan let them down on the ground and sat down again. He stroked them both, and they leaned into his touch.

"Mrroww."

I looked down to see Serapha rubbing against me, wanting affection. I gladly obliged, stroking her silky fur. We spent a bit of time just sitting in comfortable silence, giving our pets a lot of adoration. Shiroyoku even came over to me and let md stroke him. His plumage was softer than I imagined. Unfortunately, Serapha didn't like him that much. Kyōryokuna on the other hand ignored me completely, choosing to stay with his owner the whole time. Oh well, everyone's different.

At around half six we went back inside. Shizu-chan's owls stayed on his shoulders. I asked him if he'd like to go to the library to start the twelve inch essay Snape had given us. He stayed yes, which made me really happy. Before we made our way to the library the blonde told his owls to go back to the Owlery. Serapha had wandered off, as she usually does, so I wasn't concerned. As we entered, the place wasn't packed, per se, but it wasn't empty either. After a while students started to leave. By the time we had finished, there was only a few scattered here and there.

"Ne~ Shizu-chan?" I said as we walked down the corridor. "Are you going to bed now?"

"Nah. It's only eight. I think I might stay up a bit longer. What about you?"

"I think I'll call it a day." I yawned and stretched. As much as I want to hang out with Shizu-chan, I need my beauty sleep.

"Oh, okay then." the taller said, slightly crestfallen. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya~." I waved at him, and he waved back and left. I walked back to the Slytherin dorms, yawning once again. Malfoy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle we're already asleep. I silently changed into my nightly attire and brushed my teeth. As soon as I got under the blankets I was overcome with a wave of sleepiness.

Tomorrow's another day...

________________to be continued...