Shinji Matou and the Heirs of Slytherin (HP/FSN CYOA)

[arsdraconis]

well, i guess it's just another reason why we shouldnt really push too hard for ofuda on harry, unless Shinji's going to mentor him through everything, he won't be much more beyond a dabbler in the art

[Ratman]

[X] Follow Touko's advice.

The elemental aligment testing thing totally leads into Harry getting MEoDP.
It's been done before. As opposed to EGO though, i'd be willing to eat your version straight up.

Edit: One more thing, Touko in this fic seems directly cooperative with the Association. Is this a much younger Touko than in rakkyo? Considering that the old one is a hermit because of the sealing designation on her ass.

[Caster]

Why would Harry's element lead to getting the MEoDP? If anything he'd already have it now, just because of the Book 1 incident. Since he isn't going around stabbing at dots I think we're fine. I just think that he needs his element to advance as an onmyoudou is the thing. I suppose Shinji could try and figure out how it's done. Seems like it's just getting paper and analyzing the results.

[alfheimwanderer]

Edit: One more thing, Touko in this fic seems directly cooperative with the Association. Is this a much younger Touko than in rakkyo? Considering that the old one is a hermit because of the sealing designation on her ass.

Being cooperative with Atlas is not the same thing as cooperating with the Tower, since Atlas Academy basically a law unto itself, operating independently of the Association. Her Designation was issued by the Tower. Its also worth noting that if a Director is asking you for something and not bringing up the Sealing Designation, it might be a good idea to just go along with it.

[Kuroyuki]

I did suggest to Alf that Harry stays at King's Cross for a bit when he died... But we can see how that went...

[Caster]

Why would Harry stay at King's Cross?

[Kuroyuki]

He'll end up like Shiki. Skirting between life and death. Maybe end up with MEoDP. Maybe just wake up from a coma normally.

[Mattias]

I thought that was going to happen at first actually when there was that bit in the narration about knowing everything...

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Follow Touko's advice - Harry needs new glasses and/or a new wardrobe, and hey, Snape's buying!

---

Chapter 3. Mahoutokoro

Harry had never used a magical mode of transportation before. Oh, yes, there was the Apparition incident, where he’d somehow ended up sitting on the chimney of the school kitchens without any idea how he’d gotten there, and of course, taking the Hogwarts Express and practicing on the school brooms, but those didn’t really count.

The first he’d written off as the wind picking him up as he tried to jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen door. The second had actually been incredibly mundane, more so than taking the commuter trains, save for where the train had started and its final destination. And of course, with the brooms, he hadn’t actually gone anywhere.

So the Boy-Who-Lived didn’t know what to make of the ball of yarn Professor Snape held out to him after rescuing him from the stifling summer at the Dursleys. He couldn’t deny that it felt good to see his relatives humbled, rushing around like rats to do the bidding of Professor Snape, though it almost seemed like Aunt Petunia…knew Professor Snape.

They’d used each other’s first names, after all, while the Potions Master had called his uncle Dursley. But…that couldn’t be, not with Aunt Petunia hating all things magical.

But on the ball of yarn, it crossed his mind that this might be a joke, a prank like one of the Weasley twins were infamous for playing, but looking at the Professor’s face made him think otherwise. Slytherin’s Head of House had never been known for his sense of humor – just the opposite, in fact, with him coming down hard on troublemakers and pranksters, and he’d never been anything but fair with Harry.

If Harry did his work well, the professor would accept that as the expected result. If he did not, well, the Boy-Who-Lived would be punished like anyone else, instead of being given a pass or being made an example of, which felt…good, actually.

It meant that Professor Snape didn’t care about petty things like titles or rumors, that in the classroom, it didn’t matter if he was the Boy-Who-Lived, the Heir of Slytherin, or the Hero who’d defeated the Dark Lord. In Severus Snape’s domain, those who desired praise or recognition had to prove themselves worthy of it, with Potions Master having high expectations for what even counted as “competent,” to say nothing of good.

And Harry himself was grateful for the challenge. Just as, because of that, and Sokaris’ report of Snape’s conflict with Quirrell, he trusted the no-nonsense Professor.

So he took hold of the ball of yarn, making sure he also had a grip on his few worldly possessions as Hedwig settled on his shoulder – and moments later was jerked irresistibly forward, his feet wrenched from the ground with the sensation of great speed.

Professor Snape, who also had hold of whatever this was, said nothing, as the wind – or what he thought was wind – howled past him. The world surged past in colors and shapes he couldn’t quite make out, patterns that seemed to make sense one moment than dissolved away into chaos – and through it all, the ball of yarn pulled him on and on and on, until—

Thud!

—his feet slammed into the ground, alongside his trunk, with Hedwig giving a hoot of protest at she flapped her wings to stay upright, smacking the side of his head.

Harry, for that matter, was feeling none-too-steady himself, and would have fallen over if not for the iron grip of his Head of House, almost painful on his arm.

“First time, Potter?” the man drawled, not a hair out of place.

“Yes, Professor,” he admitted. The Boy-Who-Lived found himself envying Professor Snape’s composure after such a destination, but wondered if it was just something one got used to. “…is it always like that?”

“No,” the Potions Master said curtly. “Portkey travel can be much worse.”

Harry swallowed – that trip, fast as it had been, had been more than bad enough for his tastes. He’d thought that this might be as quick and painless as what happened years ago, or as liberating as flying, but that had been one of the terrifying experiences of his life, with his white hand still clutching the ball of yarn in an tight grip.

Chagrined, he handed the ball of yarn—the Portkey—over to his Professor, who pocketed the item in his…black business suit.

He’d never seen his Head of House in anything besides robes before, but he supposed it wouldn’t have done for someone to visit Privet Drive in wizarding attire. But Snape’s attire wasn’t the oddest thing there was, as he finally took in the view around him.

They stood on a…wooden platform of some kind, overlooking a grand city with architecture he’d never seen the like of, and the feeling of magic washing against his skin. Witches zoomed by on brooms, some part-humans – at least he thought they were, because of their ears and tail – taking flying carpets, and strange and wondrous beasts – giant spiders, black horses with reptilian faces and leathery wings, and at least one dragon lumbering about to destinations unknown.

He could even see what he thought might be doorways to other places in the world, great glowing windows that flickered with the lights of other destinations, some with platforms below, and some without.

And oddest of all, there was no sky – just a roof of stone, moss, and dangling roots far, far above.

This place – this city – was entirely underground, housed in a cavern that he had no idea how to scale. It had to be kilometers across, at least. And no one seemed to be concerned about the fact that fantastic beasts and obvious magic users were flying about, at all.

He’d seen Diagon Alley of course, as that shopping district was the center of wizarding London, but this…this wasn’t an isolated shopping district, accessible only through a tiny, grubby-looking pub. This was a city, a place where people worked, people lived, people learned and people thrived.

This was a place where magic didn’t have to be hidden.

“This…is Japan?” Harry asked, flummoxed by how magic could be used so…openly.

One year ago, when Hagrid had taken him to Diagon Alley, the half-giant had told him about Britain’s Ministry of Magic and how their job was to keep Muggles from learning about its existence, as otherwise everyone would be seeking magic solutions to their problems.

While it had sounded good at the time, now that he thought back to it, there were many things Hagrid said that simply didn’t make sense. Hagrid’s explanation, for instance, made the wizarding world seem all kinds of selfish for keeping magic to itself when there were spells to mend bones, cure diseases, add space to rooms and more, when the Statute of Secrecy had actually been passed for the protection of wizardkind, given the rampant persecution of the time, not that some eccentrics like Wendelin the Weird had cared, since they could just use the Flame-Freezing Charm, but most were not so skilled.

But then, as he was learning, the magical world wasn’t perfect either, with its own fair share of ignorance and prejudice, and terrors far beyond what most non-magical people had to deal with. For as bad as life had been with the Dursleys, the Boy-Who-Lived had never been in danger of losing his life – something that he could not say of Hogwarts, given the encounter with the Troll and later, the confrontation with Quirrell.

The monsters that the world outside thought to be only the stuff of legends and overactive imagination were real, though something Quirrell had said – and had proved, that people made the most monsters of all, still rang true.

Monsters like Boggarts and trolls simply were, doing what was in their nature to do. Humans chose to become monsters, to tear others down so they could climb over them on the path for glory, to hurt instead of heal, to split into insular little Houses, categories, and classifications instead of uniting for a common purpose.

Nowhere was that more apparent than with the magical world. At least he thought it was, until he came here, where there was nothing to hide.

“Not precisely. This is Mahoutokoro, the capital of Magical Japan,” Snape corrected, taking a cursory look around since he’d never been here either. The Committee meeting site shifted each year, and this was the first time during his tenure that it had met in the Far East. “The seat of their Council of Magic and the home of their School.”

Harry blinked.

“…a Council of Magic?”

“What Japan has instead of a Ministry, Potter,” Snape said dryly, making Harry think he should have known this piece of information already. Not that there was any real way he could have, since Binns hadn’t covered it. The Boy-Who-Lived has mistakenly assumed Japan must be similar to Britain, aside from the different creatures and decided lack of goblins that Shinji had mentioned, since he didn’t have anything else to go on. “Just as they do not simply hide streets within their Muggle Capital, but have a different city altogether, where most of their magical community is concentrated.”

Things had evolved quite differently from Magical Britain, where the wizarding community had split into several smaller groups scattered around the country. After splitting from Muggle society, the wizarding community in Britain had splintered even further, founding small villages and hamlets, such as Tinworth, Upper Flagley, Ottery St. Catchpole, and Godric's Hollow, or hiding out in hidden manor houses.

Due to the differing circumstances and cultures, the group that founded Mahoutokoro had remained concentrated in this place of power, as to do otherwise would weaken their authority – and Japan had a tradition of hiding worlds of wonder beneath veneers of civility, given the red-light districts of the pleasure-filled “Floating World” in the cities of Edo Japan, but that was neither here nor there.

“Ah.”

Harry eloquent expression was met with a “Hoot-hoot” from Hedwig, with the Snowy Owl springing into the air and taking off with a flap of her powerful wings.

“Hedwig!” Harry exclaimed, not used to seeing his owl just take off on her own. Then again, given that she had been cooped up in a cage for over a month…

“She’s going to the aviary,” the Potion Master’s smooth voice reassured him.

“How do you know that, sir?” the Boy-Who-Lived asked curiously.

“Because the Headmaster arranged in advance for you and your owl to have lodgings at the School,” Snape replied. He said no more on that particular topic, leaving Harry both grateful to the Headmaster for following through with his promise, but also wondering why the Dumbledore hadn’t told him earlier.

If Harry were the suspicious sort, he might wonder if the Headmaster simply didn’t want anyone to know that he was in Japan.

“Did you come to Privet Drive just to take me here?”

“Don’t be absurd,” Professor Snape replied, with the Boy-Who-Lived blinking at the man’s acerbic tone. “I have a meeting with an international potions competition committee.”

Harry’s already high opinion of Snape rose even further, if that were possible. His Potions Master and Head of House was already someone he held in high regard, but for him to have business internationally, that was something else indeed!

“Ah.”

“Admittedly, it is likely to be more pleasant than Brazil,” the Potions Master continued, his expression souring just slightly. “While I appreciated the wealth of potions ingredients surrounding the conference facilities, the open air meeting spaces left something to be desired.”

Indeed, while a city built within the lush canopy of the rainforest might sound like a good idea, there were issues with pests, humidity, and such that Severus Snape did not enjoy. Granted, the nature of wizarding attire meant that he could keep the unexposed parts of him a fairly pleasant temperature, but mosquitoes, gnats, and other such had played havoc with his skin.

He muttered something about Muggles homes at least having air conditioning for when it got too bloody hot, which startled Harry, as he didn’t think any wizard knew about Muggle life. Then again, the only other wizard he’d spent time with outside of school had been Hagrid, and Harry was beginning to think that the half-giant was perhaps not the best example.

“Ah,” Harry said again.

“Ah, indeed, Potter,” Snape repeated, his eyes catching sight of two people climbing the stairs to the platform – one of which he recognized, and the other of which he assumed was the contact from Mahoutokoro. “Our…welcoming committee approaches.”

---

And indeed, the two figures coming up the winding staircase were Matou Shinji and Aozaki Touko. They had been sent to meet the foreign delegation for two reasons – one, because Matou Shinji already knew both of them, and two, because Aozaki Touko had ample experience playing the part of tour guide, go-between, and facilitator, in addition to her official duties at Mahoutokoro.

Well, that and she had volunteered, given that the Director of Atlas Academy was paying her to ensure the safety of the Boy-Who-Lived while he was in the city, and it usually didn’t do to ignore the request of such an individual.

All the more so when one already was under a Sealing Designation from the Tower, and was hoping to use Atlas’ influence to counterbalance or stall any Enforcers that were sent out.

Besides which, her apprentice would know the Potions Master of Hogwarts and the Boy-Who-Lived on sight, while she herself might not.

Shinji, for his part, was a bit tired, having had a full day already – given the 9-hour time difference between London and Kyoto, it was already early in the evening, and both Hijiri and Tomas had been rather brutal in their lessons over the last week.

Given his early success with managing the basics of ofuda, he had thought that some of these advanced lessons wouldn’t be too bad, but as it turned out, attempting to channel a specific element was difficult work.

Picturing an effect, channeling prana into an ofuda, and binding the effect into reality worked with kanji worked well enough for the early, unspecialized spells, or even with Earth spells, given their more stable nature and straightforward, but the more subtle nature of Water techniques, involving flows, forms, cycles and combinations, were more difficult to picture.

They involved change – and not change in the form of an explosive release of power like the most basic of offensive ofuda – but on a more complex level which was difficult to grasp. There was an element of spell creation in there as much as spell casting, and so he needed to learn the theoretical foundation, practice the meditation exercises, and learn to capture the exact kind of instability and malleability he wanted if he wanted to do anything like use elemental chains, sealed elemental attacks or more.

And she’d warned him that the path towards making a pact with a shikigami would be even more difficult, if that was the path he wished to walk.

Yes, one could certainly buy a familiar from one of Mahoutokoro’s shops, but there was a difference between things that were bought and things that one put oneself in danger to bind or partner with, mostly in terms of capabilities or loyalty.

For instance, a young rat, toad or owl could be quite loyal even to a novice, but their power and growth potential were limited, as was their usefulness. Owls, for example could at least deliver the post, but the others mostly were pets – useful for practicing spells on or companionship and not much else. More exotic familiars – dangerous snakes, hippogriffs, phoenixes, giant spiders, or say, kitsune, could be far more useful, but would not partner with those they found unworthy of respect or obedience.

Generally, this meant that if one hoped to obtain a powerful familiar, the minimum qualification was that one had a certain level of power and ability. From there, the requirements depended on the familiar one sought, and might entail a sacrifice or trial of some sort. For female magi, this might include something like their hair, which due to the rule of similarity, could be used to amplify spells, used as a reagent in place of the rest of one’s self, and naturally stored a great deal of prana, though the cost varied for others.

She did not, of course, touch on how one would create a fully independent familiar, as some exceptional magi and other practitioners had been known to do in the olden days, using the souls of the recently dead, an animal’s corpse, and part of one’s core or a number of circuits to create new life.

Even so, the lessons were exhausting– especially when it was not Hijiri, but her familiar that taught him, sometimes using its vulpine form, as he tried to create ofuda that would detect aberrations in the flow of the air to find the invisible, and sometimes wearing the form of a young man about his age, which would test his ability to defend and counter against foxfire, chained lightning, and of course, ofuda.

Not that Tomas had been much better.

Oh no.

Since Tomas had a slight issue of not being able to remember what happened the last time he was activated (and thus, the last time Shinji had come in for training), the witchcraft-using puppet saw no reason to do progressive testing, or to ask the boy how he thought he was doing.

The cursed puppet moved immediately to dueling – well, something like dueling, with Tomas telling Shinji that if he could hit him with a spell or technique, then they could move on to more advanced lessons. And what’s more, Tomas would volunteer to oh-so-graciously handicap himself not attacking unless Shinji did.

Shinji had readily agreed, as hitting him seemed easy enough, but whatever Shinji did, the puppet – and it was hard to think of the snarky teenager as a mere puppet – was already prepared for.

Whether Flipendo, Expelliarmus, Incendio, Diffindo, or one of his many ofuda, the teenager would simply counter his technique – and critique his choice of spells at the same time.

“Your casting is a little slow off the mark,” Tomas had said as he’d blocked an Expelliarmus with a Flipendo, using the very spell-fencing technique Quirrell had demonstrated in Defense against the Dark Arts. “And further, the Disarming Charm is useless against someone without a wand or other weapon – like me.”

Flipendos were thrown back at him with a simple shield, with Shinji getting pummeled by his own jinxes.

The bolts of fire he produced with Incendio were absorbed into a handful of flames the older boy wordlessly conjured.

Diffindos were deflected – not directly at him, but close enough that Shinji flinched anyway, knowing the damage that it could do to him.

As for his ofuda…

Shinji was used to thinking of his ofuda as his trump card, a way to cast wordless, wandless spells that could overwhelm wand users.

Not for Tomas to destroy his offensive ofuda just as they left his sleeves, the resulting blast throwing Shinji across the room.

Nor for a storm of binding and sealing ofuda to disappear into a vortex of flame that sprung up around the wretched puppet just as he’d launched them, or to be blasted out of existence by the jagged lightning of Verdimillious Tria, forks of which jumped from paper to paper, burning them all to ash.

“How…?” Shinji had croaked, after seeing his opponent deal with everything he threw at him with utter contempt.

“Good, Matou,” the other had said with a mocking smile. “You demonstrate some small skill in Defense. Adaptation, improvisation, reaction. But then, despite all that you have to learn, your weakness is not your techniques. Now, stop trying to hit me and hit me.”

Shinji had tried. Oh, he’d tried, unleashing a storm of ofuda, followed by a volley of Flipendos in an attempt to overwhelm the man, but it had been no use, as his attack shattered, broken by the translucent rippling of a powerful shield spell.

“Well done. Well done indeed,” Tomas had noted dryly, slowly clapping as he walked forward, with Shinji backing up as his foe advanced. “Why, perhaps you might even have overwhelmed me if I had not been reading your mind the entire time.“

Shinji froze.

“You…can do that?”

What kind of puppet had Touko managed to create? And how was…?

Maybe he didn’t want to know, in case the details were gruesome. Yes, in this case it might be safer just to chalk it up to Touko being a genius at crafting, and not from anything too monstrous.

“There is a rare and potent art that wizards call Legilimency,” Tomas explained, that twisted smile on his face. “It is used to delve into the minds of others, peeling back the layers of thought and deed to find what one seeks, be it a memory, a piece of information, or simply what you are about to do next.”

“I…see.”

“Unlike my peers, I do not think that Occlumency is best learned by having you sit down and focus on defending your thoughts,” the teenager had continued, his red eyes boring into Shinji’s, as if reading every last memory of his, and wringing him dry. “You may well learn by doing so, and there will be some time set aside for you to practice, but in the real world, your assailants will not give you fair warning. They will not sit you down and wait for you to prepare. They will not cry out legilimens. They will simply attack, and you will have lost.”

“Then why the duel? Why the goading?”

“How better to learn than by letting your failures have direct and immediate consequences? I will not remember what happens on the morrow – but you will,” Tomas had noted, motioning for Shinji to take a seat, which the boy did. “You focused too hard on trying to hit me that you forgot to clear your thoughts, and so all your techniques, all your power, everything you could bring to bear was worthless. Because that’s all it takes. One moment of inattention. For instance, what if, when you are distracted, Albus Dumbledore learns that your friend Sokaris was alive and has the Philosopher’s Stone?”

Shinji had stiffened, as he could see the outcome of that scenario all too well.

“The same inattention can lead to you falling prey to an Imperius spell, or to dying in a duel if your opponent is able to see what you will do next, as I believe I have demonstrated,” Tomas concluded. “I believe that is all for the day – the prana beads that sustain this puppet body of mine will be used up shortly, and I must deactivate and wait for Lady Aozaki to recharge me.”

Tomas had proceeded to sit down and go perfectly still – stiller than any human being could – or should, reminding Shinji that for all of the teenager’s talk, his power – he was a puppet.

And so, every session after the first, Shinji’s attempts at protecting his mind had been tested in combat, with the puppet arrogantly challenging Touko’s apprentice to hit him, even as Shinji tried to remain calm, to clear his mind and remind himself that Tomas probably wasn’t doing this on purpose.

He just didn’t want to waste time…right?

Given that that was how days had gone for the last week or so, perhaps Matou Shinji could be excused for forgetting to bring up the matter of the Diary of T.M. Riddle to his master, since between Hijiri, Tomas, and Touko’s testing and teaching, he was left pretty much exhausted each day.

He’d been meaning to give the diary to Touko, in the hope that his master would know how to make it work again, since the tome had stopped writing back to him after he had (falsely) identified himself as Albus Dumbledore, but the thought had utterly slipped his mind until he caught sight of Professor Snape.

‘On second thought, I already gave Touko-san one cursed item…’

And since his apprenticeship was still on a trial basis, it would probably be a bad idea to get her annoyed at him, since she would probably just send him home, with no more lessons, no more chances, no more opportunities. After eleven years of being nothing, he’d finally gotten what he wanted this year, and he wasn’t about to blow it.

Besides, it probably wouldn’t be such a bad thing to let Professor Snape have a look at the book, since it was the name Albus Dumbledore that the book had clammed up at…

“Professor,” he greeted, as he stepped on to the platform, dressed in his formal attire. “Harry. Welcome to Mahoutokoro.”

Touko stepped onto the platform as well, nodding to each of the two.

“Professor Severus Snape of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry James Potter, recipient of the Order of Merlin. As the representative of Tsuchimikado Masaaki, head of the Japanese Council of Magic, I welcome you both to Mahoutokoro,” the magus said, for once being entirely business-like.

“I am Aozaki Touko, Visiting Professor of Ancient Runes at the School of Magic, and I am to serve as your guide and liaison during your time here.”
Maybe she was simply philosophical and sadistic when she could get away with it, Shinji thought – or maybe it was just him.

“Charmed,” Snape replied, his eyes flicking over to Matou Shinji. “I trust the arrangements for Mr. Potter are still in place.”

“Indeed,” Touko answered solemnly. “I believe Mr. Matou and Mr. Potter are acquainted, so with your permission, he will show Mr. Potter to his quarters at the school.”

“Yes…they are indeed,” Snape agreed, eyes flicking between the formally-dressed Shinji and the young Harry Potter. “Interesting. I would have thought the school would have dispatched another representative. I take it English proficiency is not the most common skill?”

“No, unfortunately,” Touko replied, with Snape sighing. “It’s a pity there are no such things as translation spells.”

“Before those, I would like to see a spell that would clean up students’ handwriting,” Snape answered in a remarkably dry tone. “I assume you have similar difficulties, teaching runes?”

“One might say so,” the puppeteer responded. “In any case, Professor, I am to escort you to the opening night gala event for the Committee.”

Snape sighed.

“I presume the Committee has…the usual festivities planned for the evening?”

Touko smiled at the resigned tone that the Professor affected.

“Likely, though I have never been to one,” she answered. “You have, then?”

“I have had the good fortune to be unable to attend until recently.”

“Well, something new for everyone then.”

“One supposes,” he agreed reluctantly.

Severus Snape was not what one would call the life of a party. He was not very social, or outgoing, nor did he usually attend festivities unless he had to, as he didn’t think he deserved to. Normally during the summers he’d just spend time at Spinner’s End and read, as only in books could he escape the travails of the past.

Why, he hadn’t been to an actual party in…he couldn’t remember actually.

“Oh, Professor!” Shinji interrupted, stepping forward and pulling a book out of his mokeskin pouch. “I have something for you.”

“Yes?” Snape asked archly, as Shinji handed him a blue-bound journal. “What is this?”

“This is supposedly the diary of T.M. Riddle, which I was given by Lucius Malfoy, while I was in the hospital,” the Matou boy explained, dropping a name that made Snape pay complete attention. “He told me to share my thoughts with it.”

“Did he now?” the head of Slytherin house asked sharply.

“Yes, Professor,” Shinji continued. “It is enchanted, and appears to contain a spirit which identified itself as Tom Riddle. Naturally, I was a bit suspicious of why the Malfoys would give me an enchanted tome and identified myself to it as Albus Dumbledore.”

Severus Snape blinked.

“You identified yourself as Albus Dumbledore,” he repeated slowly, raising an eyebrow. “And then what happened.”

“Well, Tom stopped writing after that,” Shinji concluded, half shrugging. “Do you think you could look at it if you have the chance?”

Snape frowned on hearing all of this. Enchanted books existed, certainly, but he could think of no good reason for Lucius Malfoy to just give one to Matou Shinji, even if the boy did win an Order of Merlin (second class). And then of course, the fact that it was a diary that had clammed up at the mention of Albus Dumbledore was suspicious in its own right.

“…I believe I can do that, Matou,” the professor said slowly, taking the book and putting it under his arm. “The book may not be returned if we do find something untoward, however.”

“Of course,” Shinji agreed, bowing deeply. “Thank you for looking into it. With your permission then, I will take Harry to the dormitory, while you go the gala event, Professor?

“I would advise that you buy him some clothes to help him fit in,” Touko noted critically. “Robes, unfortunately, are not commonly used here, except for more formal occasions. And…” She trailed off as she inspected Harry. “…new glasses would not be disagreeable either.”

“My thoughts entirely,” Snape agreed, as he felt rather strongly that Harry needed new things after noting the boy’s living situation. It reminded him rather strongly of himself. “But I would not want to impose on you as our hosts. I will cover the expenses.”

“But…Professor, you don’t really need to—” Harry began, but was cut off.

“Nonsense, Mr. Potter,” Snape interjected, his lips for once curling up in a vain attempt at a smile. “Consider this…a birthday gift.”

Harry didn’t know what to say.

In all his life, the cake from Hagrid aside, Harry couldn’t remember ever getting a birthday gift before – from anyone. And now…Professor Snape was going to get him one, on top of taking him all the way to Japan?

He…

“Thank you, Professor,” he managed after a few moments, with the Potions Master simply responding with a stiff nod.
And with that, Shinji and Harry went off to the shopping district, while Touko escorted Severus Snape to his black-tie gala.

---

That night, Harry lay in bed, marveling at how things had gone, and the wonders of the city, a place of magic where everyone knew some art – and no one expected anything of him. He could browse around, ask questions (of the few people who knew English), and be fitted for goods, without being seen as the Boy-Who-Lived or the Chosen One.

…it was far more of a relief than he had words to say.

And the presents he’d gotten – the clothes, glasses, and all – they were something else entirely. In all his time at the Dursleys, he thought he’d never seen such finery. Self-adjusting shirts and slacks woven of fine, climate-charmed spider silk or other materials, to always keep him dry and comfortable. A suit adjusted for him – by magic – charmed to resist water, stains, minor jinxes, and tearing.

A self-cleaning, self-mending wardrobe.

The very thought of it boggled the mind.

And then of course, there were the glasses, with auto-focus and zoom capabilities on anything he took an interest in, replay capability for up to an hour of video, the ability to take a picture of what was in front of him by blinking one eye, and even night-vision so he could read – or move around – in low-light settings. These too, of course, had anti-glare, anti-scratch, anti-oil and water charms on them, and would adjust to the size of his face…

All from Professor Snape.

Shinji…well, on hearing it was Harry’s birthday, he’d bought Harry something nice and functional: a sleek, stylish wand-holster, so the Boy-Who-Lived wouldn’t have to keep his wand in his pocket, or his bag. Harry had smiled weakly when he saw that Shinji had bought one for himself too – as mature as his friend was, he still liked simple things.

Apparently, Shinji’s Occlumency teacher – the man who was going to be his Occlumency teacher – had taught him that it paid to be prepared, no matter when, no matter where, so that if an attack came, it could be dealt with.

And while that might sound a bit paranoid for most people, Harry was not most people – he was a boy about which a prophecy had been made, a boy the Dark Lord Voldemort wished to kill, and a boy who was resolved to kill his enemy if it was the last thing he ever did.

Aside from that, there were two more presents awaiting him once he returned to his room: Hedwig had apparently gone not to the aviary, but to the post station, where she’d picked up two forwarded parcels – one from Daphne Greengrass and one from Hagrid.

His friend in Slytherin had sent him a letter asking him how he was doing and inviting him to visit the family manor for the holidays. She’d also enclosed a silver pocketwatch with dials showing the phases of the moon and the rising constellations, something that made him smile, as he thought it was just like her to send something like this. He did feel a bit sad he wouldn’t be able to visit though, and resolved to do something nice for her this year.

And the last package was from Hagrid and contained his Gringott’s key, with the half-giant sheepishly admitting he’d forgotten to give it to Harry last year and wishing him Happy Birthday. Not that Harry had much use for it at present, since there was no Gringotts branch in Japan, but it was the thought that counted.

All in all, he was in a new land, had gotten birthday gifts for the first time in his life, wouldn’t have to deal with the Dursleys again that summer, and had half the summer ahead of him.

It was the best birthday the Boy-Who-Lived had ever known.

---

Choice 5: Since we're going to Fuyuki, what do we buy Tohsaka Rin as a present? It is customary for magi coming to the area (Harry, kind of) to present something to the Second Owner as a gesture of respect.

[ ] An Owl, so we can write to her
[ ] A knife of some kind - a nice goblin-made silver knife would work nicely.
[ ] Get her something from our stash of jewels
[ ] (Fill in)

Choice 6: And what do we want to do in Fuyuki? (choose 1)

[ ] Visit Tohsaka Rin - pay our respects to the Second Owner, who is likely to know English
[ ] Show Harry around the City (Bridge, Temple, etc)
[ ] Introduce Harry to our Grandfather and sister
[ ] Go to the Summer Festival - perhaps we can get several of the above to come along...

[Kuroyuki]

[X] A knife of some kind

[X] Go to the Summer Festival - perhaps we can get several of the above to come along...

It's pretty, it's practical, and IT'S GOBLIN-MADE.

Summer festival because it seems like a choice where we can gain multiple peoples' points at the same time

[Caster]

I don't suppose we can invite Sakura and Rin to this Summer Festival?

[Rafflesiac]

[X] A knife of some kind - Rin likes knives; why, getting one for a gift brought her to tears!

[X] Show Harry around the City

[Kishou the Badger]

[X] A knife of some kind - Rin likes knives; why, getting one for a gift brought her to tears!

[X] Show Harry around the City

Not happy tears, mind you. >_>;


As much as writing back to her has its perks, I think Rin needs better management of her jewels else she might make her bankrupt again. And introducing Japanese cultures with Sokaris worked wonders with her, so let's continue that tradition with Harry.

[x] Get her something from our stash of jewels
[x] Go to the Summer Festival - perhaps we can get several of the above to come along...

[EnigmaticFellow]

[X] A knife of some kind
[X] Go to the Summer Festival - perhaps we can get several of the above to come along...kind

I doubt Shinji would get Rin a cheap knife. Chances are it will be jewel-encrusted at the very least.

[Isno]

[X] A knife of some kind

[X] Go to the Summer Festival

[mangafreak7793]

[ ] Show Harry around the City
[ ] An Owl, so we can write to her

[mAc Chaos]

an owl so we can send letters and amaze her with our stories of shinji the great

[arsdraconis]

considering her family magecraft involve pouring her blood on the gemstones, ritual blood drawing knife would be a nice innocent gesture that would send her paranoia all over the place

[mAc Chaos]

2 much metagaming 4 me

[Kelnish]

Give rin flowers. And visit zouken, he probably thinks shinji doesnt love him anymore.