A Boy and His Fox
By: Tazzy
Snarling silently as he limped through the forest, Kurama cursed the events that lead to him being seriously wounded in a fight with a demon on the other side of the world from friends and allies.
It has started out so simple. An assignment from Koenma to go to England near the Scottish boarder and investigate rumors of an A-Class demon making trouble up there. As the only one in the group who could fluently speak English as well as be trusted with a Reikai credit card, Kurama had been reluctant to go but had finally agreed when Koenma promised additional protections for his human mother. When he had arrived in England, it hadn't taken him long to find the demon only to discover that Koenma's information was wrong. It hadn't been an A-Class demon that Kurama could have easily handled with some minor problems and injuries. It had been a powerful S-Class demon and it had also had the power to create edged weapons out of rock.
Finally, Kurama had managed to kill it with his plants but he had been too badly injured to do much more than shift into his fox form, using his natural illusion magic to make it appear he was nothing more than a regular silver fox with golden eyes. The battle had taken them all over the countryside until the fight had ended near a dark forest, giving Kurama the ability to pull on the forest's energy to finally defeat the demon.
Only, he couldn't just stop to lick his wounds with the demon dead. Not now, not when the demon had bragged about its friends and how Kurama was going to regret confronting them. Confronted with the thought of facing more demons that were at least as powerful as this one while as injured as he was, Kurama had done the only thing he could think of at the time.
He changed his form and ran for cover.
It had been hours since he had entered the strange forest and yet, he felt like he was no closer to finding shelter than he had been when he first entered. There had been other creatures moving through the forest, a herd of centaurs running through the trees, a lone unicorn drinking from a stream, and even a giant spider slowly making its way though the treetops, and each time, Kurama ducked under what cover he could, not wanting to be noticed by the creatures or in the case with the unicorn, not wanting to scare it off.
*The next time Koenma assures me that it will be a simple mission and I don't need back up, I'm going to tell him to shove it or send Hiei with me,* grumbled Kurama, easing his way past some bushes and practically sighing in frustrated relief as he emerged onto a large grassy meadow that rolled towards the large ancient castle. Perhaps he could find shelter near the castle until his injuries healed enough for him to try and contact Botan. If only his communicator hadn't been smashed during the fight...
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" drawled a voice that rang with the snobbish overtones of the rich, and Kurama looked up to find a young teen with silver blond hair and an arrogant smirk on his face standing there flanked by a pair of thugs. At first glance, Kurama thought that the teenage boy was the resident of the castle until he took a closer look at what the trio were wearing. Matching clothes, down to the silver and green ties and the crest on their black robes. The castle was a school instead of a home, and not just any school if the wand the silver blond was holding was any clue, but a school for witches and wizards.
"It looks like a poor fox has wandered out of the Forbidden Forest all by its lonesome," continued the boy, his tone mocking as a cruel smirk spread over his lips, and Kurama braced himself for what he knew was going to come next. "Mother has been talking about a new fur shawl and this one's silver would compliment her nicely."
*Just try it, kit,* thought Kurama, a soft growl starting in his chest. Pushing his energy towards the grass at the trio's feet, he urged it to grow and tangle around their legs, feeling some satisfaction when it complied, only to dodge the blast of magic that came at him with a cry of "Stupefy". Snarling, Kurama ran right at the boys, dodging the magic they sent his way and jumped at the silver blond idiot, landing on his chest and knocking him over. A snap of his jaws and Kurama jumped clear of the boy with the wand in his teeth. Stopping a safe distance away, Kurama placed one paw on the handle of the wand, holding it against the ground, and making sure that he had their attention, viciously and deliberately yanked his head back, snapping the wand.
"No!" cried the boy before his face turned red with fury. "You'll regret that, you flea-bitten mongrel! Crabb, Goyle, I want that thing dead!"
The two thugs raised their wands but Kurama didn't give them a chance to toss any spells at him. He took off, running a jagged pattern across the grass towards the small hut he could see in the distance. It was probably the ground keeper's home, but it would do for a hiding spot until the trio got tired of chasing him.
Sprinting around the corner, Kurama didn't see the three students sitting there in the grass until he had already crashed into the boy wearing glasses. There was a surprised yelp from the boy and warm hands instinctively closed around Kurama's body. Desperate to get free, Kurama wiggled and thrashed, before the last of his energy drained out of him, leaving him limp and panting from his recent exertions.
"Oh, the poor thing," cooed a soft female voice and Kurama managed to lift his head to look at the ones who held him. They were all about fifteen by his guess and the girl had frizzy brown hair that was just begging to be tamed paired with eyes as knowledgeable and curious as Keiko's. The other boy had hair almost as red as his own human hair with freckles covering his face and wide blue eyes that were staring at Kurama as if the boy had never seen a fox before. The boy who held him in a gentle and kind grip had messy black hair and vibrant green eyes almost hidden behind his glasses, but the most unusual thing was the lightning bolt shaped scar on the boy's forehead. All three were dressed similarly to the trio he had just escaped from but where the bullies wore silver and green, these three were clad in gold and scarlet.
"Blimey, I've never seen a fox that color before, Harry," breathed the redhead, his hand reaching out slightly as if to touch Kurama only to be smacked by the girl. "Ow! Hermione!"
"Don't touch him, Ron Weasley," she chided, shaking a finger at him in a good imitation of a scolding mother. "It's obvious he's been hurt and is a wild animal. He hasn't bitten Harry, so he must trust him." She stood up, brushing grass off her skirt. "Come on. We'll take him to Hagrid and see if he can help this fox."
Suddenly, the pounding of feet reached Kurama's ears and he glared in the direction he had come from, growling just as the bullies rounded the corner, skidding to a stop when they saw Harry, Ron and Hermione. The silver blond bully was clutching his broken wand in his hand, the two pieces of wood being held together by a slender cord that was in the center of the wand, and Kurama felt a sense of pride at the deep teeth marks visible on the polished wood.
"That creature is dead!" growled the boy, starting towards Kurama only to freeze. Blinking in surprise, Kurama glanced around to find that all three had their wands out and pointed at the bullies with determined looks on their faces.
"I'd say whatever the fox did to you, Malfoy, you certainly deserved it," remarked Hermione in a casual voice even as steel lined her words. Ron and Hermione took a step in front of Harry, partially shielding Kurama with their bodies while still giving Harry enough space to attack if needed. "After all, it looks like he got his teeth on your wand, and I don't know of any animal who would do something like that unless provoked."
Malfoy sniffed and drew himself up to full height as if he could intimidate her, and Kurama was hard pressed not to laugh. This was too much like one of the demons who went after Yusuke confronting Keiko, and Kurama honestly expected Hermione to slap Malfoy in a purely Keiko-like move.
"That's your opinion, Mudblood," sneered Malfoy. "But considering some of the *things* that you've taken a shine to in the past, I'm surprised you're not as flea-bitten as that mangy mutt there." He nodded at Kurama and the silver fox growled at the boy, his ears laying flat against his head in anger. He was *not* flea-bitten nor was he mangy. He took great pride in his appearance, and he could honestly say that no other kitsune had nearly as lovely of fur as he did.
A soft growl started somewhere on the ground and Kurama glanced down to find a large ginger colored cat with a bushy tail and a squashed face glaring balefully up at Malfoy with puffed fur. However the intelligence in the golden eyes told Kurama that this was not an ordinary cat, and Kurama only hoped it decided he was relatively benign so he could heal in peace.
"‘Ere now, what's goin' on?" demanded a gruff voice as a large shadow fell over them, and Kurama looked up to find a man that had to be part giant standing there with dark hair falling over his shoulders and a dark beard covering part of his face, both tangled enough to give him a wild appearance, but there was something kind in the dark eyes that flickered over the students.
"Professor, this fox came running around the corner and crashed into us," reported Hermione, never taking her eyes off of Malfoy or his goons. "We had just decided to bring the fox to you for treatment for his injuries when Draco Malfoy and his friends appeared from the same direction the fox had come from and Malfoy threatened the fox with death."
A thunderous look passed over the face that was visible over the bushy beard and those eyes turned to glare at Malfoy. "This true?"
"That... *thing* broke my wand!" snarled Malfoy, pointing a trembling finger at Kurama, and Kurama snapped his jaws in warning, causing the silver blond bully to hastily pull his finger back. "I demand that it be destroyed immediately."
"Now that's a bit hasty even for you, Draco," rumbled the man, glancing down at Kurama and the kitsune tried to look as pitiful as possible, even whimpering slightly as he looked up at the man with large golden eyes, ignoring the slight snicker from the cat. The man's face softened and he gestured for Harry, Hermione and Ron to follow him. "I've got some supplies in my hut to help the poor thing."
Malfoy's face turned red with anger and he pointed a finger at them. "My father will hear of this!" he snarled before tuning and storming off with his two thugs following him.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish," snorted the cat, flicking a tail at the retreating trio in distaste. Kurama watched the cat as he was carried into the hut, not surprised that he could understand the cat. When he was in his fox form, he could understand animals since he was one himself, unlike when he was in his youko form and could barely understand them. "I don't care how purebred that one is, that's no excuse or bad manners." Golden eyes peered up at Kurama, who had relaxed slightly in Harry's arms. "These three will take good care of you, but if you try to harm any of them, you'll have to deal with me, fox."
"I just want to heal enough to be able to get away before trouble finds me," confessed Kurama, closing his eyes as he was placed on a soft blanket. It felt wonderful, cushioning his tired body and easing some of the aches that throbbed in time with his heart. A quiet click of claws on wood caused him to open his eyes as the cat settled down next to the blanket and regarded him with curious golden eyes.
A warm, wet cloth gently ran over his fur and Kurama relaxed, allowing Harry to wash the dried blood away to leave his fur gleaming silver in the sunlight that filtered through the windows. When Hermione tried to bandage his injuries, she jerked a bit too hard, and Kurama snapped at her in warning.
"Maybe you should let Harry help him, ‘Mione," remarked Ron, pulling the startled girl away from Kurama, and the kitsune relaxed under Harry's gentle hands.
"We can't leave him to Malfoy's revenge," stated Harry, his voice soft and as soothing as his hands. "We should tell the Headmaster that he's here and ask what we should do about him since he's injured."
Sighing softly, Kurama laid his head back down and allowed the caring to wash over him, soothing tense and sore muscles with gentle touches and allowed his eyes to drift shut. Glad that the illusion was as natural as breathing for him, Kurama allowed himself to drift off into a light doze.
Harry smiled slightly as the beautiful fox slipped into a healing sleep under his ministrations, and carefully wrapped the warm blanket around the silver fur. He glanced quickly at Crookshank who was regarding the fox with an idle curiosity instead of the fanatic hatred the cat had displayed towards Scrabbers.
"We should take him to the Headmaster while he's asleep," Harry murmured, reaching out to stroke the soft fur between twitching ears. "Besides, we need to tell him about Malfoy's threat."
Hermione and Ron nodded as Harry gently scooped up the sleeping fox. Hermione grabbed Crookshank, and together they left Hagrid's hut with promises to keep him informed on the fox's recovery. As they walked to the Headmaster's office, the brunet boy couldn't help but marvel at the magnificence of the animal he held in his arms. Never had he seen such a brilliant shade of silver outside of a freshly minted coin and even that seemed dull in comparison. Even lying limp in his arms with white bandages marring the silver fur, there seemed to be something regal about the fox, as if he wasn't entirely of this world.
*Come to think of it, the only other animal I know like that is Fawkes,* mused Harry as they climbed the stairs that would lead them to Dumbledore's office. He smiled at the thought of the glowing red and gold phoenix that had saved his life twice with his tears and a third time with his song, before his gaze dropped to the blanket wrapped bundle in his arms. *You're beautiful, but I can't help thinking that there's something special about you. Something magical.*
"Welcome," greeted Dumbldore, snapping Harry out of his thoughts and he looked up to discover that he was standing in the Headmaster's office with no idea how he got there. Dumbledore smiled at them from behind his paperwork strewn desk. "What brings you to my office at this time of day?"
Harry took a step closer to the desk and held out the precious bundle. "He came running out of the Forest right at us, sir," he began as Dumbledore and Fawkes both peered down at the sleeping fox. "He was injured and I think Malfoy did something to him, because he claims that the fox broke his wand."
Surprise flickered over Dumbledore's face. "Very interesting," he murmured, reaching out a finger to stroke the soft fur. Before he could touch the fox, golden eyes opened and sharp teeth were bared in a warning, and Harry watched in surprise as Fawkes trilled only to be answered by a soft whine from the fox.
"Very interesting indeed," Dumbledore remarked, standing up and stepping away from Harry and the fox. "You have a special friend there, Harry. One that will only let you touch him by all appearances." Serious blue eyes fixed on Harry, and the boy found himself cradling the fox closer to his chest. "Are you willing to accept responsibility for this fox and care for him until he gets better?"
Harry nodded. "Yes sir."
Dumbledore smiled and nodded once as if he had answered a difficult question. Stepping behind his desk again, the Headmaster picked up his red quill and scribbled something on a sheet of parchment and handed it to Harry. "This will allow you a slight bit of freedom to help your friend there but do not abuse it."