j.a.pan is a wonderful country, a mix of old and new. j.a.pan is also one of the few places that normal pureblood attire doesn't usually merit a second glance. To reach the wizarding section of Tokyo, get off at JR Harajuku station and follow the signs to the Meiji Jingu. When you arrive at the Torii (shrine gates) look for a path going around the left column of the main gate . . .

Harry ported down to the Harajuku section of Tokyo and his jaw dropped, he saw women in black wedding dresses, women in black ball gowns, women in white wedding dresses, men in white wedding dresses, street performers, a giant condom store. Blinking quickly and giving himself a quick pinch, Harry a.s.sured himself that he was not dreaming and continued to gawk. Before today he had thought wizards were strange . . . now he understood what his guide book had been referring to.

Unwilling to ask why the people were dressed as they were and unable to stop looking, it took Harry several minutes to walk the hundred or so meters to the entrance to the magical district.

Taking one last glance over his shoulder, Harry walked around the ma.s.sive Tori and found himself in the middle of a section of town that would not look out of place in the Edo era.

"Excuse me," Harry walked up to a small street stand.

"Yes?" The woman at the stand nodded.

"Could I have some of that . . . whatever it is you're cooking?" Harry smiled, "it smells really good."

"Ok," the woman nodded. "It's called Gyudon by the way, would you like extra sauce with that?"

"Sure," Harry nodded as he smiled down at his bowl of beef and rice. "Do you have any suggestions on things to do around here?"

"Visit a shrine, go see a sumo match." The woman shrugged, "what do you like doing."

"Either of those sounds fine," Harry smiled. "Is there a shrine around here?"

"You walked through one to get here," the woman smirked. "They've got a magical section down the street a bit."

"Thanks," Harry finished his food and looked up. "How much."

"Five Ryo," the woman held out her hand. "How did you like it."

"It was great," Harry paid for his meal and got up. "Thanks."

Walking over to the shrine, Harry spent several minutes admiring the Miko as they performed their duties before walking up to the counter.

"Would you like to have your fortune told?" The pretty Miko behind the counter asked with a smile.

"Sure," Harry shrugged. "Why not."

The woman picked up an object that looked like a long section of closed pipe and shook it for a few seconds before turning it over. Harry watched as a small metallic rod fell out of the top of the pipe.

"One moment," the girl squinted at the rod then reached into a box to match the writings on a small card with the inscriptions on the rod. "It says here that you will live a long and exciting life filled with danger and strange situations . . . I've never pulled that one before." The Miko handed Harry the card, "would you like anything else?"

"What are those things," Harry pointed to several small brightly colored bags.

"Those are charms," the woman smiled. "This one is for good childbirth, this one is for good luck, this one is to ward against bad luck, and this one is to help with tests."

"I'll take the anti-bad luck charm," Harry smiled. "Who needs good luck, when I need all the help I can get to keep the bad away."

The woman gave a pretty smile, "do you want anything else?"

"Give me a couple of the good study ones," Harry smirked. "I've got a friend that kill me if I didn't get her one and anther friend that needs help."

"Here you are," the woman put them inside a small bag. "Thank you for coming."

"Have a nice day," Harry paid for the items and began walking away. "What to do.

A bit of movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention and he looked down at the strange little fox that appeared to be following him.

"h.e.l.lo," Harry smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh darn," the fox transformed into a cute young girl with two bushy red tails. "How did you see me."

"I get followed a lot," Harry shrugged. "And so I guess I'm just more vigilant than most people."

"I guess," the girl pouted.

"Why were you following me?"

"I wasn't gonna do much," the girl smiled nervously. "Just play a little trick on you."

"You like jokes?" Harry chuckled, "I've got a couple of friends who'd love to meet you then."

"Really?" The girl perked up, "where are your friends?"

"England," Harry smirked. "Bit far from here."

"Oh," the girl's shoulders dropped.

"You can still write to them," Harry tried to cheer her up. "I'm Mr. Black by the way."

"Black?" The girl seemed to consider the name, "I've heard of you."

"Nothing bad I hope," Harry smiled.

"Not much," the girl shook her head.

"Do you mind if I ask what you are?" Harry glanced at the girl's tails.

"My name is k.u.miko and I'm a kitsune," the girl replied proudly. "I've only got two tails but I'm working on getting more."

"Good luck," Harry nodded. "Do you know of any book stores around here?"

"Sure," the girl nodded. "There's one over there, and I think that k.u.mo will want to talk to you after that."

"Then why don't you show me this book store and then we can go talk to k.u.mo," Harry suggested.

"Ok," the girl nodded. "Come this way."

The book store was nothing special but Harry managed to find several tomes to add to his collection including one rather large book on native j.a.panese magical creatures.

"Can we go see k.u.mo now?" The girl seemed impatient for some reason.

"Sure," Harry nodded. "Let's go."

The girl led Harry through a confusing set of streets and alleyways before she finally stopped in front of a small temple.

"k.u.mo's in there," she smiled. "Can you tell me how to contact your friends like jokes?"

"Sure," Harry nodded. "Just contact Fred and George Weasley in England, I'm sure that they'll be happy to talk about playing tricks on people."

"Thank you," the girl gave him a quick peck on the cheek then turned back into a small two-tailed fox and scurried away.

Harry's hand reached up to touch his cheek by reflex and he grinned widely, being kissed by a pretty girl was another one of the small pleasures that he had learned to enjoy this summer.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Harry walked into the temple and looked around. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Yes?" A man dressed as a Buddhist monk stepped out. "Ah, a guest . . . and one that's started on the path to enlightenment. What can I do for you?"

"A kitsune named k.u.miko told me to talk to someone named k.u.mo," Harry smiled.

"I'm k.u.mo," the man nodded. "Who might you be?"

"I'm Mr. Black," Harry smiled. "So I guess the question is, what can I do for you?"

"Ah yes," the man nodded. "I've heard of you . . . as for what you can do . . . well, we're having a bit of a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Harry sighed.

"A yuki-onna has moved onto one of the mountains north of here," k.u.mo began. "And she's shown herself to be very dangerous . . . I was hoping that you'd be willing to help us deal with her."

"I'll go up and have a look around," Harry nodded. "But I'm not going to promise anything more than that."

"That is plenty," k.u.mo smiled. "I suggest you catch the next train so that you can . . ."

"Train?" Harry interrupted.

"It's a large device that goes on a pair of parallel tracks," k.u.mo explained. "They go very fast and . . ."

"I know about trains," Harry interrupted again. "I was just surprised that you didn't want me to take a portkey or something."

"Horrid things," k.u.mo sniffed. "And difficult to get in this country, most j.a.panese use magical s.h.i.+nkansen to get where they want to go."

"Then I guess I'll take the train," Harry shrugged.

The two of them went to the train station and Harry ordered his ticket.

"Good luck Mr. Black," k.u.mo called out as Harry walked through the turnstile.

Harry walked to the platform and gasped in shock as he watched the s.h.i.+nkansen glide up the tracks, the magical train was much sleeker and looked more modern than the humble Hogwarts express.

"Professor," Harry pulled out his zippo.

"Yes, my friend?" The Professor's voice responded.

"I don't think you'll ever forgive yourself if you don't come to the magical section of Tokyo and go to the train station to see their enchanted trains," Harry smiled. "They've even got an enchanted modern train."

"Thank you," Henchgirl's voice replied. "The Professor would have responded but we just started walking through a section of town called Akihabara and it's filled with electronic shops . . . coupled with hearing about the enchanted trains, well . . . he just couldn't handle the excitement and fainted."

"Ok," Harry shrugged. "Well, I'm going up north to take care of some kind of monster so I'll be out for a day or two."

"Have fun," Henchgirl replied.

"Later," Harry closed his connection and got on the train.

Harry spent most of the train ride going over his book on j.a.panese magical creatures and by the time it pulled into his stop he was confident that he had at least a rudimentary idea of what he was going to face.

Shouldering his pack, he got out of the train and began walking into the hills to find the creature that he had been sent to subdue.

His first challenge came when he was about to cross a small stream.

"Stop," a small creature that bore a strong resemblance to a turtle with a pool of water in its head stepped out of the stream. "You cannot cross my stream."

"You're a kappa aren't you?" Harry smiled down at the odd creature.

"I am," the creature gave a proud nod.

"So that means that I can either tip the water out of your head or offer to trade some cuc.u.mbers doesn't it?" Harry was glad that he had taken the time to read that book.

"Cuc.u.mbers?" The Kappa perked up.

"I bought several of them before I left town," Harry pulled the vegetables out of his pack. "And I'll trade them to you for pa.s.sage across you stream to my destination and back from my destination for me and anyone with me."

"Fine," the Kappa nodded. "But only once each way, you'll have to give me more if you want to cross more."

"That's fair," Harry agreed as he handed over the cuc.u.mbers. "Have a good day."

Harry crossed the stream and walked deeper into the forest. As darkness began to fall, it began snowing and Harry decided that he had better make camp.

Using his knowledge of weather magic, Harry was able to create an area untouched by the storm to set up his tent and start a fire.

"I'm cold," an inhumanly pale girl with long lightly tinted blue hair stumbled towards Harry's fire. "So cold."

"Sit down," Harry pulled a large blanket out of his pack and hit it with a quick warming charm. "Take this, it'll warm you up."

"It's warm?" The girl seemed surprised, "so much wonderful heat."

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "You shouldn't be wandering around out here alone, you could freeze to death if you weren't careful."

"So warm," the girl seemed almost drunk of the heat. "Oh thank you."

"Don't mention it," Harry smiled. "Let's get you off this mountain."

"Off my mountain?" The girl blinked, "why?"

"There's supposed to be something dangerous up here," Harry smiled. "I came up to see if I could find it."

"Dangerous?" The girl blinked.

"Something that keeps it cold up here," Harry nodded. "They wanted me to come up here to kill it."

"Why would you kill me if I haven't done anything to you?" The wind began to pick up and the girl seemed to stiffen.

"Kill you?" Harry's eyes widened, "I don't have any intention of killing you or anyone else. I just wanted to see what was going on, figured that maybe I could help."

"Oh," the wind died and the girl relaxed.

"What are you?" Harry stirred the pot on the fire.

"I'm a yuki-onna," the girl sighed. "Call me Oyuki."

"I'm Mr. Black, and you are what I've been looking for." Harry smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Oyuki smiled. "I need my cold . . . I can't give it up."

"You seem to like that blanket too," Harry tasted his soup and filled two cups. "Soup?"

"Thank you," the girl gave a curious sniff and then brought the cup to her lips. "It's good."

"I try," Harry grinned. "Why are the people so afraid of you?"

"They blame me for the people that die in the cold," the woman seemed to shrink.

"I don't," Harry refilled her cup.

"I'm frightened," Oyuki confessed. "They've sent hunters after me before but none of them have gotten so close."

"Do you need to stay here?" Harry refilled his own cup, "because I have a place you might like."

"Where is it?" The girl snuggled deeper into the blanket.

"Far to the south," Harry yawned. "And it is a very cold place."

"Can I still have the warmth?" Oyuki clutched her blanket.

"As much as you like," Harry yawned. "Can we continue this in the morning, I've got to get some sleep."

"Can I stay here?" Oyuki eyed him. "I like the warmth."

"You can stay in my tent if you like," Harry nodded. "I don't mind."

"Thank you," she smiled and followed him into the tent and its wonderful warmth.

Harry awoke late the next morning to the smell of something cooking.

"I made you something to eat," Oyuki smiled. "To thank you for the food last night."

"Thank you," Harry stretched out. "What did you make?"

"I caught a few rabbits and cooked them on the fire," Oyuki replied proudly.

"It smells good," Harry took a whiff of the burning bunny. "Thanks."

"How are we going to get to this place to the south?" Oyuki tended to her cooking.

"That depends," Harry took a deep breath. "Can you travel through warmer areas?"

"I can but I don't like it so much," Oyuki nodded.

"What about portkeys?"

"They should be ok," Oyuki nodded. "I had a cousin that used one once, she didn't like it though."

"She's not the only one who doesn't like them," Harry replied with a laugh. "How about we go to Tokyo and get a portkey from my friend to send you to my island."

"Oh that sounds wonderful," Oyuki nodded. "Thank you so much."

"Just give me a moment to arrange everything," Harry pulled out his zippo. "Professor."

"Yes, my friend?" The Professor's voice replied.

"I need you to arrange a portkey to the island for a friend of mine," Harry yawned. "She's a yuki-onna if that means anything to you."

"Indeed it does," the Professor replied. "Is it just for her or does she have friends that she wants to bring."

"Just me for now," Oyuki replied.

"She says that it's just her," Harry pa.s.sed it along. "We'll be there to pick it up later today."

"And I shall have it waiting for you when you arrive," the Professor replied. "Professor out."

Harry and his new friend made their way back to town and bought two tickets to Tokyo and the Professor was waiting to meet them when the stepped onto the platform.

"Is this the one that needs a portkey?" The Professor smiled up at Oyuki.

"Yes, she is," Harry nodded. "Is the Architect expecting her?"

"Yes, he is," the Professor nodded. "He also requested that we make a side trip to the island so that you can set up a few wards."

"Ok," Harry nodded. "Did you ever make any progress on those undetectable wards?"

"I believe so," the Professor nodded. "We'll have to test it out later."

"Excuse me," Oyuki smiled. "But I'm getting a bit too warm and I was hoping to get that portkey."

"Yes of course," the Professor nodded. "Here you are, just say snow to activate it."

"Thank you," Oyuki gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and handed him a small gla.s.s vial filled with a clear liquid. "Show this to the man that sent you, he should know what to with it."

"Alright," Harry nodded. "I hope you like the island."

"Oh I will," Oyuki nodded. "Goodbye . . . snow."

"What was she?" The Professor watched as the strange girl disappeared.

"Just a girl that needed help," Harry smiled. "I've got an errand to run before we leave."

"I shall prepare the Zeppelin for departure," the Professor nodded. "I shall see you soon."

"Later," Harry nodded.

It took him a few minutes of walking to get back to the Temple where he had met k.u.mo.

"Back so soon?" k.u.mo's eyes lit up in shock, "decided not to bother with things?"

"No I solved your problem," Harry pulled out the small vial that he had been given. "I sent her to an island where she won't be bothered and she told me to show you this."

"You didn't kill her," k.u.mo smiled. "It is rare to see such respect for life in a man with your skills, come with me."

"Why?" Harry trailed behind the man.

"Because you are getting a tattoo," k.u.mo smiled. "Just a small one and it won't take long."

"Why am I doing that?" Harry had an amused expression on his face.

"Because of the gift she gave you," k.u.mo nodded. "She gave you a bit of herself, the only way I know of to use it is to give you a tattoo. It will be quite advantageous, it'll give you a resistance to cold and a greater affinity to cold and ice spells."

"What will it look like?" Harry sighed, he supposed that he couldn't pa.s.s up something that useful.

"Whatever you like," k.u.mo shrugged.

"How about a small snowflake," Harry smiled. "seems appropriate."

"Alright," k.u.mo nodded as he pulled out his tools. "It will not take long."

"Where is it?" Harry looked down to where the tattoo was supposed to be.

"Move your arm a bit," k.u.mo smiled. "It's so pale that you cannot see it unless the light hit's it at the correct angle."

"Ah," Harry nodded as his eyes finally made out the form of the pale blue snowflake. "Thank you."

"There was a small side effect that I did not expect," k.u.mo sighed. "It appears that being willingly has increased the potency and . . . well . . . why don't you have a look in this mirror."

"What am I looking for?" Harry stared in the mirror.

"Your hair," k.u.mo gave a weak smile. "Some of it has turned white."

"Oh yeah," Harry nodded. "Not too much but it's noticeable when you look for it."

"Yes . . . well, I apologize for that," k.u.mo pulled out a small box.

"Don't worry about it," Harry shrugged. "And I had better be going."

"Before you go let me present you with this," k.u.mo handed Harry the box. "It is traditional to reward the hero before he rides off into the sunset."

"What is it?"

"It is a box," k.u.mo nodded. "Inside the box is a few items that you might find useful."

"What are the items?" Harry smirked.

"Another box," k.u.mo smiled. "That will have a small piece of gold in the shape of a rice grain once a day, a Mirror that will show a thing's true form, and a small jewel called a magatama."

"Thank you," Harry pulled out his zippo. "Professor . . . port me up."

"No, thank you." k.u.mo whispered after Mr. Black's departure, "for solving the problem and letting her life."