Hermione Snape and the Divergence Point: Mahoukatoro Interlude #2

Chapter 2

A/N: TW: Inyuama says some homophobic things to Saiyaka and anti-Korean/ anti-Black things to Hermione.

Sunlight filtered through the window, casting a golden light onto the room. Hermione stirred, stretching and feeling the jet-lag weigh her limbs. Perhaps she shouldn't have stayed up to the small hours of the morning talking with Saiyaka, but it had been a year since they saw each other last and only letters were exchanged between them. She was thrilled to be back in Japan after so long.

"I think we have Yokai Studies first," Saiyaka yawned, lifting herself from her own futon. "Let's get some breakfast and matcha. Kaname-Sensei won't be happy if we fall asleep during his class."

Kaname was the last teacher any of the students, international or otherwise would want to displease. He was smart, and had a great understanding of his subject matter, which Hermione respected, but she would never use the word kind to describe him. Though, both Saiyaka and Hermione were the last to fall asleep in class if they could help it. Saiyaka was at the top of her year and freaked out if she did anything less than perfect, and Hermione had advanced two years at her school in Britain mid-year and still managed to be top student.

"Yare yare!" Saiyaka groaned trying to undo the matted braid on her shoulder.

"Here," Hermione offered, taking the hairbrush. "Your hair is gorgeous, I'm so jealous!"

Saiyaka's dark brown hair fell to her hips in soft waves, and once she freed the ribbon from the one stubborn braid, it was easy to brush out and incredibly soft to the touch. Hermione arranged the baby-fine hair into Saiyaka's typical twin braids, tying each off with a yellow ribbon.

Hermione's hair was a medium brown and fell around her in frizzy curls to her waist. The bushy mass added to both her height and width like a bloody puffed out cat, and it was impossible to care for, and often brushing it somehow managed to make it worse. Though the length did stop it from going too far away from her head and she did like that she could hide nearly her whole torso behind the thick mass.

Saiyaka adjusted her round glasses and smiled at her "You'd be the only one. Thanks for the help."

"Ohayo, Saiya-chan, Hermi-chan!" a sweet voice called in the girls' common room.

Hermione turned to see the owner of the voice and something she had suspected about herself was confirmed.

Kaori towered over Hermione and stood with a confidence people like her and Saiyaka could only dream of. The fifteen-year-old girl had silky black hair that fell past her waist and was pulled out of her pale, heart-shaped face in two half twin tails. She smiled exposing the one 'flaw' she had, a pronounced canine she shared with her brother Hiro. She had beautiful dark brown eyes that sat on high cheek bones like large almonds. When Hermione first saw Kaori, she didn't know if she was jealous of Kaori or if she fancied her. Now she knew...

"S-senpai! O-ohayo!" Hermione squeaked with a bow.

"Ohayo, girls!" Anya skipped up to them and stood on tip-toe to kiss Kaori's cheek. "Are we ready for breakfast?"

"Wait up!" a voice called from the stairs.

"Miyuk-chan!" they all called.

Miyuki flew down the stairs, looking otherwise put together, her black fringe pinned out of her face with a pastel barrette, the rest of it falling perfectly straight passed her shoulders and wearing a 'plausible deniability' level of make-up on her already pretty face and her black eyes lit up at the site of Hermione and Anya.

"Took you long enough," Kaori smirked at her best friend.

"It takes time to be this cute," Miyuki stuck her tongue out.