Chapter Text
Shinsou has never been lucky in his life. The evidence is right here in front of him as he lies on his back in some ditch in the countryside just out of London.
Perhaps the one time in his life where he’d been lucky is how he somehow managed to become an Auror after it being his dream for his entire life. His single most important goal. And yet he’d somehow managed to screw that up! Because after fighting tooth and nail to work as an Auror for his entire life, he’d just…quit.
It shocked all of his friends, all of his coworkers, his dads, everyone. But he just couldn’t take it anymore. He’d been working there for five years, and then he’d quit.
That was a week ago. He’d packed up his flat and gotten the fuck out of London. He had been hoping to head into some remote area so that he could apparate out of the country, but instead, he’d been caught up in a storm and crashed his broom.
And that’s how he’s here, now. His broom is gone, flown off into the distance, and judging by the snap, he’s broken his wand, too. He lies there in the mud for a while with a stabbing pain in his arm, cursing his terrible luck.
Eventually, however, he does have to get back up again. His wand is indeed broken, but thankfully, the only thing that’s got mud on it is on the back of his robes. He takes it off, grimacing, and heads off in search of his broom.
He wanders aimlessly around for a while. He’s got absolutely no plan. His wand is broken. His broom is gone. But the storm does start to clear up a bit. The clouds begin to part, and Shinsou looks up, shading his eyes from the sun.
There’s a rather large shadow flying through the air. It looks something like a hawk, but it’s much too large for that. He squints up at it, trying to discern its features as it comes closer, and closer, and—
“Duck!” someone shouts from up ahead.
Shinsou dives to the ground. A shadow falls over him, and he can barely catch a glimpse of the creature before it’s sweeping over him screeching. A gust of wind rushes through his hair as it passes. He coughs, shutting his eyes.
After a few seconds, he lets his eyes slowly blink open again. The creature is up in the sky, circling—now, he can tell what it is. A hippogriff, its wings outstretched, soaring through the sky. Shinsou scrambles to his feet, gaping up at it.
There’s a person riding on it. They aren’t even holding on, their arms thrust into the sky as they let out a whoop. The hippogriff lets out a screech in response, and they cut through the clouds.
Shinsou watches them, still gaping. Whoever could be so insane as to ride a wild hippogriff in the middle of nowhere? He doesn’t have to wait long to see who—the hippogriff is careening toward the ground at a breakneck speed, and it’s showing no sign of stopping. Shinsou scrambles away as they land on the ground with a thump.
The person dismounts, laughing. “Hey there!” they shout across the field, waving an arm. “Sorry about that!”
Shinsou just stares at him. They jog closer, and their features become clear—pale, blond hair that’s windswept in every direction, bright eyes, and a beaming smile. He’s decked out in a dirty collared shirt and thick leather gloves. “Sorry about that!” he calls as he approaches. “Wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here. You alright?”
Shinsou stares at him some more. “Were you just riding a hippogriff?”
“Yep!” he replies, grinning. “That’s Lucky. She’s one of my favorites—meets me here every season before heading south.”
“You just—rode her? A wild hippogriff?”
“I do this for a living, after all,” he says. “I’m Denki Kaminari by the way.”
“Right.” Shinsou slowly extends his hand. “I’m Hitoshi Shinsou.”
Kaminari tugs off one of his gloves before grasping Shinsou’s hands. “Shinsou, huh? You’re very attractive. Are you one of the Ministry’s new inspectors?”
Shinsou flushes at the compliment. “No, no. I’m not with the Ministry anymore.”
“Are you local? I definitely would’ve noticed you before.”
“Just passing through. Though I crashed my broom in the storm”—Shinsou pulls his wand out of his sleeve, showing Kaminari the splintered ends—“and I think my wand got caught in the crossfire.”
“You crashed? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, yes. You haven’t seen my broom anywhere, have you?”
Kaminari hums. “No, I don’t think so—oh wait, did you crash by the creek? I think I spotted something near there when I was flying.”
“I wouldn’t know. It flew away when I hit the ground.”
“Damn—well, the creek’s just over that way. I can take you there if you don’t mind waiting a minute.”
“You’re not planning to take me there on the hippogriff,” Shinsou says dryly. “Or are you?”
Kaminari just laughs, tugging his gloves back on. “Definitely not! Just give me a second.”
And then he’s off traipsing back to the hippogriff again, who is waiting patiently several paces away. Shinsou watches from afar as Kaminari coos at the huge beast, gently stroking her feathers. She is rather magnificent, he has to admit, with glossy chestnut feathers and those sharp, golden eyes. Out of his bag, Kaminari withdraws a few strips of raw meat, feeding them to her one by one. Her beak snatches them up, dangerously close to his fingers, but he barely flinches.
Eventually, Kaminari walks back, beaming. “Beautiful, isn’t she?”
Shinsou nods, shading his eyes again as he watches her take to the skies once again. “What did you need?”
“Just these.” Kaminari shows him a handful of long, chestnut-colored feathers. “Don’t worry, I only took the loose ones. She’ll barely feel a thing.”
“Feathers? What for?”
“Oh, did I not mention? I collect wand cores for a living. The creek is this way, by the way.” They start walking together, Shinsou following Kaminari’s brisk stride. “Sell them to wandmakers—sometimes they request certain parts, too.”
“Ah.”
“Strange job, isn’t it? But back at Hogwarts, my Care of Magical Creatures professor suggested it to me, and here I am,” Kaminari hums, gently tucking the feathers into his bag. “But you look really familiar—were you at Hogwarts?”
“Graduated ten years ago, this June.”
“No way! So did I.” Kaminari looks over his face carefully. “I think I remember you—you were the Slytherin Keeper, weren’t you?”
Shinsou looks at him, his brows raised. “And you were the Hufflepuff’s star chaser.”
“You remember me! And I wasn’t the star at all—you definitely were, though. So what have you been up to, Shinsou? Still play quidditch?”
“No, not anymore. I’m—well, I used to be an Auror.”
“An Auror? Damn. So what are you doing all the way out here?”
“I quit the Ministry. Visiting my parents in Japan.”
Kaminari lets out a low whistle. “And you’re taking a broom out there? That takes guts.”
“Well, I can’t really apparate without a wand…”
“Oh, right. I prefer brooms, anyway—I was always so terrible at apparating,” Kaminari muses. “I’m heading to Japan too, actually. For Kappas.”
“You don’t use them for wand cores, do you?”
“Oh, I do. My client likes to experiment. Not like Ollivander’s.”
“You don’t like Ollivander’s? Most Hogwarts graduates swear by him.”
“Oh no, he’s great! Got my first wand from him—and the next three replacements. But the one I have now has lasted me nearly a decade.” Kaminari pulls out his wand and shows it to him. “Bought it from my client when I first met him. He and his partner have a way with wands.”
Shinsou looks it over, examining its intricate carvings. “It is beautiful.”
“It is, isn’t it? Hand-carved. There’s the creek up ahead. Do you want me to try and summon your broom for you?”
Shinsou looks up ahead, and sure enough, there’s the creek. He vaguely remembers flying over it earlier. “Yes, thank you.”
Kaminari nods and points his wand, whispering a charm—there’s a rustle of branches, and a few seconds later, Shinsou’s broom lifts into the air and flies straight into his hands. He grimaces. It’s quite wet. “Here,” Kaminari says cheerily, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket.
Shinsou accepts it gratefully. “Thank you,” he says, then begins drying off the handle. “So you’re not going straight to Japan, are you?”
“Oh no, definitely not. I make this trip pretty often—I start in Africa, up to Europe, then make my way to Asia after that. Then I take a boat to the Americas—I stop in Australia too, sometimes.”
“Interesting.”
“I’ve always loved traveling. Best job in the wizarding world, that’s what I say.”
Shinsou watches him carefully. As he speaks, Kaminari’s face takes on a dreamy look, and he’s practically glowing. He’s positively beaming, smiling from ear to ear. “Here,” Shinsou says awkwardly, handing him his cloth.
“Oh, thanks—oh my god!” Kaminari reaches for his arm, where a freshly made gash stretches from his wrist to his elbow. “What the hell, Shinsou? How did that happen?”
“Oh. Maybe when I fell?” Shinsou thinks it over, trying to recall exactly how it happened. “It doesn’t even hurt, don’t worry.”
“It’s not a good thing that it doesn’t hurt!” Kaminari reaches into his bag and tugs out a roll of bandages. “I’m taking you to the nearest healer. You can’t fly like this.”
* * *
The nearest healer turns out to be a tiny inn tucked into the countryside a short walk away—Shinsou had hardly even noticed it when he was flying over. Kaminari tugs him inside, his arm now tightly bandaged. “Hanta!” he shouts, ignoring the looks from the few travelers that were hanging around inside the cottage. “I need medical help, please!”
“Is your hippogriff injured? I’m not going near her!” someone shouts back.
“A person, Hanta!”
Someone pokes their head out of a doorway. They have messy black hair that falls just past their shoulders, and they’re wearing a collared shirt under a thick green sweater. “Oh, it is a person!” he exclaims. “Hang on, take a seat while I get Shouto.”
Kaminari leads Shinsou to one of the armchairs that are scattered throughout the room—the building is much larger on the outside than it is on the inside. “Is it still numb?”
“I’m kind of feeling it now,” Shinsou admits, looking around. He’s a little bit tense right now—Kaminari’s intense friendliness is making his nerves act up. “What is this place?”
“Place for traveling wizarding folk. They’re run by my friends—do you remember Sero and Todoroki from school?”
“Todoroki was in my house.”
“Ah, that’s right! Hanta was in mine. They’re engaged, now.”
“Wow.” A sinking feeling fills Shinsou’s chest—all of his old classmates seem to be at levels of success that he wouldn’t be able to reach in years. “You visit here often?”
Kaminari nods. “Every year.”
The man—Sero, Shinsou knows now—pops out from the back room once more. “Hey there,” he says, grinning. “So Denki’s picked up a stray, eh?”
“He was with us at Hogwarts!”
“Really?”
“Todoroki and I were in the same dorms for a year or two,” Shinsou answers.
“Oh, were you? He’s still upstairs, sleeping—need me to check on that arm?”
Shinsou nods gratefully and starts bandaging it—as he does, Sero inhales sharply. “Yikes, man,” he says, looking over the wound. “That does not look good—here.”
He pulls a bottle of purple liquid out of his pocket, popping it open and letting a few drops fall onto the gash—Shinsou hisses as it hits his skin. It stings, and a thin bit of smoke rises to the ceiling. “Sorry about that,” Sero says sympathetically. “But I needed to clean it.” He pokes the wound with his wand, and it fades, taking the pain with it. “There, you’re good as new.”
“Thanks,” Shinsou says. “How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing! Anything for an old classmate. Say, do you need a room?”
Shinsou looks around, glancing at the broken wand that he still clutches in one hand. “Why not?”
* * *
Dad and Papa,
Bad news. I got caught in a storm while flying out of London and my wand broke, so I can’t apparate. I got a few small injuries, but don’t worry, I’m fine—I got picked up by an old classmate. He took me to a healer in a nearby inn, which is where I am now.
I’m hoping to fly back now—my broom is in good condition. I don’t know when I’ll be home, but I’ll keep you updated.
I’m doing alright, by the way. I don’t miss the Ministry at all. I do miss a couple of people—who knows where Monoma went off to after that fight with the Minister—but it’s been a relief to be gone. The city is so loud, and I miss home.
Please send Eri my best. I’ll write to her as soon as I can.
See you soon,
Hitoshi.
Shinsou folds the bit of parchment in half. It’s early morning at the inn, but he’s hardly slept all night. It’s cozy here, that’s for sure, but he’s never been a good sleeper. Water drips languidly from the roof, leftover from a quick shower just moments before.
He gets to his feet and slips out the door, trying not to feel self-conscious of his unruly hair and rumpled clothes. After tiptoeing past Kaminari’s room, he finds Sero cleaning tables downstairs.
He looks up as Shinsou enters. “Morning,” he says, with a pleasant smile. “Breakfast won’t be available for a few hours, but there’s bread and butter if you’re feeling peckish.”
“I’m fine, thank you. Could I borrow an owl?”
“‘Course. Otto’s out back—he’s our fastest.”
Shinsou nods. “Thank you,” he says, and then he leaves out the back. The air is cool and damp, and he breathes it in, slowly. He’s missed this—London is so full of smog and crowds, and the countryside is so much quieter. Slowly, the tension in his shoulders fades.
Eventually, he turns around, and there is a tawny barn owl, watching him carefully. Shinsou approaches him slowly, reaching out to tie the letter to his leg. “For the Aizawa-Yamada household, in Saitama,” he says, reaching out to stroke him gently—Otto closes his eyes, ruffling his feathers and looking pleased.
“He likes you.”
Shinsou turns around. Kaminari is leaning against the door, dressed in a soft blue sweater. “You’re up early,” Kaminari says. “Planning on leaving soon?”
“Hopefully. I don’t know what to do about my wand, though.”
“Why not go to Ollivander’s?”
Shinsou grimaces. “I despise London.”
“Ah. I do too, if I’m being honest.”
Shinsou releases Otto, and he flies off into the gray sky. Together, they watch Otto soar away in silence. In the distance, he screeches, then he disappears behind a cloud.
Kaminari lets out a breath. “So you are planning on flying back, then?”
“Yes. I should be there in about a week if I’m lucky.”
“All that way without a wand, alone?”
Shinsou nods, once. Kaminari sighs. “Look, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t have any other option.”
“Well, you do,” Kaminari says stoutly. “It’ll take a while, but I have an offer for you.”
Shinsou glances at him. He’s got a rather determined look on his face, his jaw set and his eyes bright. “What is it?”
“Travel with me while I gather cores. My client lives in Japan, too—he’ll pick out a good wand for you. And traveling alone by broom can be pretty dangerous alone, let alone without a wand.”
Shinsou squints at him. “Why do you trust me?” he asks. “We barely know each other, after all. I could murder you or something.”
“Why wouldn’t I trust you? Even if we weren’t close at Hogwarts, you were really good at quidditch, and you haven’t tried to kill me so far.”
Shinsou looks him up and down. Kaminari just smiles back. “I’m an excellent companion. Plus, I can show you a ton of cool magical creatures—and I can get you a really good quality wand.”
“Well, I’m not a good companion.”
“Don’t worry. I can compensate. Oh, I can show you unicorns, and kelpies, and griffins—”
“Why are you even offering?”
Kaminari shrugs. “My trips get lonely. It’ll be nice to have someone to talk to.”
He’s so plain and genuine. Shinsou doesn’t understand him. And yet, the offer is tempting. “How long does your trip take, from here to Japan?”
“Three weeks,” Kaminari says. “Then I’m off to America for another three.”
Three weeks. That was two more than the journey would take alone, but Kaminari was right—Shinsou was utterly defenseless without his wand. And he wouldn’t be able to get a new one unless he went back to London.
“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath. “Fine, I guess. When do you want to leave?”
“Tonight,” Kaminari answers immediately, and he beams at Shinsou brightly. “I’m glad! I’ll start getting packed then—we’re headed to Ireland first!”
* * *
They fly there in the dead of night. Shinsou does have to admit that it’s nice to have someone to talk to during his flights—Kaminari chatters away about everything, from the weather to his job to his friends. He talks about his creatures most of all, how he’s always loved animals, even before he found out that he was a wizard.
“Where were you before you found me?” Shinsou calls over the wind as they fly just below the clouds. It’s cold, but he’s bundled up tightly, warmed up with the aid of one of Todoroki’s pepper-up potions.
“In Africa,” Kaminari answers back. “Talking with Nundus. Mermaids.”
“You don’t use them for wand cores, do you?”
“Definitely not! They’d find that insulting. No, they help me find fwoopers.”
“Fwoopers?”
“Birds! If you listen to them too long, you’ll go insane—of course, Nundus are immune to it. So they coax them down from their trees, let me collect their feathers, and then I’m off on my way.”
“Wow.”
“They didn’t take too kindly to me at first,” Kaminari muses. “Called me a pale-skinned colonizer—I don’t blame them. Oh, look, there’s the coast!”
He points downward, and Shinsou follows his gaze. “We should cast a disillusionment charm,” Kaminari says to him. “I don’t think muggles will take too kindly to us flying right over Brittas Bay!”
“What are we looking for, again?”
“Kelpies!”
“Kelpies? Like the water demons?”
“Yup! There’s the lake we’re looking for, by the way—Glendalough Upper Lake!” Kaminari pulls his broom down into a dive, and Shinsou follows suit. Kaminari is an excellent flyer—a part of Shinsou wonders why he didn’t try to do quidditch professionally—and he shows no sign of hesitation as they head straight down to the shore of the tiny lake.
“Here we are,” Kaminari says when they land. Shinsou dismounts his broom and places it carefully on the ground as Kaminari starts rummaging through his bag again. “This is the fun part.”
“How can I help, exactly?”
“I’ll probably be fine if I’m being honest. But if something goes wrong, I’ll let you know.”
“Right.”
“Okay!” Kaminari draws a lead out of his bag, grinning. “Okay, just watch carefully, and stun the kelpie if I give you the signal, alright?”
“Wait,” Shinou says. “Stun the water demon horse?”
“Yup! Don’t worry, you won’t hurt her—but I’m warning you, I’m not a great swimmer.”
“What?”
Kaminari just kicks off his boots and socks. “I never really learned to swim, yeah. Do you remember in our fourth year when that rumor went around that someone almost got drowned in the Great Lake by the Giant Squid?”
“Yeah? Wait, was—”
“That was me, yeah!” Kaminari straightens up and starts wading into the water. “Don’t worry, I got this.”
“You’re fucking insane,” Shinsou hisses. “Holy shit, Kaminari—”
“I’m fine, I swear—”
“You’re going into a lake with a Ministry level four classification—”
“And I’ve done this a hundred times,” Kaminari says breezily. The water is past his waist, now. “Besides, I thought you didn’t like the Ministry? I gotta say— fuck!”
Shinsou nearly screams. Kaminari is suddenly yanked under the surface with a splash, leaving nothing but rippling black water.
Shinsou scrambles to the edge of the water, skidding to a halt and gaping in horror. “Kaminari!” he shouts, his voice echoing over the lake. “Kaminari, what the—”
And all of a sudden, a shadow bursts out of the lake.
Shinsou does scream now.
It’s a kelpie—but nothing like what he studied back in school. God, no—it’s nearly three times as large, with huge, rippling muscles and sharp scales with a whipping tail. And that’s not all.
Kaminari is riding on its back.
It’s just like the hippogriff. Kaminari only holds on with one hand, clutching the lead strapped around the kelpie’s neck, but the other is thrust up into the air. He whoops, and his laughter echoes over the lake as he leads the kelpie in a circle, galloping at an insane speed. Shinsou gapes.
It goes on for much too long. Shinsou can only stand there, dumbfounded, as Kaminari continues to circle around the lake, still laughing. He’s…having fun. He’s enjoying this.
Mostly, all Shinsou can think of how absolutely insane it is.
But a part of him just wants to feel that thrill. Feel adrenaline coursing through his veins as he lets the wind whip through his hair, the water at his feet, skimming over the surface as quick as a blink. His heart is pounding, but he just can’t take his eyes off of Kaminari.
Eventually, the beast slows to a halt, and Kaminari is thrown back into the water just a short way around from the shore. He surfaces in just a moment as the kelpie sinks back into the depths, and he’s still grinning like a madman. “I got the kelpie mane!” he calls to Shinsou.
“You’re fucking insane,” Shinsou breathes. He reaches forward and hauls Kaminari back onto land. Kaminari is shivering, but he still beams, clutching several long strands of blueish-green hair in his hand.
“That was awesome. God, this job never gets old”—Kaminari tucks the strands of hair into his bag—“people say that getting kelpie hair isn’t worth it, but it totally is.”
“You rode a fucking water demon.”
“Yeah,” Kaminari says. His teeth start to chatter. “The water is freaking cold, though—”
Hastily, Shinsou reaches into his back and pulls out a bottle, pulling out the cork. “Drink it,” he urges. “It should warm you up—”
Kaminari grins. “Thanks,” he says, then downs it in one go. He sighs, relieved. “Oh, that’s so nice. Hang on—” he flicks his wand, and hot air rushes from it, causing clouds of steam to rise into the air.
“How’d you do that?”
“Just a simple placement charm to put the lead on. Riding it was no problem—my parents were muggles, you know, and I grew up riding horses.” Kaminari’s face takes on a mischievous grin. “Say, do you want me to teach you?”
“Absolutely not,” Shinsou says.
“Right. Well, let’s find somewhere to spend the night. We’ll leave for Sweden in the morning.”
* * *
Sweden is pleasant. It takes a day or two to get there, and they rest for a night in Norway before heading out again. When they land, it’s in the middle of a forest in the dead of night
“Which forest is this?” Shinsou asks him.
“Hell if I know,” Kaminari replies. “This place is practically all forest.”
They search for a while—or, Kaminari searches while Shinsou follows behind him. Kaminari is being surprisingly tight-lipped about whatever he’s looking for. “It’s a surprise,” he tells Shinsou.
Shinsou dislikes surprises.
“So, tell me about yourself,” Kaminari says, as they walk through the forest. “You used to be an Auror, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What made you not want to do quidditch professionally? You’re an excellent flyer.”
“I’ve always wanted to be an Auror, ever since I was a kid.” Shinsou reaches for his wand for a light, grimacing when he remembers that yeah, it’s broken. “What about you?”
“Why didn’t I want to be a quidditch player? Dunno. My friends were what made quidditch fun, really. When they didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want to.”
“So you became an Auror.”
But he doesn’t have to wait long.
“A unicorn?”
“Yeah,” Kaminari says, smiling. An entire unicorn is practically standing over him, nudging him gently. He’s reaching up to gently stroke the unicorn’s mane with one hand. “Want to say hello?”
Shinsou hovers several feet away from where Kaminari stands, uncertain whether he should approach or take a step back. “But I thought they hated men.”
Kaminari laughs—it’s just a stifled giggle, but it’s loud in the silence of the thick forest. “Just a myth,” he says. “To keep hunters away. They are quite docile, really, you just have to know how to approach them.” He beckons to Shinsou, giving him a reassuring smile. “C’mon. She won’t bite.”
Still, Shinou wavers. “I don’t know—”
“Shinsou.”
Kaminari reaches out to him with an open hand, the other still gently stroking the unicorn’s pearly-white mane. “It’s safe. I promise.”
And so Shinsou allows himself to take a step forward, and another, and then Kaminari is taking his hand and leading him forward so that he can rest his hand on the unicorn’s neck. The unicorn lets out a noise akin to an annoyed huff, but Kaminari just clicks his tongue and she settles down once more. “See? It’s alright.”
Shinsou strokes her mane carefully. “I’m not hurting her, am I?”
Kaminari beams at him, looking approving. “Now, you’re doing wonderfully.” He reaches into his bag and pulls out a pouch of sugar cubes. “Feed these to her while I brush her, alright?”
“Is it alright to feed her sugar?” Shinsou opens the pouch, tipping a few into his palm before gingerly extending his hand out to the unicorn. She eats it with a vigorous crunch. “Even though it’s wizard food?”
“Normally I would say ‘don’t ever feed the wildlife’, but unicorns in this area have ridiculously low blood sugar levels. These are made specifically for them, like supplements.” Kaminari has produced a brush from his bag, and he crouches by the unicorn’s tail as he untangles it carefully. “Isn’t she lovely?”
Shinsou nods. Although the unicorn certainly is large, and tall, and could most definitely stomp him to death with her hooves, she certainly is beautiful. Her milky-white coat shines in the soft light of the half-full moon. She watches Shinsou carefully with dark amber eyes as he tries to keep his heart rate to a normal level. He takes his gaze off of the Unicorn and fixes his gaze on Kaminari instead, focusing on keeping each breath steady.
“Done,” Kaminari says quietly, straightening up. “You can take a step back, Shinsou.”
Sl0wly, he obeys. Kaminari pats the unicorn on the back, and all of a sudden, she takes off without a second glance.
“You alright?” Kaminari asks, taking a step forward. He reaches for Shinsou’s shoulder and squeezes it gently. “You look a little spooked.”
Shinsou reaches up to feel his hand on his shoulder. Kaminari’s still wearing those soft leather gloves, but the heavy weight of his hand is soothing. He takes a slow, deep breath.
“I’m alright,” he says. “Where next?”
* * *
They’re trudging through the forests of Bulgaria when Kaminari spots the thestral in a clearing.
They hadn’t expected to find anything—the days were getting colder, Kaminari had told Shinsou, and more animals were beginning to hibernate or migrate. It certainly is chilly, especially in the middle of the night. Shinsou had lent Kaminari one of his scarfs—a striped green one from his Slytherin days, and Kaminari had been wearing it nearly all day. It would be warmer in Greece, Kaminari had promised.
They had just been walking through the trees, chatting quietly. Kaminari was telling him a story from his days back at Hogwarts, sneaking onto the quidditch field, swimming in the Great Lake—Shinsou could only imagine how that went—when he had suddenly stopped short.
Shinsou had opened his mouth, about to question why, when Kaminari had grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly. And then he had slowly pointed to the thestral, standing in the clearing.
That’s where Shinsou finds himself now, hardly daring to breathe. The thestral is undeniably creepy, its skeletal, fleshless body looking eerily fake in the moonless night. “That’s a—”
“Thestral,” Kaminari breathes. “I’ve never seen one here before—”
“Shit,” Shinsou murmurs. The thestral trains its gaze on them, and they both freeze.
Kaminari’s eyes are wide, and he barely breathes. “You can see it?”
“Yeah. Are you going to try and get the tail?”
“Yes, but I don’t know how—wait, hang on—”
Kaminari rummages through his bag for a moment. As Shinsou watches, he pulls out a pouch of raw meat—the same stuff he’d been feeding to the hippogriff, before. “Stay back,” he tells Shinsou. “It might attack if I approach it too quickly.”
Shinsou nods.
Kaminari drops his wand next to his bag along with his heavy robes and stands, slowly removing a piece of meat from the pouch. The thestral seems to react to the smell, and it clicks its beaklike mouth, its eyes trained on the food. Kaminari begins to take a step forward, his arm outstretched, and Shinsou marvels at how calm he is.
But then something goes wrong.
Kaminari’s thick scarf whips around his head with a sudden wind, and the thestral spooks, screeching. Kaminari stumbles back, but then it knocks him to his feet, and Kaminari is on the ground, scrambling away—
Shinsou moves before he thinks.
He dives forward. Without fully comprehending what he’s doing, he reaches for Kaminari’s bag and plunges his hand in, searching desperately, until his fingers meet rough leather. He yanks it out—the leather lead that Kaminari had used on the kelpie—and snatches Kaminari’s wand from the ground.
What had he said? Just a simple placement charm—
He shouts out the incantation and a great beam of light issues from the end of the wand, just as the thestral rears on its hind legs, about to land right above Kaminari’s chest. The lead secures itself around the thestral’s neck, and Shinsou pulls it with all his might so that the thestral lands safely away from Kaminari.
Kaminari scrambles away as the thestral screeches in indignation. “Bloody hell,” he gasps.
“Whoa there!” Shinsou shouts, tugging the thestral closer. As soon as it’s within an arm’s reach, he reaches out a soothing arm, and the thestral calms, its wings folding. “God—Kaminari, are you alright?”
Kaminari gets to his feet, swaying slightly. “Yeah, I’m fine—you just saved my life.”
“What was I supposed to do, watch as it crushed your ribs? Yeah, no.”
“You can see it.”
Shinsou nods, tugging on the lead. “Go on. Get what you need—I can’t hold it for long.”
Slowly, Kaminari approaches it, and this time, it just stays calm. “I’m just gonna—” he pulls the brush out of his pocket and starts detangling the tail, the same as he did with the unicorn. Shinsou holds his breath. After what seems like an eternity, Kaminari straightens up again. “Done.”
Shinsou lets out a breath and reaches out to detach the leash. As soon as it’s free, it dashes away, leaving the two of them in the clearing, panting as if they’d just run for hours.
“God, Shinsou,” Kaminari says at last. “I’m so sorry—are you alright?”
“I’m fine—are you?”
“Yeah. God, you just—jumped into action like that. You’re fucking insane.”
Laughter bubbles up from Shinsou’s chest, and he can’t help but snort. “I’m insane? I’m sorry, who’s the one that rode a wild hippogriff and a water demon? Because it’s not me.”
Kaminari laughs weakly. “Alright, yeah, point taken. Fuck—I really owe you one.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Kaminari’s mouth turns up into a smile, but it falls quickly. “That was fucking terrifying.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I…” Kaminari fumbles for a moment, shoving the kelpie hair in his bag. “Could I get a hug?”
The question catches Shinsou by surprise, but after a brief pause, he nods. Kaminari closes the distance between them in a single stride and crushes him in a hug, burrowing his face into his shoulder. Awkwardly, Shinsou lets his arms wrap around Kaminari’s torso. He is warm. Shinsou had never quite noticed how short Kaminari was in comparison to him, but he seems so small now. Delicate.
The hug is short but nice. After just a few seconds, Kaminari pulls away again, and he wipes his eyes. “Alright, I’m good,” he mumbles. “Let’s get out of here. I do not want to run into another one of those.”
* * *
After that, Kaminari’s a lot more…touchy. Not in an entirely bad way, more like he seems to constantly have an arm wrapped around Shinsou’s shoulder, or have their arms linked, or have them pressed side by side. Briefly, Shinsou wonders if this is some sort of flirting, but he resolves that it’s just Kaminari—perhaps he thinks that they are more comfortable together. He seems to be an affectionate person, and it was resulting in physical touch, that was all.
Shinsou doesn’t mind it. It is comforting, almost, to have him so close, although sometimes he wishes it were more. His heart races and stops and swoops and falls, and now, he thinks he understands what his old friends would call a crush.
He doesn’t quite know where the feelings came from, but now he finds that he just can’t stop feeling them. Every time Kaminari smiles, laughs, or cracks a joke, it’s like his throat is closing up, his face burning. And every touch makes it worse, although he exalts it when it happens and longs for it when it’s gone.
He is always so awkward with it, though. When Kaminari does even the simplest of touches—the slightest brush of fingers, leaning his head against Shinsou’s shoulders—he can’t help but tense up.
Kaminari doesn’t stop, though. He never stops.
Shinsou thinks he must be ill.
Kaminari barely notices the change in his behavior. He’s back in his cheery moods again, chattering about whatever. Whenever they happen to be near a city or town or village, Kaminari drags Shinsou all over it, chattering about the food, the people, the sights. He glows with excitement. Shinsou can’t stop looking at him.
Shinsou talks to him now, too. He could never be as chatty as Kaminari, but Kaminari is quite a good listener. He tells him about his dads, his sister, and his home, and the words seem to bubble up and overfill. He finds that he doesn’t mind talking about himself to Kaminari—hell, he thinks he likes telling Kaminari.
And now he’s here.
“My birth parents were Death Eaters,” Shinsou tells.
They’re somewhere in Greece, now. It is just a few hours before the sun rises, and they’re sitting side by side on the roof of some wizarding rest stop, facing the sea. Shinsou doesn’t look at him as he speaks, but Kaminari is pressed into his side, his head against his shoulder.
“That’s why I can see Thestrals. When I was eight, I saw them kill some…random guy. When they were arrested, a couple of Aurors took me in and sent me to Hogwarts.” Shinsou stares out into the water, feeling empty. “That’s why I became an Auror.”
Kaminari doesn’t say anything. He just tucks his hand into Shinsou’s and squeezes.
“I wanted to be just like my dads. They saved me from that hellhole of life, you know? But everyone knew I was the son of a Death Eater. I barely talked to anyone at Hogwarts because of it. I thought the rumors would end when I joined the Ministry.”
“But then you left it,” Kaminari says softly.
“Yeah,” Shinsou says. “I met a few good people, of course. My closest friends, now. But inside the Ministry—it’s fucked, you know? Maybe it was good when my dads were Aurors, but now it’s a mess. It’s disorganized, it’s corrupt. The minister doesn’t give a fuck about anything but prosecuting innocent people and pretending to care about minorities when everyone knows they don’t give a shit.” He takes a deep breath, in and out. “So I quit.”
Kaminari squeezes his hand again. “That was brave.”
“I feel like a coward,” Shinsou tells him.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I feel like I could’ve changed things.”
“You’re just one person, Shinsou,” Kaminari tells him. “You couldn’t have.”
“But maybe I could’ve done something.”
“What could you have done? The Ministry is fucked. You deserve better.”
Shinsou, against his better judgment, turns to look at Kaminari. Kaminari is smiling, still clasping his hand. He smiles back tentatively. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“The encouragement.”
“Anytime.” Kaminari leans into his shoulder, grinning. “I’m glad you got out of there, Shinsou. Besides, I got a whole traveling buddy now.”
Shinsou snorts. “You just want me here so you can talk my ear off.”
“Yeah, but you would’ve abandoned me already if you didn’t like it! I’m gonna miss you when I drop you off in Japan. I’ll just have to talk someone else’s ear off.”
“Replacing me already?”
“Oh, yeah, definitely. What are you doing when you get back to Japan, anyway?”
“Who knows?”
Kaminari hums. “Well, if you’re ever in need of a job…”
Shinsou glances at him. There’s no trace of a joke in Kaminari’s expression, just something thoughtful. Shinsou smiles.
They stay there for a while, talking. Eventually, the cold night air will get to them and they’ll finally go to bed, but Shinsou lies awake even then, just thinking.
This wouldn’t be a bad life.