79 Chapter 78

Oscar finally decided to put his wand away, one hand still clutching onto Hu Yetao as he did so.

"I'll walk with you," Professor Mika offered, falling into step beside them as they walked away from the crowd of costumed students.

Oscar quickly pulled Hu Yetao to the other side of him, placing himself in the middle next to the professor. Hu Yetao complied without a word; his Alpha's system was probably still thrumming with protective testosterone after witnessing Hanjiang's stunt and he wasn't about to make it worse by objecting to the dominant behavior.

"Are you all right Oscar?" Professor Mika enquired quietly as they left the Hall.

Oscar swallowed, his jaw working, as he composed himself. "Yes, I'm fine," he replied tightly.

"Hu Yeto?"

"Yeah." Hu Yetao quickly nodded.

"I saw the whole thing," Professor Mika said with a frown of concern. "It looked like he latched onto you rather aggressively."

Oscar inhaled sharply through his nose.

"No, it's fine. He… he didn't do any damage," Hu Yetao was quick to assure, even though he thought there may be some bruising come morning. "Erm, professor? There was something I wanted to talk to you about," he added. He wanted to change the subject for Oscar's sake, but he also wanted to speak to the professor about something that'd been on his mind since their last conversation.

"Yes?"

"I know you're not the Transfiguration teacher, but I was hoping for a little guidance with my… my Animagus training."

Professor Mika's face broke into a smile. "I would be happy to help you Hu Yetao. I need to prepare a few things, with your involvement, and should be able to start in about a month."

Hu Yetao smiled, looking forward to it already. "I know the perfect place to practice too," he said keenly.

Oscar glanced at him and a little more tension seemed to ebb away at Hu Yetao's pleased expression. His gaze ran over his mate's body, confirming that he was, in fact, all right, before he allowed a tiny smirk to pull at his lips.

"I think your lovely fairy wings are ruined Taotao."

Hu Yetao twisted round to look over his shoulder and saw that his shimmery gold wings were indeed crushed beyond repair after Hanjiang's attack cuddle.

He mocks glared at his mate but was happy to see that Oscar was feeling a little more like himself.

"Good," Hu Yetao said emphatically. "This costume is officially retired."

••••••••

Hu Yetao grinned as the fluffy little Caipora nuzzled into his hand, searching for more figs.

"I'm going to ask Zhidao if I can take him home," Xinyao said, also smiling, as he placed a piece of banana in front of the Caipora's nose and it immediately grasped onto it with its tiny clawed feet.

"Not before I do," Hu Yetao replied, chuckling when the little creature gobbled down the banana as though it was the last piece of fruit on earth.

Zhidao was attempting to educate the eighth years about the Caipora's place of origin in the Amazon and about their history, but the students were too distracted by the creature's delightful charm and adorable appearance to absorb much of it. Hu Yetao and Xinyao included.

Hu Yetao handed the creature over to Xinyao as he continued to feed him the rest of the bruised banana. The more bruised and mushy it was, the better, as far as the Caipora was concerned.

"So I start my Animagus training the first Sunday in December," Hu Yetao mentioned quietly. The paired students were scattered around the large paddock and no one was close enough to overhear their whispered conversation. Plus they were all too engrossed with their own Caipora. "Is Jing-Long still on about me registering?" he asked.

Care of Magical Creatures was the only time Hu Yetao had alone with Xinyao, now that he lived with Oscar, and he wanted to make sure that they made time to talk about all the big things going on in their lives - without the interference of their respective partners. He didn't want to lose the closeness he had with his friends like some people did when they became wrapped up in their love lives.

Zhang Xinyao tickled the Caipora under the chin as it mashed the banana pieces into its small mouth and happily chewed. "I don't think he understands quite why you want to transform. I get it," he added assuredly. "Wanting a bit of freedom where those tossers can't recognize you; makes complete sense to me friend. It's kinda like what Tian Langxing went through. Your dad and his mates all had an Animagus form," he finished with a shrug, as though it was obvious that Hu Yetao would also want to follow in their footsteps.

Hu Yetao leaned forward onto his knees as he nodded, eyes on the little animal cupped in Xinyao's hands. "I just don't want to make a big deal out of it - and I don't want the Ministry to say no, either."

"Yeah, and the fewer people that know, the better, right?" Xinyao said. "Those blokes could work in the Ministry for all you know."

Hu Yetao reached down into the bucket at his feet and selected another squashed banana for the Caipora. "So how are you and Jing-Long going?" he asked, chuckling when the fruit was snatched from his fingers with a squeak of delight.

"Yeah good," Xinyao replied ardently. "He's uh… surprising sometimes."

Hu Yetao grimaced. "Is that a sex thing? Because I don't want to know, he's like a brother to me."

"Hey, if I have to put up with the thought of you and Oscar shagging, then you can suck it up when I talk about snogging my boyfriend," Xinyao shot back with a grin.

Hu Yetao laughed. "Yeah all right; tell me all the horrible details."

"His nipples are so-"

Hu Yetao scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at him as Xinyao laughed while simultaneously trying to shield his little furry friend.

They both continued to laugh and the Caipora paused in its chewing to blink up at them in confusion.

"I just meant," Xinyao eventually said, picking up the thread of their conversation once more, "that he's not as rigorous as you might expect. It's our last year at Hogwarts and he's ignored his revision timetable a few times to spend time with me."

Hu Yetao grinned at his friend. "So what you're saying is that you'll be the cause of his not achieving perfect O's on his NEWTS."

Zhang Xinyao snorted. "Yeah, that'd be a brilliant start to our life together."

Hu Yetao smiled and reached out to stroke the fuzzy coffee-colored head of the Caipora as it sniffed Ron's hand for more treats. "Are you going to marry him, do you think?"

Zhang Xinyao glanced up and his cheeks flushed pink but his eyes sparkled. "Yeah."

Hu Yetao plucked the last fig out of their supply box and passed it over.

"What about you?"

Hu Yetao glanced up as he wiped his sticky hands on his trousers. "Marry Oscar Wang?" he asked with a smirk.

Zhang Xinyao made a face. "Hu Yetao, that's a fucked up sentence - but yeah, that," he said.

Hu Yetao snorted and rested his elbows on his thighs as he leaned forward and watched their furry friend inhale the last of the food. "No, I don't think so. I don't think Oscar's into the whole marriage thing."

Zhang Xinyao frowned. "I'm sure he would do it if you wanted to."

Hu Yetao sighed. "I dunno, I'm not that fussed either way."

Zhang Xinyao eyed him. "I don't think there's much he wouldn't do for you, Hu Yetao if you did want it. But," he added, brightening, "if I don't have to sit next to Wang Xiaocheng while you make declarations of love to his son, I'm all right with that too."

Hu Yetao laughed and would have thrown more snow if he wasn't so worried about traumatizing the Caipora.

The two finished feeding him and, at the end of class, reluctantly handed him back over to Zhidao, who placed him into a wooden crate with the others. The little furballs immediately began to squeak and squawk to each other; as though comparing notes on the adventure they'd just had and the snacks they'd just inhaled.

Hu Yetao waved goodbye to Zhidao as he and Xinyao collected their bags and began to walk back towards the school. It was late November and Zhidao had been busy shoveling paths through the thick layer of snow that veiled the extensive grounds of Hogwarts, making traveling between his classes and the castle a lot easier.

Nothing had come of the search for the two Nundu brothers yet and Hu Yetao was beginning to wonder if perhaps the two brothers had simply disappeared, planning to remain in hiding until the attack had been forgotten. Maybe they had decided that it was too risky to attempt it for a second time.