Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Hunter X Hunter.


A Harry Potter/Hunter X Hunter Crossover

Nen Wizard


Chapter 1

Baby X Nen X Exam


Ging Freecs let out a sigh of relief despite being happy for a job well done. He was contracted by a mafia group in London to search for their stolen loot, which he was quite sure was also stolen goods since this was the mafia he was dealing with.

Considering that he wasn't in a hurry to return to the Hunter Association headquarters to report the success of his mission, he decided to spend some time touring London to relax. Besides, he had some money to splurge since this job netted him a whopping 100 million Jennies - quite an amount considering the job took him only 2 days to complete instead of a week.

Since it was Halloween, an odd tradition Ging thought, he decided to observe the kids trick or treating, even laughing at times when he saw the trick-or-treaters wearing funny costumes.

It was sometime around midnight when he was about to head to his hotel room that he felt a powerful surge of Nen a block away from his current location.

As a Hunter, anything Nen-related was their concern so he immediately turned to the direction where the flare was and took off at aura-enhanced speed, wanting to get there as soon as possible to head off any problem that might give the Hunter Association a headache.

It didn't take long for him to find the source of the powerful Nen flare. In fact, he was quite shocked when he discovered what it was or who it was. The Nen he felt was coming from a wrapped bundle on the doorstep of Number Four Privet Drive.

Frowning, Ging made his way to the bundle that was continuously releasing waves upon waves of aura that made his senses go haywire. He was flabbergasted when he discovered that the source of the powerful Nen burst was a baby with a lightning bolt scar on its forehead.

Not afraid of any repercussions this might cause (he was never a stickler for rules to begin with), Ging immediately lifted the sleeping baby into his arms and took out the letter tucked between the folds of the blanket the child was wrapped in. He frowned upon reading the letter before his aura flared as anger coursed through his body.

This...this Dumbledore left a 15 month old baby on a doorstep in a cold November night expecting the baby's aunt to take care of him without even having the decency to hand the baby over himself. However, what caused his anger to flare was the subtle instructions to the baby's...no, Harry's family to treat him like a slave and to 'educate' the kid to be meek and pliable.

Despite lacking any parental concern since he left his son, Gon, in the care of his cousin, he decided that this kid needed to be raised properly. Considering how potent Harry's aura was, the boy needed to be taught properly to avoid having a hate-filled powerhouse for the Hunter Association to deal with in the future.

With his mind made up, Ging tucked baby Harry safely in his arms before exiting Privet Drive with a grin on his face. He knew the perfect man to take care of baby Harry. He chuckled to himself as he fantasized how the Chairman of the Hunter Association would react to having a Nen powerhouse to raise and train.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chairman Isaac Netero couldn't help but coo at the baby Ging left him. Of course, he was fighting with himself not to coo but he couldn't help it. Harry was just too adorable.

When Ging opened up the idea of him adopting baby Harry, he had no problems with it. Add to the fact that the kid was constantly releasing powerful bursts of aura that shocked every Hunter in a 500 meter radius; he definitely wanted to raise the boy as his own and possibly train to become his successor in the future when it's time for him to retire - if he wanted to retire anyway.

Considering how Ging found the boy, he decided to call in a Nen Doctor to make sure that his charge was alright and to determine the boy's Nen affinity and potential.

After 10 minutes of checking up the child, a shocked doctor told him that the baby was healthy but he had to remove a delinquent Nen curse hidden in the boy's scar immediately to avoid damaging the boy's growth in the future.

Of course, Isaac Netero immediately gave his permission since he was technically Harry's guardian and he didn't want his charge to have a debilitating Nen Curse hindering the boy's potential.

After an hour of intense Nen surgery, the curse was removed but the result amazed and scared them at the same time.

Harry's aura, which was already quite potent to begin with, became even more powerful, covering baby Harry in a cocoon of blue life energy that made Netero tingle if he got close to it.

The next revelation from the Nen Doctor almost gave him a heart attack.

Baby Harry was not only a Nen powerhouse but his inherent affinity gave him the ability to master 100% of ALL Nen affinities without any restrictions as far as they knew though he didn't know what Hatsu baby Harry would create considering that the discipline depends on a Nen user's personality and mentality.

The kid was clearly a Specialization type but to have all affinities at 100% was definitely a rarity among rarities.

Chairman Isaac Netero couldn't help but grin wickedly as he pulled out his phone to get the child's records straightened out. Thankfully, he had a few of his Hunters in the government so he had no worries of his request being done through legal channels. If that didn't work then he could always go 'underground' with his request.

"Hm, you need a name little one." Netero cooed to the baby in his arms, ignoring the tingle of the child's potent aura on his skin. A burst of inspiration struck him. "Oh yes, I have a perfect name for you, my son. Starting today, you are now Haruto Netero, my son in all but blood."

The 12th Chairman of the Hunter Association couldn't help but smile when baby Haruto cooed at his words punctuated by a burst of Nen that easily told everyone in the vicinity that he was quite happy.

Oh yes, Haruto was the perfect heir to his legacy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chairman Isaac Netero was in his office looking at the dossiers of the examinees for this year's Hunter Selection Exam. From the looks of things, they had an interesting bunch this year – mass murderer and criminals aside since they didn't discriminate as to WHO would become a Hunter as long as they passed.

He was about to reach for his tea when he felt a surge of Nen from the other side of his office door which exploded inwards thanks to a blue ball of compressed aura heading his way.

With a chuckle, Netero batted the offending bullet away with a negligent slap of his aura-coated hand before jumping out of his chair when another bullet turned it into wood chips. He landed on silent feet while grinning at a 12-year old kimono-hakama wearing boy with long silky black hair who had a disgruntled expression on his face.

"Dang! I swore I had you that time, jiji!" the boy growled out before entering the office.

"Ho ho ho. It's too early for you hit me with a surprise attack, Ha-ru-to-chan." the Chairman declared with an amused chuckle.

"Stop with the -chan already. I'm 12 years old!" Haruto all but screamed in frustration, which was also very evident as his blue aura licked at the edges of his frame before disappearing as if it was nothing. With the huge aura reserves Haruto had in his tiny body, some of it would come out visible especially when his emotions got under him. "You make it sound like I'm cute! I'm rugged, not cute!"

"My point exactly. Besides, even if you're 12 years old, you're 4'11 frame makes you even cuter. Add to the fact that you look like a girl, well, you find the logic in that." The Chairman deadpanned, much to the ire of Haruto, before looking around at his ruined office. This was the 25th time the maintenance crew had to fix it ever since he told his surrogate son-slash-grandson that he needed to land a solid hit on him to gain a Master's recognition in his Nen training. "Do you really have to ruin my office? We can always do this in our dojo, you know."

"Where's the fun in that?." Haruto said with a grin as he made himself comfortable in one of the sofas in the room. A hole made of inky black energy appeared out of thin air before Haruto reached into it with his right hand and pulled out a can of rootbeer from its depths. He popped the lid and took a long drink before giving out a happy sigh. "Oh yeah, that hits the spot."

"I hope you didn't get that from somewhere. Stealing is bad you know especially for someone of your stature." Netero pointed out as he sat beside Hotaru and was not surprised when a cup of steaming tea appeared hovering in front of him. He took the cup by the handle and sipped at the brew. "You're getting good in conjuring objects with your Nen, Haruto-chan, and the ease of using your Hatsu is superb. This tea is perfect! Just the way I like it."

Haruto gave his surrogate father a mock glare which didn't faze the man. He knew that he was adopted but he didn't care. In fact, he preferred it actually when he heard from him how he was found abandoned on a doorstep and shown the letter that was tucked into his blanket containing instructions on how he was supposed to be raised. It made his blood boil every time he remembered that letter.

Whoever this Dumbledore was, he was going to pay. Oh yes, he will definitely pay if Haruto had anything to say about it.

For him, Isaac Netero was his father in all but blood and the various Hunters in the Hunter Association Headquarters were family to him. Thanks to the Hunter Network (who doubled their effort since they considered Haruto as part of the family), he knew where he came from and what his birth name was. He was Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter. He was a wizard that was supposed to go to school last year but he didn't bother since his magic and Nen combined to form a unique hybrid of sorts unique only to him. No, he was Haruto Netero and nothing would change that fact even if it killed him.

"Considering that you trained me in all of my affinities for 8 years and practically had me practice my Hatsu and the basics every day, it's not really a surprise that I can easily do almost anything with my aura, jiji." Haruto pointed out causing Netero to give out a hearty chuckle. "And no, I didn't steal the rootbeer from somewhere. I opened up an account in one of the convenience stores a few blocks from this building. With the money I saved up, they had no problems allowing me to...'take' whatever I need and just deduct it from my account. Besides, it's mostly rootbeer anyway so they had plenty of it stocked up in a special cold room so I know where to get them. Sweet, huh?"

Netero nodded. He couldn't deny the fact that Haruto was a Nen prodigy. No, Haruto was a prodigy among prodigies – a pure Nen Genius, both in hard work and ability. He started training the boy in his Shingen School of Martial Arts at the age of 4 and couldn't help but be amaze at the boy's progress.

In just a span of 8 years, the 12-year old sitting beside him was a superb martial artist, a Nen Master (he didn't admit that to give Haruto the drive to improve), and a genius, not slacking in his training to improve himself. In short, he was proud of the boy he raised, a worthy successor of his style.

Haruto was also a hard worker. He didn't leech off the Trust Fund set up for him but instead, chose to acquire money through hard work. He started off as part of the cleaning crew in the Hunter Association Headquarters. When he passed the first few training levels, he was allowed to join some Hunters in their jobs, earning a bit of a commission as a helper.

Of course, the Hunters were a bit apprehensive at first but when they saw Haruto display his impressive Nen abilities, almost all of them were clamouring just to have him as part of their team when the job was too much for one Hunter to handle. Not only do these work gave Haruto a huge bank account (roughly around 4 billion last time Netero checked), it also gave the boy the experience he desperately needed on the complexities of the real world, especially the 'underground'.

In more ways than one, Haruto was being trained by him to master his powers, trained by Hunters on the jobs to gain world and battle experience (and earning a sizable income in the process), and trained to be responsible in both work ethics and morals.

All-in-all, Netero couldn't help but admit that Haruto turned out way better than expected.

"That, I have no doubt, Haruto-chan." Netero quipped before a serious look crossed his face which Hotaru noticed immediately.

"Something wrong, jiji?" Haruto asked, his face also mimicking the old man.

"Hm, I want to change the condition of your mastery."

"Eh?" Haruto asked in surprise before he gave out a sly grin. "You admit that I'm too strong for you, huh?"

"Far from it, Haruto-chan." Netero teased causing Haruto to fume. "Anyway, you are strong, very strong considering the commendation you got from the Pro Hunters you worked with. However, you lack the experience to trump my own considering how old I am. This is why I want to change the condition of your mastery."

"And what does this condition entail, jiji?" Haruto asked curiously with a tilt of his head to the side, an act that made Netero steel himself to stop from cooing and cuddling the boy. No matter how mature Haruto was, he was still a child in his eyes. A very CUTE child.

"I want you to join the Hunter Selection Exam in two days." Netero blurted out as fast as he could since he knew what was coming next...and he wasn't disappointed.

"YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?" Haruto shouted, his Nen erupted all around him, the entire building shook from the potency of the aura flare.

All over the Hunter Association Headquarters, many of the Hunters sensed the aura of the boy and merely shrugged. This was a normal occurrence especially if the Chairman and his son were in one of their famous arguments - which involved a ruined office and a lot of collateral damage. Some even got injured when they got too close to the danger zone. One of the Hunters pulled out his phone and sent a text message to the maintenance department to dispatch a crew to the Chairman's office though he guessed that they already knew what to expect when Haruto was in one of his famous mood swings.

"I want you to join the Hunter Selection Exam." Netero repeated before taking a sip of his tea, not even affected by the aura his surrogate son was putting out.

"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME, OLD MAN!"

"Then why ask? Hm?" Netero quipped before opened one of his eyes and turned it on his fuming son. "Why are you averse to joining the exam? Considering how you like adventure, I thought you would find it appealing."

Haruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath while putting a tight control over his leaking aura. He was silent for a few seconds as he calmed down his nerves, his aura immediately going calm and flowing around him serenely. This action caused Netero to nod in approval, which the boy didn't see of course.

"Why can't you give me my Hunter license now? With my qualifications and experience, I should be qualified already." Haruto whined as he flopped down back on the sofa.

"Oh, I don't deny that you're already qualified to be a Hunter, Haruto-chan." Netero answered. "However, considering your strict moral code, I think giving you favouritism wouldn't bode well with the other Hunters since they all went through the same thing. Besides, how can you really call yourself a Hunter if you didn't experience the whole thing, right?"

Haruto sighed. The old man was right. His morals wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, it wasn't fun to be handed his license without the usual test despite how he whined about it. He heard that the test was different every year and he learned from the grapevine that this year was going to be extra interesting.

"Fine. I agree. I'll join the Hunter Selection Exam." Haruto said with a nod before giving his surrogate father a look. "Let me guess, you're not going to tell me where the exam is held, are you?"

"Nope." Netero said with a shrug. "You're going to do it like the rest of the examinees. Besides, it's a Hunter's job to gather information so consider this as part of the test."

Haruto shrugged before pulling out his phone from a hidden pocket inside his kimono. He followed the tradition of the Netero family to dress as traditionally as possible. Such was the case; he opted for a purple Kimono and Hakama, and a pair of Geta sandals as footwear. He left his hair long which reached to the middle of his back and tied at the end, giving him a more feminine look. In fact, it suited him considering that his body was lean and muscled, as lithe as any athlete.

Haruto pressed the speed dial for his informant and waited for a bit before his friend picked up. Netero looked at his son curiously, not knowing what he was up to.

"Yo. I want the location of the Hunter Exam this year and any other information you have related to it. Of course, the usual price? WHAT? 50 million? You always charge me half of that for sensitive information. What crisis? You're pulling my leg. Uh huh. Fine fine. I'll pay so you're information better be worth it. I'll have it wired to your account now. Alright. Thanks." Haruto sighed before pressing a few buttons on his keypad to transfer the requested amount. He wasn't really worried since he had 4.7 billion in his own personal bank account. Besides, it was only right for him to balk at prices since he worked hard for it, damn it! It was a few minutes after wiring the money that he received an email from his informant.

"Hm, Zaban City, in a steak restaurant downtown. Give a coded order to the cook and he will direct you to a back room that leads to the first phase of the exam. Nice." Haruto whistled before reading the email out loud for the benefit of his father, rubbing in the fact that he got the information in a matter of minutes instead of doing it the old fashioned way.

Netero couldn't help but gape at his son. He expected the boy to spend a day or so asking around where the exam would be located. But to get the information with just a simple phone call, 50 million Jenny, and an email? What in the world has this boy been doing all these years?

Haruto saw the look of disbelief on his father's face so he decided to explain.

"Jiji, don't be surprised that I already have an informant. In fact, I have 20 or so of them scattered all throughout the world. While working with the Hunters, they told me that information was the most important commodity so I used the money I got from them to set up an information network of sorts. I can easily contact them, pay for their services, and they will send me the information I need. If they don't know then they will recommend someone who does, expanding my network some more." he explained with a shrug. "Besides, that is one of the reasons why I saved up some money and amassed a little fortune. Information can be either cheap or expensive depending on difficulty so I need money to buy them in case I need it in a hurry."

Netero nodded, approval glittering in his eyes. Haruto would become quite a formidable Hunter in the future.

"Good, good. Information is definitely important to a Hunter." said Netero before noticing his son standing up and straightening his clothes. "Going somewhere, Haruto-chan?"

"The exam is in two days and Zaban City is a day via airship from here so I'm going there early so I can spend a day to look at the sights. See you later, jiji." with that said, Haruto created a doorway of darkness and stepping through it before it winked out of sight, leaving a chuckling old man behind.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Haruto couldn't help but grimace. Thanks to his impromptu tour of Zaban City, he ended up being the last one to register for the exam. He fingered the plate on his chest, 512, as the elevator took him to the exam site below. It didn't take long for him to arrive and couldn't help but marvel at the number of people in the room.

With a curious expression on his face, he started walking around to check the competition. He couldn't help but grimace when he saw the eyes of some of the examinees. Many Hunters complimented his uncanny ability to discern a person's thoughts by merely looking at their eyes and he was employing this passive ability right now to check out what he was up against.

If these were the examinees this year then this batch of Hunters would be trouble or wouldn't last long in their training. Most of them wanted to be Hunters out of greed while others wanted to prove their strength by passing the hardest exam in the world.

However, despite the...disappointments, there were a few people that caught his attention.

The first was a guy named as the Dark Magician by the underworld. Haruto immediately recognized the guy as Hisoka, a famed killer who loved to kill those he considered as strong. From the looks in his eyes, the guy was merely here for the license and the thrill of meeting (and killing) strong opponents. They met eyes for a moment and Haruto held the man's gaze calmly before Hisoka gave him a grin before looking somewhere else.

Haruto found Hisoka interesting considering the guy was the same as him, in a sense.

The next person was a man with small yellow balls on his face though a deeper observation revealed that they were needles of some sort. He looked weird but an overall fun guy especially if he started chuckling mechanically, scaring the more timid examinees around him.

The next group was a trio who came before him. He gathered their names as Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika as they introduced themselves to Tonpa. Haruto couldn't help but grin since Gon was the same age as him if his height was anything to go by. He didn't grow up with kids his age since he mostly hung out with Hunters and some of the students attending his father's martial arts class so he was quite excited to see that he wasn't the only 12 year old aspiring to be a Hunter.

Another examinee he found interesting was another kid with silver-gray hair. Haruto's fingers twitched at the sight of the skateboard. It was definitely fun to play with. Despite being a professional and a mature 12-year old, he was still a kid so there were plenty of interesting things for him to see and try, especially a skateboard in the hands of a fellow kid.

It didn't take long for the exam to start when the examiner of the First Phase introduced himself.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Haruto couldn't believe that the first phase of the Hunter Selection Exam involved a marathon. He knew the examiner of course, Satotsu, an Archeological Hunter, that he hadn't worked with yet since the mouth-less man seldom hung out at Headquarters since most of his job were on the field but he knew of him from the others and through his access to the Hunter Website.

Sighing, Haruto decided to stay at the back of the group and relax since he knew that Satotsu had something in mind somewhere in the exam. He was surprised, however, when he wasn't alone. He looked to his left to see Hisoka jogging without a problem while looking at him straight in the eye, curiosity twinkling in its depths.

"Yo!" Haruto greeted the man. Sure, Hisoka was a killer but he couldn't feel any malicious intent coming from the man though there was quite a lot of curiosity from the man's gaze directed at him.

"Hello, boya." Hisoka started with a smile, a smile that made him look sadistic. "You're a delectable morsel, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Haruto stated in confusion with a slight tilt of his head before his face turned to a look of horror when the man's statement penetrated his brain. "Morsel? You're not a cannibal, are you? Please don't eat me!"

Hisoka gave out a hearty laugh from the child-like reaction. Oh, this one's a keeper.

"Oh no, I'm no cannibal. I meant something else entirely." Hisoka grinned, his face becoming even more sadistic if it was possible. Considering this was Hisoka, it was indeed possible. "You're a powerful Nen-user, boya. I'm getting shivers just being near you."

Haruto sighed in relief. The man's wasn't going to eat him. He wasn't surprised that Hisoka picked it up considering the man's reputation as one of the best killers in the world, second to the Zoldyk Family of course.

"I'm not surprised that you know since you're one yourself." Haruto said with a shrug while subtly using Gyo to really look at Hisoka's aura. It was strong and had an elastic feel to it if he wasn't wrong. "Even if you're in Zetsu right now, you still have a bit of aura coming out, especially on your fingers, meaning that your ability is mostly released through them. Other than that, you're definitely strong, Hisoka-san."

Hisoka was surprised at the boy's statement. He felt the subtle change in the boy's aura and it was smooth as he used Gyo to see his already concealed aura. Zetsu wasn't a complete method to conceal one's Nen since it was ALMOST impossible to close all of one's shoko. However, to get that much information from his aura's properties with a brief glance spoke of experience and mastery that made him shiver in delight. He used Gyo on the boy as well and was amazed at the boy's aura. If he was to liken it to something then it would be a waterfall. It was beautiful as it flowed around the boy yet it had a powerful quality that spoke of harsh training and unlimited determination. The boy's aura was tightly controlled and compressed to the point that it looked like a second skin, no aura was wasted as it covered him like a body suit.

"What is your name, boya?" Hisoka asked with a leer.

Haruto grinned and held out his hand to the man as he jogged.

"My name's Haruto. Nice to meet you, Hisoka-san."

"How did you know my name?" asked Hisoka with some curiosity as he took the boy's hands. He approved of the calluses on the boy's palm meaning that the boy was no slouch at hard work which he definitely approved.

"Meh, you're well known. Hisoka the Killer, Hisoka the Magician, Hisoka the Trickster." Haruto ticked off names he knew as he let go of the man's hand. "Those are what I know so far. From what I can tell, you're an A-class Bounty so definitely a strong person."

"That I am." Hisoka said with a bloodthirsty grin on his face that didn't bother Haruto one bit. In fact, he was used to it considering the type of Hunters he worked with in the past. "But I don't know a thing about you, Haruto-kun."

"Well, we can always get to know each other during the exam." Haruto said with a shrug before noting that they were way behind the group already. It was either they slowed down, which was unlikely, or Satotsu picked up the pace a bit. He leaned more on the latter. He grinned mischievously at the man jogging beside him. "Oh my, we're left behind by the group. Care to race, Hisoka-san? No Nen involved?"

"Hm, I wish to enjoy a no-holds-barred fight with you but I guess it's too early. Yes, on the race, Haruto-kun." Hisoka said with a grin before dashing forward using nothing but physical strength to propel his movements.

"Oi! No fair! That's cheating!" Haruto shouted as he did the same. With his light frame and the strength of his muscled legs, he caught up to the man easily considering that he raced with his father every day. He was no slouch in the physical department. "Cheater!"

"I am a trickster, Haruto-kun, do remember that." said Hisoka with a grin. "Why don't we pick up the pace a bit, hm?"

Haruto grinned as he bunched up his muscles and propelled himself forward. Hisoka laughed as he did the same, both enjoying the impromptu contest.

The Dark Magician didn't know why but playing a harmless game with the boy wasn't so bad considering his reputation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Satotsu was in a state of shock though his face didn't show it. Not only was this group hosted talented individuals that were Hunter material, Haruto Netero was part of the group as the last to register before the first phase began.

He knew of the boy, in fact, almost ALL Hunters knew of Haruto Netero.

The kid was trained at an early age in both martial arts and Nen by the Chairman himself, trained by a person reputed to be the most powerful Pro Hunter in the history of mankind. Not only that, the boy was a prodigy among prodigies, a rarity among rarities due to his Nen being unlocked at 15 months old.

Satotsu knew that Haruto could easily become a Hunter and issued a license considering the kids work portfolio as he assisted some Hunters in the Association but it would seem that what he knew of the boy's morals, it wasn't a surprise that Haruto planned to earn his license the hard way instead of it handed to him in a silver platter. He definitely approved of that since he followed the same.

This was going to be a fun exam if such a powerful Nen user was among them. He picked up the pace a bit, inwardly smirking as he heard the shouts of the examinees behind him at the sudden change of speed.

Oh yes, this was going to be a fun exam if he had anything to say about it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Many jaws dropped at the sight of a 12-year old boy playing tag with the feared Hisoka. They couldn't believe their eyes as the man who killed one of the examinees for merely bumping into him was smiling as the two jumped from wall to wall at amazing speeds in trying to catch each other. All of them were shocked when the two easily passed all of them at speeds that almost blew them away. The examiner had to call to them to a stop so the two reduced their speed on par with the group but when the 12-year old boy suggested a game of tag as they kept pace with everyone else, all hell broke loose.

They couldn't believe it; a 12-year old boy was making a fool out of them. Not only was the boy keeping pace with their speed, the kid was also jumping around as if on a sugar high, giggling all the while as he played tag with Hisoka. They were further shocked out of their shoes when Hisoka giggled as well.

The child's giggle made them smile, but Hisoka's made them fear for their lives. Their already high-strung nerves were further put to the test as the two giggled all the way to their unknown destination.

It was going to be a long exam with these two muddying up the works.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Haruto giggled as he tagged Hisoka before jumping out of the way when the man made a grab for him. Despite being a well-known killer, Hisoka wasn't so bad. His father was right; the exam was an adventure and fun too. His smile widen some more when he heard a voice from below as he turned his body to avoid Hisoka's hands. He looked down to see Gon smiling up at him.

"Hey, can we join?" Gon shouted at the jumping duo, grinning like a loon. Killua was beside him looking up at the two expectantly.

"Sure!" Haruto quipped before spinning in midair to position his foot on the ceiling and propelled himself towards the floor, somersaulted and landed without a sound beside the boy. Since Hisoka already tagged him when he focused his attention on Gon, he was it. He patted Gon on the shoulder before jumping out of the boy's reach. "You're it!" he shouted with a giggle.

Gon grinned as he immediately touched Killua and ran away at great speeds. Killua immediately gave chase, smiling as the game commenced between the four of them, not minding that Hisoka quite old to be playing tag with a bunch of kids.

It was 15 minutes later that the game stopped and all of them ran at normal pace in the middle of the group. Hisoka was already...somewhere, though Haruto didn't mind since he would be seeing the guy soon if the exam was anything to go by. Besides, he could still sense the guy somewhere behind them, probably scaring the crap out of the examinees he was jogging along with.

"Hi, my name is Haruto." He quipped to his two new buddies, hoping that they would become friends in the future.

"Gon and this is Killua." Gon introduced himself and the silver-haired boy beside him. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards a guy with blonde hair and a man that was running half-naked with nothing but a tie on his neck. "The one in blue is Kurapika and the one in glasses is Leorio."

"Yo!" Haruto gave them a two-fingered salute, while grinning at Kurapika and Leorio who returned it immediately. "So Gon, Killua, how old are you two?"

"Twelve!" Gon and Killua answered in unison which shocked them both before laughing at the joke.

"Really? I'm twelve too! It's nice having people my age in this exam. Is this your first time?" Haruto asked, interested in knowing about this group. Gon and Killua nodded. "So, why did you join the exam?"

"Well, I joined because my dad is a Hunter and I want to find him." Gon answered truthfully.

Haruto raised an eyebrow.

"Who's your dad?" he asked curiously.

"Ging Freecs." Gon answered immediately, shocking the adopted Netero.

"What? Ging-san is your dad?" he exclaimed with some surprise. So this was Ging's son that he told him about.

"Neh, do you know Gin?" Gon asked expectantly, wanting to get as much information about his father to make his search for him easier.

"Of course I know Ging. He practically saved my life." Haruto said with a grin, surprising Gon at the information. "But I guess that isn't what you want to ask right?" Gon nodded in agreement. "The last time I saw Ging was 10 years ago. I heard he was working on a huge project involving an island or something. Don't know what it was. Anyway, I hadn't heard from him since."

"Oh..." Gon said with a dejected sigh earning him a comforting pat on the shoulders by both Killua and Haruto.

"Don't worry about it, Gon. You'll find Ging someday, I'm sure of it. That's why you want to become a Hunter, right?" Haruto declared, trying to get the boy's spirit up. With the raw talent he felt in the boy, and considering that he was Ging's son, Gon was a shoe in to being a Pro Hunter if he was trained up a bit.

"Right! Thanks, Haruto." Gon said gratefully.

"No problem, Gon. I know we're going to be great friends." He quipped before looking at Killua. "How about you, Killua? Why do you want to become a Hunter?"

Killua merely gave a shrug.

"Who said I want to become a Hunter?" This caused Gon and Haruto to look at him in surprise. "I joined because I heard it was fun."

"Uh, ok...I think." Haruto said with a confused frown on his face. Gon was equally confused as well but both let it drop. Haruto noticed that Satotsu picked up the pace again so he decided to play another game. "So guys, want to race?"

The gleam of excitement in Haruto's eyes was mirror by Gon and Killua's. The race was on much to the chagrin of the tired examinees who heard the question.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It took them a total of 18 hours of constant running to reach the end of the long tunnel, depositing them in the boundaries of a marshy, fog-filled area called the Swindler's Swamp.

When Satotsu finished explaining the history of the place, a wounded man came out of the side of the entrance and started accusing a calm Satotsu of being an imposter, while pointing at a dead monkey that he said was a shapeshifter. It was convincing to some, except for Haruto, since he could feel that the monkey was a fake despite the convincing face similar to the examiner.

Quite a lot of people were shocked when three cards hit the man, killing him. A bunch more of these same cards was fired off at the examiner who easily caught them with his fingers. Haruto merely raised an eyebrow when five cards was thrown at him but he easily caught them with his right hand alone, shocking Gon, Killua, Kurapica, and Leorio since they didn't see the man move.

"I think these are yours, Hisoka-san. I think you missed." With a mischievous grin on his face, Haruto threw the cards back at Hisoka who easily caught them and placed them back on the deck he was shuffling with a large grin on his face.

"Thank you for returning them, boya. And for your information, I don't miss." Hisoka purred, causing some examinees to take a step back from the crazy man.

"Sure sure. Whatever floats your boat." Haruto said dismissively with a smile on his face.

Satotsu threw the cards to the side and gave Hisoka a look.

"Please refrain from attacking me, Number 44, or you'll be disqualified from the exam." Satotsu informed Hisoka who merely smiled at the man before making the deck of cards disappear with a twist of his hand.

"Sure sure, Examiner-san." Hisoka quipped, mimicking Haruto's answer, causing said boy to stick out his tongue at the man.

Satotsu nodded before addressing the rest of the Hunter hopefuls.

"Please follow me closely as we enter the swamp to the location of the second phase of the exam. Please don't let me out of your sight to avoid getting lost." With that, the man merely turned and started walking/running deep into the swamp with the examinees following him closely.


End of Chapter 1

Please leave a comment or a review. Thanks