"First things first I'm the realest."

Benjamin groaned as the song woke him from his slumber. The song drifted into his room through his open bedroom door that he swore he shut last night. He shouldn't be surprised. He woke up to that song every day for the past month. He hated Eleanor's radio. He wasn't even sure how she got a signal. They lived out in the middle of nowhere. Well, they lived in the countryside out by Manchester, but, still.

"Get your butt up!" A British female voice ordered. He groaned again, this time the light to the room turned on and he was temporally blinded.

"Eleanor, let me sleep." He whined, pulling his blankets over his head. The girl rolled her eyes and tugged the blankets off of him. He glared at her as she turned and left his room.

"We'll be stuck in the crowds if you keep this up. We need to go buy our school supplies. You've got a lot to learn about British Wizardry School!" She chided as she went to finish up her morning routine.

Benjamin Youngblood was an America foreign exchange student. His school, Salem Academy, had picked multiple students that they thought would be excellent students to send to Hogwarts.

Benjamin was pretty damn sure they asked him to go because they were tired of putting up with his bullshit.

He went anyway, leaving his family and a few friends behind as he traveled to England. It wasn't so bad. The family he was staying with, the Wood family, were very nice people. Crazy Quidditch fanatics, but nice people. He was the same age as their daughter, Eleanor, who he had spent every day with for the past few months.

"It's so early." He complained as he trudged into the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair.

"We need to get a move on things. Diagon Alley waits for no witch or wizard!" She exclaimed, brushing her long, wavy, dark brown hair. Even though she was shorter than Benjamin, she had the build to kick his ass. He usually went along with whatever she wanted, since she was known to have a temper. He stuck with smart ass comments that riled her up, since it was too much fun to tease her. "You should be the one excited here. You get to be sorted soon!"

"Explain this concept to me again." He asked as he brushed his hair. He didn't feel like styling it, or changing his hair style so he grabbed a beanie and put it on, satisfied with how it looked. He went to go change into his clothes as Eleanor sighed again. "Just run it by me again."

"At Hogwarts, you are sorted into different Houses." She began, folding her arms across her chest. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

"You're Ravenclaw, right?" He questioned and she nodded her head.

"One is known for courage, one for being wise, another for being loyal, and the other for being shrewd, or sly." She continued as he pulled on his jeans and shirt. "I doubt you'll be a Ravenclaw with me." He sent a fake hurt look her way as he got his shoes on. He chuckled and grabbed his bag.

"Well who cares what house I'm in?" He asked her.

"You're impossible. No wonder you were chosen to be on this program, bet they were sick of you back home." The girl rolled her eyes once more, something she did often with the male. "And stop changing your hair and eye color, honestly." She chided and his hair stopped on a bright red color that matched his now red eyes.

"Can't help it." He shrugged but she hit him with a pillow.

"Stop lying. I know you can. Damn metamorphmagus idiot." She muttered under her breath as he tossed his pillow back onto his bed and recovered from the hit. Eleanor was more annoyed with the fact that she hadn't ever seen what Benjamin actually looked like. She knew the nose he had now was not his natural nose, nor was his hair and eye color the natural color. She found it frustrating because he was her best friend. She should know everything about him.

"Hey, I can't help that it runs in the Youngblood family." He defended himself as his hair and eyes changed to blue, then back to red, just to piss her off. "People aren't going to be freaked out, right? Back home everyone knew that it ran in our bloodline since forever, so it wasn't much of a surprise when I did it."

He had been a little worried when he told the Wood family he was a metamorphmagus. His grandmother was one, and her father had been one, and her father's mother had been one. His grandfather even took his grandmother's last name to get the Youngblood last name to continue it. Everyone that lived near the family knew that having the last name of Youngblood meant you had the chance of being a metamorphmagus. He was confident in his skill, but he wasn't too sure how others would take it.

It didn't stop people from making fun of him though.

"No one should be freaked out by it, but it's still extremely rare. Teddy Lupin is one as well, he's very good at it." Eleanor said as she grabbed her bag and made her way downstairs.

"There's another one?" He asked, excited. "I've never met one that was close to my age. My grandma is the only one I know."

"Yup. I think you two would get along if you ever get to meet him." She said as they walked into the kitchen together. "Now let me make breakfast."

"Ah, no no no, let me do it." He told her, brushing past her as she pouted, but sat on a bar stool and leaned against the counter.

Benjamin had learned the first week of staying here that Eleanor could not cook. She was amazing at Quidditch and made good grades, but her eggs were like rocks and her toast was a piece of charcoal. Benjamin, however, took care of his younger siblings during the summer when he wasn't at school, so he knew how to cook decent food that wouldn't kill you.

Eleanor's parents were usually gone the whole day. They left at seven in the morning and returned around five. Her two older siblings, Caleb and Amelia, had long since moved out. They come home for Sunday dinners sometimes, so Ben got to meet them once or twice. They were okay, but there was an age gap between them and Eleanor, about five years between her and Caleb and twelve between her and Amelia, so they didn't always get along the greatest.

"What do you want?" Ben asked her as he looked in the fridge.

"I wanna cook." She continued to pout and he rolled his eyes. "Eggs."

"Scrambled with cheese?" He questioned, knowing just what she wanted. "One day you will be able to cook, but today is not that day."

Eleanor patiently watched him cook. Benjamin wasn't all that bad. He was a bit odd, a teenage American with a thick Boston accent with a love for dragons and changing his appearance.

He clashed with her immediately, being so defiant and always changing, but he was good company when her parents worked long shifts that kept them away from home. Their home was large and empty, but with Ben, it wasn't so lonely. He sat quietly and drew while Eleanor read and he didn't disturb her too much.

He cleaned up after himself and made smart ass remarks to anything they watched on the television, which Eleanor enjoyed greatly.

Although he could be quite cocky and vain, he was sweet. He treated her so well, and gave her so much attention that she was lacking from her family. He felt like an older brother to her, and he treated her better than her actual brother did. He did whatever she wanted to do, within reason, and usually didn't argue with her, which felt great, especially when she grew up being bossed around by her siblings. She never truly got to do what she wanted. Now she could.

"Let's go!" Eleanor declared once Ben finished cleaning up all the dishes. She got up out of her seat and Ben followed her closely to the fireplace. She pulled powder out of a sack near the fireplace and threw it all over Ben. He sneezed as she put it all over herself.

"Hold my hand so you don't get lost." He told her. She frowned as he took her hand. "We're not getting separated. Like hell I'm getting sent to the middle of nowhere."

"Shut up." She told him as she turned to the fire place. "Diagon Alley." She said loudly and clearly as they stepped in.

Ben really hated the floo. It felt like he was turning into liquid and it made him want to throw up.

They stumbled out onto a cobblestone street. Benjamin stared in awe at the place. "This is totally different from America…."

"Cool, right?" She asked with a smirk, not used to seeing the male so in awe about something before. "Now, come along. I got our school supplies list right here." She pulled him along with her through the crowds of people.

"It looks so old timey." He commented as they walked. "Like for real, this place needs an upgrade." He looked up to the old building, chuckling.

"Oh, be quiet." She sighed through her nose as she looked over the list. "We basically need the same books and supplies, thank goodness. I hope I don't get stuck in classes with you though."

"But you're my only friend here." He whined. "I'm sure I can make new friends but still. Everyone will already know everyone else. It's not like I'm a freshman…or a first year, whatever you call them."

"First year is right. You do have a point there. By fifth year, relationships are established, but you can be friends with the other American students." Eleanor said. "You have your money, right?"

"Holla." He said, waving the sack of money in front of her face before stuffing it back into his pockets. "The school's money, actually. Like I'd come over here without them paying for everything."

"Now, we need to stay on schedule. We have a few things to pick up and I have a list."

"Kitties!" Benjamin exclaimed as he walked by the pet store window. He hurried in and Eleanor followed, grumbling at him. Ben immediately went to a grumpy cat that only had one eye. "Precious baby." He cooed and it tried to attack him as he tried to pet it.

"That one is a mean one." A worker told him but he smiled at it anyway and tried to pet it again. "It's the runt of the litter. He's a big bully though. He got into trouble, but we got him out of it. He lost an eye in the process."

"Ben, no." Eleanor told him, trying to pull him away but he stayed in place.

"I'm allowed to have a pet at school, right? I want this cat."

"Oh, Eleanor, what are you doing here?" A male voice questioned and Eleanor quickly turned, frown on her face.

"None of your business, Potter." Eleanor spat out, glaring at James Potter. His little sister, Lily Luna, was behind him, looking at the pets. He smirked, lifting an eyebrow at Ben before glancing back to Eleanor.

Benjamin picked the cat up, and it threw a fit, but settled down once it realized that Benjamin wasn't letting him go. "There ya go. How much is he?"

"You want to buy him?" The worker asked, shocked.

"Benjamin you are not serious." Eleanor grumbled in disbelief.

"Who is that?" James asked, glancing to look at Ben, who was paying for the cat and grinning widely.

"None of your business Potter!" She exclaimed and jumped when Ben took her hand, his cat in its cage in his other hand.

"Let's bounce, Ellie, we got things to do." He said and pulled her out of the shop, James looking at them furiously. Ben just smirked at James over his shoulder. "What's his deal?" He asked once they were back on the streets.

"I hate him so much!" She exclaimed, face turning red. "He is a horrible, horrible boy!"

"I could tell you didn't like him much." Benjamin replied, glancing back into the store, where the male was now with who Ben assumed was his family. "What's the deal?"

"The deal? The deal with James Potter is that he has been a complete ass to me ever since our first year! He taunts me and irritates me to no end. Just seeing him or hearing his name gets my blood boiling!" She didn't look like she was going to be calming down anytime soon. "You know what he did in my third year?" She questioned, looking to Benjamin. "He lit my hair on fire. It burned it to the roots. To. The. Roots."

"Damn." He muttered. "What a dick."

"I know! It took two weeks for the hair potion to get to working! I was bald for two weeks!" She continued to rant as Ben looked around, catching a glimpse of an ice-cream shop.

"Let me buy you some ice cream." He took her hand and pulled her towards the shopping, her shouting behind him.

"I don't want ice cream, I want revenge!" She exclaimed as he pulled her into the shop.

"Two scoops of the raspberry and vanilla in a cone please." He told the lady behind the counter. "You like Earl Grey and Lavender, right?" He questioned. She nodded her head and he order it for her. He handed the cone to her and paid, getting his ice cream after. "Ice cream makes everyone feel better."

"I want revenge." She repeated, but licked her ice cream. "Thanks." She grumbled and he smiled at her.

"No prob. Don't worry about him, you got me now." He told her as they left the shop.

"What good will you do?"

"Rude. I like to fuck around with people. It's a past time of mind, actually. Probably one of the reasons they chose me to get sent over here. You're my friend now, so, I dislike Potter as well." He told her with a smirk on his face. "I'll help you get some revenge on him, because burning your hair to the roots is unforgivable."

"Damn straight it is." She nodded her head as she continued to eat her ice cream.

"Feeling better now?" He asked her after a few minutes of walking around, eating their ice cream. He stopped and let his cat have the rest.

"I am feeling better. I cannot believe you got that cat….it's so…ugly."

"Excuse me! Nick Fury is the cutest thing!" He looked at the black cat, who just glared at him after the ice cream was all gone.

"Nick Fury?"

"Yeah, the dude from the 'Avengers'. Do you not watch movies? I was going to do Nick Furry, but that's too punny. The guy only has one eye in the movie."

"I don't watch movies often. You're an idiot." She told the taller male, whose hair was now purple under his beanie. "Stop with the hair color. Pick a color and stay with it." She chided him and he whined. "Change your eye color to something normal. God, that cat is awful."

"Red's my favorite color though. He's precious." He told her as they went to get their robes. Eleanor picked them all out and Benjamin just carried the bags.

This process continued to most of the stores. Eleanor picked everything out and Benjamin just carried it and looked at everything. "This place really is amazing. Back home it's not as exciting. My grandma would take me to make sure I didn't blow my money on stupid things. Sometimes my brother or dad would come along, but they were usually busy."

"Busy with what?"

"My brother was furthering his healer training and my dad had work along with his family."

"What about your mother?" She questioned.

"Oh, I'm a half-blood." He told her, pointing at himself. "She knew about us, but, my parents spilt when I was about…six or seven. They both remarried shortly after that. My dad kind of wiped the magic out of her memories since he's extremely talented with charms, it's sort of his thing, and so she doesn't remember. My step-mom knows, of course, because her sister is a witch and because there's a possibility that one of their kids could be a witch or wizard. She's a really nice lady." He explained further. "Anyway, I lived with my grandma until I was about seven, since I had issues with my…powers."

"Oh right, sorry, forgot." This made Eleanor laugh, thinking of a younger Benjamin turning himself into different people and causing trouble for his grandmother. "Got your wand, right?" She questioned as they passed by Ollivander's store. First years were inside, picking out their wands.

"Yup, sure do." He replied, nodding his head. "Best thing in the whole world. Other than my new cat." He smiled at it, and it just looked at him.

"Good. You'll need it. She questioned, looking at him. "Are you excited for Transfiguration class?"

"That class is my jam." He told her with a shrug. "However, can I skip potions? I'm shit at them…..and charms…those are really my dad and brother's fields."

"You're such a geek." She told him, eyebrows raised. "Then again, what would I expect from a Metamorphmagus? Nope, you can't skip them."

"It's fun!" He exclaimed, as she stopped again.

"Albus!" She smiled widely at another boy who looked similar to James. This boy had green eyes and was a little smaller than James though, and had longer hair. "How are you?"

"Oh, hey Eleanor. I'm good." He replied as she hugged him. "Mum, Eleanor is over here." He called out and an older woman with ginger hair came over, smiling and hugging Eleanor.

"James said he saw you in the pet store earlier." She said as she let go of Eleanor. "I'm surprised the store didn't burst into flames. I know how you two can be."

"Benjamin stepped in before anything happened." She replied, directing their attention to Benjamin, who waved behind all the bags he was carrying. Eleanor grabbed a random cart someone had left and pushed it over to him.

"God, they have carts?" He questioned as he dropped everything onto the cart. "You made me carry all that stuff for an hour for no reason?" He sat Nick Fury's cage on top of the other items and grinned at the cat, who gave him an annoyed look.

"Oh shush." She replied and smiled back at the other two. "This is Benjamin Youngblood. He's the foreign exchange student that's staying with us."

"You're mother has told me all about that. Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ginny Potter, but you can call me Ms. Ginny. This is my son, Albus. You met his older brother, James, earlier." She introduced herself and Benjamin shook both of their hands, smiling. "Nice cat."

"It's nice to meet ya." He told them. "Thanks, he's new! Oh yeah, her mom is the best. She makes the best treats." He sighed happily, starting to feel hungry again. "Man, I'm getting hungry."

"Americans." Eleanor sighed, rolling her eyes. "Are you two almost done with all you're shopping?"

"Oh yes. Albus got a head start on it. James came later with his father, we're just waiting for them and Lily to finish." Ms. Ginny continued and Albus blushed a little. Benjamin grinned at him, liking him much better than his older brother.

"I wanted a head start too, before it got super busy, but this one here didn't want to wake up." She eyed Benjamin, who just shrugged.

"I was having a bad hair day, what can I say?" He shrugged his shoulders, red eyes gleaming. Eleanor looked ready to hit him, wishing he changed his eye color to something more, normal and not demonic. "But, for real, dude, so hungry. I'm fading out."

"Then fade out. I'm not done talking." Eleanor told him and he just leaned his head on her shoulder, much like a child would do to their mother. "What classes are you taking this year, Al?"

"Trans-species Transformations." He sighed. "I'm not the biggest fan of transfiguration." He admitted and this perked Benjamin back up.

"Oh no, you used the 't' word." Eleanor said. "Benjamin loves transfiguration."

"I'm incredibly amazing at it." He smirked confidently. "I was the best in my class."

"Calm down." Eleanor smirked at Benjamin. "Maybe Benny here can tutor you if you need help. You're good at potions, right? You and Ben can trade off, because he apparently can't do potions at all."

"Oh yeah, totally. If ya need help, I'll be there. Good, someone who knows what they're doing in potions. I just close my eyes and hope for the best." He grinned at Albus, winking at him. "But for real I'm super hungry and your mom said she'd have lemon squares ready for us when we got back home." He turned to Eleanor, stomach growling.

"How about you two join us for lunch? I know Harry is probably hungry, shopping wears him and James out." Ms. Ginny smiled.

"Eh..." Eleanor thought it over.

"We'd love to join you!" Ben jumped in before Eleanor could say anything more.

Eleanor sat next to Ben at their table at the Leaky Cauldron. She didn't seem too pleased, mostly because she had an empty chair in front of her and she knew James would sit there and smugly smile at her throughout the whole meal.

"Sorry we're late." An older man said as he and James walked in with a younger girl with orange hair. "Oh, Eleanor, hello."

"Hello Mr. Potter." Eleanor smiled at him, ignoring James. Ben's eyes followed James as the male walked over to his chair. Right as he was sitting down, Ben raised his eyebrows and the chair moved. James fell onto his butt with a yelp. Albus laughed loudly with his sister.

"James, did you miss the seat?" His father laughed as James grumbled words under his breath, rubbing his butt as he got up. He pulled the chair over and sat down, still grumbling. "Who is this?" He directed the question towards Ben. He stood and reached out his arm, shaking the man's hand.

"I'm Benjamin Youngblood. I'm an exchange student from America. I'm stayin' with Eleanor and her family." He introduced himself.

"I'm Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you." Harry said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Potter." He smiled back and sat down, while James huffed. Ben sat back down, fidgeting with something in his lap.

Eleanor glanced over to Ben, sending him a confused look when James' drink spilled.

"What is going on with you today?" His mother questioned, her oldest son not usually this clumsy.

"I don't know!" James exclaimed, getting frustrated easily. Ben hid his smirk behind his hand as he rested one of his elbows on the table. His red eyes gleamed with mischief and Eleanor glanced down to his lap, seeing the male's wand in his other hand.

"So, Benjamin, can I take a guess a say you're a metamorphmagus?" Harry asked as he looked up from his menu to see Ben's red eyes.

"Oh, yes sir. Guess the red eyes gave it away?" He chuckled at this and changed his eyes to brown.

"Better." Eleanor told him as she saw this. "Yes, it runs in his family. He likes to change his hair about a million times a day."

"If I have the ability I gotta use it." Ben shrugged at her and turned back to Harry. "Youngbloods are known for it where I'm from."

"You and Teddy would get along well. He's my godson." Harry explained and Ben perked up, grinning now. "You actually are a lot like him. I guess metamorphamgi like that rebel look." He said as he noticed the shaved sides of Ben's head under his beanie. "He wears his hair the same way."

"Eleanor told me about him. I don't know any others besides my grandma." He told them as James' cup moved quickly to the right, then left, before he finally snatched it.

"Albus! Stop it!" James accused his younger brother, who shot him a dirty look.

"I'm not doing anything." Albus replied, annoyed that he was accused.

"Lily." James started, but his sister shook her head. He turned his glare to Ben, who gave him an innocent look.

"Why ya looking at me?" He questioned, holding his wand tightly in his hand underneath the table. "Dude, it's definitely not me. Why would I do that?"

He just sighed and stared at his menu. Ben raised his eyebrows at Eleanor, who seemed very pleased with his handiwork.

"Are you excited about Hogwarts?" Lily asked Ben, smiling at him, seeming to know he was the one behind the pranks.

"Definitely. I like adventure!"

"You might be in Gryffindor then." Harry told him, nodding his head. "Lily and James made it into that house." He looked at his kids, who all just shrugged.

"That's pretty sweet." Ben replied. "I dunno, I probably won't land in that house. I'm trying not to think about it too much. Being placed in a house doesn't worry me at all, because it won't matter once the school year is over. We don't do that sort of thing in America, we mostly are divided by our grade. It's boring."

"Sounds it." Albus mumbled.

"I'm sure you'll get into it. A lot of our family is in it." Lily said, nodding her head. "James and I, our cousins, Victorie, Louis, Fred, Roxanne, and Molly."

"Gee, all Gryffindors?" He questioned, surprised that they were all in it.

"The others are mostly in Ravenclaw with me." Eleanor told him. "And Albus is Slytherin with Rose. Hugo is in Hufflepuff. "

"Makes me wonder what houses all my siblings would be in. My older brother would definitely be a Ravenclaw, he's such a prick." He chuckled and Eleanor elbowed him.

"Guess you and your brother are a lot alike?" James asked snidely as Harry ordered the food. James smirked as he reached for his cup. He took a sip and it spilled all over him. Albus looked at Ben as this happened, then started to laugh loudly.

"Nice." He whispered to Ben, who raised his eyesbrows at Albus.

"Thanks." He replied, starting to like Albus more. "Glad it's appreciated."

"It definitely is." Albus told him, nodding his head as he stopped laughing. "He deserved it."

"Glad you think so too." Ben was extremely happy that Albus was siding with him. "Yeah, my brother and I aren't so much alike, actually. He's more serious and I like to think I'm more playful. We look alike though."

"Is he your only sibling?" Harry questioned, curious.

"Oh, no, I have nine siblings. Some half siblings, the others step-siblings." Ben answered, taking a sip of his drink. "My parents divorced and both remarried."

"Ah, big family. I like that." Ginny chuckled, thinking of her siblings.

"I love it a lot." Ben told her, thinking of his family. "My siblings are all pretty young, except for Millie and Trent, but they were from my step dad's previous marriage. Clara and the other three might have powers, but I doubt it. I was kinda hoping for another one like me, but my grandma said I'd be the only one in the family, except her. My brother just has powers, he can't change like me."

"Probably a relief for your parents."

"Oh, yeah, I was awful as a kid. I'm quite sly and cunning." Ben chuckled thinking about how he would change how he looked and freak his parents out. "That was a lot of fun, actually."

"You're awful now." James muttered and his chair tipped over and he fell to the floor.

"James, are you alright?" His mother asked, worried. Albus bit his lip, as did Eleanor and Lily, to hold back the laughter.

"I want to go home." James whined, starting to get sick of this.

"Are you worried?" Eleanor asked as Ben played with a blade of grass. They were sitting outside in Eleanor's large backyard, which really had no ends to it. There was a small pond a few yards away, with balls of hay everywhere amongst their property.

"Nah." He mumbled, shaking his head. "Been through worse. Ma told me I'd be fine, no matter what house I'm placed in. She did research on Hogwarts. Worried I might not like it."

"I thought you told me your mother and father got divorced?" She sent him a confused look because she knew that his mother was a muggle, and after the divorce, his farther wiped her memory of all and any magic. Including Benjamin. His stepmother, however, was a squib, so there were no secrets.

"I call my step mom 'ma'. Call my actual mother 'mom', though I don't really get to use it often on her." He trailed off, looking off at the pond. He was quiet for a few moments, which was odd for him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Excited to see what the fuss is about." He told her. "You talk about Hogwarts so much, of course I'm excited to get to go."

"Is that what's really bothering you?" She poked his side and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Nothing is bothering me, my dear Eleanor. I just hope I don't get stuck in the same house as Potter."