Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Kuroshitsuji, No. 6 and all their characters belong to their authors. Cain Kruspe and the plot are mine though, so please respect that. I make no money out of this story. The title is a quote from The Rasmus' "Time to burn", possibly their best song ever.

Author's notes: Instead of writing a dramatic KS/NO6 crossover, I started this on a whim and it turned into a long story that I greatly enjoyed writing. Before you start reading, be warned: this is an ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE story. There are no Horcruxes and the fifth year of Hermione's school life ends quite a bit differently than the fifth book. Ciel has never been abducted and subjected to the pain and terror he survives in the original story. He has never contracted a demon. Nezumi hasn't been hunted for most of his life and Shion hasn't been quite as sheltered. Consequently, their characters differ a bit from the original ones. I hope that does not stop you from reading and enjoying the story!

Please enjoy!

Prologue: Memories

Eleven years old and still quite lost in the world of magic, which she didn't know existed just a year earlier, Hermione Granger entered the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Professor McGonagall led all the first-year students in and Hermione knew that most were as nervous as she was. It didn't help that older students were looking at them, some laughing, some encouraging their younger siblings.

An old, ugly hat was brought forward and Hermione listened to the explanations that professor McGonagall gave them. So it was only to put a hat on, she thought with a mix of relief and disappointment. It was pointless to study all those spells and train them on the train, she thought.

When "Abbott, Hannah" stepped forward as the first student to be sorted, Hermione was infinitely grateful that her family name started with "G". The girl was sorted into Hufflepuff and, accompanied by the cheers of the other students, she nearly ran out of the podium. Hermione imagined that she was grateful to not be look at by just about everybody in the huge hall.

"Allen, Shion" was called next and a thin, brown-haired, brown-eyed boy stepped forward. Like the girl before him, he moved with a certain mix of hesitation and purpose. Hermione wondered, as the hat screamed "Ravenclaw!", if he knew beforehand what the sorting was. She supposed that the children from magical families were well aware of the procedure. The boy took the Hat off and went off the podium to another table. On his way he flashed a smile to somebody in the line of first-year students.

With the third sorted student, Hermione realised that as soon as the Hat spoke its verdict, a badge of the House the student now belonged to appeared on the robes and some parts of the black tissue became coloured in the colours of the House as well. She was itching to find out what kind of magic it was, because there were no spells cast in the room, just the Sorting Hat screaming in the tense silence.

When her time finally came, Hermione was weak with nerves and wondering if "G" couldn't have been third or fourth in the alphabet for just that one day. She could see the whole hall as she sat on the wooden stool and she was grateful when the Hat covered her eyes.

'Well, well,' said a voice, making Hermione nearly jump off the chair in panic. 'Such a sharp mind you have,' the voice continued and Hermione realised that it was the Hat talking to her. 'But so much bravery as well and loyalty as well, I could fit you in almost every House my dear girl, except for Slytherin.'

Well, I don't want to go to Slytherin, Hermione thought. Since reading about the Houses, she thought she could only belong to Ravenclaw and the knowledge that she had more than her brains to be proud of made her dizzy with happiness. If she could prove that she was brave, ha!

'Well then, Gryffindor it is,' the Hat said. Hermione realised that it shouted the name of the House and the Hat was removed. Grinning madly, she went towards the table where people were cheering and sat next to "Finnigan, Seamus". He grinned at her and she grined back, so happy that she only focused back on the Sorting when "Lovegood, Luna" got sorted into Ravenclaw.

Well, I can study hard even in Gryffindor, Hermione thought, watching the blond girl smile serenely and glide towards the Ravenclaw table. The line of waiting students was growing smaller and smaller. "Malfoy, Draco" went to Slytherin as she supposed he wished, having heard about him on the train. "Middleford, Elizabeth" went to Hufflepuff, all but skipping happily on the way.

"Patil, Padma" was called and, next to her, Seamus muttered that it was twin time for the sorting. Looking back at the waiting students, Hermione noticed that indeed, the next girl seemed to be a carbon copy of Padma and, the two boys waiting next had the exact same, dark, ashen blue-ish hair colour that couldn't have been an accident. Could it?

The Patil twins got separated into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and "Phantomhive, Ciel" was called up to the podium. The boy walked with the same regal air about him as Draco Malfoy did and Hermione wasn't surprised when he was sorted into Slytherin. He walked to the table, where the students barely cheered at all, without a glance at anybody else. Hermione followed him with her gaze, watching how he sat down next to Draco Malfoy and greeted the other boy politely. Did they know each other from before school?

"Phantomhive, Gratien" was also sorted into Slytherin and Hermione wondered why the Patil twins were separated, but she didn't have much time to think as "Potter, Harry" was called out and the silence that fell upon the room was the deepest yet. Even Hermione held her breath while the Hat pondered on where to send the boy.

'Gryffindor!' the Hat finally exclaimed and Hermione's table erupted in cheers that were the loudest of them all. They continued for the longest time as well, all but drowning out "Thompson, Safu" being sorted into Ravenclaw and they lasted almost until "Weasley, Ronald" joined the Gryffindor table. Hermione winced, knowing that she will have to be friendly with the rude, red-haired boy.

The sorting finished soon after and the headmaster rose to welcome all the new students in the school. He didn't sound that wise, Hermione thought when the speech finished and food appeared on the table as though by magic.

Many years later, Hermione still remembered that evening with some fondness, realising that the people she remembered best, even when she didn't know them at that point, later became her friends. She often wondered about the selectivity of her memory and about the reality that they, the students of Hogwarts, built, with their lives and their choices fulfilling the greatest dream of the headmaster Dumbledore. She had learnt about that dream only later, when the most terrifying threat was upon the wizarding world and Dumbledore said that they had to unite to conquer it.