Disclaimer: I do not own any any portions of Harry Potter, including characters, locations, and spells.
As Hiru stood among these students much shorter than her, she found herself blushing brightly knowing that the students at the surrounding tables were staring at her and not the child under the Sorting Hat. She bent her knees slightly, hoping that it would lower her and that she might blend in more. Of course her non-Hogwarts robes made her stand out more.
She barely heard her name called as she looked around the Grand Hall. The headmaster, Minerva McGonagall, stood glaring at her fiercely before she realized it was her turn for the Sorting. As she quickly pushed her way forward, practically stepping over the smaller students, Hiru became aware of the obvious snickering of the students sitting at the nearest table. She blushed more and stared at the floor as she heard the Hat as if it were speaking in her ear.
"It takes a lot to stand up in front of the whole school, knowing absolutely none of them. I sense that you have high goals and are willing to take whatever risks to meets them, if they are noble risks. Yet strange you are indeed, your desires be not that of a normal child."
Hiru gasped upon hearing this.
"And yet I still think I know the best place for you. You'll fit in well."
And the hat shouted loudly, "GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat was lifted off her head by Professor McGonagall, and she heard the cheers of the students at the Gryffindor table. She hopped off the stool on which she had been sitting and made her way down the few steps to her new dorm mates. She seated herself next to a tall boy with messy black hair and what appeared to be his younger sister. The boy snickered at her and said, "Pretty tall for a first year aren't ya?"
Hiru could tell that the boy was joking and decided to go along with it, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm in the wrong place too." She gave a slight tug on her robes and continued, "Seeing as our robes don't match."
The girl on the other side of the boy made a noise to signify that she might have choked on her butter beer upon hearing this, and lifted a napkin to wipe the drink that was now dripping down her chin and robes. She blushed a bright red as she laughed at herself and cleaned up.
"Al, don't you know who she is?"
"No Lily, I don't think I do. Why don't you inform me…?"
"She's the girl that…," the girl was stopped by the boy tugging on her ponytail.
"I know who she is, I was being sarcastic," the boy said as he turned back to Hiru, "I'm Albus Potter, and this is my younger sister Lily. Nice to meet ya."
"Hiru Miyagi, very nice to meet you as well," she smiled to both the boy and the girl. Other students at the table began smiling and introducing themselves as well.
"Rose Weasley and this is my brother Hugo."
"Devon Weasley and my brother Fred."
"Shane Wood," said a deep, gently irish accented voice.
Hiru looked at the last person who spoke and nodded. The girl who went by Shane was tall, with blonde hair and green eyes. She smiled down the table towards Hiru and continued on her conversation with the boy sitting across from her. Hiru herself smiled back at everyone and turned her attention back towards the Sorting.
Looking out the window next to her poster bed, she could see the lake on which she had traveled across upon arriving on Hogwarts grounds. She could hear the celebration in the common room for the new house members, but for some reason she didn't feel that she fit in.
When her house mates and she had reached the common room, she had proceeded straight up to her dorm and began to unpack. To start at a new school in her final year was difficult. She knew that it was a great honor to be chosen as an exchange student for Hogwarts. Hogwarts, the Wizarding School where all the best had attended, Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, even Lord Voldemort, who was killed several years ago by Harry Potter.
As she thought of this something hit her. Her mind flashed back to the boy and girl she has sat next to during the feast. 'I'm Albus Potter, and this is my younger sister Lily.' Her eyes widened slightly. She was attending school with the children of Harry Potter's children. As she thought about this, she heard the door to her dorm room open and she turned quickly. The tall girl who had smiled and introduced herself as Shane stood in the doorway and looked at her.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," said Shane as she made her way to the poster bed next to Hiru's. "So we're sharing a dorm eh?"
Hiru could only nod in response to this.
"America. That's a bit of a ways away. I've always wanted to visit there. What strikes me as odd though is that you look Japanese and your name is Japanese as well."
"I'm half. My father is a Japanese wizard, and my mother is an American wizard. Both pureblood families."
"Don't tell me you're one of those kids who are all about they're bloodline? You may be in the wrong house."
Hiru became frightened by this comment. "I'm not, my parents, yes… but not I. Not that it matters, even if I become involved with a pureblood, there will never be any grandchildren."
"Are you unable to have kids?"
"No I'm just not interested in …" Hiru stopped herself, not believing that she had come so close to telling this girl that she had no interest in guys, only in girls. As she looked up at the girl again, she noticed that the girl was not wearing the typical girl uniform. She was wearing slacks, slacks from a boy's uniform.
Shane caught notice of this and looked down as well. "Heh. You're probably wondering why I'm not wearing a skirt. I prefer not to. For the same reasons you're not interested in boys."
Shane winked and walked back out of the room, just as Lily came running in. She took a moment to catch her breathe before speaking quickly.
"Why aren't you down stairs celebrating with the rest of the house? Me and Al were looking for you, and there are other people that want to meet you!" Lily grabbed Hiru's hand and pulls her out the dorm door and down the stairs.
"Lily, do you know Shane very well?"
Lily stopped and looked at Hiru. "Well, she's kind of a family friend, I guess. Her father and mine went to school together; her father was captain of the Quidditch team before my father was.
"My father speaks highly of him, says he returned to Hogwarts after he had graduated to help fight Voldemort."
Hiru looked at Lily and nodded.
Lily lowered her voice slightly, "Not that I mind or anything, but I hears she fancies other girls. I mean, it's not bad; I'm just not like that. But she's always there when I need help, so she's a pretty cool person."
Hiru smiled and continued down the stairs with Lily following after her. As she neared the bottom of the stairwell she could hear the commotion of the celebration. The noise filled her with excitement and she stepped out of the stairwell with a joyful expression.
Many in the crowd turned and looked at her as she made her way forward and Lily pushed ahead of her and grabbed her hand. Speaking loudly, Lily announced Hiru to the rest of the crowd.
"In case any of you didn't hear earlier, this here is Hiru. She's from America…" Lily turned to Hiru, "Where in America?"
"Colorado."
Everyone looked at Hiru with Ohhhs and Ahhhs. Hiru giggled and took out her wand.
"Accio photo album. I figured someone might eventually ask, so I brought this," she said as her album flew into her hands. She passed it to the person closest to her and other students crowded around. Hiru watched before making her way to a nearby couch and sitting down next to a couple other girls. The girls smiled at her and turned to each other and whispered. Hiru turn away and looked around.
She noticed that there were a lot of kids who looked similar, mostly by red hair. Lily and Al looking similar to these children, but their hair were black. Hiru touched her head. Her black hair was from a family that none of these students were related to, much less even knew about. She looked around once more. The students had slowly begun to move away from the album and she could see Shane holding the book and moving back towards her.
"Why use a muggle camera?"
Hiru thought for a second. "You know how when you look at scenery, its pretty still, except for the sounds?"
Shane nodded.
"Its just as inspiring to look at these pictures without the sound, as it is to look at it in real life, sometimes black and white can capture more than color."
Shane watched the expression on Hiru's face soften, "You should come with me."
Hiru look up and saw Shane holding out her hand. She took the hand and stood up. Shane let go of her hand and motioned for her to follow. Hiru had to take walk quickly to keep up with Shane, the girl being taller than she. Shane led her out the portrait hole where the Fat Lady slept, and down to the court yard. From the court yard Hiru could see even more of the grounds than from the window next to her bed. Her mouth opened wide as she looked up at the stars. It was so much different outside, then watching the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. As Hiru stood staring at the sky, she felt Shane's hand slip back into hers and gently pull her down a hill towards a small cabin sitting in front of an exceptionally dark forest.
"Who stays there?"
"That's Hagrid's hut. He's the grounds keeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor. He's not really a professor, but his knowledge and love of magical creatures makes him the best candidate for the position. I hear he even had a dragon here at one point."
Hiru looked at Shane with wide eyes. She hadn't seen a dragon since she was a child, when her father took her to visit her family in Japan. The dragon, white with a luminescent shine, had only been a youngster itself. Hiru had fallen in love with the dragon and though most dragons were ferocious by nature, this dragon had been very gentle with her and she felt that she left a good friend behind when she had left Japan.
"Soon I'll be able to apparate myself, and visit him."
"Him?" Shane gave Hiru an odd look, "I was under the impression you weren't interested in the male gender."
It took Hiru a moment to understand what Shane had meant before she realized she had something out loud. "I'm not!" Hiru stopped again, only to cover her mouth at the outburst.
"It's okay. I knew already."
"When I was little, my father took me to Japan to visit family. My family in Japan owns dragons. When I went there, I became close with one who had been born not too long before. When I left I was sad to leave. He had become one of my truest friends. My family said he was mine, but he still dwells with the rest of his kind in Japan."
"What is his name?"
Hiru giggled slightly and said, "Takoyaki."
"What's so funny about that?"
The giggling continued, "I had never had takoyaki before that visit, and I became so obsessed with it that I named him after it. Its pieces of octopus in a batter that forms a ball. In other words… octopus balls."
Shane looked at Hiru with a strange look on her face, for a few moments. Hiru thought that Shane might have been disgusted by her immaturity, but she changed her mind when Shane burst out laughing.
"Octopus balls?"
"Yeah."
"That's too good. Cute sounding though."
"See! That's how a kid thinks! And I was only a kid!"
Hiru leaned back against a nearby tree and Shane stepped towards her. As Hiru noticed this, she blushed, improper thoughts running through her head. Shane now stood directly in front of Hiru and placed a hand on each side of Hiru's head against the tree.
She leaned in and whispered in Hiru's ear, "I've never been attracted to anyone so much before, especially while knowing so little about them."
With this, she leaned in and kissed Hiru gently on the lips. Hiru, unable to help it, closed her eyes and returned the kiss, her hands tucked behind her. At her feet, she could feel the ground shake slightly.
"Oi!"
Both Hiru and Shane jumped in surprise and turned quickly. In front of the cabin stood an extremely large man.
"The professor is a half giant?!"
Shane chuckled slightly and nodded, taking Hiru's hand and dragging her towards the cabin.
"Shane! Whacha doin' out so late in the evening?"
"Aw Hagrid, you know that I couldn't miss coming down on my first evening. It's our tradition since I got lost down here as a first year," Shane patted Hagrid on the arm, "This here is Hiru. She's the guinea pig for the exchange program. Hogwarts very first exchange student. You an' her might have some stuff in common. Her familiar is a dragon."
Hagrid's eyes widened upon hearing the word dragon and he looked around quickly. "Here?"
"No, he's been raised back in Japan for her."
"Japan? I though yer were from America."
Hiru looked slightly shocked, "I am, but my father's family is from Japan. He was given to me when I visited there as a child."
"Hmm. Must be a gorgeous breed to be raised in that climate."
Hiru reached into the pocket in her skirt and pulled out a small photo. She shoved her arms out towards Hagrid and bowed slightly. "This is a picture of Tako-chan!"
Hagrid took the small picture and held it between his pointer finger and thumb, and as he looked at the picture his eyes started to glisten in the soft light of the cabin.
"He's so beautiful."
Hiru smiled and nodded in agreement. Shane just laughed at the sentimental-ness of the two. Hagrid ushered the two into the cabin for a cup tea.
Hiru woke the next morning slightly tired from being up so late. She crawled to the end of her bed and opened the trunk. She pull out her uniform and threw it behind her on her bed, the stood up on her mattress and pulled closes the curtains on the bed. As she sat back down she shivered slightly and pulled on her black knee high socks before taking off her sleeping gown.
Her mind was still groggy from just waking, but one memory from the night before was completely clear in her mind. She could get the picture of Shane leaning in and kissing her out of her head, and Shane was in the bed next to her.
Hiru shook her head slightly and went back to dressing. She opened the curtain surrounding her when she finished and stepped into her shoes. She grabbed her school robe from the post next to her bed and slipped it on quietly, and as she looked around, she noticed that some of the girls were already up and gone. She made her way out the door and down the stairwell, and found a few people sitting in the common room, including Lily and Al.
"Morning Hiru!" spouted Lily, enthusiastically. Al smiled and waved, along with the Weasleys sitting around them. Hiru smiled at them and skipped up to them all.
"What's going on here?"
"We're comparing schedules. What about yours?"
Hiru pulled out her schedule from the pocket in her skirt and unfolded it.
"I have…. Advanced Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Advanced Transfiguration," Hiru heard a few gasps here, "Alchemy, Care of Magical Creatures, and during my free period I'm tutoring students in Transfiguration."
"Wow," Lily said in awe.
"You should tutor me," shouted both Devon and Fred at the same time.
Al looked up at Hiru from his schedule, "Do you know how the other tutor is? Usually there are two."
Hiru shook her head and sighed, "It's nice to know I'll have some help. This list of people that have started signing up for it is already too much for me to handle by myself."
She handed the list to Al as she glanced over at Devin and Fred. As Al looked it over, he burst out laughing and crumpled the paper in his hands before throwing at the twins. Lily picked it up ad un-crumpled it, "Devon, Fred, Devon, Fred, Devon, Fred… You guys are the only names on here!"
The twins chuckled and quickly escaped through the portrait of the Fat Lady. Hiru sighed and walked after Lily and Al, who were following the twins.
She was starving after being in class all morning on nothing but a few pieces of toast and a glass of pumpkin juice. As Hiru downed a glass of water, she looked over Devon and Fred's previous homework marks for Transfiguration. She chuckled quietly to herself occasionally, at some of the answers.
"How can you guys get these answers wrong?" she chuckled in a slightly raised voice, "This is all basic stuff!"
Someone walked behind her and snatched the papers out of her hands. "This is what I have to tutor during my free period?" Hiru glanced back over her shoulder and smirked.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I guess it depends on what I might be kidding you about," answered Shane, smiling brightly.
"I'm starting to think that you're stalking me."
"I was just about to say the same thing to you." Shane winked as she responded.
Hiru slipped the papers from Shane's hands and went back to reviewing the papers. She finished her lunch and stood from the table with the papers still in her hands. Picking up her school bag and moving down the grand room towards the door, she could feel the eyes of other students following. She stepped out into the hall and sighed deeply. As many cheerful people as she had met in the past day or so, still she felt that she had no one to call a friend.
Her mind instantly drifted to Shane. What if Shane and she were to become involved? What would happen when she left to return to the US? Shaking her head quickly, she told herself she was here for the best education possible, not to be distracted by a simple crush.
But Shane had kissed her first. She, herself, had returned the kiss so quickly. Was it meant to be? She heard footsteps coming towards her and looked up quickly.
"Professor McGonagall! I was just headed to see you. Have you received any other requests for tutoring?"
The headmaster smiled at her, "My dear, I'm not sure I've ever seen so many of these students so willing to succeed." McGonagall held out a thick stack of requests to Hiru. "I assume that by now you have met your partner? I suggest that you sit down with them immediately and discuss how you might want to work these sessions. I'm looking forward to seeing the improvement of the students' grades."
Hiru smiled back softly and sighed as the headmaster entered the grand hall. She heard Shane receive a similar speech just on the other side of the magnificent door. She giggled as she wandered slowly down the hall.
The tutoring group consisted of the 12 4th, 5th, and 6th year students with the lowest grades. Each grade had their own day of the week and the four students from each grade where tutored on their specific day.
Hiru and Shane grew closer during these tutoring sessions and began to spend all their free time with each other. They shared the majority of their classes with each other and sat next to each other as well. During lunch hour they would sit with their closest friends, including the Potters and the Weasleys.
Authors Note:
Thats ladies and gentlemen is my the first chapter of my first fanfic.
I didn't want to use the orginal characters over again, since I think we have a pretty good idea of the Harry Potter Universe. So I decided to use their kids. Albus, Lily, Rose and Hugo. I also decide to have another set of michevious twins, since I hear duplicates is actually a genetic thing. And they happen to be our living twins kids. Fun stuff.
Please please please leave your comments, opinions, and advice for me. Please also check out my artwork at:
ne0geisha(dot)deviantart(dot)com.
Thanks