Chapter 1: New Friends and Perverts

"Mizumi! Hurry up! Mou! We'll miss the train!" "My cart's stuck!" I whined loudly. A snow-white owl started hooting loudly, annoyed at my slowness. "Oh, shut up, Sakura!" Many British people turned their heads, no doubt wondering why this young Asian girl was alone with an Asian boy yelling at an owl. "Damn Muggles, stop staring, you're not perfect either," I mumbled.

"Here, let me help you with that," I heard a young British boy say. When he got closer, he whispered in my ear, "judging by your owl, you're a witch, aren't you?" I looked at him, and he had the prettiest green eyes. "Kyaaa! You're gorgeous!" I screamed, huggling him, "You'd look soooo cute in drag, you know that!"

"Sis! Stop it! You're suffocating him!" Niisan said, pulling me off. "Sorry, she gets like that sometimes. She's read too much cross-dressing and shounen-ai manga. Oh, manga are Japanese comics. Eh... you don't really wanna know what shounen-ai is..." Niisan apologized. "Alright," the boy said, "Phew, is it hot in here?" he asked, trying to hide his blushing cheeks. He wiped his forehead and..."That scar..." I said, "You're Harry Potter, aren't you? Oh, don't worry. I won't start going off on how great you are. Not because of the scar anyway," I added, winking.

Blushing again, he said, "Yes, I'm Harry Potter. But who are you two? Wait, we need to get on the train! Ron, Hermione, over here!"

A rather tall boy with red hair and a girl with frizzy brown hair rushed over at Harry's voice. "Oh, Harry, here you are! Oh, who are they?" the girl called Hermione said. "Kyaaa! You're so cute!" I said, hugging her, "If you cut your hair real short, you could pass as a really pretty boy and then go to an all-boys school and stay in a dorm and fall in love with your mal room-mate and he would too, only you wouldn't know it, and he'd try to ignore it, 'cuz he'd think he'd be gay, but then one day he'd find out you were a girl, only he wouldn't tell you he knew 'cuz then you guys would get get together and everyone would make fun of you, but he'd keep your secret and take care of you because of his love for you, and then--"

My brother yanked me off and said, "Don't go all Hana-Kimi on her. We're gonna be late," he said to me. "Fine! You're soo stingy, Niisan, and you're constantly nagging me only 'cuz you were born two minutes before me," I whined. "Someone's got to take care of you, baka," he snickered, as I started pushing my cart towards Platform 9 3/4.

Ron looked bewildered. "What's Hana-Kimi? What's baka? What's nissan?" "Hana-Kimi is a shoujo manga," Hermione started, "(oh, seriously, Ron, you don't what those mean either? Shoujo means girl, and manga are Japanese comics), and baka means stupid. And it's not 'nissan', Ron, it's 'niisan'. Make sure you hold out the 'e' sound for 2 counts so it means big brother. Otherwise, you're talking about the car company."

As we rushed through the wall, and onto the train, I gaped at Hermione,"How do you know Japanese, Hermione-san?" Ron sniggered, "'She's an insufferable know-it-all,' in the words of Snape, the Potions teacher." "Am not! she said, slapping Ron upside the head, "Oh, and there's no need for an honorific...I'm so sorry, I don't know your name yet," she said as we found an empty compartment and Ron whined over his bump.

"It's Mizumi Sagura and that's my brother, Ryuichi. Or you can call him Ryu. He doesn't mind either. Oh, I guess I should explain honorifics for Ron, huh?" "That's not funny!" he shouted as I laughed. "Anyway, honorifics are what you put after a person's name. It's a matter of respect. First, you'd call someone by their last name with an honorific, then without, then you'd call them by their first name with an honorific, and finally, if you're really good friends, you call eachother just by their first names."

Ron held his head, "So confusing! Why are you acting Japanese, anyway? Are you obsessed or something?" I giggled, "Heavens, no! Me and Niisan, we're Japanese, can't you tell? We've lived in Japan all our life up until now. We're studying abroad here in England, at Hogwarts, of course. We're in our fourth year."

"Really?" Hermione exclaimed, "So are we!"

"Kyaaa! I'm so happy! So we'll have classes together?" I chirped. I felt a hard rap on my head. "OW!" I said.

Niisan smirked, "Baka. Remember it depends on what house you're in? If we're in the same one, we'll have all our classes together. But if we're in a different house, we might have some classes together."

I pepped up. "Oh, that's right! Hey, what house are you guys in?"

"Gryffondor," they all say together proudly.

"If you're in Slytherin, though," Ron said glumly, "you'll probably have Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts with us. They always lump us together."

"I don't think they'll be in Slytherin," Harry said suddenly, "They're way too nice. They'll probably end up in Gryffondor or Ravenclaw. Slytherins are nothing but-"

He was cut off as the compartment door slid open and a boy with bleach blond hair and piercing blue eyes walked in with two big, and I'm sure, blundering idiots.

"What was that Potter? Don't let my entrance stop your discussion," he said. His voice was as cold and dreary as the rainy weather outside.

"I was just about to say," Harry started, "that Slytherins are nothing but huge prats!"

The boy pretended to be hurt, "Oh, that was so mean, Potter, I think I'm gonna cry...Hey, who's your friend? Never seen her before."

I realized he was looking at me. "I'm Mizumi Sagura and this is my brother, Ryuichi. Nice to meet you," I smiled. Looking back on it,I'm sure that Harry, Ron and Hermione were all thinking, 'God, what an idiot!' But I always tend to see the best in people, even if it's not there. I guess that's my weak point.

"Hmm, " the boy said, seeming quite interested, "You're quite a cutie, aren't you?"

Ron screamed at him, "Piss off, Malfoy!"

The boy called Malfoy didn't even look at him, "Mind your own business, Weasley." Then, getting close to me, he whispered in my ear, "I won't care what house you end up in. I'd still wanna do it with you." And drawing back, he kissed me on the lips. Since I was so obviously not expecting that, I just sat there, stone still, not doing anything.

When he pulled back, I still had not blinked, I was just staring at the wall in shock. 'My...'

"Oh, am I that good a kisser?" he said as he walked out of the compartment. Poking his head back in, he said, "I'll be waiting in the Entrance Hall after the Feast, Mizumi."

He finally left and Ron slammed the compartment door. "God! What a pervert! Kissing a girl he just met!"

As he sat down and swore about Malfoy, Hermione turned to me, "What'd he whisper in your ear, Mizumi?"

I was still staring at nothing. "My...it was my..." And I started to cry.

Niisan held me as I sobbed and he said, "Shh..It's okay, don't cry..."

I heard Hermione ask, "Why is she crying, Ryu?"

"That was her first kiss," I heard him say solemnly, "And a guy she doesn't even like stole it from her. That Slytherin...What's his name? I'll kill him for even looking at my sister."

"His name's Draco Malfoy," I heard Harry say gruffly

But Hermione quickly added, "But you can't fight him! You'll get in trouble!"

"But he made my sister cry! I can't just forgive him!" Niisan said.

"No one said anything about forgiving him! We just don't want you to get expelled because of a stupid prat like Malfoy!" Harry shouted.

I took a deep breath, and retreating from from Niisan's shoulder, I said shakily, "He stole my first kiss...and he was planning on stealing something else tonight."

Hermione gasped, "You don't mean...!"

"Yes," I said, my voice full of melancholy, "He was planning on having sex with me tonight. When he whispered in my ear, he said, 'I won't care what house you end up in. I'd still wanna do it with you."

"Ha!" Ron laughed, "Malfoy? Actin' like he's a freakin' player? He's still a freakin' virgin, too!"

Hermione slapped him. "Don't laugh! Mizumi just got played with! Don't you dare talk about Malfoy right now!"

I stared at them both. Somehow...I got the impression that, yeah, she got pissed like that at Ron a lot. But I could tell from the tension that they both despised it. Because...I could tell they were in love with each other. I wondered if they had confessed their feelings to each other yet. Taking a wild guess, I assumed no.

I tried to put on a smile, still shaking, "C'mon, Hermione, I'm fine." I looked out the window and the landscape had changed during the last hour without my knowledge. Unfortunately, it was still raining hard. "Oh! Are we getting close to Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Harry said, looking out as well and grimacing at the rain, "We should get our robes on."

After doing so, I jumped up, "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!" I got into my trunk and got out all my CDs, CD player, my portable DVD player, anime DVDs...basically all my technology.

"I know that once you enter Hogwarts grounds, all Muggle technology goes kaput. But I know a spell to counteract that." Getting my wand out and clearing my throat, I said, "Techno Perfecta!"

Putting my wand away, I grinned "Now they're filled with magic, so they won't fry when they enter the magic barrier."

"That...That's so clever!" Hermione said, astonished, "I've never heard that spell before!"

Niisan chuckled, "You won't find that in any text book, Hermione. She created it herself."

Ron gaped, then burst out laughing, "She's outsmarted you, Hermione!"

Hermione responded quickly, "I don't mind. I like a challenge. It's a bit of fresh air being around a smart person for once." She turned to Harry, "Not to say you're dumb like Ron. No offense, but his stupidity is enough for both of you!"

Harry laughed, "None taken."

"You're going to take HER side, Harry? I'm your best friend!"

Niisan and I started laughing, too. "Oh!" Ron spouted, "Not you guys too!"

Suddenly, Hermione stopped laughing and said, "Oh! Mizumi! Ryu! Look out the window! You can see the castle!"

The view took my breath away, to say the very least. Even in the rain, Hogwarts was a dazzling sight to behold.

"It's...beautiful..." I said, blown away.

"Yeah..." Niisan agreed.

"Oh, I do hope you two get into Gryffondor!" Hermione said.

"Us too," I said.

"Yeah, better than Sly-" Ron started to say but before he could finish he got elbowed in the ribs by Hermione.

"Quiet, you!"

Suddenly, the train came to a complete stop. "Finally...We're home..." Harry said.

"Oh, just leave your trunks here. They'll be taken up to your dormitory." Hermione said to me and Niisan as we started to get our trunks down.

Getting off the train, we heard a gruff voice saying, "Firs' years o'er here! Firs' years!"

"That's Hagrid!" Harry said.

Hagrid, who I found to be enormous. "Oi! You lot! All righ'?"

"We've never been happier to return to Hogwarts, Hagrid!" Ron shouted.

Suddenly, Hermione said, "Oh! Come with me!" She grabbed me and Niisan and dragged us over to Hagrid through the pouring rain. "Hagrid, these two are fourth-year transfer students from Japan," Hermione told Hagrid.

"Oh! Tha's right! Professor Dumbledore, great man mind yeh, told me about you two. Suppose 'ta take yeh with the firs' years across the lake. Then ye 'ta be sorted. Oi, you lot!" he yelled back at Ron, Harry, and Hermione, who had ran back already, "See yeh at the feast if we don' drown in this weather! See if yeh can stop by fer tea sometime. Oi, you two," he said back to me and Niisan, "Follow me now. Firs' years! Firs' years o'er here!"

"So how long have you known Harry, Ron, Hermione?" I smiled at Hagrid.

"Since their firs' year. Harry, though, I'd met before. He was on'y a baby, an' his parents had jus' been killed by You-Know-Who an'-"

A look came over his face, "Preten' I didn' say tha' las' part, will yeh? Harry should be the one 'ta tell yeh this. Sorry I brough' it up."

"Oh, it's fine Hagrid, really. I was wondering, though. When Harry, Ron and Hermione come to visit you for tea, can we come too, please? I'd love to get to know you. You seem like a really nice guy. I feel like I could tell all my problems to you," I said sincerely as I smiled again at him.

Hagrid smiled back, "Yeh know wha'? I think yeh'll be fine visitin' me with Harry an' the res'. Le's go, now."

Following Hagrid, Niisan and I finally got to the boats that would take us across the lake. Hagrid, being so huge, took up one boat by himself. Niisan and I got into a rocky boat with a bunch of small first-years. I nudged Niisan and whispered, "They just keep getting tinier and tinier, don't they!" He nodded.

Especially one boy, who looked like a mouse. He looked like the rocky boat was really bothering him. About midway across the lake, the boy shifted so much that he fell out of the boat and into the lake. Thinking fast, I raised my wand and yelled a spell. Tentacles shot from my wand and pulled the boy safely onto the boat. He looked surprised at first and then he grinned.

"Cool! The Giant Squid helped me out!" I almost fell out of the boat then.

I laughed. "Uh, yeah, the Giant Squid helped you..." I will never tell him the truth. It'd break his heart.

If the view from the train was spectacular, then the boat view was simply phenomenal. There's just no way to describe it. Even in all that cold rain, the castle looked majestic.

When we actually got to the school, Hagrid told all of us to wait in a room in the Entrance Hall. While we were waiting, I communicated my nervousness to Niisan. "I really want to be in Gryffondor with Harry and the others."

Niisan poked my forehead. "With your brains? No way, you'll be put in Ravenclaw."

I shook my head. "No! I WANT to be in Gryffondor! I'm brave! I'm-" but I was cut off by a water balloon that dropped from the ceiling and drenched a small boy even more than the rain had.

I heard a voice from above say, "Oi! Wittle firsties!" The voice came from an oldish-looking man sitting cross-legged upside-down about to launch another balloon. "Little firsties, I'll make your life here a living hellie!"

Just as he was about to throw the balloon at a girl near me, a shrill commanding voice rang, "Peeves! Stop this at once!" It came from a very posture-perfect women with wrinkles and she spoke with a Scottish accent. Peeves made an obscene gesture towards the women(think Grease!) as he buzzed through a wall.

She turned towards us. "Well then, follow me. I am Professor McGonagol. I teach Transfiguration." She lead us through great big oak doors into the Great Hall. T

here were four tables, with many students starting at us. I was determined not to look at Draco Malfoy. But isn't it funny about your eyes, when you want to see someone in a crowd, you don't; and when you want to avoid someone's gaze, you find them just like that. Malfoy winked at me. I quickly turned away.

It felt like it took a thousand years to walk up to the teacher's table. McGonagol placed before us a a stool and on it sat an old patchy witch's hat. We stared at it--until it broke out in song. To this day, I cannot remember a single word, probably because I was so nervous. And I was really afraid of getting into Slytherin.

Then, the women unrolled a scroll. "Come up and put on the Sorting Hat when I call your name." She read many names, all alphabetically. Some it took only a few seconds for the Sorting Hat to determine the proper house, some it took several minutes. When the proper house for the first year was announced, that house would break into applause and "Yes!" chants.

I then noticed that the women was well into the W's. "Niisan!" I hissed. "She skipped us!"

"I noticed," he whispered. When all the first years were sorted, we heard a booming voice behind us, "This year at Hogwarts, we are proud to welcome several guests to our school. Two are standing before us as exchange students, and are waiting to be sorted. Proceed."

Professor McGonagol nodded, "Sagura, Ryuichi."

Niisan went and picked up the hat. He placed it on his head as he started to sit down. It seemed like it had barely touched his head when it rang out, "Gryffondor!" The Gryffondor table exploded with delight as Niisan went down to join them.

This was it. "Sagura, Mizumi!" the woman said.

It felt like my legs had turned to jelly as I walked forward. You know, that feeling you get when YOU KNOW everyone is staring at you without even looking up from the floor. Palms clammy, I put on the hat as I sat down on the stool.

A voice spoke in my head, "Hmm...where should I put you?"

I immediately saw Draco at the Slytherin and thought, "Please, not Slytherin, not Slytherin..."

"Not Slytherin? You are cunning but Slytherin isn't the best choice. Now, where to put you? You are very bright. I can tell. You created your own spell, yes? Yes, very bright. You would do well in Ravenclaw."

I suddenly realized that if I was put in Ravenclaw, I wouldn't be with Niisan..."Please, no," I thought, "Put me in Gryffondor! I don't...want to be alone. I want to be with my friends and my big brother! I can't stand being alone!" I almost cried. I don't know if I screamed it out or what, but it sure felt like I did.

"Not Ravenclaw?" th hat sounded dissapointed. "You'd do well. But...if you're sure..."

And then it screamed out, "Gryffondor!"

My eyes popped open. I hadn't realized my eyes had been squeezed shut. Taking off the hat, I ran to join Niisan and the rest of the screaming Gryffondors. I hugged Niisan hard as I sat down.

"Very good! Very good!" the booming voice said. Looking up, the speaker had long silver hair and a beard of the same standards. Even with being raised in Japan, I realized that it was Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard ever.

"Welcome, Mizumi and Ryuichi to our school," I realized that he said our names with a fluent Japanese accent, unlike the woman before. "I hope you find your visit here pleasurable. And welcome to all you first-years as well! But now is not the time to talk, now is the time to eat!" He clapped his hands and food appeared in an instant on the gold dishes before us. I realized suddenly how hungry I was.

"Enjoy!" Professor Dumbledore said before sitting down and helping himself to porkchops.

Hermione was sitting on the other side of Niisan. "Brilliant! I can't believe both of you are going to be in Gryffondor! Mizumi, I would've thought you'd be put in Ravenclaw with y our brains!"

I blushed. "W-well, the Sorting hat did try. I demanded to be put in Gryffondor, though."

"You demanded?" Harry said, swallowing his food.

"Dat wab braff of fu."

Hermione agreed, and interpreted, "Yes, it was brave. I've never known anyone that demanded to be sorted into a particular house. Except Harry, of course."

Ron didn't say anything further--he was to busy stuffing his face with who-knows-what.

"I'm curious, though," Hermione said a few minutes later. By then, my mouth was full with fried chicken."

"Whazzat?" I said.

"Professor Dumbledore said that you and Ryu were only two of several guests staying at Hogwarts. Who're the other guests?"

Ron gulped down some honey-glazed ham. "I suppose Dumbeldore'll tell us before we're sent to bed."

And he did. But before that, everyone was eating desserts, the doors to the Entrance Hall burst open. Everyone stared at the stranger that was walking in.

After everyone was done eating dessert, we heard his booming voice from the front as the food disappeared from the gold plates.

"Now, with your bellies full with food, I'll tell you all the thing that I'm sure has been the discussion topic of your dinner. Yes, there will be more guests arriving soon. And that is because this year Hogwarts has been selected to host the Triwizard Tournament."

Several people around us started to buzz with excitement. Niisan and myself included. "Wow! The Triwizard Tournament!" I chirped, "I've read loads about it! But I've always wanted to see it first-hand!"

"Oh, me too!" Hermione agreed.

I raised my fist into the air. "I bet I could do it! I'm a genius!"

Dumbledore's commanding voice rang through all of the chatter. "Of course, there will be an age limit of 17."

My jaw dropped. "Hey! That's crap! I'm smart! I created my own spell for gawd's sake!" I started cursing violently in Japanese.

"Silence!" Dumbledore yelled. All at once, the whole hall went quiet. "This age limit was set for a reason by the Ministry of Magic. The tournament is immensely dangerous and I would advise all seventh years thinking of entering to think twice."

He paused for a second, then continued. "Now, for lighter news. Our other guests shall be the students from Beaubatons Academy and Durmstang. And I ask you all that you welcome them with open arms just like you did with Mizumi and Ryuichi Sagura."

I heard Ron grumble, "In Malfoy's case, it was with open 'lips'." Then I saw Hermione kick him under the table. I giggled. I was already feeling at home. Looking back up at the staff table, I saw Dumbledore extend his hands in welcome.

"This year, fill up your empty, cob-webbed minds with information you'll just forget this summer!" He chuckled. "Now, off to bed."

Getting up from the table, Niisan and I followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I whispered to them, "Let's hurry. I don't want to get caught talking to Malfoy."

Ron laughed, "You're awesome, you know that? You're standing that prat up! He's going to be so mad in the morning. I can't wait!"

We hurried up the Grand Staircase and to Gryffondor Tower. We all talked for several hours about the Triwizard Tournament in the Common Room. In fact, we talked until around midnight, when the fire was starting to die down.

I yawned. "I think we should be going to bed."

Harry agreed. "Yeah, I'm beat. Ryu, the boy's dorm is this way."

Hermione stood up and turned to me. "And this way is the girl's dorm."

My eyes started to well up. "Y-you mean...I can't sleep with my Niisan?" I glomped him, tears hanging from my eyes. "Don't leave me!"

He rapped me on the head with his knuckles. "Baka. It's only for a few hours of sleep. And you won't be alone. Hermione will be there."

I blinked. And then I immediately zeroed in on her.

"Hermione!" Niisan laughed.

"Thanks, Ryu," Hermione said, "Now she'll be attached to me all night." But she couldn't help but laugh either.

"Well, night," Harry said after having a laughing fit, too.

"Night-night, Harry!" I retorted joyfully. "Night-night, Niisan! Night-night, Ron-ron!"

As I was bounding up the stairs with Hermione, I could hear Ron moan, "Ron-ron?"

When I got to the girl's dorm, I got to my four-poster bed that had my trunk in front of it, and I collapsed without changing into pajamas. And I slept.

Sorry it took so long for this part! Now chapter 1 is complete!