AN This is obviously based in the Harry Potter Universe, but i've always hated how the magic system work for them, so i might the main character more Dresden Files like (ie. Soulgaze and .44 magnum). Hope you don't mind.

The Train chugged along slowly. I frickin' hate trains. I sighed. Why the hell did I agree to this? Stupid foreign exchange program.

I guess I'd better explain. My name is Hugh Johnson, age 15. And I'm a wizard. I was originally from Minnesota, but when I turned 7, I moved to Chicago for more wizard training. Now I was on my way to some stupid British wizardry school. What was it called again? Pig something or another? Whatever.

I looked out the window, the Scottish landscape sliding by. At least it was prettier than Chicago. Just then, the door to his cab slid open. "Are these seats open?" A girl's voice asked, "I can't find any other seats."

"Yeah, go ahead," I said, not taking my eyes off the landscape.

"Hey, you're the foreign exchange student that's coming to Hogwarts, right. My name is Luna Stardust. It's nice to meet you."

Luna Stardust?!? Wtf? Who seriously names their kid Luna Stardust? I finally looked over at the person that had started talking to me. She had long blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She wore clothing almost identical to mine: a black duster with maroon on the inside, a white dress shirt and a maroon and gold striped tie, with black dress pants. My clothes weren't nearly as dress, but still similar: black duster, a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black cargo pants to hold all my random necessities. Plus I wore a black baseball cap, so that's a little different.

She, not surprisingly, noticed my starring at her. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh… nothing, sorry, mind just started to wander. Anyway, my names Hugh, it's nice to meetcha."

"Well Hugh, do you what house you're going to be in?" She asked excitedly. Stars and Stones, this might get annoying.

"No idea. I think my master said something about a griffon but I was too pissed to pay attention to him." I replied, looking back out the window.

"Pissed?" she asked, "What does that mean?"

"Angry, mad, ticked off."

"Oh… so you don't want to be here."

I turned and looked here as directly in the eyes as I could without starting a soulgaze and said. "No, I don't want to be here. I'd rather be at home learning something that will be useful in combat."

"There are classes that are useful… I guess. We have defense against the dark arts. That might be helpful."

I got a good chuckle out of that. A reached into my pocket and pulled out my custom .44 magnum (and yes, it would fit. I have magic pockets). "This is all defense against the dark arts that I need."

That scared her a bit. I put it away and said, "that's one of the first things my master taught me: always bring something your opponent won't expect. Against dark wizards, guns generally work best, because they expect you to use magic. But I'll probably be forced to take that class anyways so whatever." I sighed, there had to be some other good classes that wouldn't bore me to tears. "So, what classes are you taking?"

"Well… I'm taking Advanced Transfiguration, Charms, Honors Potions, AP Magical History, Honors Ancient Runes, AP Muggle Studies, and of course, Defense Against the Dark Arts," She said, obviously quiet pleased with herself.

"Are those some tough classes?" I asked

She starred at me in disbelief, "Of course they are. Advanced Transfiguration is one of the toughest classes at Hogwarts. Have you not even looked into what you're going to be taking… well, obviously not. Here I'll help you." She pulled out a list from her pocket. "How good are you at transforming things into other things."

I thought about it. "Pretty good, I guess. I once turned an entire building into a crater, if that's what you mean (I don't think she noticed the implications of that). Other than that, I've got a spell that can change the chemical make up of something and turn it into a different substance all together."

"Sounds like you should take Advanced Transfiguration," she said circling something on the paper. "How about… are you good at--"

"Just sign me up for whatever you're taking," I interrupted her. "I really don't care what classes I take."

We sat in silence for a while. I turned back to the window. "So, where in America are you from?" She asked, finally breaking the silence.

"I was born in Minnesota, but I moved to Chicago, Illinois, when I was seven so that I could train under on of my dad's best friends."

There was a slight pause, as if she had just thought of something. "How old are you?"

"I'm 15."

"Hey, so am I. If we sign up for all the same classes, we can study together."

"Study… do you mean we're going to have tests and stuff?"

"Of course, what did you do in America?"

"Our tests were life or death battles against the forces of darkness mostly. Not mush you can study for there."

She just starred at me as though I were insane. Sometimes I wonder. "We didn't really have formal tests. We most just learned whatever we needed to stop whatever nasty thing was trying to kill us or those close to us."

"Oh… so this is your first time attending school then?"

"Pretty much." I sighed. I hated the idea of schools. Being forced to learn something I'll probably never use is just… useless.

"I get the feeling you don't like me." She said suddenly. That surprised me. I looked up a little too fast, meeting her eyes. Shit. The soulgaze started.

I saw her, completely naked. Not sexually mind you, but I could see everything. She was a good person at heart, but she had a dark secret. She was scared of whatever the secret was, I could tell. She was strong willed and independent. She had many friends and her family was kind to her. She had a good sense of humor. And I could tell she thought I was cute.

The soulgaze ended, and I could see she was shaken. She was breathing hard and it looked like she had almost fainted. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to do that."

After her breathing slowed and she had calmed down, she asked, "What the bloody hell was that?"

"That's what we call a soulgaze. When a wizard looks directly into the eyes of another person, that happens. We see directly into the other person's soul, and vice versa. Hasn't that ever happened to you before?"

"No."

I chuckled. "Well then I'm glad to have been your first." She just starred at me as I continued laughing.

"So everything that I just saw, that was your soul?"

"Yep."

"…You're a pervert," she said, her eyes narrowing at me.

"Wait… what did you see?"

Just then the train lurched to a stop. "Maybe I'll tell you later." She handed me the brochure (or whatever it was), "If you still want to be in the same classes as me, they're circled." The walked out of the compartment and out the door of the train.

I sighed. Time for school. I followed after her, and on stepping out of the train, saw a rather large man holding a sign with my name on it. I walked over to him and he extended. "My name is Rubeus Hagrid. Welcome to Hogwarts."