Disclaimer: insert disclaimer here

A/N: Another update, even without reviews. I'm so nice. :P Though I don't suppose I have any fans that I'm being nice to just yet, do I? Um... That's pretty much all I've got to say actually. xD

Worlds Apart: Wait, What?

As the Golden trio entered the Great Hall, Harry seemed lost, bumping into the occasional student as he walked towards Gryffindor table. When they were seated Ron nudged his irritantly and said, "Look mate, is what happened at the carriages STILL bugging you?" Harry looked back at him and confidently replied,

"I know what I saw Ron. I don't know why you couldn't, but they were there." Ron merely rolled his eyes and proceeded to complain about how long the sorting process took and how he could really use some food. As they did every year, soon a mob of first-years appeared and walked towards the front of the Great Hall for sorting. It went by rather quickly for Harry, who wasn't really all that interested until Dumbledore stood up.

"Now, before you can all dig into our wonderful Hogwarts food, I'd like to introduce two more students who must be sorted." When the students seemed sufficiently confused he continued, "They are exchange students from America, so I'd like all you to be hospitable and give them a good representation of the Wizarding community here." He said it innocently enough, but he kept that twinkle in his eye that said a bit more than just 'be nice'. He wanted the Americans to think highly og Hogwarts by the time that they were gone. Some students took the news shocked and started whispering among themselves excitedly. However, others like Fred, George, Lee Jordan and also Malfoy began to grin wickedly at the thoughts of how they could give a 'good representation of the wizarding community', which no doubt caused Dumbledore to shudder internally at the thought.

Harry personally, and no doubt everyone else in the Great Hall, was now watching the Amercians carefully and intently. First to step up towards the sorting hat was Jon, though now in a Hogwarts uniform, when McGonagall called his name out. After lazily putting on the hat, though he didn't bother to sit on the small stool, he waited. After only a moments hesitation, they hat called out "RAVENCLAW!" and the boy's uniform immediately took on the blue of the house. Removing the hat he walked over to the Ravenclaw table and was greeted enthusiastically, perhaps more so than usual, by the other members of his newly chosen house.

Next was Ethan, who everyone who had ridden with the Americans expected to be put in Slytherin. When his name was called, he stepped up to the hat. Cracking his knuckles loudly in mock prepartation he picked the hat up and sat down on the ridiculously small stool, making sure to make as much of an ordeal out of the act as possible. Some of the girls giggled at his antics, but besides Harry, Hermione only glared. Finally pulling the hat over his head, he waited. He really did look somewhat humorous as he tried to squeeze as much of himself onto the chair as possible, his knees high though his feet touched the floor, giving the appearance that he was almost squating. The hat took some time to speak, and when it finally did, the answer shocked Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville.

"GRYFFINDOR!" He stood up as the colors on his uniform turned to the ostentatious red and gold, and setting the hat back down he walked over to the Gryffindor table, amongst an uproar of cheering and applause. Hermione's face more than anyone's showed disbelief and Ethan seemed to notice as he glanced at her and sat down a couple seats down. As Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan and a few other boys Harry did not recognize him surrounded him, patting him on the back and bombarding him with questions, Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at eachother curiously and started talking in low voices.

"What was the sorting hat thinking?" Hermione hissed angrily, and Ron replied questioningly.

"Maybe there's more to all that than we're seeing. Who knows, maybe we ought to give the bloke a chance. Afterall, he is a Gryffindor..." Harry nodded in agreement with this and Neville piped in at this, saying nervously,

"Maybe you guys are right and we're judging him a bit early, but there's something about him that's different still. I'm not sure if he's bad but he just seems... You know?" Hermione looked at him quizically and Ron simply rolled his eyes but Harry nodded understandingly and gave Neville a weak attempt at a smile. Harry looked down, and Dean and Seamus seemed to like him well enough, and he knew them to be cool guys. Perhaps Hermione was just overreacting after all? It seemed as though their conversation had caused them to miss a short speech but one of the new teachers, the new DADA teacher, though they caught from the Dumbledore that her name was 'Umbridge' and she looked downright unpleasant from where they were sitting.

At long last Dumbledore allowed the feast to begin, and the tables of the Great Hall were finally filled with food. Harry one again looked down at the exchange student and saw something that he had not been able to take in stride. This. Ron muttered a grateful "Finally" for the chance to eat, but he was spoken over by a loud voice from down the table. It seemed that Ethan enjoyed food just as much as Ron, as he had loudly proclaimed

"OH MY GOD YES!" when his mind had finally recovered from the shock of what he was seeing and he was already stuffing food into his face. It seemed to Harry that he only put it on his plate just long enough to give the appearance that he wasn't eating straight from the dishes before it was dumped into the cavernous maw that had previously been a mouth. Glancing over at Ron he was exasperated to find that Ron seemed to consider this a challenge, no doubt he though his ungodly appetite one of the few things he had over others and wanted to retain that reputation. Hermione apparently noticed too as she let out a mild snort of disgust and looked down at her own food, retaining a more civil manner of eating.

Harry came to the conclusion that a Ron in competitions was even more repulsive than Ron during a normal meal, and seeing him so determined to shovel food into himself at record-breaking speed and in unprecedented amounts was mildly frightening actually. However, after nearly five minutes of this even he was nearing a full stomach, though Harry was amazed he had managed to fit that much inside of himself. Looking down to see if Ethan looked as ready to throw up as Ron was Harry almost fell off the bench. The boy was still GOING! How was this even possible, especially at the inhuman rate at which he seemed to be literally inhaling the food (quite literally in the case of the pudding and anything of a similar consistency)? In addition, he seemed to have reserved an entire jug of pumpkin juice to himself and appeared to have gone through more than half of it single-handedly. The students around him looked on, fascinated and seemed torn between amazement and disgust. Seamus looked as though he was about to vomit and Dean was laughing hysterically and cheering him on enthusiastically.

Deciding he ought to look away before he was sick all over the food in front of him, Harry turned and spotted the other exchanged student, Jon, at the Ravenclaw seemed that, despite having been sitting with mixed company when he first took his place at the table, he was now utterly surrounded by girls. Adding to this both amazing and perplexing sight, he saw not only Cho, but also that Luna Lovegood girl, though seemed more to have gotten there by accident and was perfectly content to merely sit there as opposed to make conversation.

As the filling (more for some than for others) meal was finished, each house emptied the Great Hall and traveled to their respective common rooms. And as Harry, Ron and Hermione walked up the stairs looking curiously at the dark haired boy ahead of them that was eagerly conversing with Dean, Seamus and now even Neville, they couldn't help but wonder what this year would be like with him here at the school.