I don't really like this chapter myself,

but I wanted to get through with the train part and the sorting quickly.

Thanks for all the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

-

Toshiro sighed and rubbed his temples. Ever since the news of the Dark Mark appearing at some game called Quidditch, the tension in the air was thick and Toshiro could feel the fear emitting from the wizards. Even now, as he looked out from the window, parents from everywhere seemed nervous and worried as they said their goodbyes to their children.

Penelope and Nicholas, Penelope's husband, had told Toshiro about the past war with Voldemort, and he had been reading through various reports about the supposed Dark Lord and his subordinates that Penelope had collected in the past. She told him that the signs of the Dark Lord's return had started to appear three years ago, when he came out of hiding to obtain the Philosopher's Stone, a stone that supposedly gave its owner a fountain of wealth and immortality. Thankfully, the stone had been destroyed, preventing the Dark Lord from getting hold of it. Unfortunately, it also meant that the Flamels would have to leave the mortal world soon.

Nicholas had laughed, saying, 'I used to say that death is just a start of another adventure. But I never even imagined that there would be a whole new other world waiting for us. I'm very much looking forward to it,' and Penelope had informed Toshiro about the Soutachiou's special permission to lead Nicholas's soul straight to Soul Society herself, where the couple will take charge of the shinigami being sent into this world. Training them in the history and culture of the Wizarding world as well as instructing them on how to use their reiatsu to perform magic.

'Well, they are certainly very knowledgeable in almost every field.' Toshiro thought absentmindedly as he recalled the lessons he got from them over the summer. Penelope was a Master in Ancient Runes and Charms as well as Duelling and the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Nicholas, on the other hand, was a Master in Potions, Alchemy, Transfigurations, Herbology, Magical Creatures, and History. It made sense that they would be picked as the instructors.

Thinking of Soul Society reminded him of his own division. The image of Matsumoto dozing on her favourite couch, while stacks and stacks of paper collected dust was the first thing that came into Toshiro's mind, and he sighed and rubbed his temples again. He will definitely have to go back during the winter break to check if everything is in order.

Toshiro's train of thoughts abruptly halted when the door of his compartment slid open. There stood a round faced, short and plump boy, who flushed when Toshiro's sharp eyes landed on him.

"I.. I'm sorry," the boy stammered. "c.. could I come in? Everywhere else is full…"

Toshiro nodded before looking out the window without saying a word. The blue sky and the empty green fields flashing by calmed him, placating his worries.

"Um…" at the boy's hesitant call, Toshiro sighed and turned to face the boy. "Are you starting your first year?"

"No." Toshiro frowned, "I'm going to be in fourth year."

"Fourth?!" the boy cried out, looking startled. "B.. but I'm a fourth year."

"So?" Toshiro replied, and the boy blushed. "I.. uh.. if you are a fourth year, then we must have had some classes together, but I.. I haven't seen you at all."

"That's because it's my first year in Hogwarts. I'm a transfer student."

At Toshiro's reply, the boy nodded in understanding. Then, with some hesitation, he held out his hand and stammered. "I.. I'm Neville Longbottom. Urm.. nice to meet you."

Toshiro blinked and looked up at the boy's anxious face. His posture was tense and stiff, while his eyes looked at Toshiro hesitantly. Toshiro sighed and grasped the boy's hand firmly. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya."

-

Toshiro soon found out that Neville had a very low confidence in himself, due to his family who had tried to force the magic out of him. He frowned, as he could feel that Neville's power level was quite larger than most wizards he had seen in Diagon Alley, but did not say anything. It was probably his lack of confidence that blocked his power unconsciously, and nothing except Neville believing in himself would free him from the wall he trapped himself in. Instead, he opted to teach Neville how to meditate.

Meditation was first thing every shinigami learned when they were accepted into the academy. Only after one found their core of spiritual energy and learned how to control its flow, they could start the training to become shinigami. That way, there would be less accidents caused as well as less shinigami-in-training dying from sudden uncontrolled bursts of their spiritual energy, which usually resulted from restricting their powers in their body for too long.

Wizards, their powers being much less then the shinigami's, might not have to face consequences that devastating, but it still must cause some build-up of stress inside their bodies, that could possibly lead to their death. Toshiro looked at the boy in front of him, who was frowning in concentration, and smiled a little. Once the Longbottom kid has full control of his powers, he would become a powerful wizard.

Breaking Toshiro's thoughts, Neville sighed as he opened his eyes and rubbed them tiredly. "I can't seem to do it, Hitsugaya. My mind keeps being distracted by various thoughts!"

"That's normal. You'll need to practice continuously for quite a while until you get the hang of clearing your mind completely." Toshiro told him, but Neville still looked doubtful. "I know someone who is considered quite powerful in our world, but it took her two months to meditate properly. Her friends had gone into the next stage of training, but she couldn't because she always got distracted easily during her meditation." He smiled slightly, remembering how Matsumoto had complained about it long time ago. "Also, you might think your powers are weak and thus, useless, but I've seen people with low levels of power who are formidable because of their perfect control and intricate use of their powers. You just need some endurance and more confidence in yourself."

Neville sighed and nodded before closing his eyes to try and meditate again. Toshiro read, while Neville fell in and out of meditation. By the time the trolley lady came and knocked at the door, Neville was deep in a trance-like state to notice her. Toshiro bought some sandwiches for the two of them and observed Neville.

He was learning how to meditate much faster than Toshiro had expected. Judging from his personality, Toshiro had expected Neville to pick up meditation fairly quickly, but not this fast. From the soft fluctuations in his magic it looked like he was already starting to follow the trails of his power in search of its core. 'Obviously, the training in magic helped. His wand is connected to his magical core and he had been using it for three years now,' Toshiro thought to himself and smiled slightly.

As the afternoon progressed, Neville woke up once with an excited face and gobbled up the sandwich gratefully before resuming his meditation, while Toshiro read his books, enjoying the quiet, and occasionally looking up to check Neville's progress. At one time, few kids popped into the compartment and promptly left when Toshiro glared at their noisiness, but except for that, the journey was thankfully peaceful.

As Toshiro felt the train slowly coming to a stop, he shook Neville out of his meditation. They both headed outside into the pouring rain, where Neville hurried off towards the carriages while Toshiro stayed behind with the first years to take the boat across the Hogwarts lake.