Chapter Three: Relationships

"Ah, Shisui, come in."

He does as asked, entering the office. As soon as he passes through the doorway, he sheds his cheerful demeanor and adopts his professional one—Karasu.

"Good evening, Dumbledore-san." His voice is cool, clipped, and bitingly polite, and clearly it comes as a shock to the staff members in the room. The one named Minerva McGonagall adjusts her glasses and seems to see him in a new light.

"Do you remember what we discussed in the infirmary, on your first day, Shisui?" Dumbledore inquires.

"Yes," Shisui answers immediately. "I assume the topic you are speaking of is also the topic of conversation for us here."

"You are correct, of course," Dumbledore agrees, his spidery fingers linked on his desk. "Staff of Hogwarts, this is Shisui Uchiha. He hails from Konohagakure, or the Hidden Leaf Village, located in Fire Country. This place may sound unfamiliar to you, because it is very possible that he has come from another world via dimensional portkey, which you all know is illegal."

The staff break into murmurs, and the man with the long nose and greasy hair, Severus Snape, gives Shisui a suspicious look. Dumbledore waits for them to quiet down before continuing. "Shisui, if you would please?"

"Yes, sir. I come from the Leaf, the village that governs all in the Fire Country. We are a ninja village, and we are the main source of income for the village," Shisui says monotonously. "I am one of those ninjas, and in exchange for your hospitality, I have offered to serve as an extra defense measure for the school. I assure that I am competent."

McGonagall's lips thin. "Young man, how old are you?"

"I am sixteen."

"Albus!" She turns towards the Headmaster. "He is not even of age! He is but a child!"

Shisui feels a twinge of irritation, but he forces it down. "There are no children in a land where war runs rampant," he says flatly. "We may have been in an era of peace, but nobody believes that it will last. Do you know what war, true war, does to a person? To a child?"

"Are you implying that what we fought with You-Know-Who wasn't a war?" hisses the man with the greasy black hair, Snape.

"Have you been on a battlefield, holding your teammate in his last moments as his blood stains your clothes and the grass below you, knowing that he had a child back home, and that that same child had lost his mother three days prior?" he asks, voice very, very quiet. "Have you struck a woman down from behind, only for her lover to run right onto the same blade in despair? Have you ever been driven to brainwashing the leader of your clan, your family, because the other option was to slaughter them all, the children, the elderly?"

It is suddenly very, very quiet.

"I do not believe so," Shisui says icily. "I assure you, I am an adult. I am no child. And I am competent. I believe there will be no more complaints."

Without waiting for a reply, Shisui spins on his heel and marches out of the room.

.

"Mister Uchiha."

Shisui blinks and turns, looking upwards to meet McGonagall's gaze, which regards him with a strange new respect. "Can I help you?" he inquires warily.

"I would like to apologize for last night."

"You don't need to do that," Shisui replies airily. "Cultural differences and all. It's merely a minor offense and hardly the worst."

McGonagall looks at him cautiously. "I suppose so. But take care of yourself, Mister Uchiha."

She stalks passed him. Shisui's not entirely certain if she knows, but she does act so much like a cat.

.

"Hello!"

The only one that doesn't jump at his sudden appearance is the girl with the dreamy expression, and she turns with a greeting of her own. "Hello. You're Shisui Uchiha."

Shisui grins. A strange one, this one is. "Yeah, that's me. Sorry, I don't know your name though."

"I'm Luna Lovegood," she tells him. "It's alright if you don't. I'm not famous, and it's not as if we've spoken before." Luna peers at him strangely. "You don't seem to have many Wrackspurts flying around your head. Curious."

"Pardon?"

"Wrackspurts," Luna explains patiently. "They're creatures—"

"Oh, don't listen to her," cuts in another Ravenclaw. "She'll only believe in things as long as there is no evidence to prove their existences. Not mention, her family runs the Quibbler."

Shisui raises an eyebrow at her rudeness, but nobody seems to care, and Luna looks as if she's perfectly accustomed to such behavior. "There doesn't seem to be any evidence for Muggles that unicorns and dragons exist, either," he retorts dryly. "Just because you don't believe in something doesn't make it any less real."

"That's different!" sputters the girl. "Unicorns and dragons do exist, you can see for yourself!"

"She can see Wrackspurts," Shisui replies flatly. "Honestly, you're of the Ravenclaw house; the one that's supposed to be diplomatic and smart. Can't you provide a decent argument to prove that they aren't real without offending Lovegood-san?"

The girl flushes, a mix of anger and embarrassment.

"Thank you," Luna says sincerely. "Their nonsensical carping about my beliefs really don't bother me but it's nice to be stood up for."

Shisui grins. "No problem, Lovegood-san."

"It's just Luna," Luna tells him.

.

Shisui walks along the empty corridor, blinking when he sees a Hufflepuff boy, at least a fifth year from his Prefects' badge, passing by. "Good afternoon."

"Oh!" The boy stops. "You're Shisui Uchiha, right? I'm Cedric Diggory, nice to meet you."

He smiles. "Nice to meet you too, Diggory-san. Might I ask where you're going?"

"It's just Cedric," he corrects with a smile of his own. "I'm just heading for the dorms. Since I've got nothing better to do, I'm just going to study. What about you?"

"Eh, I'm heading out to the Quidditch pitch," he answers with a stretch. "Thought I might go through my katas or something."

"What're those?" Cedric inquires, curious.

"They're stances for combat, usually used for forms for martial arts," Shisui replies. "They're a form of exercise, I guess. Don't want to get rusty and all."

Cedric grins. "Well, you go do that. Have fun."

"I'd say the same, but can't say that studying sounds like much fun," Shisui jokes with a wave, heading off.

.

"You're Shisui Uchiha, am I correct?"

He looks up from his book on the history of Quidditch, acting as though he hadn't heard them approach. "The one and only," he replies good-naturedly with a smirk to see a Slytherin, perhaps his age or so. "Who're you?"

"Marcus Flint. I see you going around from table to table," Marcus says suspiciously. "Including Slytherin. What's the point?"

"Making new friends, is there something wrong with that?" Shisui answers innocently. "Relationships are important, Flint-san." He grins. "I can see why you're in Slytherin, if you're so suspicious of little old me."

Marcus snorts. "Just watch yourself, Uchiha. I swear to god, if I find another wad of gum on the Slytherin table, I am going to slaughter you."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Flint-san." Shisui's face is the perfect picture of innocence while internally he's snickering.

Marcus narrows his eyes, and it's an amazingly pissy look. "Stop lying."

Shisui drops the act with a laugh. "To be fair, I did help the Weasley twins dye the Ravenclaws' hair pink, and drop paint on the Hufflepuffs…"

Marcus growls, though it's not even angry anymore, and he turns around with a huff. With growing amusement, Shisui realizes there's a huge wad of gum in the wizard's hair.

.

"Ah… you're Neville Longbottom, right?"

The boy jumps, nearly dropping the potted plant he's holding, and turns around with wide eyes. "Y-yeah, that's me," he stammers. "You're Shisui, right?"

"Yep," Shisui confirms. "You seem to be pretty good with plants, Longbottom-san."

Neville beams nervously. "I-it's just Neville, Shisui."

Shisui nods. "Alright." He looks around, taking in the plants in the greenhouse. "You must be rather skilled if Professor Sprout trusts you here without supervision."

"I-I'm mostly useless in other subjects," Neville mumbles, "but I've always been pretty good with plants, like I know how to care for them and all… but anyone can do that."

Okay, this kid has serious self-esteem issues. "But I've never seen any plants as vibrant as these," Shisui muses, and it's the truth. "You might not be skilled in other subjects, but you're exceptional in taking care of plants. What about your Potions grade?"

Neville pales quickly. "T-that's my worst subject…"

He frowns. "Why would it be? I'd expected it to be second to your Herbology grade, since they're linked more often than not. Most wizards who grow plants grow Potions ingredients."

"W-well, Professor S-Snape doesn't like me… he, uh, scares me."

Shisui blinks. "Is that all?"

"H-huh?"

"Just pretend he doesn't exist. Read the instructions on the board, and read them carefully. Don't mess up. Use the book if necessary. If he comes by, just take a couple of deep breaths before continuing. He can't hurt you, remember that."

Neville considers, setting the plant down. "I-I guess I can try that," he concedes.

"Oh, and stop being a doormat," Shisui adds with a cheerful smile. "You can stand up for yourself, you know."

Neville returns the smile tentatively. "Thanks, Shisui."

.

Shisui rises from his kneeling position, smiling a little sadly at the piece of slate on the table before him, the smell of incense pervading the room.

Wherever you are, please, please watch over Itachi. Protect him, please.

.

a/n: Not proofread so point out any errors please.

Reviews are loved~!

Sneak peek: At that moment, a loud bubbling noise sounds, and Shisui turns towards the lake, a place he's avoided like the plague for a while. He watches, fascinated, as a ship rises out of a whirlpool in the middle of the lake.