The first few days for the two transfers proved to be a lot more hectic than they had originally thought. For Hitsugaya, the most interesting was their first History of Magic class—not that he would ever admit it, of course.

He had arrived early, sitting by the windows near the back, with Shouta not far behind. The professor had been late to the class, and as he'd passed through the wall with a dull greeting, the brunette toppled over in his seat, to the great amusement of the Captain. Of course, he'd been told about the ghosts of Hogwarts. Most particularly about their agreement with the Soul Society and the express orders he'd received against sending them on their way. It seems the other had not been told, however.

This reaction, amusing Hitsugaya even further, was continued over through the week, particularly during meals. Several ghosts—especially Peeves—seemed to have taken a liking to scaring the brunette. Hitsugaya made no move to change that.

They both had similar reactions to the portraits hung throughout the castle. When a shrewd woman had commented about his hair, Hitsugaya leveled a glare at her, only to stumble back as the painting continued her rant. Shouta just about had a heart attack.

They also learned quickly that Gilderoy Lockhart was an idiot that did not know the first thing about magic. It was a Thursday, and Defense Against the Dark Arts was first. Shouta snickered at Hitsugaya's grimace, ignoring the icy glare sent his way as they parted, the brunette making his way to his own class. Reluctantly, the Shinigami Captain stepped into the DADA classroom.

The room's layout was fairly normal, with rows of desks lined up in front of the teacher's desk and a blackboard. Atop the desk sat a cage covered by an old piece of cloth and several books, which all had Lockhart's name printed on them. On the other hand, however, the other… decorations left much to be desired. The walls were lined with moving and talking portraits of Lockhart, and by the time he'd sat down, the professor was already strutting back and forth before the class, wooing a pair of enthralled girls with one of his exaggerated stories.

The subject didn't change much when class started, the man boasting about his books and accomplishments prior to teaching at Hogwarts. Hitsugaya resisted the surprisingly strong urge to groan as the man said, "I must ask you not to scream, it might provoke them!" A broad hand yanked the cloth off the cage on his desk with a dramatic flair.

Inside were about a dozen small, blue creatures flitting about within the cage, mischievous, nearly malevolent faces peered out from between the bars at the students. "Cornish pixies?" A boy seated up front scoffed, and Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. He stopped paying attention to the lesson up until the professor reached for the cage again, this time pulling the door open.

Before he had even fully opened it, the pixies burst out, flitting about the room, eager to cause havoc. One kid got himself pulled out of his chair and draped from the ceiling; another lost his books to a particularly malevolent trio. Hitsugaya watched disinterestedly as the professor took out his wand in an attempt to fix his mess, only to have his wand taken.

Several of the (more unfortunate) pixies attempted to make the Shinigami Captain their next victim, only to find themselves frozen and covered in ice upon getting within three feet. As the chaos persisted throughout the rest of the class, Hitsugaya began regretting his decision to stay.

Shouta had DADA not long after, finding himself in class five minutes late after making a wrong turn. He made his way to the back of the room as silently as possible, only for Lockhart to place a hand on his shoulder, steering him back towards the front.

"Perhaps you can help me with a demonstration today, Mr. What-an-arse." He said cheerily, not noticing the snickering from the other students or the scowl of the brunette.

"…It's Watanabe."

Lockhart laughed. "Of course, What-abs. Now, if I could ask you to stand over there…" Shouta's scowl deepened, reluctantly moving towards the indicated area, crossing his arms as he did so.

The professor pointed his wand at the transfer, loudly calling a spell—a demonstration, Shouta found out later. A burst of light erupted from the wand, and the man flew backwards, crashing rather painfully into his desk.

"O-Of course, as you can see class, casting a spell wrong can have dire consequences. Now—" The brunette found the class highly more enjoyable after that.

Hitsugaya and Shouta met up the next day, the two strolling leisurely by the Quidditch Field that morning whilst discussing various things. The brunette laughed at the incident with the Cornish pixies, recalling his own experience with Lockhart.

"So, Hitsugaya, about the ghosts…" He muttered, turning to the Captain, whose lips had turned up just ever so slightly in the corners.

"Don't worry about them. I've already dealt with that situation." He replied, turning his head at the loud cries of several students nearby.

The white-haired Shinigami pulled to an abrupt stop as one Ron Weasley landed rather roughly on the ground before them. "Hey, you okay?" Shouta muttered, keeping a distance from the green-faced boy. Ron rolled onto his stomach, getting up on all fours before his mouth bulged as if about to barf. Both transfer students took another several steps back as the first slug popped out of the redhead's mouth.

The majority of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, plus Hermione, rushed over to the boy, hurrying closer only to hurry back again as the slimy creatures fell to the ground. They were punctuated by exclamations of disgust.

A young boy stepped up, closer than the others were obviously willing to go, an obnoxious grin on his face as he held up the camera hanging from his neck. Light flashed as he snapped a picture, babbling excitedly about the event.

Eventually, as the two foreigners watched in the background, Harry and Hermione gathered up the courage to step closer, rushing their friend away to the infirmary as he struggled to hold back another slug. A smug blond Slytherin watched from farther up the hillside, looking on at the scene in amusement alongside his cronies.

"Serves him right," he scoffed, his smirk mirrored by the surrounding Slytherins. "Did you see his face? He looked like he would turn into a slug himself. Wait, he already is one!" The second year and his friends cackled, sneering as several Gryffindors stalked by, though not without their share of heated glares at the green-clad group in return.

Hitsugaya vaguely recalled the boy, having been the same one to repeatedly harass Harry and his friends, though neither he nor Shouta had ever really associated with the boy, despite the latter being in the same House.

The Quidditch Team, particularly a pair of redheaded twins, were not about to let the insults slide. "Like you should talk, you weasel!" One of the twins shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the blond Slytherin. An insult was shot back at them by another, which was returned with equal heat, turning quickly into a loud, near vicious argument.

"You mudblooded freaks shouldn't even be allowed in this school!"

"We could say the same to you! Thinking you're better than others just because of your excuse of a father!"

"You think you can talk?! You're all freaks of nature! Look at him!" The blond snapped, jabbing a finger in the direction of the transfer students, specifically Toshiro, who'd been content watching everything play out. "I bet that filthy mudblood's parents are a bunch of good-for-nothings—" He was cut off abruptly as Shouta stalked up to him, staring down at the boy who was only a few inches shorter than him. "Wh-What's your problem?" He stuttered, unnerved by the cold gaze staring back at him. Hitsugaya found the boy's pitiable attempt not to shrink back from the bloodlust almost amusing.

"Hitsugaya would be considered a pureblood actually. You should check your facts before using them." The transfer replied, an almost eerily calm demeanor about him. His lip twitched up as his eyes narrowed. "Of course, insulting someone's parents is also extremely rude. Maybe you wouldn't be so careless if I were to help with that lead tongue of yours." The blonde's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared up into green eyes.

"That's enough, Watanabe." The Captain of the Tenth snapped, arms crossed from where he still stood off to the side. "Let's go, we have something we need to attend to." Teal eyes narrowed, as if to punctuate his point.

"Fine," The brunette grumbled, stepping back with a disappointed sigh before trudging away, hands stuffed into his pockets.

Hitsugaya followed, stopping only for a moment to turn his icy glare on the whimpering second year. The stunned group shivered as his gaze seemed to cause the sudden breeze and the goose bumps rising on their arms. "I suggest you watch your mouth, brat. Next time you run it off, I will be the one to act. And it won't be nearly as pleasant." He growled at the boy, who nodded hurriedly.

The white-haired boy then smirked, following the fast departing brunette as the air rose back to its original temperature. The group of Gryffindors and Slytherins were left to stand there, bewildered as to what just happened.

Dinner was a usual event, neither foreigner eating much, seeing as they didn't need nearly as much food as the rest of the student body. For the sake of a rather insistent trio, however, the two had a bowl of rice each, with an added cup of tea for Hitsugaya.

Shouta was once again seated at the Gryffindor table, much to the disdain of most of the Slytherins and Gryffindors. There were a few, however, that—after their initial shock—didn't seem to have a problem with it, even coming up to applaud him for his blatant actions.

Only twenty minutes into dinner, Hitsugaya stood, sending a meaningful glance at the brunette before gliding silently out of the hall. Once he finished up what little food he did eat, Shouta followed.

The two of them moved down the halls without a word, each staring straight ahead as they made their way towards the owlry.

A whisper of a voice, hardly a sound at all, carried past them on the slight breeze of the spacious halls, and the Captain froze in his spot.

"Did you hear that?" Hitsugaya whirled around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound that seemed to echo around them. The hallway was empty aside from them and the occasional portrait.

"If you're talking about a creepy, bloodthirsty voice, then yes." Shouta muttered warily in reply, glancing around them. "If not, then I think I can finally prove that I'm going insane."

A hiss-like murmur seemed to echo in the large expanse, followed by a spike of reiatsu. "This way," The Captain raced down the corridor in the direction of the spike, the brunette not far behind. They were not too far from the Great Hall when the two skidded to a stop, staring in a wary sort of shock at the scene before them.

What appeared to be blood was smeared across the stone in large letters.

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.
Enemies of the heir… Beware.

Next to the message was Mrs. Norris. She hung upside down from a torch bracket, poised unnaturally and unmoving. The brunette frowned, stepping up to the cat and carefully taking her down. "It doesn't seem to be dead. It's weird though… Almost like…"

"Wha…" The two transfers whirled around to face the newcomers, finding the Golden Trio staring at them in shock. Hardly ten seconds later, it seemed, were the halls filled with students, all whispering and pointing at the message and the two in the center of the commotion.

The caretaker shoved his way to the front of the crowd, beady eyes quickly finding the pair, and jabbed a finger accusingly at Shouta as he shrieked. "My cat! You murdered my cat!" The brunette looked at him in bewilderment before shifting his gaze down to where the cat was still lying frozen in his arms and back again.

"I did?" he blinked, now thoroughly confused as to the turn of events.

Filch growled, stomping closer and grabbing a fistful of his shirt to drag him closer to face level. "I'll kill ya. I'll kill ya!" The caretaker growled, spittle flying into the face of the younger.

"Argus," the calm voice of the Headmaster interrupted. Albus Dumbledore stepped over to the furious man as the crowd of gossiping students parted way for him, several professors not far behind. The caretaker cursed and grumbled under his breath as he reluctantly released Shouta, who stumbled back from his precarious balance on his toes.

The newly arrived staff halted upon fully seeing the display laid out before them, staring agape for several long moments. Dumbledore was the first to gather his wits, turning to examine everything with a critical eye. He looked from Hitsugaya off to the side, to Filch and Shouta—who was still holding Mrs. Norris—to the message on the wall behind them. His eyes didn't turn from the message, expression stony as he addressed the crowd.

"Everyone, please proceed to the dormitories immediately." The crowd dispersed almost immediately, shuffling in various directions under the supervision of the teachers around them. "Except," he continued, turning to the two transfers, who had attempted to follow his previous directions, "You two."

Once the hall was devoid of onlookers, Dumbledore gently took the cat from the Japanese transfer, examining her closely. "She's not dead, Argus. She has been petrified. But how, I cannot say." His quiet voice sounded loud, echoing in the silence as everyone else present watched.

"Um, no offense Mr. Filch, but it's a cat. You can get a new one, can't you?" Several pairs of eyes snapped to the Slytherin second year currently raising an eyebrow almost sardonically at the caretaker. He rubbed the back of his neck habitually as all the attention was turned onto him.

Hitsugaya sighed inwardly at the idiot, whose posture and tone were sure to get him accused and possibly expelled in the process. Filch's seemingly unquenchable anger didn't help matters.

"Why you…!" He growled, raising a fist to shake it threateningly at the boy.

"Calm down, Argus." The headmaster's voice rose up again in the face of the oncoming argument. "Rather than accusing others needlessly, we should focus on how this happened."

"Ask him. He's done it. You saw what he wrote on the wall." The caretaker hissed, raising a shaking finger in Shouta's direction again.

The brunette raised his hands in surrender, voicing his own defense. "Hey, no pointing fingers. I have no idea what happened either. By the time we got here, she was hung up right there. I was just getting her down." He jerked a thumb at the torch bracket to emphasize his point.

"Rubbish." Filch snapped in reply, taking a threatening step forward.

"If I may, Headmaster," Snape muttered in an almost demeaning manner, nearly glaring at the students present. "Perhaps these two have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time." He advised, though the way his dark eyes narrowed and his nose rose a few centimeters suggested otherwise. At that moment, Hitsugaya wasn't sure he'd ever hated another living person so much before. "Though the circumstances are suspicious. I, for one, recall these two leaving from dinner rather early." He continued, sneering as he strode slowly towards them.

Shouta scowled up at the man as he spoke. "I, for one, don't recall having to give a reason for leaving early." He sneered back, mimicking Snape's manner of speaking and somewhat nasally voice. Snape's face darkened into a glare.

"Now, now," Professor Lockhart laughed uncomfortably as he stepped between the two, raising his hands in a calming manner. "I'm sure whatever's going on here, these boys have a good reason for it."

"Back off, you useless professor." The transfer snapped in response, his temper flaring as his hands clenched. "You don't know anything about me. None of you do." He turned his glare towards the rest of the teachers, the less resilient ones flinching at the unbidden fury being reigned in.

"Oi, we're supposed to be undercover, in case you've forgotten." Hitsugaya snapped, stepping into the argument. His icy glare was far more threatening than either Snape's or Shouta's, though it remained focused on the brunette. "You can do what you want after the year is over." His companion turned to the Captain to lash out, but seemed to shrink ever so slightly under the stern gaze, eventually backing down and muttering a reluctant response.

"…Fine."

So, to be honest, I'm not particularly satisfied with this chapter, but I should post something, right? I may go back later to revise it again, but for now, here it is. :P