A Different World
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: This chapter is going to be shown from the Sorting Hat's perspective because he's the ref. Do feel free to let me know, if you'd prefer to stick solely to Sasuke's perspective after this or mix it up. I will also be taking some liberties with the Sorting Hat's backstory.
Chapter 7
The Sorting Hat watches as Hidan and Itachi make their way up to the Dueling Stage. This was going to be fascinating. Itachi was an academic at heart, but Hidan wasn't afraid to fight dirty. In that way, these two were the perfect representatives of their respective Houses.
"How did you talk them into letting you be the ref?" Sasuke asks.
"Oh. They needed a neutral party. Someone that wouldn't favor one House or student over the others. I've sat on tens of thousands of heads over the years. It's hard to play favorites when you do that. It's also hard to get attached to someone when you've only spoken to them once." The Hat replies.
There were some advantages to not knowing the students well. In some ways, he knew them better than anyone. Well he knew them more intimately when they were eleven than anyone, any rate.
"I guess that makes sense. Have you ever done this before?" Sasuke asks.
"Oh a few times. It's been awhile though. You know I used to be the ref for Dueling Matches between the Founders. Someone had to be. Godric and Salazar could get particularly vicious with each other. Though it was the women that you really had to watch out for." He replies conversationally.
It was an interesting age when you thought about it. In his mind, by eleven your core identity was already formed. Though there was still so much room for growth and for your circumstances to mold you into who you were going to be.
By the time these students graduated, most of them would be completely different people than they were when they first walked in through those doors. Despite that, he believed his job had merit. At a certain point, you were who you were.
"Why's that?" Sasuke asks as they watch Hidan and Itachi bow to one another.
"Oh you're definitely a young wizard, if you have to ask that." The Hat replies with a laugh.
Perhaps he was simply fooling himself though. Sorting was his main purpose in life. Well if you could call his existence a life. He wasn't sure that he could die of old age. He'd been around for centuries already.
If the Sorting was pointless, then he was pointless. That wasn't something that he could believe. His existence had to have some kind of meaning.
"Alright. We shall flip a coin to determine who will go first!" Jirayia calls out.
"Very well. Hidan, heads or tails?" Orochimaru asks the Seventh Year Student.
"Tails." The silver haired wizard replies without any hesitation.
These two in particular were interesting. The Hat knew that they had been friends since before they came to Hogwarts. Would they really be willing to give it their all against their friend?
Itachi might hold back. He had always been a model of restraint, but Hidan was another matter. His magic and personality had always been rather raw. Completely unrestrained.
"Do you think that they'll actually hurt each other?" Sasuke whispers.
"Honestly, I don't know. I wouldn't worry about your brother though. I've seen inside his head. A fascinating mind. I'm not entirely certain why he likes purple fingernail polish so much though. Something about at secret clubhouse with his friends. They call themselves the Akatsuki? Good name, even better than the Marauders." He observes.
Looking into the minds of children could be quite amusing at times. Some of them were frightfully dull. Every once in awhile though, you would cross someone like Itachi or Tom Riddle Jr.
The two boys were almost nothing alike, except in their intelligence. They existed at polar opposites of the spectrum. One thought only of himself and the other barely thought of himself at all.
"You ready for this, Itachi?" Hidan asks with a smirk.
"I believe the better question would be, are YOU prepared for this?" Itachi retorts.
The Sorting Hat smirks. He certainly liked their spirit. This was going to be good. He could already tell and the first spell hadn't even been cast.
"You can do it, Itachi!" Temari cries out.
That was cute. She was trying to support her Housemate. Well let's see how the Headboy fared against the Bad Boy. The results of this should be fascinating.
"It was heads. That means Itachi gets to go first. Remember, no spells that are designed to cause serious injury!" Kabuto says.
"Got it! AVIS, Oppugno!" Itachi shouts as a flock of ravens appears from his wand.
The Sorting Hat recognized that combination. Use Avis to summon the birds and Oppungo to direct the attack. It was quite the symbolic choice for a Ravenclaw.
"Incendio! Not bad, Itachi. Let's leave the kids stuff for the kids though! Bombarda Maxima!" Hidan retorts using fire spell to burn the birds and aiming an explosive spell at Itachi.
Slytherins really did love their explosions and fire spells. That was something that hadn't escaped his notice over the years. A rather violent House that one.
"Itachi!" Sasuke cries out in horror.
"Protego Maxima! Confundo!" Itachi retorts as he casts a reassuring look at Sasuke.
A powerful shield charm and a spell designed to confuse his opponents. A clever choice. Truly, something that should be expected from a Ravenclaw.
"Go Itachi! Yeah!" Deidara calls out.
Hidan looks rather confused, but the blonde's calls center him slightly. The Sorting Hat notes that he looks a little irritated. Clearly, he wasn't happy that his friend was picking favorites.
"Hey! Whose damn side are you on anyway?" He yells at the eccentric blonde.
"Now. Now! Let's not have an argument in the middle of a duel." Zetsu says good-naturedly.
"Oh shut your damn mouth, Daisy!" The Slytherin says.
Daisy was Hidan's nickname for Zetsu. It was an old one because the Sorting Hat remembered it as being inside Hidan's head from his Sorting.
"One point from Slytherin for the language and the rudeness." Orochimaru says with a dramatic sigh.
"What?! That's not fair! He was meddling in our fight!" Hidan protests.
"Hidan, cast your spells or concede." Kabuto warns the Seventh Year student.
There was something in the other man's eyes that was now disturbing the Sorting Hat. Hidan was no longer playing. This was no longer a safe duel.
"Wait!" The hat shouts, but it was too late.
Hidan's spell had already left. It was Diffindo. That was the Severing Charm and it could do real damage to the human body.
"I didn't want to have to resort to this, but it's clear that you've left me no choice! Ducklifors!" Itachi thunders, after narrowly avoiding the spell.
"Well it seems that Hidan has run out of luck and is now a duck. I'd say this match goes to Itachi." The Ref decrees.
"That's so cool!" Ino and Sakura cry out in unison.
That poor wizard. He was going to have a pair of Second Years swooning after him now. The Sorting Hat suddenly felt a surge of pity for Itachi Uchiha. Perhaps, it would have been better for him to have lost the battle.
"Itachi, will you change Hidan back?" Orochimaru asks.
"Yes, of course." The Ravenclaw says as he points his wand at his friend and soon enough the other wizard was transformed back into a man.
"Seriously, a duck. That has to suck. It wasn't even something cool. It was just cute!" Suigetsu says.
Hidan glares at Suigetsu and the white haired man wisely backs up. He races behind Sasuke and hides behind the youngest Uchiha. Probably because he doubted that the older student would seriously try to hurt Sasuke to get to him.
After all, Sasuke was Itachi's brother. Itachi was his friend and the wizard who had just defeated him in combat. It was a surprisingly smart move on the violet eyed boy's part, the Sorting Hat thinks to himself.
"Right. Well that was a most interesting match. Shall we divide up into pairs?" Jiraiya suggests.
Soon enough everyone divided into pairs. Most of the other duels weren't nearly as dramatic. It seemed like the Dueling Club Leaders were trying to deliberately pair older classmen (and women) with the younger students.
The Sorting Hat couldn't blame them, if that was indeed the case. The older students might temper some of their more vicious spells against the younger ones. That and the brats might learn a few new tricks, if they were going up against someone more experienced.
"Well that was certainly interesting." The Sorting Hat says, a few hours later.
The first Dueling Club meeting was over. Overall, he would say it was a success. He could only hope that Hidan wouldn't hold a grudge against Itachi for showing him up, but he wasn't entirely certain that would be the case.
That's when Fawkes arrives and scoops him up. The bloody chicken had his uses. One of them was that it he made it much easier to travel.
"Alright, Fawkes. Take me to see the Old Bag. I need to speak with Minerva." He says.
Thankfully, the phoenix didn't argue with him. Fawkes knew better than to do that when he was voluntarily asking to see the Headmistress. That woman was a skilled witch, but she was also extremely strict.
He was well aware that she wasn't too pleased to have him out and wandering about. Not that he particularly cared. He refused to be cooped up anymore!
"Alright." Fawkes replies as he flies him towards the Headmistress's Office.
Humans couldn't speak phoenix. He could though. The Sorting Hat wasn't really sure how that worked.
After being alive for so many centuries, he had learned to just go with it when magic went your way. The how wasn't always important as the fact that it worked. Well at least that was his opinion.
"Old Bag, we have a problem." The Sorting Hat says, once Fawkes places him on her desk.
"A problem?" The elderly witch asks with a raised eyebrow.
The Hat could tell what she was thinking. She probably thought that he was completely off his rocker. That was just fine with him though. He didn't particularly care what she thought of him.
"Yes, I was watching the Quidditch tryouts from affair. Someone hurled a spell at Sasuke's broom. The kid was flying in midair. He was caught though. The boy is fine. Well for now anyway." The Hat explains.
Minerva frowns and the Hat knew why. She was a tough old bird, but she had a soft spot for the kiddies. It was just really well hidden.
"Are you certain that it wasn't just a faulty broom? Perhaps, we should look into getting new brooms." She suggests.
"I know that you don't believe that anymore than I do. Hell, even the chicken doesn't believe that!" The Hat protests.
"I am not a chicken!" Fawkes protests the label.
He was a glorified chicken. The Hat didn't really understand why everyone was so excited about phoenixes. Yeah. They had powerful magic and were beautiful, but really they were just birds.
"Kindly, do not insult Fawkes. Sadly though, I suspect you're right. The odds that a broom would just explode like that unprompted are low. Do we know of anyone who might carry a grudge against Sasuke?" Minerva asks.
"I'll take it under consideration, but no. Not really. The kid is just a Second Year. He seems to get along well enough with everyone. That makes me think that it was someone who was upset at Itachi or perhaps his family in general. It could even be someone who just resents Purebloods more broadly and a crime of opportunity." The Hat suggests.
There were so many possibilities and each was more disturbing than the last. If it was the last camp, this could get ugly. It would be like Harry Potter's own Second Year in reverse.
He didn't think that was too likely, but anything was possible. The fact that the Dueling Club had been set up on the very day that Sasuke was attacked was also suspicious. Very suspicious.
"That's all true. Though I can't really think of anyone who would have an issue with Itachi. As for the Uchihas, they're one of the oldest magical families in Britain. Their enemies and friends are too numerous to list. That doesn't exactly narrow it down and Merlin help us all, if it's someone with a grudge against Purebloods." She whispers.
"This isn't good." Fawkes says.
"Even the chicken knows this isn't good. Well I'm gonna go follow the boy around. Maybe, I'll pick something up. If it's just against him or his family, clues will reveal themselves." The Hat says.
Minerva nods. It was obvious that she didn't like it, but what more was there to say on the matter. Someone had to look out for Sasuke and she was too obvious. The Hat had the element of surprise on his side.
"Very well. I wish you good luck." She says and with that, Fawkes takes the Sorting Hat off to find Sasuke.
The next morning, the Hat was sitting at the Slytherin Table. He was watching them all like a hawk. His first suspicion of course was Hidan. The man had been hurling a potentially very dangerous spell in a Duel, after all.
That seemed too obvious though. Hidan was one of Itachi's best friends. Why would he attack Sasuke and before the Duel? That didn't make much sense.
"You alright?" Hidan asks Sasuke.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I got really lucky. That could have killed me." Sasuke replies as he glances at the Gryffindor Tables.
It had been a year since Sasuke's Sorting and it was rather apparent that his mind was still often focused on Naruto. Whether it was romantic or a deep bond of brotherhood, he wasn't entirely certain. First Years and Second Years were a bit too young for that sort of thing.
It usually wasn't until Fourth Year that everyone's brains turned to mush. Occasionally, you would get an early bloomer though. Sometimes the seeds of romance were sewn back then.
"What do you make of what happened?" Neji asks Shikamaru at one of the Ravenclaw Tables.
"I'm not sure. I doubt that his broom just exploded though. Someone was trying to hurt Sasuke. Maybe, even kill him." Shikamaru whispers back.
Silly humans. They actually thought whispering was going to stop them from being overheard. That was almost adorable in a way, truly.
They obviously didn't know that he had excellent hear. The Sorting Hat couldn't blame them though. He had excellent hearing, but he didn't have any ears. So it was probably only natural that they assumed he had human level hearing or worse.
"He's from an ancient family though. Someone might just have a grudge against him." Temari points out.
That was an excellent point and one that he had considered. The fact that Temari was rising it either meant that she was innocent or very clever at covering her tracks. Hmm. Which was it?
"You kids should get going. You're going to be late to Transfiguration." Kakuzu says.
"Yeah. I guess you're right." Sasuke says as he heads off with Shino, Gaara, and Suigetsu.
The Sorting Hat places himself on Suigetsu's shoulder. He didn't want to make it too obvious that he was tagging along with the young Uchiha. That simply wouldn't do at all.
Subtly was necessary in this situation. If he was going to find out who did it and why, he needed to be sneaky. Fortunately, he had sat on the heads of many a Slytherin and Ravenclaw. He was good at sneaky when he wanted to be.
"Welcome class." Obito greets them.
Obito was the Transfiguration Professor. He had shown up a year or two before Kakashi. That was ironic because the two of them were in the same year at Hogwarts. The Sorting Hat remembered this because they were so competitive.
Speaking of competitive, it looked like Hinata and Shino discussing something. The Slytherin was trying to rope shy girl into a competition. That wasn't a smart move.
"Good morning, Professor." They all chorus together.
Hinata was a shy little thing, but she was extremely gifted in Charms and Transfiguration to a lesser extent. Perhaps that was why Shino was doing it though. He was friends with her.
The boy likely wanted to get her to come out of her shell more. It wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but he was letting himself get distracted. As entertaining as watching a bunch of Yearlings was, he had a mission to do.
"Today, we are going learn how to transfigure a Quill into a dagger." Obito says.
That was unusual. He had never heard of such a thing being taught to a group of Second Years. Though perhaps Hogwarts was simply stepping up its lesson plan.
After all, you never knew when the next Voldemort knock off was going to show up. It seemed like every generation or every other generation a Dark Wizard (or Witch) would pop up out of nowhere.
"Why do we have to transfigure a quill into a dagger? That seems pretty shady." Kankuro asks.
Hmm. Points to the Puff. He had said what was likely on everyone's mind, but it didn't look like Obito liked it too much.
"You never know when you might find yourself in a dangerous situation. I'm certain that you'll manage though. You're all very bright students. I wouldn't have given you this spell, if I didn't think that you could do it." Obito says.
"Alright. Let's do this then." Sasuke says, seeming to earn Obito's approval.
Hmm. Wait a minute. Hadn't Obito's last name been Uchiha? Though if his memory served, the man had changed it when he'd gotten married.
It was rather surprising that Sasuke was allowed to be in his class. Then again, Transfiguration was a required subject and they only had one Transfiguration teacher. It wasn't like there was much choice.
"That's the spirit." Obito says as he shows them the precise way to do it.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Slytherins were better at this task than most of the Hufflepuffs. Though Zetsu and Haku did shockingly well. Interesting.
It was all entertaining to watch, but a growing pit of unease was growing in the Sorting Hat's stomach. Well it was growing where his stomach would be, if he had one. He didn't, but really it was the principle of the thing.
"Very good. Ten points to Slytherin for such exceptional mastery of this task and 5 to Hufflepuff for a respectable effort." Obito says.
Had Minerva been encouraging the Professors to step up their lessons? Was she worried about the attacker? Was that why Obito was having them transform Quills into daggers?
Once class was dismissed, the Sorting Hat hitches a ride on Shino's back. That's when he notices that Sasuke had pulled Hinata off to the side. Hmm. Now, what was going on?
"You were holding back. I know you're better at Transfiguration than that. Hinata, we weren't actually going to use the dagger to hurt people." He whispers.
"I know, but first you were attacked. Now, they want us to make d-adggers. Something strange is going on. I don't like it. I don't think this is just about practicing anymore. I-Itachi is as seventh year. Have they ever had us make weapons before?" The bluenette asks.
Well a hundred points to Hufflepuff for not being completely filled with airhead, he thinks wryly. The girl had a point. A very good point. Now, he just had to wait to see how Sasuke responded to said point.
"You're right. Something is off. I don't know what is going on, but I do know that there's probably a good reason why Obito decided to literally go cloak and dagger. Stick to Jugo. He's the most trustworthy and powerful person in your House." Sasuke says.
"What about Zetsu?" She asks.
"He's the oldest, but I don't know. He's been too quiet lately." He replies.
Hmm. So Sasuke was beginning to suspect Zetsu? That wasn't a bad guess,, but it didn't quite click for the Hat.
"So you think it was him?" The bluenette asks.
"I don't know what to think anymore. I know one thing for damn sure though. I know it wasn't you, Naruto, or Itachi. Everyone else though is still up in the air." Sasuke admits.
He couldn't blame Sasuke for ruling Hinata out. The girl couldn't hurt a fly. Though that was more from her personality than abilities. If she had really wanted to set her mind to it, the girl probably could have managed to explode his broom.
"Alright. I'll keep my eyes open." She mumbles, before darting off.
It was likely that she didn't want anyone to overhear them. Smart witch. While she wasn't necessarily a Ravenclaw, she still had decent survival instincts.
"What were you talking to Hinata about?" Gaara asks Sasuke.
"I just wanted to give her some advice on the dagger thing." He says with a shrug.
"Good. I've never seen her have an issue with Transfiguration before. I think that she was just scared of daggers." The red head offers.
That was a possibility. He personally thought that she just didn't want to make one because she knew what they were used for. Either she was the most clever actress of them all or she was innocent.
"Probably. Come on. Let's head back to the Common Room. I imagine Hidan and Kakuzu have conned the House Elves into getting us lots of good stuff by now." Sasuke says.
"Finally, they are good for something. You're right." Gaara says as they all head off.
Merlin bless magical hearing. He had been able to hear all that, but Shino hadn't. Shino was still possibility. Actually, he didn't care what Sasuke said. They were all potential killers.
