Finding Home

by depressedchildren

An over used plot with a twist: Join us as Naruto discovers his lost family in the world of wizards, wherein discovery of being from the Elemental Lands could mean experimentation and death. The careful game of manipulation and deceit begins as ninja infiltrate the wizarding world, only to find out what home really means. Warnings: strong language, Snape, Jiraiya, Sirius.

10. Chapter 9: Hogwarts, Finally!

Disclaimer: I do not own either works, they belong to their respective creators/writers. I only gain writing experience from this.

Summary: An overused plot with a twist: Join us as Naruto discovers his lost family in the world of wizards, wherein discovery of being from the Elemental Lands could mean experimentation and death. The careful game of manipulation and deceit begins as ninja infiltrate the wizarding world, only to find out what home really means.

A/N: This chapter ended up being 40-some pages because I didn't want to break it down. However, I must admit, it feels a bit rushed at times and like the conversations got away from me. Part of that might be because we have not explored the dynamic between Ron and Naruto before this and so their conversations might seem a bit random. Also, I never watched the Naruto series (especially the later stuff), I've only read it and I remember Kushina's coloring being different and so I've kept with that-also it makes for some nice parallelism between Harry and Naruto so I'm sticking with it. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this long chapter ~ with love, depressedchildren

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Chapter 9: Hogwarts, Finally!

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Naruto couldn't stop from laughing as Remus rushed ahead of him in the train station. The man realized what he was doing and slowed down while giving Naruto a sheepish laugh. "I'm sorry Nathan. Being let out for lunch so late might make us late."

Naruto waved his hand. "It's all good. We can race there if you want?" he offered a little mischievously. Remus chuckled but shook his head.

"We'll just pick up our pace," he reassured the boy. As they neared the third barrier-column-thing between platforms nine and ten, Naruto froze.

He recognized the red haired woman with all the similarly colored kids around her. But there was a boy with a trolley who was all by himself and did not look like the other Weasley's.

"James?" Remus murmured before shaking his head and moving on. "Hello Molly," Remus greeted the woman as he and Naruto passed.

"Oh, hey Nathan!" Ron greeted—he was really tall and it made Naruto uncomfortable.

"Hey Ron," he greeted a little awkwardly when Mrs. Weasley looked toward him. "Umm, we just go through that column thing, right Remus?" Naruto asked as he fidgeted.

"Yes—"

Naruto didn't wait to hear what else the man had to say and just sprinted at the column. Naruto skidded to a halt on the other side before he ran into some witch or wizard. Now he needed to find the teme and his uncle.

"Oi, dobe!" Sasuke shouted from a window on the train before he was practically tugged back inside the train, probably by his uncle. Naruto chuckled a little and waved. Naruto almost moved toward the train but realized he should wait for Remus. He stood to the side of the magical entrance and waited. Not long after, the Teme joined him.

"Waiting for that Lupin-guy?" he drawled. Naruto nodded and the Teme sighed.

"Don't wanna wait with your Uncle, or did you miss me?" Naruto teased back.

The teme scoffed, "Please." Still chuckling, Naruto looked back at the barrier.

One redhead after another ran through the column thing before the dark haired boy and Remus went through.

Remus guided the dark haired boy up to Naruto and Sasuke. "Nathan, this is your cousin, Harry," he explained a little awkwardly. The dark haired boy gave a nervous smile.

"He doesn't look like Aunt Lily," Naruto blurted.

"You don't look like your mum either," the teme pointed out, and Naruto laughed embarrassedly.

"Oh right."

"Well, everyone tells me I have my mum's eyes," Harry offered almost embarrassedly.

"Hey, me too!" Naruto cheered.

Harry gave another small smile before he shifted self-consciously. "You're really my cousin?" he asked quietly.

"Yep, do you wanna sit with me and the te—"

"Don't call me that dobe!" Sasuke hissed.

"Don't call me dobe!" he shot back.

"Stop being one then," he retorted.

"Nathan, Samuel," Remus chided. They broke up their spat but not before giving each other glares—it was really playful but nobody seemed to realize that.

"Anyways," Naruto began with a chuckle, "you wanna sit with us?"

"Do you two always fight?" Harry asked uneasily.

"We're not fighting," Naruto responded.

"They're verbal spars, not fights," Sasuke drawled.

"It doesn't look that way," Remus told them before his attention was taken by a blow of a horn. "Ah, lets get you boys on the train."

"Neh, wanna help Harry with his trunk?" Naruto asked Sasuke who shrugged before they both took opposite ends of the large trunk.

"Boys!" Remus started to call in alarm but he and the teme were doing just fine.

"Ah, thank you!" Harry called after them before running up. "I can help," he began but they both waved his concerns off.

"So, you wanna sit with us?" Naruto asked as they got into the train hallway.

"Uh, sure," Harry replied with a slight smile. "I mean, you are my cousin, right?" Naruto beamed and nodded his head.

Harry watched as the dark haired boy led the way to the compartment he was staying in. When they got there, however, there was a tall man wearing black robes already sitting within the compartment. He gave them a look with his beady black eyes before returning to some book he was reading.

Harry gawked when his cousin and the other boy hoisted his trunk up onto a rack as if it didn't weigh a thing. Then Nathan, clapped his hands together. "I'm gonna say goodbye to Remus," he announced before leaving the compartment.

Harry shifted awkwardly in the middle of the compartment. The day had been so…unbelievable. At first he thought everything had been one big prank until that redheaded family arrived. Then Mr. Lupin and Nathan came up. He didn't get why Nathan ran away, but at least Mr. Lupin introduced himself. He was a nervous and slightly awkward man, Harry thought.

It had initially alarmed Harry that someone knew him on sight, especially without seeing his scar, but Mr. Lupin said Harry was the spitting image of his dad but with his mum's eyes. It had made him really happy—Hagrid had said the same thing too. Of course, that couldn't compare to when Mr. Lupin explained how he had a different aunt, one who had Nathan before she died. It was confusing and he didn't get exactly how it all worked, but he was excited to hear he had cousin other than Dudley. Of course, that reminded him of the telephone conversation he had heard Aunt Petunia have.

"Mr. Potter, your loitering is becoming a distraction. Just sit down," the adult wearing black drawled. Harry jumped and quickly sat down, though he wondered how the man knew his name. The man had a long, hooked nose, and really greasy black hair. He was intimidating.

"You could have been nicer, Uncle," Samuel commented.

"Cousin, not Uncle," the man corrected as he continued to read his book. "And need I remind you, I will be your teacher, so show a bit more respect."

"Yes sir," Samuel replied, but his tone wasn't that genuine. The man gave his cousin (?) a glare before returning to his book.

"Uh, so your name is Samuel?" Harry asked as he straightened out his baggy jeans.

"Yeah, and you're Harry." Harry smiled sheepishly. He supposed he deserved the response, after all, Mr. Lupin did sort of introduce them all.

"Um, how do you know Mr. Lupin?" Harry asked as he waited for Nathan to come back. He wondered if he should have said goodbye to Mr. Lupin, but he didn't actually know the man.

"He picked us up from the orphanage and went with us and Uncle to get our school supplies."

"Mr. Prince, I suggest you start calling me Professor Snape from now on if cousin is such a challenge for you," the man snapped with another glare at Samuel.

"Yes sir."

Harry bit his cheeks to keep from laughing nervously as the man gave his young cousin another glare. If Harry had been on the receiving end of such a glare, he would have shrunk, but Samuel didn't seem affected by it.

"Uh, getting your supplies must have been fun. Hagrid went with me," Harry added conversationally, hoping to get away from the glaring.

Samuel shrugged. "Diagon Alley was alright." He paused and suddenly perked up, "Did you notice all the moving displays?"

Harry nodded excitedly. "Yeah. I almost thought it was like those electronic displays in the malls but there weren't any gears."

"Exactly. That was the most fascinating part to me. I wonder what kind of magic let that happen."

"A charm," Professor Snape drawled while reading his book.

"Are you actually reading?" Samuel asked and even moved to his knees to read over the man's shoulder.

Professor Snape leaned away from his cousin. "No, I'm listening for trou—" he cut himself off with a low and annoyed noise. "Mr. Jordan," he practically growled as he snapped his book shut and stormed out of the compartment.

Harry stared at the compartment door for a few seconds. "What just happened?" he asked Samuel.

"Have you heard of those American comics with the spider person?" Samuel asked.

"What?"

Samuel shrugged before pulling something out of a bag. "A friend at the orphanage lent me this—it's stupid but I figured the dobe would like it," Samuel explained. He held out a comic with a man dressed in blue and red with spider-web designs. "Anyways, this character, I guess, can tell when something bad is going to happen before it happens. Not that he's psychic, but just can sense things. I think my Uncle has a similar sense but for mischief."

Harry chuckled slightly before he sobered. "Why do you keep calling Professor Snape Uncle?"

"Because he's old enough to be my uncle not cousin or cousin once removed…" Samuel trailed off and waved his hand.

It was quiet for a moment. "So…um, what was it like in an orphanage?" Harry asked before he realized how mean that could be. "I-I mean, not unless—"

Samuel smirked. "It's fine." Harry almost sighed in relief. Samuel added on after a moment. "Well, the orphanage itself was annoying. I mean the other boys were nice, but the nuns and other adults were annoying and they made us go to church every day." He scowled slightly.

"Do you think your cou—uncle might adopt you?" Harry asked quietly. He went with uncle instead of cousin because Samuel was right, Professor Snape certainly was old enough to be an uncle. Also, Samuel's smile suggested he said the right thing and there was this sort of conspiratorial air to their conversation now. It was sort of exciting!

"Maybe," Samuel commented neutrally, but Harry could tell he really hoped the man would. "I'll probably have to prove to him I'm not some dunderhead," Samuel added with a roll of his eyes.

"Huh? We talkin' about your uncle?" Nathan suddenly asked as he popped into the compartment and sat beside Harry. The train gave another blow of its horn as it began to move away from the station.

"Of course, who else uses the word dunderhead?" Samuel asked sarcastically.

"Ooh! What's this?" Nathan exclaimed as he grabbed the comic Samuel had left out.

"A kid at the orphanage lent it to me. It's stupid, so I figured you like it."

"Oi, you calling me stupid?" Nathan growled but Samuel only smirked. "Bastard," Nathan retorted and Samuel just smirked more. Harry stared in horror at his cousin. How could he just swear like that?

"Dobe," Samuel shot back.

"No fighting," Professor Snape drawled as he walked past their compartment—he didn't even give them a look.

"We weren't fighting," Nathan shouted after him—even standing up to follow. Harry saw Professor Snape turn around slowly and fix Nathan with this almost terrifying look.

"Turn out your pockets," Professor Snape suddenly demanded as he stepped closer to the blonde.

"Why?" Nathan challenged as he stepped out into the hall.

"You know why," the man threatened.

"Really?" Nathan replied again. Several students were now looking out from their compartments at the interaction in the hall.

"Mr. Evans, once you're sorted, you are losing your house ten points for insubordination."

"You gotta have probable cause for me to turn out my pockets."

"So you're not going to use the three stink bombs in your left pocket? Or the two smoke bombs in your right pocket?"

Nathan continued to look defiant before he smiled and took five vials from his pockets.

"And the paint bomb in your breast pocket," Professor Snape drawled as he retrieved the various items. Now Nathan frowned and handed him the item he had in his breast pocket. Professor Snape shook his head and continued his path down the train hallway.

"Bloody hell," someone exclaimed as Nathan sat down beside Harry again.

"Oh, hey Ron!" Nathan greeted with a smile. "You wanna sit with us?" he asked, and the tall redhead almost numbly sat down next to Samuel.

"Do you have a death wish, Nathan?" the redhead asked in disbelief.

"He does," Samuel replied for Nathan who began to get red in the face.

"No I don't!"

"You just stood up to Snape? He's the worst teacher here and you just got on his bad side."

"I'm pretty sure Uncle has awards in teaching," Samuel commented. Ron looked at Samuel surprised.

"Cousin, Mr. Prince," Professor Snape commented as he walked by their compartment again. He stopped and faced them. The redhead went pale and seemed to shrink into his seat. "No fighting with Mr. Evans. If you two do, I will know and you will have detention with me, understood," he stated. Nathan and Samuel just stared at him. "If I have to come back here, I will take points from all of your future houses, so Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, keep them in check."

Harry could only nod numbly as the man closed their compartment doors and continued walking back up the train.

"I swear, he can read minds," Nathan said.

"At this point, I think I agree with you, dobe," Samuel added. "He might have guessed you'd have pranks in your pockets but how would he know which was in which pocket?"

Nathan nodded solemnly. "Maybe we should research if mind-reading is a thing and if we can protect ourselves from it?"

"Agreed."

"Then we can prank your uncle," Nathan added with a mischievous smile.

Samuel gave a smirk of his own. "Definitely."

"You two are insane," Ron exclaimed. Harry had to agree, but the boys in question just shrugged.

"Anyways, Ron, how was the rest of your summer. Did you get to fly to the muggle town?" Nathan asked the redhead.

"No. Mum found out and locked all our brooms up for the entire summer," he complained and even scuffed his foot against the floor.

"Percy ratted you out, didn't he?" Nathan asked. Ron's look soured even more.

"Perfect Percy who's now a Prefect." Ron sighed.

"Dobe, aren't you going to introduce us?" Samuel suddenly asked, but it came out like a critique.

Nathan glared at him before smiling. "That bastard's Samuel, this is my cousin Harry, and that's Ron."

"Wait…Harry and he said your last name was Potter?" Ron mumbled before his eyes widened in shock. "You're Harry Potter?" he asked almost excitedly. Harry shifted a little uncomfortably. The awe people reacted to him with was still uncomfortable—at least Mr. Lupin hadn't acted that way or Nathan…or Samuel. Maybe he was smart to have followed them to their compartment.

"Uh, yeah, I am him—er, I mean that's me."

"Bloody hell…" Ron whispered again before his gaze shifted to Nathan. "Wait, did you say cousin? You're cousins?" he asked them both again.

"Yeah, his mum and my mum were sisters but they got separated, and his mum went to live with their uncle."

"Huh?" This was news to Harry. "I always thought Aunt Petunia was my only relative. How do you know how we're related?"

Nathan frowned. "Apparently grandma wasn't a good parent and so the government or something took your mum out of her care and grandma's brother took your mum in. He already had a daughter, probably the aunt you're talking about.

"As for my mum," Nathan began with a sigh, "apparently she was born after your mum got taken away, so it was a few years before the government took my mum out of grandma's care. Then my mum went from one orphanage to another before she had me…" Nathan trailed off and frowned at his lap.

"But you're at an orphanage?" Ron asked confused, and Nathan flinched.

"I killed my mum."

Harry was at a loss for words and just stared at his cousin in disbelief.

"Dobe, if she died in childbirth, it's not your fault," Samuel stated in a clipped voice.

Nathan just looked down at his lap. "That's not what the matrons always said."

"And what does that Lupin guy say? He's going to adopt you right, you think he'd adopt you if he actually thought what you think?" Samuel almost sounded angry.

Nathan bit his lip and looked at his lap again. Samuel scoffed. "You really are the biggest idiot in the world if you believe what those matrons said." Nathan's face contorted and started to turn red.

"I'm not an idiot, bastard!" Nathan shouted but he seemed to be over his upset mood.

"Thank you for explaining how we're related, Nathan," Harry whispered a little guiltily. It was his fault they got onto that topic.

Nathan looked over at him and blinked a few times. "Huh?"

"Hey, dobe, what was your orphanage like. Did they make you go to church?" Samuel asked and the blonde launched into an explanation of what his orphanage was like. Harry almost wished he could have lived in one like Nathan.

"Hey, Nathan," Ron began as Nathan's story was winding down. "When my family kept visiting you, was it so we could…could adopt you?"

Nathan's expression went a bit blank and it alarmed Harry. "I don't know." That was a lie, and even Ron could tell.

Ron's face started to get red and it looked like he was about to argue when their compartment door slid abruptly open. A large man with white hair was suddenly shoved into their compartment.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Professor Snape was in the compartment doorway and yelling in some strange language at the large white-haired man. "I vouched for you, said you could be trusted around children. And yes, Jiraiya those girls you were spying on were children!

"You are a Sannin, so start acting like a professional, damn it!" Professor Snape's arms were trembling at his sides as he glared at the large man who just stared back in alarm.

Professor Snape closed his eyes and took a calming breath before he spoke again in that language. "I swear to every god, you do something so reckless and inappropriate again, and I will put you through your own personal hell for as many 72 hour increments as I can. Maybe your mind will survive intact, but who knows." Professor Snape's voice was low, so low he sounded like a completely different person. He even gave the white haired man a slow, almost cruel looking smile.

The smile faded as the man straightened and pulled out his wand. "You will be their chaperone now, and won't be leaving this compartment until the train stops. Understood?" The man waved his wand and said a number of spells before he left with a swirl of his robes.

It was silent for a moment as the white haired man stared at the still open compartment doorway.

"That was so badass!" Nathan exclaimed as he shot up from his seat. "Your uncle is so cool," he announced to Samuel who was smirking slightly. "Did you guys hear how low his voice got!?" Nathan asked Harry and Ron.

"He was all like: 'I am very disappointed in you,'" Nathan mimicked the low tone Professor Snape used.

"No, it was more like: 'If you ever do that again, I will skin you alive,'" Samuel mimicked the professor.

The white haired man sighed heavily and seemed to snap out of whatever surprise he had been in. He began muttering something under his breath in that language Professor Snape had been using. Nathan and Samuel continued to imitate Professor Snape with different threats in English. The white haired man then started to walk toward the open compartment door but jolted away from it like he had been shocked.

"Damn brat," the white haired man cursed in English as he started to touch the compartment entryway like there was an invisible barrier. That broke up the imitation game between Samuel and Nathan.

"Hey, Hey, Mister?" Nathan called for the white haired man's attention. He glanced at the blonde before turning back to the compartment entryway.

"What brat?"

"What's your name? Are you a teacher? What'd you do to get Snape-guy so angry?"

The man poked at the air again and hissed before looking over at Ron. "Move," he ordered. Ron hastily slid closer to Samuel, and the old man then plopped down on the vacated area.

"Damn brat locks me in here with you," the white haired man said with a scowl. Harry noticed the man had these red lines that went down from his face, almost like tear tracks. He also had a lot of hair. His hair was as long as him and just as wide.

"Why would my uncle do that?" Samuel asked with a sort of smirk on his face.

The man pouted and looked away as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Brat needs to get shagged before stick in his ass turns to tree," he groused instead. Harry stared in horror at the old man while Samuel, Ron, and Nathan snorted. "He doesn't know what fun is."

"Huh, maybe the stick thing is genetic, neh, Samuel?" Nathan suddenly teased.

"Do you even know what shagging means?" he asked the blonde who just blinked. Harry wasn't entirely sure he knew either. Ron's face just got really red before he went suddenly pale.

"So you know?" Nathan challenged.

"Yeah, the older boys kept talking about it. It means sex, dobe," Samuel said with a superior sort of air.

"Ew!" Nathan exclaimed and sat down again. "You some kinda pervert, Mister?" Nathan basically yelled at the white haired guy.

"Oi, I'm teaching here—show respect," the old man yelled back at Nathan.

"Oh yeah? Whatchya teaching?"

"Combat training for defensive arts," the man replied. His accent was fairly thick but he was understandable.

"What's your name professor?" Samuel asked before Harry's cousin could start arguing with the man.

"Jiraiya of the Great Toads."

Nathan laughed a little. "Do we call you Professor Great Toads?" Harry shared a horrified look with Ron. What was wrong with Nathan? Did he have to insult all their teachers?

The white-haired man narrowed his eyes dangerously for a moment before he barked in laughter. "You brat, I like you." Nathan gave a cheeky smile in return. However, the white haired man's expression sobered quickly. "But no, you don't talk to your teacher like that. Understood?" he asked the blonde, but it was more like a threat.

Nathan practically deflated and began to sulk as he responded with an affirmative. Samuel smirked, and Harry was starting to think that while the two boys were friends, they liked to rile each other up.

"Ah, Professor Jiraiya," Harry stumbled over the name, "what exactly is this combat training?"

The white-haired man began to beam. "Wizards fight stupidly," he stated and Ron spluttered. "I…will," he seemed to be puzzling over whether that was the correct verb to use, "teach you how to move and use environment when protecting self."

"That sounds a bit…advanced," Ron piped in with a frown. "Is it only for upper years?"

Professor Jiraiya shook his head. "No, anyone can try, but they must pass qualifiers."

"Qualifiers?" Harry questioned along with Ron. Samuel and Nathan just shrugged.

"This combat training require physical fitness," Professor Jiraiya explained in an off-handed manner while dropping the s from requires.

"Sounds fun," Nathan exclaimed with a determined sort of smile on his face. Samuel smirked, Ron just paled, and Professor Jiraiya chuckled.

Their conversation began to lull after that, and Harry wondered what he could talk about. It was clear Professor Jiraiya was done talking because he pulled out this book. Harry read the spine but was confused; what was metaphysics and what did it have to do with astronomy?

Nathan got fidgety until his attention was drawn back to the comic he still held onto. "Have you seen any of these before?" Nathan asked Harry as he began to open it from the back.

"Uh, I think you read them this way," Harry stated as he gently helped the blonde get to the first page. He had seen some comics Dudley had gotten as presents, but Harry had never gotten to hold one.

While Harry started to read the comic with his cousin—a cousin who wasn't Dudley!—Ron looked over at Samuel.

"Uh, so is Snape really your uncle?" Ron asked nervously.

Samuel was staring out the train window but shrugged. "My grandmother was his aunt, so…" he trailed off.

Ron fidgeted. "So…everyone says Snape is like a vampire and people call him a dungeon bat…"

Samuel raised an eyebrow. "Is there question somewhere?"

Ron felt his face flush up to his ears. "Well, is that all true? Is he any different when he's not teaching?"

"He's not a vampire or a bat," Samuel deadpanned. Ron gave the boy an exasperated look.

"But does he ever, I dunno, be nice?"

"No," Samuel quickly replied but there was a twitch to his lips that made Ron frown.

"You're teasing me, aren't you?" Ron couldn't help but feel embarrassed and a bit angry. Samuel just shrugged again.

"Hey, are you being a bastard again?" Nathan suddenly yelled.

"Are you being an idiot?" Samuel shot back.

Didn't Snape say they couldn't let these two get in a fight?! Ron quickly stood up between them. "Hey, so what houses do you think you'll be in?" he asked as he used himself as a wall of sorts.

"Hagrid told me a little about them. How many Houses are there?" Harry asked quietly from behind Ron. Oh right, he was blocking everyone else too.

Ron quickly sat back down. "You know Hagrid, the gamekeeper?"

Harry nodded while smiling, "He took me to get my Hogwarts supplies."

"I heard he's huge," Ron began. He recalled stories from Charlie about the man's love of all magical creatures, especially the more dangerous ones.

"He's really tall, but he's very nice. He even got me my owl, Hedwig, for my birthday!" Harry looked very excited about it, but Ron almost couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. He didn't get a new pet for his birthday.

"What's he like?" Nathan asked excitedly.

"She, Hedwig is a girl owl," Harry corrected. "She's really smart and I like to think she's a bit protective. I really like her. She's the first present I've ever been given," Harry whispered as he looked down at his lap bashfully.

"Yeah?" Nathan murmured back as he leaned into Harry's side. "It's always special when someone does that, isn't it," he whispered. "I can list the gifts people have given me on one hand."

"Really?" Harry asked surprised—the sort of surprised one gets when someone has experienced the same thing as them. Ron's stomach sort of dropped. Who wouldn't give Harry Potter gifts on his birthday?

"This old man at one of the orphanages gave me this frog—or maybe it was toad?—anyways, this frog sleeping cap and a wallet. He would also treat me to ramen…" Nathan trailed off and there was a sort of bitter sweet smile on his face. "I miss that old man." Ron noticed Professor Jiraiya looked over at Nathan almost pained but not at the same time.

"He sounds really great," Harry whispered back, and Ron couldn't help but feel like he was intruding on some moment.

"He is," Nathan agreed with a brighter smile. "I wanna be like him when I grow up."

"I don't know, dobe, you'd actually have to use your brain to be a functioning adult," Samuel drawled.

"Are you calling me stupid again, you bastard!" Ron almost found it funny how Nathan's demeanor immediately switched.

Samuel smirked again and stared out the train window. "Just returning the favor," he drawled.

Nathan frowned in confusion before his face contorted in annoyance. "Oi, I wasn't being all broody like you!"

"I thought you said I was the expert at broodiness, so if I think you were being broody then, well, you must have been."

"Or maybe your delu-delus—Harry what's the word I'm thinking of?!" Nathan exclaimed and practically hung off the other boy's shoulder.

"Delusional?" Harry asked uncertain.

"Yeah, that word!"

"Whatever," Samuel replied and continued looking out the window, but he was still smirking a little bit.

"Ignore him, he's just a broody bastard," Nathan whispered but it wasn't much of a whisper.

"Nathan, should you be swearing so much, especially around a teacher?" Harry asked with a nervous look toward the white haired man.

Nathan just shrugged.

"Ron," Samuel suddenly addressed him. "What were you going to say about Houses before we got…sidetracked?"

"Oh, right," Ron laughed a little awkwardly. "Well, there's four houses. They determine what dorms we'll live in and who we'll be taking classes with," Ron explained since it seemed like all the boys in the compartment were muggle-raised—even Harry Potter! Then again, it seemed a lot of Ron's expectations about Harry Potter were quickly proven wrong.

"There's Gryffindor which is the house for the brave and is the best house. Everyone in my family's been in Gryffindor," Ron informed with his chest slightly puffed out. Samuel scoffed slightly.

"That's a bit biased," he remarked.

Ron frowned. "It's true. Hufflepuff is for the hardworking, but they're usually too afraid to do anything exciting. Then there's Ravenclaw which is for thinkers, but they're usually always so wrapped up in their heads. Then there's Slytherin which is for the ambitious, but a lot of the people there go dark."

"Right, Hagrid said something like: 'There hasn't been a single witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin.'"

Samuel gave them both an unimpressed look. "Exactly, that's a very biased summary."

"Yeah, Hufflepuff sounds pretty good," Nathan commented. "I mean, I work hard for everything I do so it'd be cool to be around other hard workers."

Samuel scoffed. "You're too brash to fit in with them, you're definitely going in Gryffindor."

"And you're too"—Nathan waved his hand spastically—"to be in Ravenclaw, which means Slytherin."

"True," Samuel said with a sigh before smirking, "but Uncle says they have individual rooms so I won't complain if I do get sorted there."

Nathan snorted. "Planning to ignore all your classmates?"

"Of course. Like any of them would want to associate with someone practically muggle-born."

Ron looked over at Samuel surprised. He hadn't thought what it might be like for someone not pureblood to get sorted into that house.

"Maybe you should try for Ravenclaw. After all, Voldemort was from Slytherin," Harry suggested genuinely, but Ron practically jumped.

"Y-you said his name!" he exclaimed.

"Probably, but I doubt being related to Uncle will win me much favors with any other house." Samuel replied as if not noticing the Boy-Who-Lived just said You-Know-Who's name!

"I might as well wade through the snakes who'd be too cautious to bite than the ravens who'd pluck my eyes out." Samuel drawled as he looked back out of the train window. "Besides, I imagine it will give me practice handling the less obvious Voldemort worshipers." Ron recoiled from Samuel as he said the name too.

"Hey, hey, isn't his name French?" Nathan asked excited, and Ron was slightly relieved for the change in topic.

Samuel furrowed his brow. "How would you know?"

"Oh, one of the matrons was reading me this book, Little Prince, in French. The little prince flew in this rocket ship, and he was afraid his flower would die. So fly is the word vol and death is mort, and then de I think is like from or of or to, I dunno, some preposition."

"You learned French just from being read a story?" Harry asked amazed, even Ron was impressed.

"It's similar to Latin," Samuel suddenly commented with his brow furrowed.

"Because Latin is the root language," someone drawled from the open doorway. It was Snape. "It is also used in most spells," he added as sat down next to Nathan who scooched closer to Harry. Ron just kind of froze. Their compartment was getting pretty crowded.

"You should eat, boys. Did your matrons pack lunches for you?" Snape asked with a disdainful look. Ron blinked several times. Snape just showed some care for students—or-or maybe Ron was imagining things?

Nathan and Samuel pulled out brown paper bags, and Ron fidgeted with his own bag of corned-beef sandwiches.

"Mr. Potter, where is your lunch?" Snape asked in a harsh voice. It made Ron flinch a little.

"Uh, I forgot one, sir?" Harry stuttered, and Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Mr. Potter, I advise you not to lie to your teachers," he practically sneered. "Mr. Prince, give Mr. Potter your lunch, you may have this idiot's lunch instead." Snape shot a glare at the white-haired professor who looked up with suddenly wide eyes.

"Ah, it's okay sir—" Harry began to protest but the other teacher spoke over him.

"What? You can't give my lunch away!" the white haired man exclaimed, and Snape just gave this smirk.

"Consider it added punishment. Besides, I'm sure you have rations on you. Enjoy those," Snape said in a cruel sort of way. He then handed Samuel one of the boxes Ron just noticed he was carrying. Samuel practically threw his paper bag lunch at Harry as he hastily took the lid off.

"You are the greatest uncle," Samuel murmured as he stared down at the box. Ron frowned. It was a bunch of rice and vegetables, and was that fish? Ron was starting to feel better about his corned beef sandwiches.

"Don't make me regret my decision, Mr. Prince," Snape practically growled. The professor Jiraiya made a pained look.

"You shouldn't treat elders like this," he exclaimed with crocodile tears in his eyes. Snape rolled his eyes.

"Please, you're not even fifty yet."

"I am old enough to be your father," the white-haired man retorted a bit awkwardly as he worked over the words.

Snape just gave him a blank look, and the older man began to deflate. This conversation was like watching Fred and George bat bludgers back and forth.

"Ah, Professor Jiraiya, Professor Snape, I really don't need a lunch—"

"Nonsense," Jiraiya-guy interrupted dismissively. "You are growing. I just giving this damn brat hard time." The man frowned again. "A hard time?" he seemed to ask Snape.

"Yes, you forgot the article but you also forgot a verb. You should have said, 'I am just giving,'" Snape intoned before he glared at the older man. "Need I remind you, as a professor you must refrain from swearing in front of students?"

Jiraiya just waved his hand dismissively and pulled out some kind of wrapped food-bar from his pocket. He scowled as he unwrapped it and took a bite. He swallowed and it looked to Ron like it took effort. "I learn my lesson," the white haired man grumbled. "I will not do any more research while a teacher."

"I'll make sure the ghosts keep a close eye on you to make sure you follow through," Snape threatened before he grabbed these sticks and began to pick at the rice and stuff in his box.

"Okay, let's eat," Nathan exclaimed as he pulled a sandwich out of his bag. "Go on Harry, Professor Jiraiya said you could." Ron glanced over to Harry who looked very uncomfortable, but then Samuel was already eating the rice in his box with sticks too. Ron shrugged when Harry looked over at him.

"Thank you for your lunch, Samuel," Harry mumbled as he pulled out a sandwich. "And Professor Jiraiya, I—"

"Not a problem brat," the white haired man stated with a wave of his hand before he finished the bar he was eating. It was like brat was a term he used for all people younger than him.

"Is that fried pork belly and tempura shrimp?" Nathan asked almost breathily. He was kneeling on the bench and peering down into Snape's lunch.

"Mr. Evans, please seat yourself before you drool on my lunch and spread your stupidity," he snapped. Ron shifted further into his seat.

"Here dobe," Samuel said as he held out what looked like some battered shrimp on the sticks.

"I take back every time I've called you a bastard!" Nathan exclaimed as he quickly grabbed the shrimp from the other boy.

"Mr. Evans, the swearing rule applies to you too," Snape growled in disapproval, but Nathan was ignoring him.

"Neh, Harry, you wanna try some?"

"Ah…" Harry fidgeted.

"I don't particularly like tempura shrimp, so if you'd like to try," Samuel offered to Harry and Ron. Snape sent Samuel this baleful look.

"Ah, thanks but I'm not a seafood person," Ron mumbled and quickly took a bite of one of his corned beef sandwiches.

"You gotta try one, Harry. Tempura shrimp is so good. Not as good as ramen and tempura shrimp—"

"Take the shrimp before he goes on a ramen rant," Samuel said hastily as he practically shoved another shrimp in Harry's face.

Nathan gave Samuel and affronted look but Harry accepted the shrimp and ate it slowly.

"Neh, Ron, watchya eating?" Nathan asked as he settled down and took a bite of his own sandwich.

Ron fidgeted. "Corned beef sandwiches. Mum always forgets I don't like them."

"I've never had corned beef," Nathan said. "Can I try a little?" Ron shrugged and handed over one of the untouched sandwiches. The blonde pulled out one of the slices of beef before handing the sandwich back to Ron. It was comical how wide Nathan's eyes got as he tried the beef.

"This is pretty good," he muttered around his food before holding a little out to Harry too.

"Mr. Evans, please eat with your mouth closed like a civilized person." Snape was definitely as intimidating as his brothers had said, but Nathan just turned to him and exaggeratedly ate the rest of his own sandwich with his mouth open while Harry nibbled on the offered corned beef. Ron could have sworn a muscle twitched under Snape's eye.

"You are a spiteful little…" Snape trailed off, closed his eyes, and took a calming breath. "Keep this up and you will have detention with me before you even step foot in the castle."

Nathan just shrugged, so Snape turned to Ron. "Mr. Weasley, I am sure your brothers have related tales of detention with me. Care to enlighten Mr. Evans?" he drawled.

Ron gulped. "Uh…" Was he serious? Snape just looked at him and Ron quickly bowed his head. "Uh, lots of cleaning old cauldrons without magic. Charlie said they smell bad enough you could be sick. Fred and George have had to clean lots of cauldrons but also write lines while uh…" Ron trailed off.

"While I make a very disgusting smelling potion," Snape ended the description. "I do try to tailor the punishment to match the student. I doubt menial tasks such as that would have much of an impact on you," he commented with a sneer directed at Nathan. "Perhaps a punishment of a more intellectual pursuit will work best for you."

Ron swallowed for Nathan who continued to stare defiantly up at Snape. There was a clattering from the hall that broke the tension.

"Anything from the Trolley…" the witch manning the trolley trailed off at the sight of Snape. "Oh, professor, are you chaperoning?" she asked a little awkwardly. He just nodded while the white haired guy glared at Snape.

"You knew this would come by and still gave my lunch away even though Shima's son could have bought his lunch from here," Professor Jiraiya said something in a low tone in that other language. Snape just smirked in an almost evil way. "Damn brat," professor Jiraiya added after seeing the smirk. Ron imagined it was a curse word.

Harry ducked his head again as the Trolley quickly moved on. "I…If I had known about the Trolley I wouldn't have—" Harry began apologetically before he was interrupted again.

"This brat knew," professor Jiraiya practically snarled at Snape. "It's his fault."

"No, it's your fault for acting so unprofessional," Snape retorted evenly. He was starting to finish his lunch. "I needed to teach you a lesson, and an opportunity arose."

"And you said I'm spiteful," Nathan mumbled which earned him a glare from Snape.

"You will have detention with me after dinner tomorrow, and I will deduct another five points from whatever house you end up in."

Ron had never heard of anyone losing house points before the term even started! He was starting to hope Nathan didn't get sorted into Gryffindor.

Snape finished his lunch, boxed it up again, and then left the compartment for what had to be rounds. Fortunately, he closed the compartment door behind him this time. When they couldn't hear him walking anymore, Nathan began to smirk and…

"How'd you get that back?!" Ron exclaimed in shock.

"I'm just that good," Nathan boasted as he moved a vial between his fingers like Fred and George sometimes did with a kunt.

"You only picked one?" Samuel scoffed.

"Nah, I picked three of them, and this mini spider!" the boy exclaimed as he emptied his pockets, and sure enough there was a small but very hairy spider on Nathan's hand. Ron crawled up the chair and began to shake.

"D-did you just pickpocket a teacher, in front of another teacher?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Impressive, brat," professor Jiraiya muttered before pulling out his book again. What? No reprimand?

"You are insane," Ron muttered in disbelief as he looked at a beaming blonde. "And put that away already!" he exclaimed rather high pitched. He had even started to move so Samuel was a shield against the terrifying creature.

"I probably could have picked all of them," Samuel commented as Ron tried to hide behind him "Dobe, just put that away already." Samuel used his body to shove Ron back into the seat as he closed his lunch box.

The blonde made a face and opened the compartment door before setting the spider out in the hallway. "Oh yeah? How would you manage that? Give him a hug?" Nathan taunted as he sat back down.

Samuel scoffed. "Please, I'm more subtle than that." He then pulled something out of his pocket. "I picked this off of Uncle while he was 'reading.'" Ron stared in disbelief at the key the boy now held in his hand.

"You think he's just letting us pick his pockets and he knows every time we do it?" Nathan asked with a thoughtful expression.

"He is a mind reader," Samuel drawled.

"We really need to learn how to protect ourselves from that. You two in too?" Nathan asked Ron and Harry.

"What?"

"They're in," Nathan exclaimed, even though neither Ron nor Harry had said anything beyond a confused, what?

"Hey, Ron, how are your brothers? Uh, the dragon one and the…bank one?" Nathan gave a sheepish smile.

"Charlie and Bill," Ron replied with a sigh.

"Five brothers? That must be really nice," Harry commented with a genuine smile.

"Not really. See, Bill was Headboy and now he works on curse breaking with Gringotts. Charlie was the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and now he's off in Romania looking over dragons. Perfect Percy's now a Prefect, which Mum is over the moon about. Then Fred and George mess around a lot but they still get really good grades. I'm the sixth to go to Hogwarts, so if do as good as the others, it's no big deal because they've already done it all." Ron fidgeted at the sleeves of Bill's old robes and wrinkled his nose.

"You forgot Ginny," Nathan piped up. "She's obsessed with you, Harry. It's creepy."

Harry shifted in discomfort and Ron blushed. "Nathan!" Oh Ginny was going to be so mad!

Nathan shrugged. "What? She couldn't stop talking to you and me about how Harry Potter's going to start school this year, and how he's gonna be in our year." Nathan then snickered. "I wonder how many fangirls you have," Nathan teased Harry who blushed even more.

"I know strategies for dealing with them if you need help," Samuel offered Harry, although he was now looking out the window.

"Really, how'd those strategies work out for ya?" Nathan asked, like it was an inside joke. Ron saw a muscle under Samuel's eye twitch. Nathan laughed a little and their conversation lulled for a moment.

"Uh, Ron," Harry began after a moment, he looked a bit confused. "Hagrid mentioned Quidditch is the wizarding world's biggest sport, but he didn't really explain it."

Ron perked up. Quidditch he could talk for ages on, and he did until their compartment door was knocked and opened.

A tearful, round faced boy was in the door. "Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" They all shook their heads and the boy began to wail. "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"\

Jiraiya looked up from his book. "Toad missing?" he asked, and the boy nodded tearfully.

"He'll turn up," Harry encouraged but Nathan stood to his feet.

"I'll help you find him! Neh, pervy-teacher-guy, you have any toad bait?" the blonde asked the Jiraiya-guy.

The white haired man bristled at the insults before he looked over at the now hopeful round-faced boy. He sighed and dug into his robes. "Here, but you call me Professor from now on!" he told Nathan.

"Right, Professor-Pervy-guy!" Nathan called as he raced out the door with the boy right behind him.

Naruto quickly slung an arm around the round-faced boy's shoulders. "Hi, I'm Nathan," he greeted.

"Neville" the boy replied nervously. "Thank you," he whispered as they went down to the next compartment.

They knocked and Neville asked if anyone had seen his toad. The kids in the compartment just shook their heads.

"You're looking for a toad, I could help," someone said further down the corridor. It was a girl with really big, bushy brown hair and a voice that reminded Naruto of Sakura when she was talking about rules.

"Yeah, I'm helping Neville look for his toad. We even got some toad bait!" Naruto then held out his free hand to her. "Nathan Evans," he greeted.

"Hermione Granger," she returned the greeting and shook his hand. She then looked over at Neville. "Neville, you don't mind that I help too?" she asked but didn't ask. It made Naruto think of Sakura with her fanclub and he couldn't help but snicker, especially when Neville was pulled along back to Naruto's original compartment.

"We already asked there," Naruto explained before she could knock. Hermione blinked a few times and turned to the stunned and nervous Neville.

"Oh you have? Where did you start your search?" she asked.

Neville swallowed nervously. "I-I started at the back, where I was seated."

"So you've already checked all of these compartments. Alright then. We should probably split up a little so we can cover more ground," Hermione stated with her hands on her hips. That was a lot like Sakura when she wasn't calling him an idiot or punching him. He missed her, even if he didn't miss the punches.

Naruto looked down at the bait in his hands. "Sounds fair," he agreed. He wondered if Hermione would get angry like Sakura would.

"We should each take a little of this to help," Naruto added as he held out the bait—it looked more like rotten algae than anything. If this was Sakura she'd rear back, slap his hands away from her, and call him an idiot. Hermione did make a face and step away from it, but she hadn't acted violently so far.

"I mean…" Naruto began slyly, "unless you're grossed out." Naruto shrugged and watched the girl closely. Would she yell at him, would she punch him, would she—nope, she just got a determined look in her eyes from the teasing and raised her chin up a bit.

"Is this really toad bait?" she asked like she expected a prank. Ooh, it was like she already knew him!

"Yeah, Professor Jiraiya is a toad expert and he handed it to me."

"There's a professor on the train?" the girl asked with wide excited eyes. Hmm, that was a bit more excited than Sakura ever got about teachers. He tended to notice she was just nice and excited about teachers when they were around and could make her look good in front of the teme. Hermione, however, genuinely looked excited to hear about a teacher.

"Two," Naruto corrected. Hermione looked thrilled—so weird but kinda cool.

"C-can we keep looking for my toad, what if someone steps on him?" Neville's voice was trembling.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto gave a sheepish laugh, he was supposed to help Neville. Naruto still couldn't help but look back at this girl.

"So…?" Naruto coaxed as he held out the bait; Neville quickly took some and smeared it between his fingers. Hermione wrinkled her nose but also took some of the bait. With the remainders, Naruto smeared the bait over his fingers and they each split up to knock on different compartment doors. Perhaps three or four minutes later, Hermione gave a startled cry.

Naruto and Neville rushed over, and sure enough, Hermione had toad in her hands. "Trevor!" Neville cried in relief. The toad was eating at the bait in her hands, but, when Neville reached out, the toad jumped straight into his hands and began to settle down. Neville made a face when his toad began licking his fingers.

"Thank you both so much!" Neville cried before running back to his compartment near the back of the train. Hermione blinked before dropping the remaining bait she held into Naruto's hands. She even moved like she was about to wipe of her hands on her school robes but then stopped.

"You can use my shirt," Naruto offered and she looked startled.

"Are you sure? It'll get dirty. I should just got to a lavatory."

"I'm just gonna change out of it anyways, and the lavatories are at the middle of the train."

Hermione looked back at him then down at her hands. She breathed through her nose and looked about to gag. "Thank you!" she said quickly as she began wiping her hands off with the end of Naruto's shirt. "And I'll help you clean it!" she offered.

Naruto couldn't help but smile a little. She was really nice and she didn't want to bother anyone. She might have first reminded Naruto of Sakura but she was so different and…he couldn't believe he was thinking this, but Hermione was way cooler and nicer than Sakura.

"I can't believe that actually worked," she muttered as she finished wiping her hands off.

"Well, a toad expert did give us the bait," Naruto reminded her. He wondered if she was gonna go back to her car now and join her friends.

"I don't remember reading anything about toads being especially magical. Some of their body parts are used in potions, but how could someone be an expert?"

"I dunno," he replied a bit surprised she was still staying around. Naruto shrugged and tried to act casual, "It's just how he introduced himself."

"There are really two teachers on the train?" Hermione asked again almost excited. Naruto nodded. "Have you seen them, what do they teach, what are they like?"

Naruto blinked. "Well Professor Jiraiya's gonna teach some class on combat tactics to go with Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"I've read through all the course work, and there was nothing on combat tactics, and why should we know combat tactics?" That was like Sakura but not…

"It sounds like it's an optional class for those who qualify."

"Qualify?" Hermione asked looked a little peaky.

"Well there's gonna be a test to get in the class."

"A test? But we haven't even learned anything yet. Would the spells in the textbooks work? I have tried a few charms and they've all worked, but none of the defensive spells! Will the test be graded? Could it affect our longstanding—"

"Hermione, Hermione," Naruto tried to interrupt her and get her to calm down. He realized why he wanted to keep talking to her, why he was happy she hadn't left already. She was a bit like him—alone, trying to find friends, and nervous—except super smart. Who read the whole course list unless they were really smart!?

She looked over at him with wide eyes but had stopped panicking. Naruto continued speaking, "I'm gonna guess you're a muggle-born too?"

She blinked. "Yes. No one in my family's magic so it was ever such a surprise when I got my Hogwarts letter—and of course my parents have been supportive of it all—"

"That's awesome, what do your parents do?" Naruto interrupted again so the girl could take a breath.

"Why do you keep interrupting me?" she sounded almost angry

"Because you look like you're gonna run out of air. We can just talk ya know. No need to be nervous," Naruto said with his own nervous smile. The girl's face grew a little darker as she blushed.

"I-I'm not nervous!" she blustered.

"I run my mouth when I'm nervous too; I've been called a motor mouth. I guess my mum was a motor-mouth too, at least that's what people who knew her said, and that she'd get really angry sometimes and run her mouth—but then again, I do that too, even if I'm annoyed, or scared, or excited, or don't know what to say, or—"

Hermione began giggling and Naruto smiled a bit sheepishly as he tried to cut his rambling off. "Okay, I'm a little nervous and excited. Magic's real!" she whispered as she moved closer to Naruto.

"I know!" Naruto agreed energetically. "I had no idea 'bout it until all these magic families began visiting me."

"You had visits from magical families? Someone only came to escort me and my family to Hogwarts and it was some ministry official." She seemed less nervous now, and Naruto felt like they could have an actual talk now, but why had he said that? Why didn't Naruto think before he spoke?!

Naruto shrugged and scuffed his foot against the corridor's carpet. Maybe if he said it causally she wouldn't ask more questions? "They were tryin' to adopt me because of my cousin," Naruto whispered with a shrug as he looked around the corridor disinterestedly.

"You're an orphan?" Hermione asked like she was sad for him, but then confusion won out. "Why would they adopt you for your cousin?" She sounded incredulous now.

Shoot! Naruto scuffed his foot again before he began walking down the corridor a bit more. "I dunno," he lied.

Hermione frowned a bit more and followed after him. "Is your cousin an orphan too? Is he or she fame—" she cut herself off as her eyes widened. "Is your cousin Harry Potter?" she whispered after catching up to him. She really was smart to see beneath his lies like that. Naruto just smiled a little and shoved his hands in his pockets—one hand curled around the bait so it wouldn't mess up his pants.

"Hey, I never got to tell you what the test Professor Jiraiya's gonna give is." It was not one of his smoothest redirections but the Pervy-sage was still teaching him.

Hermione's lips pressed together in a displeased line but she didn't press the matter. "How do you know what the test will be? Did he tell you?"

"Sorta," Naruto shrugged. "You know those classes in school where we ran around and played games?"

"Recess?" Hermione guessed.

"No, it was a class but with teachers blowing whistles!" Naruto was blanking on the word for the class, but Hermione finally got his meaning. "Well, basically he's gonna test us on that kind of stuff but it's just for those who sign up. I don't think there will be any spellcasting or anything."

"That still seems…why would he teach children that?" She looked conflicted. Was that a civilian thing?

"Well, why are we taught Defense?" Naruto asked rhetorically, but Hermione opened her mouth to supply her own answer, so he continued on. "We learn it to protect ourselves, yeah? But if we're being attacked do you think that person's gonna let us get a chance to cast spells? We gotta get moving or else we could get hit with spells and stuff." Naruto shrugged again and saw a thoughtful look come over Hermione's face.

"But how likely is it that any of us will ever actually be attacked like that?" she argued quietly. She said she'd read a lot, right? How didn't she know? That really worried him. She was really nice and cool and what if someone—

"There's lots of people who hate us; lots of purebloods who don't want us to have magic. If that dark wizard guy comes back, I wanna be able to protect my precious people."

"But no one would expect children to…" Hermione trailed off with a frown. Is this how all civilians thought? Did they not realize their own importance to the village?

"Kids are the future and they're the softest targets. In every war, if you can't convert the kids…you kill them," Naruto whispered as he thought about some of his lessons from the academy.

"But there's no war?"

"Yet."

Hermione looked away from him and held her arms as if she was cold or…afraid. Naruto winced. He hadn't meant to scare her, he just wanted to keep her safe.

"Ah! Don't mind me! I'm just worried for my cousin, believe it! And Remus told me all about the wizarding war and You-Know-Who and Death Eaters—plus my school term ended with talking about World War II so—"

"Your primary school did a unit on World War II?" she asked in disbelief.

Naruto blinked. "Yeah, some parents complained to the teachers, but we only had the unit because someone vandalized the school with a swasta-thingy the month before."

"What?! That's awful!"

"Yeah. Hey, do you know what the wizarding one's like?" If she didn't know much about the wizarding wars and history of violence toward muggles and muggle-born, then she probably didn't know this stuff either.

"Like You-Know-Who's symbol?"

"That mostly shows when his Death Eaters have killed someone and tells ya who's in his 'inner circle.'" Naruto might have been a little dismissive as he said those things. Oh well. "Nah, I'm talking about Grindelwald's symbol."

"How do you know all of that?"

"Remus," Naruto replied before shifting closer to Hermione. "He figured I ought ta know these things being muggle-born and with who my cousin is."

"But how does he know, and who is he?"

Naruto chuckled. "Remus was a part of the resistance back during the war, still is I think," he whispered and Hermione's eyes widened. It was kind of nice knowing things someone so smart didn't know. It made him feel smart and even needed. He had never felt like that before.

Naruto then registered her second question. "Oh, and he's adopting me, or trying to." Naruto might have been pouting.

"Is he nice otherwise? I mean, he's told you some scary things," Hermione whispered—she looked worried for him. She was worried for him after only knowing him for a like five minutes.

"Yeah," Naruto replied quietly with a fond smile. "He wasn't like the others. I could tell he really cared about me and not just my cousin. He wanted me safe and happy. He never pushed things either."

"But he told you all those-those…" she trailed off and shook her head.

"Because I asked him. I want to keep my cousin safe and he kept telling me I should leave that to the adults, but if I don't know what to look out for well…" Naruto trailed off and shrugged.

"I guess, but that's a lot to put on a person."

"I've carried worse," he reassured her. "But you know, he makes me feel normal, and I'd bet he'll make my cousin feel like a normal kid too."

They were just going into another car when they both pressed back against the walls as several kids began racing down the hall. Hermione huffed loudly. "Honestly, they're being so childish and loud!"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "We're kids we gotta be!"

"But we're almost at school and they're acting crazy." Hermione had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Ya know, no one's gonna judge if you run around too," Naruto began slyly.

Hermione practically flinched back. "What? No! I'd never act so—"

"Tag!" Naruto exclaimed as he tapped Hermione on the forehead. Her eyes widened, so he began to walk backwards away from her. She gapped at him for a moment and he smiled encouragingly. She looked around quickly and then raced after him. Naruto mostly just dodged her attempts to tag him, which both amused and frustrated the girl.

"Nathan!"

Naruto let her tag him and she smiled triumphantly before starting to jog a little further down the corridor. Naruto playfully chased after her. Once they had tagged each other a few times, Hermione starting laughing and breathing with exertion.

"See, it's good to let yourself be a kid, yeah?" Naruto was leaning with Hermione against a compartment wall. Hermione nodded but he could tell she was embarrassed to agree with him.

"Did…did you know…" she trailed off and shook her head in embarrassment again.

"I never got to play like that until I came to this last orphanage, so I know what it's like to be left out," Naruto confessed with a sad smile. Hermione looked over at him surprised.

"I-I wasn't left out," she lied. "I didn't want to look foolish like them."

"It's okay; I've been there too," he reassured her. Hermione looked more embarrassed but she didn't runaway yet. "Kids can be mean," Naruto whispered. "You either act like it doesn't bother you, like you're better than their games and taunts, or you make it so others can't ignore you." Naruto flashed Hermione a smile. "I liked doing the other one, even if it got me in trouble."

"I could never do that."

"It was my, uh, what's that word. Um, define? No…" Ugh languages were so hard still!

"Defiance?" Hermione suggested.

"Yeah! That's it. It was my defiance to all the hurtful things others said."

Hermione fidgeted with her hair a little self-consciously. She was about to say something when a voice sounded through the whole train alerting them they would be arriving soon and to leave their luggage on the train.

"What?! Five minutes. Oh you better go change!" Hermione motioned for him to head back to his compartment.

"Okay. Hopefully we can talk again after we get sorted!" Naruto called as he hurried back to his compartment. Everyone else was already in their robes. Eh, so he wouldn't get to change his shirt? Oh well. He quickly handed Jiraiya his toad bait back.

"Did you get lost, idiot?" the teme asked as Naruto shoved his robes over his head.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the other boy when he got his head through. "No! I was making a new friend."

The teme rolled his eyes, and Naruto smiled mischievously. "Are you jealous?" Naruto teased.

The teme scoffed. "As if I would be jealous, dobe."

"Bastard."

"Can you two please not fight," Ron practically whined.

"We're not fighting," Naruto and the teme responded in unison. Ron and Harry just shook their heads.

The train was slowing down and so they all began to file into the corridor with the other students. Once the train came to a full stop, they all went onto the Hogwarts Platform.

"Firs' Years over here! Firs' Years!" Someone was yelling. "Alright there Harry?" the person yelling asked. Naruto watched his cousin smile and began to make his way through the students toward a bobbing lantern. He followed and the teme followed behind him.

They were walking through some trail in the middle of a forest. The forest was so dense, Naruto couldn't see the night sky or that far ahead of him. It sort of reminded him of running through the training grounds. On reflex, Naruto caught Ron as he began tripping over a root and the redhead mumbled a thanks.

"Alright, you'll be gettin' yer firs sight of Hogwarts around the bend," their guide yelled. The man was huge from what Naruto could tell. He was taller than anyone he had ever seen before and at least two times as wide. He also had more hair than Jiraiya, which was so weird.

Of course, these thoughts fled him when he saw the castle. It wasn't like the castles he was used to, but he could still feel a sort of reverence for it. Towers, turrets, arrow-slits, gargoyles, statues, and dimly flicker lights from various windows. The starry sky behind the castle was breathtaking too.

"Dobe," the teme called his attention. Oh, they were moving again!

"Don't call me that," he hissed at the Uchiha. Sasuke didn't respond but then they were quickly arriving at some docks.

There was a small fleet of boats that could fit about four people to one. Naruto have a sheepish smile toward Hermione and Neville as he climbed into a boat with his cousin, Ron, and the teme. They smiled back at him as they went into a boat with identical looking girls.

The giant man made a command and suddenly all the boats began to move forward. Naruto looked over the side of the boat, but the lake was dark like ink. The boats seemed to slide over the lake like it was glass and the castle just got bigger ahead of them. By the time they arrived at a boat house, Naruto was completely in awe, as was the teme—he could tell.

The giant man ushered them up into a hallway that had a lot of big, double doors. In the hall stood a woman wearing emerald green robes. She had her hair pulled in tight bun, and she seemed like she wouldn't be any fun.

"Thank you Hagrid," the woman nodded to the giant man. Oh so his name was Hagrid, cool.

Hagrid shuffled off somewhere, and the lady directed her attention to all of them. "Welcome students to your first year at Hogwarts. I am Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. I will be teaching each of you transfiguration, and if you are sorted into Gryffindor, I will be your Head of House.

"We will begin the sorting ceremony shortly. The sorting is an honored and important aspect for your time at Hogwarts. There are four Houses you may be sorted into: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While attending Hogwarts, your House will be like your family. You will take classes with your housemates, live in the House Dorms, and share each other's successes and failures. At the end of the year, the House Cup is awarded to the House who has accumulated the most house points. House points are awarded based on exemplary behavior, and deducted for troublemaking."

Naruto had gathered as much from when the teme's uncle gave all those threats, but now Harry was looking at Naruto like he had an extra head.

The McGonagall lady ushered them into some small room and told them to 'smarten up'—whatever that meant.

"Hello Nathan," Hermione greeted him once they were all shepherded into the room.

"See, bastard, I was making a new friend!" Naruto shot back to the teme who rolled his eyes.

"I'm so shocked," he drawled.

"Neh, Harry, meet Hermione!" Naruto decided to ignore the teme—he was just jealous Naruto had already made a friend.

Harry shifted a little awkwardly next to him but held out his hand to Hermione who was staring in shock at Naruto. "You just swore," she exclaimed.

"I don't understand why he does it either," Harry whispered as he shook hands with a still slightly stunned Hermione.

"Hey, I just say things like they are," Naruto defended himself.

"Because you're an idiot," the teme retorted.

"Oi!"

"I'm just saying things like they are," Sasuke said mockingly. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him in retaliation.

"Hey! So does anyone know what the sorting will be like?" Ron asked awkwardly, as if he was trying to change the subject so they wouldn't fight.

"We're just as curious as you," Harry replied. "Have your brothers said anything?"

"Fred and George were telling me it's some kind of test."

"It's not," Sasuke drawled.

"Huh?" Everyone, including those in the immediate vicinity eavesdropping turned to him.

"Uncle said they put a hat on you that sifts through all your memories and thoughts," he explained like he was bored, but Naruto caught him make a small sign that he needed to watch out. Right…Kyuubi was his automatic defense to mental intrusions—might give the hat a scare.

"If that's the case, I will throttle my brothers," Ron announced while shaking his head.

"It will see all our memories? Does it talk about it out loud?" Hermione questioned.

Harry just looked pale. Naruto frowned and sidled up next to his cousin. "Is everything alright?" Naruto asked quietly. Harry just looked more worried. "You can tell me," he whispered.

"What if it looks through me and realizes I'm not supposed to be here or something?" Harry whispered back. "Then I'll have to go back—"

There was a startled scream behind them, and someone speaking casually, "I don't understand why we let Peeves run around like that. He's not even a real ghost."

"G-g-g-ghost!" Naruto immediately hid behind the teme and his cousin. There were two floating, transparent people that came out of the wall! Ghosts?! Were they going to take his soul? Would they eat his soul? Rip his face off?

"Oh, Sir Nicholas we've come across the new first years. No need to be afraid of us young ones," the ghost who had a partially bald head said in a kind voice—but he was just saying that so Naruto would let down his guard and he could snatch his soul!

"Are ghosts…common in this world?" the teme asked Ron who was staring at the ghosts now floating into the room.

"Wait, aren't you Nearly Headless Nick? My brothers've told me about you," the redhead said instead of answering the teme's question. The other ghost, the one that had spoken while coming into the room was wearing some kind of samurai armor but with a poufy collar thing.

"Another Weasley?" the armored ghost asked.

"Ron, why are you talking to it?! It's just gonna suck your soul out!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What? Oh, no, we don't do that," the balding ghost assured Naruto and even floated closer to him.

"Forgive my friend, he's a superstitious idiot," Sasuke drawled.

"Hey, you called me your friend," Naruto teased back before the balding ghost floated even closer. "Ahh-Gah!" He jumped back against the wall and began to bat his arms in front of him spastically.

"Now every—Hogwarts Ghosts, could you please go to the Great Hall, the sorting is about to begin." It was the McGonagall lady and the ghosts were listening to her. Thank the Hokage!

McGonagall lady waited until all the ghosts left the room before addressing them again. "First years, please form a neat line. We will head into the Great Hall and begin the sorting ceremony."

Naruto made sure to stand next to his cousin and squeezed his hand encouragingly. With the ghost interruption, he hadn't gotten to respond and he felt bad about that. "You'll be fine," he quickly whispered. Hopefully he would get to go after his cousin, so he could know what House to get into.

As they were ushered into the next room, there were numerous exclamations. There were four long tables running the length of the hall, and a fifth table at the end where faculty sat. Above each table were numerous floating lights, and above that, was the sky!

"The Great Hall ceiling is bewitched to look like the sky outside—I read about it in Hogwarts: A History," Hermione mumbled beside Naruto. That was so cool! Why hadn't the teme's uncle told them all about this?! When Naruto became Hokage, he'd make his office have a ceiling like that!

McGonagall lady was up by the fifth table (the faculty table) where a three-legged stool was. She then pulled out a hat and set it on the stool. Naruto watched with wide eyes as a tear split at the brim of the hat and—it was singing, it was singing!

As it was finishing its song, Ron was scowling a little. "Hey Nathan, will you help me get back at my brothers? They were going on about wrestling a troll."

"Percy, definitely," Naruto replied.

"Fred and George," Ron corrected.

"That might start a prank war."

"You're not really going to prank people, are you Nathan?" Hermione chided beside him.

"I told you, I don't let people ignore me." His response earned him a disappointed look from her, but he caught a sort of gleam in her eyes that said she might find pranks fun if she didn't get caught.

"Abbot, Hannah," McGonagall-lady called while reading off a scroll. It was going alphabetical by last name, great, that way he'd be after Harry.

At least that was until Naruto heard his alias be called. Oh, right, Evans. The teme actually slapped Naruto a little so he'd start walking toward the hat.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. The hat could read your thoughts so he had to be careful the Kyuubi didn't spook it. He wasn't as worried about it exposing them since three ninja had already gone through this process. Okay, he could do this.

Naruto kept his head held up high and began focusing on a mindscape like the elder Uchiha taught him. As he approached the stool, he could see the Kyuubi's cage in his mind's eye. He nearly knocked into the stool but remained focused.

Naruto closed his eyes and began to shift to that mental space as he sat down. By the time he felt the hat fall on top of his head, he was already standing in the sewers.

"What is this? Where am I?" the hat's voice echoed through the black sewer space.

"Hi Sorting Hat," Naruto called into the dark while the Kyuubi huffed behind him. "Oh shut up, furball!"

"Don't speak to me like that human," the demon growled.

"You're the one stuck in a cage!" Naruto shot back before a vaguely humanoid shape began walking out of the darkness. The figure was maybe male, it was hard to tell because they were covered in different rags—it was kind of freaky.

"Where are we?" the rag-person-probably-hat asked.

"You're in my dominion now, artifact," the demon growled. The hat-person literally jumped.

Naruto shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. "Ignore him. He's always grumpy 'cause he's stuck in my gut."

"You gotta see my memories, to sort me, yeah?" Naruto asked the rag-thing. It nodded slightly but seemed terrified by the stupid furball. Naruto rolled his eyes and grabbed the hat's hand and began to lead it down one of the sewer paths.

"I'm surprised you have legs and stuff," Naruto commented as they got further and further away from the demon.

"I am too," it said before looking at its person. "It appears I've taken a human form to walk with you through your memories—so peculiar. I think I look a bit like my creator."

"Your creator was made of rags?"

The hat gave a short laugh. "No, but I have his build."

They were now arriving at a corridor with his memories. "Hey, Sorting Hat, do you have to see all my memories?"

"The ones which make you who you are, but no one knows what memories make such."

"W-will I need to go with you?" He didn't want to experience the orphanages again, or the bullying. He finally had friends, family!

"Will I be brought back to that…creature?" it asked in return.

Naruto shrugged. "I can wait there so you won't be alone with him."

"That would be appreciated, child." The hat then set a hand to one of the doors that lead to Naruto's memories. "It will not take me long," it assured.

Naruto just nodded and hurried back to the Kyuubi's cage. The demon still scared him a bit—it was just so huge and angry and gave off these waves of killing intent—but it was behind a cage so…Naruto shrugged and sat down with his legs crossed.

"Are you just going to stare at me, human?" the demon growled.

"Sure, why not? Unless you wanna tell me about yourself. Were you born or did you just appear? Were you part of the Juubi originally? Do you remember when the wizarding world put a barrier around our lands?"

"You ask too many questions."

Naruto shrugged. "I figured you'd know stuff, and maybe you're bored in here."

"You could always let me out," the fox said with a smile that was really just sharp teeth.

"Nah, I won't." Naruto straightened out his legs and leaned back on his arms. "You know, the more I talk to you the less scary you seem."

"Then you're a fool."

Naruto just shrugged again. "What do you think about wizards? Can you see everything I see?" A thought occurred to Naruto. "Have you seen me go to the bathroom!?" he asked horrified.

The demon growled and then literally began to move so he was facing away from Naruto. It looked like he had a hard time because he couldn't really turn completely, and then his tails got in the way.

"Is that cage hurting you?" Naruto asked quietly.

The demon looked over his haunch slightly. "Would you let me out?"

"I can't do that, but maybe I could find some way to make it better for you?"

"The only way this prison would be 'better' is if it was gone."

"And if I do that you might kill everyone here," Naruto whispered. The demon huffed again and it kind of pissed him off. "Hey, I don't really like that you're stuck in me either, but we both gotta deal with it. You're my tenant, my responsibility!"

"You do have a strong sense of duty and are very brave. You would likely do well in Gryffindor," the hat spoke up from behind Naruto. Naruto shot to his feet and turned to face the humanoid figure in his mind.

"Alright then!"

The hat shook its head. "You have qualities of other houses too, and it has been difficult to decide. You have endured so much for one so young. You carry such large responsibilities." The hat sighed.

"Most certainly Gryffindor would welcome one with your will, but you are also ambitious and cunning—certainly not…tactful or cautious enough to be in Slytherin though. Then there is your loyalty, your hard work, and your ability to forgive even a village that has abused you for that which you cannot control.

"Child, your whole world has changed, and yet you still love your home and the people within it. You sill admire your father despite what he's done to you. You are loyal, so loyal, but you worry. You worry your new friends will shun you when they find out what you've sacrificed." The hat gestured toward the cage. "You are brave in the face of hardship and hate, but for those you trust and love…their rejection…" the hat trailed off.

Naruto felt uncomfortable and began to fidget. "So where do I belong then? Gryffindor or Hufflepuff?"

"You will become a great wizard in either house."

"I want to protect my cousin, I want to protect my precious people."

"Indeed, I can see that and it is a noble sentiment, but after so long, do you not deserve people to look after you as well?" Naruto bowed his head and the hat sighed. "I see you do not believe the same," it said sadly.

"I never said—"

"You didn't need to."

Naruto looked away from the hat and scuffed his foot against the chakra-water in his mindscape.

"Answer me this, Naruto," the hat began after a moment. He perked up and stared at the rag-man. "If you could do anything in the world and have a chance to redo it if it went wrong or not do it in the first place, what would you do?"

Naruto's thoughts raced. The first idea was becoming Hokage, but he felt confident he could become that—he wouldn't need a redo even if he messed up. He kept thinking of different promotional opportunities as a ninja, but none of it was something he would do over if he could. Then there were thoughts about his relationship with other people. He…he kept wondering how Harry would react when he learned about the Fox, or how his classmates back in Konoha would react. If he could tell people and undo it if it went wrong…he'd take that. If he had a chance to tell Sakura she was wasting her talent pinning after Sasuke, he'd do it if he could undo it.

"You had no fears about coming here?" the hat asked quietly. Naruto blinked but shook his head. The hat nodded. "Yet telling someone of your burden or telling someone something they may not like…this you would have fears over?" Naruto's throat felt tight but he nodded slowly.

The hat nodded again. "Then you best be in…HUFFLEPUFF!"

Naruto watched as the rag-man vanished from his sight. What?

"It means the hat's off your head, human," the demon commented from behind Naruto.

Naruto shook his head and slowly came out of his mindscape. There was some cheering from the table with yellow and black but it was dying down.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Evans?" McGonagall lady asked.

Naruto hopped to his feet and shook his head. "Right, yeah, Hufflepuff," he reminded himself. However, he then realized something. "Ha! And you said I was too brash for Hufflepuff!" Naruto yelled at the teme and even stuck his tongue out at the other boy while pointing.

"Mr. Evans, go to your table," the McGonagall lady snapped in annoyance. He just threw her a cheeky smile before walking over to his new House.

"Hi Nathan, Susan Bones," a girl with a dark brown hair pulled into a long plait greeted him. He smiled at and sat down next to her.

"Hannah Abbot," a blond girl with pig-tails greeted from across the table.

"Finch-Fletchly, Justin" McGonagall lady called and a curly haired boy rushed forward to the stool before being sorted into Hufflepuff. Naruto clapped with his other housemates and greeted the newcomer but kept looking back at his cousin still waiting in line. Would he and Harry be in the same house?

"Granger, Hermione," was called and Naruto sat up excitedly. Minutes seemed to tick by before the hat yelled Gryffindor. He clapped for her and gave her a wave as she moved to the table next to theirs but he was a little disappointed his new friend wouldn't be in his house with him.

Neville was called after a Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones, who both joined the Hufflepuff table. Naruto perked up again as the hat deliberated.

"It's taking almost as long as yours did," Justin commented toward Naruto.

"Did my sorting really take a long time?" Naruto asked quietly. Those around him nodded adamantly, and Naruto frowned. He had hoped the talk in his mindscape was fast like how dreams are faster than they seem.

"Didn't you notice it took a long time?" Hannah asked.

"Well, the hat said it'd get through my memories quick but then it had a bunch of questions for me."

"The hat asked you questions?" Susan asked surprised.

"Yeah, it couldn't decide if I should be Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, so it asked me if I could do anything in the world and undo it if it goes bad, what would I do?"

Everyone in their immediate area got quiet as they puzzled over this question. Suddenly there was a yell from the hat, "Gryffindor!" Naruto clapped along with the red and gold table as Neville walked over to it shyly.

Some kid named Malfoy was after and he barely had the hat on his head before being placed in Slytherin. "McMillion, Ernie," McGonagall lady called, and a blond boy began to make his way toward the stool with his nose raised in the air. Hannah looked nervous but excited. When he was sorted into Hufflepuff, she gave a loud excited cry. The two even hugged when he got to the table.

"Susan, Justin, Nathan, Megan, Wayne, this is my friend Ernie!" she introduced him while the sorting continued. They returned greetings before their attention as drawn by a new name.

"Potter, Harry." The whole hall got silent when Harry started walking toward the stool. Everyone was staring at him. Naruto frowned before standing up on the bench and giving his cousin a big smile and thumbs up. Harry caught it and seemed to relax. An upper year just pulled Nathan back down to his seat.

Naruto noticed his cousin was twitching on the stool, even gripping the edges tightly. This went on for what seemed like forever, probably because no one in the Great Hall was breathing. "Gryffindor!" the hat shouted. Oh…they wouldn't be in the same house.

Harry didn't seem that happy about it either, but everyone in the hall was cheering so loudly, Naruto was probably the only one who noticed.

Harry walked over to Fred and George but he kept looking back over at Naruto, almost apologetically.

"Sorry Justin," Naruto said before launching himself over the table and then inserting himself beside Justin and across from Harry.

"I'm sorry, I tried to tell the hat to put me in Hufflepuff but—"

"It's okay, Harry!" Naruto gave the most reassuring smile he could, even if he felt disappointed. "We'll still have some classes together and just 'cause we're in different houses doesn't mean we can't hang out—oh, the bastard's getting sorted!"

Harry turned his attention back to the sorting along with Naruto, while the Hufflepuffs around them seemed to gasp at Naruto's language.

Naruto almost wished Sasuke would be in Hufflepuff with him, but that was completely unlikely. Seconds ticked by before the hat yelled "Slytherin!" Of course it did.

"He couldn't break expectations like me, huh? The bastard," Naruto grumbled.

"Nathan, why do you keep calling him that if he's your friend?" Harry asked concerned.

"Because he's a bastard." That earned Naruto a consternated look from several people. "Hey, if he gets to call me idiot I get to call out what a bad attitude he has."

"You know you could call him a prat or berk," Justin offered.

"Nah, those say he's stupid not a-a—gah!" he waved his hands in frustration as the word escaped him.

"Ron's getting sorted," Harry broke in, and Naruto turned his attention to the youngest present Weasley.

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted not long after. Naruto kept his disappointment to himself. None of his friends from the train ride were in his house. No, it was fine. It would be fine. The teme was in a similar boat, so…

The last names were called and then this really old guy with a super long grey beard stood up—Naruto did like his colorful robes though. After literally a few words of gibberish, food appeared before them. Woah! But still no ramen, damn it.

As Harry was dragged into conversation with his housemates, Naruto's housemates did the same. "You're on first names with Harry Potter?" Ernie asked, but Naruto didn't really like his tone.

"Yeah, he's my cousin."

"Cousin?!" several kids exclaimed.

"But your name's Evans," Ernie argued.

"So was his mum's name."

"Wait, so you two grew up together?" Susan asked, and Naruto shook his head.

"Nah, we just found out about each other, but I'm really glad I finally have some family," Naruto confessed.

Ernie hummed. "So you just found out?" the blonde boy sounded like he didn't believe that.

Naruto felt his face begin to flush. "I thought I had no family until a few months ago, so you can believe me or not," he shot back at the boy a bit angrily.

"Y-You don't have any family?" Susan asked with a frown.

Naruto reached over for a pork chop and then began to saw into it with a knife. "Not until a few months ago," he reminded them—he also might have angrily been cutting at his food.

"So you're an orphan?" Justin guessed. "That must have been rough."

"Hey, so what are all your backgrounds?" Naruto asked a bit too suddenly. He really needed to work on redirections.

"We're part of the sacred twenty-eight," Ernie stated as he pointed between himself and Hannah.

"What's that?" Justin asked, which was good because Naruto had a piece of pork in his mouth.

"There are twenty-eight pureblood families that can mark their bloodlines back to the Founders era," Hannah explained with a slight smile. So it was like people marking their bloodlines back to the pre-village ages.

"So, Justin, you're muggle born?" Susan asked politely.

"Yeah. I was all set for Eton, but then I got my letter. Mum was a bit disappointed but," Justin shrugged.

Their conversation went onto what different courses there were and differences between the magical and muggle world. Naruto listened more than talked just in case he said the wrong thing since he'd only been in their muggle world seven or so months. The food was okay, but it did not compare to ramen.

On the opposite side of the Great Hall, Sasuke was ignoring everyone, well except for this dark haired boy, Blaise. He was alright so far. Not at all like that pale blonde boy with the goons at either of his sides. Really, the boy was annoying and needed to shut up before Sasuke felt inclined to stab him and actually follow through.

A second or third year student suddenly sat down across from Sasuke. "My family knew the last of the Princes, so how can you be one?" the student asked.

"Ask my Uncle," Sasuke retorted with a vague gesture toward his uncle at the head table.

"Your uncle is Severus Snape?" Blaise asked surprised. Sasuke just nodded his head.

"I didn't know the professor was related to the Princes," the upper year remarked.

"Hn." Sasuke wondered how long this older boy would keep trying to talk to him.

"If he's your uncle, wouldn't your name be Snape?" the upper year challenged.

Sasuke used his patented 'go-away' stare.

The upper year scowled and tried to make himself appear intimidating. "We need to know what kind you are," he "threatened."

"Ask. My. Uncle," Sasuke repeated slowly. Perhaps this upper year had some IQ issues?

"If Professor Snape's your 'uncle,' why haven't any of us heard of you?" the upper year asked a bit more angrily.

Sasuke gave the man a deadpan look which just made the upper year glare. He kept the look up and the upper year began to get a bit angry.

"Perhaps you should try to answer him," Blaise cautioned.

"I already have. Ask my uncle."

"Well, I don't think he is your uncle. You don't even look alike," the upper year stated. Sasuke couldn't keep back his scoff of disbelief. His uncle was his uncle twice over; they looked a lot alike—if the thought held a slightly hysterical edge to it still, well…Sasuke felt it was justified.

"Well?" the upper year asked threateningly.

"For someone supposedly cunning, you're handling this bluntly," Sasuke remarked.

"Excuse me?" the upper year growled.

Sasuke sighed. "While you're acting like a handless hammer, I've already gleaned who gave you your orders, what your blood status is, and your economic status while we're at it," Sasuke pointed out a bit meanly. "I also know your triggers, so…?" Sasuke challenged the boy.

It was the upper year's turn to scoff incredulously. Sasuke just leaned back and smirked.

"That fourth year, Flint,"—he pointed to the boy that looked part-troll—"ordered you to figure out my blood status. You have a lower blood and economic status than him, thus you're trying to curry his favor—or just stay in his favor."

The upper year began to straighten and his face was growing a bit red. Maybe he could get the boy to lose his cool and attack, thus weakening his status within the House—after all, if he lost his cool over a first year in front of both faculty and enemy houses…well…

"I can tell your economic status by the frayed edges of your robes and their slightly too short nature—this suggests that unlike most people at this table, you could not get new robes for the school year," Sasuke drawled. "Your cuff-links are also dinged and tarnished, and you haven't had a proper haircut in months, meaning you can't afford that luxury.

"You're obviously on bad terms with Flint because he and his group have been ignoring your contributions to the conversation. You are also positioned farthest away from the conversation to remind you of your social status." The upper year was practically shaking in anger.

"As for your blood status, well, that was the easiest to figure out based on everything else. You do not always defer or humble yourself to the wealthy in that group, which means their only other distinction is your blood status." The upper year was now standing up and Sasuke just smirked more with his arms crossed over his chest. "Lastly," Sasuke began, "you're clearly hoping I'm some muggle-born so your blood status won't matter as much to them, half-blood."

The upper year took a swing at him from across the table but Sasuke had already dodged the strike. There were some exclamations from the other tables and Uncle was already approaching.

"We do not fight or own house," Uncle hissed as he grabbed the upper year's arm and marched him away from Sasuke. "We will have a House meeting because of this, and detention for you." When Uncle passed Sasuke again, he was dutifully looking at his plate.

"Brilliant deductions," Blaise commented. "But you should work on making allies, not enemies."

"Perhaps," Sasuke consented, "but I'm not making allies with people disgusted by my existence—call it self-preservation."

"Being in Slytherin will make things hard enough without conflict in the house," the darker boy cautioned.

"Yet, I believe that student's reputation in the house is more ruined than mine—seeing as I'm just an innocent little first year."

Blaise disguised his laugh as a cough. "Sure, but they'll believe his side of the story over yours."

"Fine by me," Sasuke drawled. "I already have an in with Potter, and after that display, I'm sure the other houses will feel sympathetic for me, the lone muggle-raised Slytherin." Sasuke was mocking with his "title."

Blaise gave a slight nod. "Fair point, but you will be burning many bridges in Slytherin, and once people in the other houses find out you're related to Professor Snape, well, it won't do you any favors."

"I appreciate the advice, Zabini, but I'm in Slytherin for a reason."

"Could have fooled me," the boy drawled and Sasuke smirked a little.

"I'll make sure not to associate with you too much so your reputation remains sparkling."

"Appreciated."

"Oh, and I'd move further down the table unless you want to be throwing up in your food," Sasuke warned as he gestured subtly toward the dobe making his way toward their table. "See, I already have allies."

Blaise quickly got up and moved further down the table, toward the annoying pale blonde boy. Sasuke decided to move to the end of the table, acting as if he wanted to get away from everyone, which he did.

As for the dobe, it was admittedly impressive how he could just walk across the hall to the doors without drawing attention. He would likely need a bit of charka to throw the stink bomb far enough. The dobe was just pushing through the doors as he flicked his wrist; the stink bomb landed right behind the upper year who had tried to punch Sasuke. Then the dobe was out of the room, seemingly going to the bathroom.

"Oh for the love of…" Uncle growled—he had just sat back down when he caught the dobe's sleight of hand throw.

The upper years in the vicinity of the stink bomb began gagging and covering their noses. Even some of the Ravenclaws near them began to gag from the smell. Then there went the first upper year retching by the time Uncle got close enough to cast a spell to disperse the gas. Uncle then stormed past all of them and out of the great hall. He came back not long after huffing as he went back to the head table. Maybe three minutes later, the dobe came back in to the Great Hall and made his way back to the Hufflepuff table.

Jiraiya chuckled as the elder Uchiha sat back down beside him. "Boys giving you trouble?" he teased in Japanese.

"That boy is shockingly good at pranks, I won't be able to tie him to it plausibly," the Uchiha growled.

"What about the spat with your nephew?"

"He was proving to them he belongs in Slytherin while also making him a threat they won't want to touch."

"Smart," Jiraiya mused.

"A-ah, e-excu-excuse me," the stuttering man wearing a turban addressed him and the Uchiha.

"Yes Quirrel?" the Uchiha responded.

"Wh-what la-language w-we-were you speak-speak-king just now?" the man's stutter was forced, a ruse to make him seem meek.

"My native tongue," Jiraiya answered before tapping a short code of distrust on the table.

"I-I didn't know y-you kn-kn-knew other languages, Severus," this Quirrel man "stuttered" out.

"You've only been teaching muggle studies for two years now; there is a lot you wouldn't know about me."

"D-D-De-Defense against the D-dark Arts, this year."

"Indeed," the Uchiha drawled. He tapped a few times against the table, signifying he agreed with Jiraiya.

"Ah yes, what ah course work do you plan for this year?" Jiraiya asked slowly as his tongue struggled to sound certain words. "I am introducing, ah, combat strategy, so we should collaborate."

"O-of c-course. W-what kind of strategy?"

"Only best strategy," Jiraiya boasted. He continued his conversation with this 'stuttering' man as the feast continued. Soon the food disappeared and the old man with the impressively long beard stood up and began to explain the new rules at school and the new faculty. After that, the children were escorted to their dorms by prefects and Jiraiya went with the Uchiha.

"Was that man like this last year?" he asked seriously.

"No, but he claims he was traumatized by hags and vampires. I doubt it."

"I'm not much of a sensor, but there as another chakra on him, a weak one, but there."

"I noticed as well," the Uchiha remarked. "We'll have to keep an eye on him, especially with Hogwarts housing a valuable artifact."

"Oh?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "The headmaster is 'doing a favor' for a friend, but I suspect he found out the Dark Lord would be looking for a way to revive himself now that Shima's son is in the wizarding world."

"But why a school?"

"Because Hogwarts is the 'safest' place to keep things. Let's not think of endangering hundreds of children in the process," the man replied sarcastically.

"We'll protect the Kings," Jiraiya assured the man.

"Sandaime Hokage taught you that?"

"I'll teach you it too," Jiraiya added, and the man smiled slightly before his expression grew serious.

"Over drinks after I deal with my House." Jiraiya chuckled as he was let into the man's quarters. The Uchiha left, and Jiraiya made himself at home. They had a lot to plan.

---

TBC