AN: It has come to my attention that some people had thought I killed the OC when she stepped into the veil. There's a really good reason she did that because it explains the connection between the Naruto and Harry Potter dimensions which would be explain waaaay later in the story. The body of Mariana Connor is just so there's no confusion of alternate dimensions and such. But to answer the question, she did not die. If there's any more confusion, let me know and I hope I can clear that up for you. Thanks! And this is also longer than usual so enjoy!

«MARIANA CONNOR»

It was dark. The familiar feel of bandages weren't comforting, especially if it accompany the tingling of burns and cooling salve. She could feel it, the damage from the right side of her hip all the way up to the right side of her face. Burns no doubt. Burns that will scar.

Damn this body! She would've thought by now it would be able to handle unleashing chakra without messing up. Apparently she was wrong.

Maybe it was the change in her breathing, or maybe it was the flush of her cheeks but someone had noticed her awakening. Shoes softly click against the stone floor of the hospital wing as the person approached her. There was no way she could see who it was. Mariana's eyes were bandaged. A hand took hold of some of her hair and twisted it in a nonchalant way.

"You're awake." came an accusing voice. "I thought Gryffindors were stupid but I supposed Hufflepuffs are more."

Slowly, she turned to the voice even though she knew full well she wouldn't be able to see him.

"M-Mr. Rid-dle." she said softly as her voice cracked. Mariana took a deep breath and licked her dried lips. Her mouth was dry. Then softly, she spoke again. "H-How may I help you?"

«TOM RIDDLE»

How can she help him? Really? Did she really ask that? Despite the fact that she's unable to move at all or the fact that she can't use her eyes at the moment, she still asks if she could help him? Tom ran his eyes over her. Her hair was spread out on the pillow, some sticking out of the bandaging around her hair. Her eyes had been hit by that weird potion she was making. Underneath the covers, he knew she was bandaged all over.

"What were you making in potions that day?" he asked finally deciding that he was going to get some answers. Besides, how much damage could she do. She was incompetent with the wand as it is.

"The assignment." she replied. Her voice no longer cracked. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days. I don't think you were doing the assignment. You were putting crushed doxy eggs in there."

Connor made a noise. She took another breath.

"You saw?" she asked before turning her head back. "I had to improvise. I was stuck with horrid ingredients and I figured I could make them work so the others won't have to be faced with a bad grade."

"That's stupid of you."

"Indeed, Miss. Connor." came Slughorn's voice.

Tom bristled. This was supposed to be his interrogation.

"Professor." greeted Tom reigning in his anger.

"Afternoon Tom." said Slughorn. "Decided to stay for Christmas did you?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, good. Now, Miss. Connor, what was it that you were saying about improvising?"

Hm, this may just turn into his favor. Slughorn can interrogate her for him and he wouldn't have to do a thing!

"Yes, professor." she said softly. "I had to improvise. I feel that others should not have to make do with the ingredients I had."

"Ingredients? What do you mean, my dear?"

"I was stuck with dried Doxy eggs and badly dried dandelion roots. So, I improvised."

"May I ask how?"

Yes, how did she know what to do? Tom remembered watching her. Her potion was being completed the same time his was but with more preparations.

"I crushed the doxy eggs because the potion needed the protein in the eggs along with some of the acid produced from the eggs. Then I started brewing. Because the dandelion was poorly kept, I put them in the potion whole. Then I began putting the doxy eggs pinch by pinch. I stirred about ten times before letting it simmer. That was before something was thrown into my cauldron and blew it up."

"That was very irresponsible of you, Miss Connor." said Slughorn. Tom watched him as he walked around the bed to the other side. "At best, you had 70% of it actually working."

"That was what I was hoping for professor."

"I see," he said slowly.

By now, Tom was intrigued. He decided, she was the best in potions. He frowned slightly as the realization hit him. He was supposed to be the best, the genius. She was just a mudblood. Tom grimaced at the thought. Mudblood. That was what he was. He has no magical family. At best, he was a half-blood. There was no magical family by the name of Riddle anywhere. The Slytherins made sure he knew and would be reminded of it every day.

Before he realized it, he was left alone with the girl again.

«MARIANA CONNOR»

The air was thick with chakra. It wasn't hard to find who was the cause of it. Tom Riddle, from Slytherin. His chakra flared for unknown reasons and she smiled slightly. What made him do that? Did he have no control over his chakra? Then again, maybe not. He wasn't trained.

"What are you smiling at, Miss. Connor?" asked Tom sharply.

She turned toward his voice and smiled. His chakra licked her skin. It's been forever since something like that happened. It's been half a year since she had been transported to this dimension and fifty years in the past. Now, she had found him. The whole reason she was there for. He was the lost soul. Now, if only he didn't split himself up into pieces.

"You are strong, did you know, Mr. Riddle?" she asked. "There aren't many who can match you."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

Mariana heard a door swing open and the clicking of shoes on stone.

"I believe Madame Ross is heading this way. I suggest you come back later before she starts fussing."

There was another spike in his chakra. Tom was irritated. Mariana smiled softly as the clicking footsteps stopped behind Tom. There were some whispers and then there was a set of receding footsteps back out of the hospital wing.

Tom Riddle, the mudblood of Slytherin. She smiled at the thought. Oh, the irony of him in a house such as Slytherin! He was the one Enma-sama wanted. He's too powerful to be normal. He wasn't one of the normal humans here. Even the famed scholar Dumbledore can't compare and he was the strongest teacher I've sense here. No, Tom will surpass him in no time.

Madame Ross, the matron, sat her patient up and unwrapped the bandages around her head. It took all her medical training to refrain from recoiling from the sight. She knew there was no way to heal the girl completely.

Mariana hissed at the blinding light of the ward. Her free and undamaged arm immediately covered her eyes. Her dark hair hung around her face as she face downwards, away from the light. She opened her eyes, slowly adjusting to the brightness.

"Sorry about that dear." said the matron. "I thought a little sunlight would do you some good."

Mariana rest her arm by her side and remembered the tingling of the burns.

"Mirror." she croaked. The tingling was coming from her face, no, Mariana's face.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, dear." said Madame Ross trying to calm her panicking patient. How was she going to take it?

"I need a mirror, now!" she cried.

When the mediwitch tried to tuck her back in bed, she ripped the cotton covers from her and threw her legs from the bed. Stumbling from the bed, she ran toward the bathroom that was inside the hospital wing. The witch rushed after her, obviously trying to catch her before she made her way to the only mirror in the ward. The girl threw the door to the bathroom open, revealing a large mirror on the other side of the door. She stared at her reflection, frozen. Thoughts of Madame Ross chasing after her and of a certain Slytherin boy was forgotten.

Madame Ross peer over the girl watching her reflecting.

Mariana took a shaky step toward her reflection. Kami. Step by step, she got closer to her reflection until they were almost touching by the tips of their noses. No, no, no, no. This wasn't supposed to happen. Through the dark curls that hid her face, she could make out distinct scars made from burns. She reached to her reflecting, wishing it wasn't true. Her fingers met hard, cold glass. Kami. There was a burn behind her eyes. She blinked and a silver trail framed the left side of her face. On the right, she knew her tear glands were destroyed.

"Lord, I'm ugly." she whispered staring at her reflection. From the look of the scars, they will never go away.

Kami, Mariana. She never meant to ruin her body like that. She had vowed herself to take care of the body at the least. At the same time, she couldn't have let Tom Riddle die. He was the one she was supposed to be looking for. She is to protect him until it was his time. Until it was his time to be returned to the spiritual plane. Until then, she would be stuck here until Kami-sama deemed it fit for her to go home.

She moved the hair from her face and examined the blistering red tissue that covered the right side of her face. It trailed from the hairline, nearly missing her right eye and faded down her jaw. Her hazel eyes trailed down toward the neck and her torso was wrapped in bandages as well as her right arm.

The burn behind her eyes got worse as tears streamed down her left eye. The pressure on her right eye refused to be released.

She took in a shaky breath and steeled herself. Sure, she was female, but looks weren't so important in a mission. Training and knowledge was.

"Madame Ross," she croaked after wiping the tears from her face. "How will this affect my physical abilities?"

Madame Ross looked a bit lost before her medic training kicked in. Even though she was concerned for the girl and her worries about her physical appearance, she knew this question was going to be asked sooner or later before she was allowed to leave from the hospital wing.

"It shouldn't affect it much." she replied mentally going over the notes she had taken on Mariana. "Aside from the burns on your face, the rest should heal up nicely. Your arm will be functioning in full by the end of the year if you don't push it too hard. The potion missed your heart so I can get rid of the scars on your torso and your arm. Your face on the other hand, there's too many nerves and blood vessels for me to heal magically. I can take the pain away but your tear glands are destroyed. When you're older, you can glamour your face but as of right now, there isn't much we can do to cover the burns."

"Thank you," she murmured. "And when can I leave? I prefer not to spend the rest of Christmas break in bed."

" After a day of bed rest, you can leave."

The puff nodded and walked out of the bathroom, away from her reflection.

«TOM RIDDLE»

Tom strode out of the hospital wing nearly spitting in anger. That Hufflepuff was released before he could come back and get some answers out of her. Now she's somewhere in the vast castle and there wasn't a way for him to find her. Not only that. it was Christmas break and the majority of the students have left the school. He couldn't just ask people if they have seen her. They weren't even here to see her. From what he gathered there was only fifteen students who stayed in school out of the six hundred or so that was enrolled. Besides, he was the only Slytherin who stayed at school and nearly the entire school don't associate with the Slytherin house. He would ask another first year who was naïve enough to believe him but there weren't many to choose from. Apparently, there wasn't as many first years this year compared to the other years and most of them opted to go home for Christmas.

He headed toward the library. The books filled with knowledge would help him calm down. Maybe then, he would be able to think clearly. He turned right at the next intersection and down the corridor leading to the moving staircases. He was in the hall where the library entrance was at when brightly colored robes deterred him. Instinctively, he knew who it was. His feet automatically backtracked and he step back into the corridor where he had first came from. Dumbledore had just missed him. Tom glanced around. Today was definitely not his day.

Normally, he would not go out of his way to avoid the Transfiguration professor but today was an exception. The old man had dislike him the first hour they've met. Damn Mrs. Cole and her inability to prevent the deterioration of the orphanage through the use of secrets. He was positive she had spouted everything that had happened in the orphanage. Then when the old man had came to talk to him, he couldn't persuade him to like him. And now, the old man is meddling with his affairs! Not to mention that look he had always reserve for Tom, the look of complete suspicion instead of the eccentric grandfatherly Dumbledore had always projected.

He glanced around quickly, hoping Dumbledore would not head his way before ducking into an unused Defense classroom.

«MARIANA CONNOR»

Smiling as she walked out of the library with a large tome, she walked into a nearby unused classroom. Humming a tune from far away, Mariana closed the door behind her and pulled out her wand. She sighed sadly. Too bad some of these spells required the use of wand cores to work, otherwise, she would've done them, what was it, wandlessly? With a few quick slashes through the air, she set up a privacy ward and then took out some strips of parchment. She winched as she bit her thumb and drew four seals on the strips of parchment. Embedding it with some chakra, she threw them to the four walls of the room and waited for the seals to start working. If someone really wanted to see her, they will.

Continuing to hum, she waved her hand toward the scattered desks all around the room and they stacked themselves against the wall. She then sat herself in the middle of the room and gingerly opened the tome. Finding the page she wanted, she began to read. Minutes ticked into hours and suddenly, someone had crashed into her wards and the four pieces of paper burned into ash. Her privacy ward was still activated.

The door closed softly and the boy with wavy dark hair stood close to the door, listening. Mariana watched as she closed her book softly. The face of Tom Riddle met hers at the sound of the closing tome. She was glad her hair was long enough to hide the pink burns on her face. Maybe because she was a female that she have the strong sense to be vain, then again, female shinobi at home were careful. As long as the scars aren't on her face, she was alright. Then again, in reality, this wasn't her face, this wasn't even her body. In fact, she shouldn't even be alive right now if time ran the same as the Elemental countries.

Violet eyes harden and Tom casted a locking spell on the door. She just watched him from the floor as he approached her.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Riddle." she said softly when he stopped a few feet away from her. "To what may I owe to the pleasure?"

Tom looked down at the girl in front of him. She sat on the dusty stone floor with a thick book next to her. The dust around her was undisturbed, as if she had been there for years. He looked straight into her honey hazel eye and tried to predict what she was thinking. Keeping his expression schooled, he couldn't help but worry. He couldn't read her. She wasn't the first he couldn't read. No, that exorcist had been the first. That was the first time Tom had felt true terror in his bones. It was then he vowed he would never be helpless as he was then, he would never become weak. The second person was Dumbledore. Bloody Dumbledore, taking to him, ordering him to return the things he had rightfully earned.

"Tom?"

The small voice broke through his thoughts. The dust have been disturbed. The girl who sat in the center of the room had moved. Now, she was standing a few inches away from him looking up at him with concern. Past her dark hair, he noticed the red tint on her skin. Burns, that was a given, from that potion. He remembered visiting her yesterday when she woke. She was bandaged all over. Now, he could see the extent of the damage done to her face.

"Tom?" she asked again, this time, leaning closer to him. Confusion clouded her eyes. "Are you alright, Tom?"

"Are those permanent?" he asked. As soon as the words left his mouth and his mind register what he had just said, he cursed himself for his control. Why? Why did he just ask that? He was a Slytherin, he should've had more tact than that.

Mariana took a step back and played with a strand of her bangs that fell in front of her burn.

"I supposed so." she said twisting it slightly. "Madame Ross told me she can't heal it because there's a bunch of nerves there and she won't risk damaging any of them. The burns on my chest and arms can be healed after a year or so of treatment."

Tom nodded.

"Since when did you call me 'Tom'?" he asked as she walked back to her book and sat down next to it.

"I'm not sure, Mr. Riddle, but I shall stop if you wish."

She pulled out her wand from her sleeves and waved it. A desk that was stacked against the wall appeared in front of her and she went to sit on top of it. She turned and smiled at Tom from behind her bangs.

"You won't tell, would you?" she asked with an amused glint in her eyes. "I find it refreshing when I'm not the one professors go to if they want an answer. Now, what can I help you with, Mr. Riddle?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. He was curious. From what he can gather so far, she knew things he didn't. She could've been a Slytherin but was instead sorted into the failure house of Hufflepuff.

"You wouldn't have found me if you didn't need me for something."

He opened his mouth but closed it immediately. Should he? He was a Slytherin, he should have the ability to find a way to get his answers out of her. Then again, she did ask if he needed something from her.

"I-I" he started. The rest was stuck in his throat. He would have to do better since he was a Slytherin. He took a breath. He wasn't use to saying things like this. "I want to apologize."

Her eyebrow raised.

"For what? You haven't done anything to me."

"I was supposed to take the hit in potions."

Mariana waved her hand at him, dismissing the topic. No, she didn't blame him. In fact, if he wanted to look at the details, she was the one who place herself between him and the potion. Tom reign in his anger. She waved him off. He had actually decided that he was going to apologize officially for the first time in years and she had just waved him off.

"It wasn't you're fault. I shouldn't have made that potion. But I have a feeling that wasn't what you wanted to talk about."

He stared at her. He still couldn't read her. Then, she suddenly slid off the desk. She landed lightly on dusty floor and her shoes hardly made a sound. She tugged her jumper to cover her hands and smoothed her hair to fall in front of the burns. She smiled up at him before leaning over and grabbing his hand with both of hers.

"Let's talk where none can pry."

Mariana held his hand and led him toward the door. Before she opened it, she turned back to the book laying on the dusty floor.

"I almost forgot."

With a flick of her wand, she disabled the privacy ward and summoned the book with a invisible string of chakra. She smiled at Tom before opening the door and walking out into the hall. She looked back at the Slytherin. He was so much like Neji. So much potential but none will see it because he was of the branch house, literally fighting to survive. Tom was powerful, she knew it. In fact, she knew it ever since she felt him angry. His magic, chakra, would flow around him effortlessly, ready to fulfill his command.

She slowed when she felt resistance in the hand she was holding. Turning back, she saw Tom staring at her with a hard look on his face. She sighed and tugged his arm.

"Come on." she said, whining a bit. "It's just a bit further."

This time, Mariana tugged harder forcing Tom to stumble a couple of feet before jogging down a corridor. She glanced around the empty corridor. There was nothing in this corridor. No moving pictures, or even tapestries. There weren't even doors leading into classrooms. On one side, there were floor to ceiling windows. On the other side, it was floor to ceiling mirrors, reflecting the school grounds and the Black Lake. The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles was just a copy of this corridor. In this corridor, the mirrors were seamless, creating a prefect reflection.

"There's nothing down here." said Tom as walked down the corridor, trailing her fingernails on the glass.

She suddenly stopped and releases the Slytherin's hand. Then she looked at the flawless mirror they stopped in front of. Without another word, she dove into the mirror, disappearing.

The boy stood there staring at the mirror where the Hufflepuff had just disappeared into. It was just like the barrier at King's Cross Station. The only difference was that there wasn't a marker. He hesitantly step forward and placed his hand on the glass. There was a slight ripple, and his hand fell through. He took a step, and then another one. With the next step, he was behind the mirror. He had step into a tunnel and the girl with the dark wavy hair and honey eyes was gone.

«TOM RIDDLE»

Glancing behind him, saw the mirror he had stepped through had became transparent, as if a veil was draped over it. He examined the tunnel. It had been years since anyone had step foot into the tunnel. There were cobwebs between the floor and the wall. The stone blocks on the floor weren't worn at all. The tunnel wasn't brightly lit but there must be a charm in place to allow some sort of light into the tunnel. He walked down the tunnel and away from the entrance. Soon, he stop at an intersection of the tunnel. It branches out into four paths. There, the puff waited for him.

"Follow me." she said before heading down the second to the right path.

As he followed her, his mind began to work. It hasn't even been half an hour since he had ran into that blasted Transfiguration professor. Then, the non-Slytherin girl in front of him had nearly dominate him in a conversation. Even when he was confronted by those in his house who was certain they were his betters, they could hardly best him. Maybe it was due to shock. Mariana Connor was not who she seems. She's fully capable of understanding the pure art of making potions. Slughorn's interrogation proved that. She was also proficient in magic. He knew her written work was great. He was often praised along with Connor whenever he received his essays back. Her magic, her ability to cast spells, she had chose to hide that. Why? To avoid scrutiny from the professors? But knowledge was power. She should be able to understand that. Why would she prevent herself from utilizing some of the most valued resources available?

The girl in question stopped and opened a door. Inside was something like a common room.

"I supposed you have some questions for me." she said as she took a seat in an armchair near the crackling fireplace. "I shall answer them to the best of my ability."

Yes, he had questions. He had many, in fact.

He took a seat and smiled at the puff in that hideous black and yellow striped jumper. The smile. he knew, would be the one he used back at the orphanage before they thought something was wrong with him. It was the smile that would get the caretakers and the matron to drop their guard. It was the one that would compel them to give him an extra serving or believe him over the others. But that was all a very long time ago…

Carefully choosing his words, he asked his first question. How Connor would answer this question would determine what other questions should he ask.

"I have many questions, Miss Connor, but I supposed the most prominent one is, who are you really, Miss Connor?"

He lean forward a bit, his eyes gleaming. Connor sat up straighter and crossed her legs. Her hands were clasped neatly on her lap. If he was not a Slytherin and was surrounded by purebloods, he would've thought she was a pureblood herself.

"Who am I?" she repeated. "I am Mariana Connor."

She shot him a smile, challenging him. As infuriating the thought of someone challenging him, he was also elated. The Slytherin first years couldn't keep up with him. They were good, but they weren't anything special. They had to learn from a young age how to navigate social waters, he had to learn on his own in order to survive.

"That's good. I would've been worried if you weren't. Then I would have to ask how you had manage to gain entry into Hogwarts."

Mariana laughed and he continued. "Out of curiosity, how are you in Hufflepuff? You would've surely fit in well with the Slytherins."

"Apparently, my Hufflepuff qualities are stronger than my Slytherin qualities."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that Hufflepuff was just a house for leftovers, people who the Sorting Hat can't place."

"Ahh, yes, that is a common misconception. From what I gathered so far, the Four Founders have different qualities they value and thus they have students placed in their House. Slytherin, if I'm not mistaken, values cunning and resourcefulness. Honest to say, I've never seen a Slytherin unprepared for class before."

A small laugh escaped his lips.

"So it was true." she continued with a grin. "Ravenclaw values knowledge in general and also wit. Gryffindor values bravery and determination. There's a very fine line between bravery and stupidity, I think. And then there is Hufflepuff. My House values hard work. We work for what we want, and deserve everything that comes to us. Along with hard work, we are patience, and will wait years for the right moment. We also value fair play, but that can be very vague further on in life, because there's no such thing as black and white. But not everyone can see those traits. I supposed that why there's a misconception about the House of Hufflepuff."

"Well, I shall keep that in mind. How are classes for you? From what I gathered earlier, you are not performing at your fullest."

"I'm pretty sure you're not the only one thinking the classes are beyond basic. I heard the professors talking about you. A prodigy, they called you, someone who appears once every so hundred years! Besides, I rather not have a target painted on my back by Dark Lord Grindelwald. I'm muggleborn. I'm pretty sure he would try to eradicate all the muggleborns along with the muggles at the same time if he could."

Tom nodded. Yes, he could agree with her but no Dark Lord would dare try to conquer Hogwarts. It was too well protected. Besides, from what the Daily Prophet was saying, Grindelwald was busy on the continent.

"What do you think about that? Do you agree with him?"

"What do I think about it? I won't say I agreed with him, but I don't disagree either."

"What do you mean by that, Miss Connor?"

"I don't think muggleborns should be eradicated along with the Muggles. The only reason why, aside from the fact I am too a Muggle born, is because magic is magic. I don't believe being purebloods enables you to have stronger magic. There is also concern about population. I understand that tradition dictates that pureblood are better, but if you think about it, if a family only has one child and that child marries another pureblood child, and then have a pureblood child, then the Wizarding population will continue to decrease with every generation. There must be a reason why muggleborns exists. Maybe it's to prevent the Wizarding population from extinction, or maybe they are just descendants of squibs. From what Mr. Vargas was telling me, squibs are generally casted out from the family and forced to live in the muggle world. But this is all speculation. I have no proof of this."

"Your thoughts on the matter are appreciated, but what do you mean magic is magic? As anyone else, I can guess but I like to know what you mean by that."

The girl smiled from her seat. Tom couldn't stop his lips from curling into a smile of his own. Sure he didn't expect such an answer about muggles but he supposed she had made her points. They exists for a reason.

"It means what it means. Magic is magic. No matter what other people calls it, magic is still, just magic."

He nodded. They continued on with their conversation about the war, and where they think it was heading. There was also news about muggle Germany, and how there was movement there that concerns the government. Throughout the entire conversation, Tom's impression of the Hufflepuff changed drastically. Through previous observations, he was certain she was a mudblood. Now, he wondered if everything she did was an act. For all he know, she could've been an orphaned pureblood, even though that possibility was slim to none.

"Well, that was certainly an enlightening conversation." said Mariana before standing up.

Tom blinked, and blinked again. How? In one move, she had just reverted back to her Hufflepuff mask. If he hadn't spent the last hour or so with her, he would've never guessed she was capable of being a Slytherin. Her posture was horrendous. There was no ounce of what she was in her. Her eyes had dulled over, concealing her real nature, or what he thought was her real nature, from the world.

"The professors will worry if we're not at dinner, Mr. Riddle."

Even her voice changed. She sounded weak and insignificant. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Dumbledore would be able to see past her mask.

She lead him out of the room and back toward the tunnels. Right before they exit out of the mirror, she flashed him a smile. The gleam in her eyes was the only proof of her mask before she step out into the empty corridor and toward the Great Hall.

«CHRISTMAS EVE»

Floopy, one of the house elves assigned to the Slytherin common room frowned at the small pile of presents the young Slytherin had by his bedside. He had just arranged it and no matter what he did, it was still only three presents and a card. He could've done something more if those three presents weren't flat like books. It was Christmas and young master Slytherin should be receiving gifts for fun, not for studying. Floopy's ears drooped. Poor young master Slytherin, maybe next year, Floopy will give young master Slytherin a gift too! And maybe he will have a bigger pile of presents for Floopy to arrange next year. Floopy nodded happily to himself about his plan. Then, he silently popped out of the Slytherin dorm.

The next morning, Tom glanced at the small pile of unexpected presents by his bed. He grabbed the card on top of it and flipped it open.

Obscurus aequor

A token of our friendship.

I hope you like it.

Happy Yuletide

M. A. Connor

AN: I hope you like that! What do you think of Tom? I figure since he's only 11 and was just introduced into the Wizarding world, he's allowed to be a little gullible.

Please R&R!