Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Hogwarts and everyone in it, except Hex, Maeve, Peter and Norman, all of whom are mine. I guess I also own Shivering Shummelflubs and the Scurio Charm. I also don't own the name "Walkman."

Introductory Remarks: There, he's in Hogwarts! About damn time, huh? :D

Hex Settles In

Hex jerked awake the next morning to claws digging into his shoulder. "Ow! Crazy cat!"

Norman hissed playfully at him and jumped off the bed. The cat darted out the door as Peter entered the dormitory, already dressed. "Good morning," he greeted Hex.

"It's not morning," Hex groaned sleepily. "It's the middle of the night."

Peter chuckled and tossed a towel onto the other boy's face. "It's seven o'clock. If you don't get moving, you'll be late for breakfast."

He groaned again, but sat up. The other beds in the dormitory were already empty. "I can't believe you're all up at this insane hour."

There wasn't time to take a bath, so Hex just pulled on his school robes before following Peter down to the Great Hall.

Maeve was already at the Hufflepuff table when Hex and Peter arrived. "Good morning," she said pleasantly, her crowd of fans disappearing as they took the two free seats next to her.

"'Morning," Hex replied, risking a smile. The sunlight streaming down through the magical domed ceiling tinted her hair red. "Thanks," he said when Peter pushed a plate of fried eggs at him.

Presently, a bevy of owls streamed in through the high windows. Hex watched them swoop down and drop packages and envelopes onto their owners' laps and plates. "So that's what the letter meant when it said they awaited my owl," he observed. "Do they ever— " Suddenly, a Ravenclaw girl shrieked and ran from the room, scrubbing at her hair with her napkin. Hex snickered. "Guess they do."

He then noticed a group of students their age, whispering and looking at them from the far end of the Hufflepuff table. "I take it those are the other fifth year people," Hex murmured.

"Oh, yes," Maeve said. She smiled and waved at them "You'll meet them later. They're very nice."

While the boys in the group reddened with pleasure, the girls had looks on their faces like Norman did when he met Malfoy on the train. "I'll bet," Hex said.

Halfway through breakfast, some boys ventured over to give Maeve her course schedule for the year and were charmed into getting copies for Hex and Peter as well. "Oh, hey, hang on," Hex said suddenly when he received his. "I have to talk to Hermione."

"Don't take too long," Peter warned. "We have Potions first thing today, and Professor —"

"I won't," he replied, setting off for the Gryffindor table.

Hermione was sitting with her friends when Hex approached. "Uh, hi," he said to her. "Can we talk?"

"Oi, Hermione, watch out for this one," Fred warned.

"He's dangerous," George told her in a voice of doom.

Ginny giggled. Hermione ignored them and smiled up at him. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Ron mimicked, batting his eyelashes.

"Uh, I was wondering if you have your schedule already," Hex said. "I thought maybe we could agree on when we could meet so you can tutor me."

"Oh, of course," Hermione said, taking her schedule from her bag. "When are you free?"

It was hard to concentrate with all the heckling from the Weasleys, but they agreed to meet in the library at two o' clock on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, after classes, and on weekends after Hex returned from work. "All right, then," he said, smiling. "I'll see you later."

"What's your first class for the day?" Ron asked him.

Hex checked his schedule. "Uh…Potions. Why?"

The other boy pointed to the Hufflepuff table. Maeve and Peter were gone. "You're late."

"Holy shit!" Hex called a hasty goodbye to the Gryffindors, scooped up his things, and dashed out of the Great Hall.

He stopped short out in the corridor. He had no idea where the Potions class was being held. How the hell was he going to get there?

"Ah, my lost sheep!" the ghost of the Fat Friar said as he floated in through a wall. "Late for class?"

"Can you show me how to get to the Potions classroom?" Hex panted, frantic.

"Certainly, dear boy! That's what house ghosts are for, after all. Just follow me!" And he glided down the corridor, singing in a very nice baritone.

Hex ran after the ghost, heart pounding. He'd never been afraid of being late before; but he didn't want to go back to Brooklyn, either. He followed the Fat Friar down wide and narrow corridors, jumping over invisible steps when the ghost told him to, until he found himself at the bottom of a dark, mossy staircase, before a heavy, iron-bound door.

Hex darted inside just as the teacher was calling his name. "Holmstrom, Hex!"

"Here!" he yelled, skidding to a stop, sneakers squeaking on the slimy stone floor, right in front of the teacher's desk.

The professor glared at him down a very long, hooked nose. "You are late, Mr. Holmstrom."

"I am not. I was in the classroom when you called me."

There were a few smothered titters behind him and the teacher's bony face tightened. "Odd," he said softly. "I was the Potions Master the last time I checked. You are late when I say you are, boy. That will be ten points from Hufflepuff. You are fortunate it isn't more. Go partner Brandegoris."

Hex went to join Peter at his cauldron, muttering curses under his breath. Maeve, standing at another cauldron next to a skinny girl with mousy hair, shot him a sympathetic look before the professor began his lecture.

"That Professor Snape is a real…jerk," Hex said through gritted teeth as the Hufflepuffs made their way to the Hogwarts greenhouses for double Herbology with the Gryffindors. "If you're in the classroom when he calls your name, you're not late. Any two-bit…creep knows that. If he were in Brooklyn, he'd get his pants sued off."

"But we're not in Brooklyn," Peter pointed out.

"Don't worry, Hex," Maeve consoled him. "Everybody hates Professor Snape, except the Slytherins."

"I take it he's their Head of House?" Hex snorted. "It figures."

But other than Snape's being a jerk, Potions wasn't so bad. The professor could pick on him for being late and talking back, but Hex discovered he was pretty good at Potions. He made a perfect Impervius Potion — a concoction that made anything waterproof — even with Snape hanging around behind him, making snide comments. In that respect, the hook-nosed Potions teacher reminded Hex of Mr. Debrew, who taught him chemistry at Lawton. Debrew suddenly sprouted bright blue hair out of his ears while criticizing Hex's use of the Bunsen burner. Looking back, Hex supposed that was actually his fault.

Professor Sprout was already in the greenhouse, smiling and greeting her students as they filed in. "Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another year at Hogwarts," she said when they were all inside. "Before we begin, I would like to introduce our new student, Mr. Hex Holmstrom. Hex, won't you come up here so people can see you?"

"Oh, man." Hex groaned silently as he made his way to the front of the greenhouse, ducking a curly vine that suddenly swung out at him. He turned and faced what looked like a sea of faces, above which he could see Ron trying to stifle his guffaws. Hex arched an eyebrow at the Gryffindor boy, then managed a smile and an elaborate bow for the class. "Hi, everybody."

"Ooh, he's cute!" he heard one of the Gryffindor girls — a slender little thing with honey-colored skin and liquid dark eyes — whisper. Hex winked at her and watched her giggle behind her hand.

"That was well done, my dear boy," Professor Sprout said, looking like a proud mother hen. "You may go back to your seat."

"Thanks." Feeling better now, he made his way back to his place. Later on, Harry, Ron and Hermione joined him, Peter and Maeve as they worked on repotting the Shivering Shummelflubs, clumps of purple leaves that shook and tried to jump out of their hands. Hex shot Ron a playfully dangerous stare as he wrestled one into a pot. "You're dead, Red."

"What did I do?!" he asked, jerking his gaze away from Maeve.

"You were laughing at me!"

"Ignore him, he laughs at everybody," Hermione said loftily.

"Then all of us victims must gang up on him someday," Hex said, but he chuckled. "Hey, I'm just playing around, all right?"

They heard a chorus of giggles coming nearer and nearer. Two Gryffindor girls, one of them the dark one Hex had winked at earlier, were approaching. "Hello," the fair one with curly brown hair said in a carefully casual voice. "We were wondering if you needed any help."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We're just fine here, thank you," she said flatly. "Lavender, Parvati, this is Hex Holmstrom. Hex, this is Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil from Gryffindor House."

"Oh, hi," Parvati said, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Hey," Hex replied. "How's it goin'?"

"You talk funny," Lavender said, giggling.

"All of you talk funny," Hex replied, grinning. "I'm from Brooklyn."

"That's in America," Ron explained to the two girls.

Lavender's violet eyes widened. "N'Sync is from America! Do you know them?"

"Uh, I've heard of them," Hex said.

"You must be really smart to enter Hogwarts as a fifth year," Parvati said in a worshipful voice.

Harry, Ron and Peter were trying not to snigger. Hex reddened. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, but Hermione still has to find out if I'm smart. She'll be helping me catch up," he explained.

"Oh, Hermione, you're so lucky!" It was Lavender's turn to bat her eyelashes at Hex. "Well, if you need any extra help, we're—oh!!!" She squealed and jumped back as a Shummelflub rocketed toward her and left a large smudge of dirt in the very center of her chest. "Oh, NO!!! My robes!!!"

"Uh, thanks," Hex said lamely. "I may take you up on that offer."

Parvati shot him a winsome smile before ducking the still-free Shummelflub and leading away Lavender, who was dangerously close to hysterics.

Ron grinned at him. "Someone's a hit with the ladies," he observed.

"Watch out," Harry cautioned as he tried to catch the Shummelflub. "If we have another Yule Ball this year, you might end up with more partners than you bargained for."

They tried to catch the rogue Shummelflub for a few more minutes, until Maeve ended the game by snatching it deftly out of mid-air. "I'm sorry." She blinked innocently at them as she crammed it into a pot. "I lost my grip."

"Well, that was a very good catch!" Ron said enthusiastically. "You should play…er…what's that Muggle game again…"

"Baseball," Hex said, grinning at Maeve when Peter wasn't looking.

"I was going to say cricket."

"Well, I'm American and I called it, so it's baseball."

"I am starved," Hex declared when they entered the Great Hall for lunch. He staggered melodramatically, to the amusement of his friends, to the Hufflepuff table, which was already set with many tempting dishes. "Food! Give me food!"

"Here," Maeve giggled, passing him a platter.

He filled his plate eagerly and was ready to dig in when he heard someone come up behind him. The next thing he knew, he was wearing his lunch. "Hey! What the—"

Sneering down at him were Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy stepped forward. "I told you I wasn't through with you, you insolent Yank Mudblood."

Sputtering and covered in gravy, peas and pork chops, Hex could only glare furiously as the trio of Slytherins moved down the table, did the same thing to some second year girls, then moved on to wreak havoc at the Ravenclaw table. "Dumb ass moron mother—" He bit back the rest of his outburst when he remembered Maeve was sitting next to him. "Sorry. I'm just mad. Good thing we learned that Cleaning Charm this morning."

Hex pointed his wand at himself. "Scurio!"

However, instead of making the stain disappear, he made the cloth under it disappear as well, and he found himself looking down at a gaping hole in his robes. "What the—"

Maeve giggled again. "I don't think you've quite mastered the technique," she said. "Remember, Professor Flitwick said you have to be in a suitable frame of mind for your charms to work."

"I wanted my clothes clean!"

"But you wanted to get at Draco and his friends more," she pointed out. Maeve produced her own wand. "Reparo!" she said, restoring the cloth and the stains. "Scurio!" And the stains promptly disappeared. "See?" she asked, smiling at him. "You just have to concentrate."

All of the other Hufflepuffs were already in the dormitory when Hex got there after a late dinner. "How was the tutoring?" Peter asked. He and Maeve were seated at a table doing their essay on "The Economic Significance (or Lack Thereof) of Troll Labor in the Magical World" for Professor Binns' History of Magic class.

"Fine." Hex joined them to begin work on his own essay. "We spent most of today in the library, though, so I haven't actually practiced any spells."

"You'll have plenty of time to do that on the weekends," Maeve said.

"Ah, Hex, you're back," Professor Sprout hailed him as she entered the common room. She liked to go round the dormitory after dinner to look in on her Hufflepuffs. "How was your first day at Hogwarts?"

"Just fine, thanks, ma'am," he said.

"Good to hear it." She patted his shoulder, leaving a few smudges of greenhouse dirt on his robes. "And the tutoring with Miss Granger?"

"It's off to a good start."

"Marvelous! I'm sure you'll be able to get all caught up in no time. Now, I've talked to Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, and she says you can attend her lesson on Thursday afternoon, if you are interested."

Flying? "That would be cool — I mean, great," Hex said, smiling. "Thank you, Professor Sprout."

"You're welcome, my boy. If you take to it you could get a spot on our House quidditch team." (A/N: Someone said "quidditch" should be a common noun, like baseball and hockey. Makes sense.)

"Quidditch?"

"It's the wizard sport," Peter interjected. "We'll explain it to you sometime. Maeve is on the team."

"Oh. Well, sure, if I'm any good, maybe I will try out for the team."

"Wonderful!" Professor Sprout patted Hex's shoulder again, sprinkling dirt on the parchment he'd unrolled for his essay. "Good luck, all of you! Now, I'll leave you to your work — you'll never catch up if you fall behind, you know," she said cheerfully, then moved on to another group of Hufflepuffs who were sitting near the fire.

"All right," Maeve said, opening her History of Magic text. "Let's get to work."

Hex dusted himself off and put on his earphones. He always worked better when there was music in the background. However, when he pressed the Play button on his Walkman, all he heard was a loud screeching. He pulled the earphones off with a startled oath.

His friends looked at him, baffled. "What happened?"

"I don't know." When he tried his Walkman again, all he heard was the same screeching. "Something's wrong with my Walkman."

Concluding Remarks: Two chapters in one day?! What is this world coming to?! :D Well, the extra chapter comes because I will be on vacation for all of next week (Holy Week for Catholics – my longest holiday off work) and will be unable to attend to my **droves of readers** until after Easter :(

But don't cry, I'll be back! And this entire fic has already been written, so the next installments are definitely coming! In the next chapter, Hex meets Maggie McGonagall, gets a taste of flying and quidditch, and has some fun with some **Hufflepuffs**. Watch for it! :D ~ Ara Kane