AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! (fighting off some very angry reviewers with a broom and a broken dishpan) Don't hurt me! Please, I swear, I'm not going to make him evil!! And I really DO have many good reasons for putting him in Slytherin, I swear I do!!
And I DIDN'T forget Junpei!! (points at fic) I had the first half of this chapter written when I posted the last one! Jeez, just 'cause I accidentally left him out of the other thing I worked on…
To those of you who wish I would hurry and update some of my other fics for once: I'M TRYING, I SWEAR!!!!! It's just I can't get any ideas…Maybe some help? (really big puppy dog eyes)
Disclaimer: I don't Harry Potter or the characters of Digimon Frontier. I'm just weird.
Chapter 11: After the Sorting
Kouji had started to get a little nervous after his brother clocked in four minutes under that hat. He was certain that even he hadn't taken that long, this was nerve-racking. He tried to be logical, to tell himself it was preposterous that Kouichi would be placed anywhere else, they were twins for crying out loud. And even if he was put somewhere else, it wasn't like he could get hurt, it was only a school…A magic and potentially dangerous school, mind you, but the actual Houses couldn't be so bad…
From the back of his mind, the Sorting Hat's voice came back to him.
"Just a small warning…" it had whispered to him. "This year may prove to be very difficult for you two…Very difficult indeed…"
After that, he was on pins and needles. He watched his brother closely, feeling an odd little prickle in the back of his head, near the base of his neck. Kouichi looked nervous, maybe a little scared, almost like he…
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat blared quite suddenly. The green-robed table across the room cheered as McGonagall lifted the hat off of Kouichi's head, leaving a very stunned-looking young man sitting on the stool. He hesitated a moment, then climbed slowly off and went to join his…'House'.
The people who knew him at Gryffindor, quite frankly, couldn't believe it. Especially Kouji, who didn't even hear McGonagall shouting "Entering Seventh Year! Shibuyama, Junpei!" in the new silence.
"Slytherin?" he heard Ron hiss to Harry, next to him. "Slytherin?! But…He didn't seam like a Slytherin, did he?"
Kouji made a low hissing noise. Junpei hurried up to take his place under the hat.
Takuya leaned across the table. "What's so bad about it? The hat said Slytherins were ambitious…so what?"
"The thing is…" Hermione leaned across to whisper at him. "Weather they're ambitious or cunning or anything is despite the fact that every wizard who's ever gone Dark at Hogwarts came from Slytherin."
Takuya looked pointedly confused. "Whattya mean 'went' dark?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow, glancing at Kouji for an explanation. The black-haired boy just shrugged, acting indifferent, as always, though inside he was fuming.
She turned back to Takuya. "The thing is…Almost all of the wizards from Hogwarts who went over to…" she paused, not wanting to freak them out too much. "Over to You-Know-Who's side came from Slytherin, and most of the ones in there now are either their children or of the same mind-set. They've turned out the more Dark Wizards per century than any other house!"
Takuya frowned, looking confused and maybe a tad bit affronted, and opened his mouth to speak. Kouji, sensing this was going into an area they didn't want to discus at the present time, kicked Takuya under the table. The other winced, biting his tongue before he could draw attention to himself.
And the hat shouted. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
The rest of the hall joined the golden-robed table in cheering as the large boy sat down. Dumbledore smiled as he stood once more, still clapping along until it died down to nothing. He then placed his hands on the table and seamed to look at each person with a pleasant smile on his face.
"To our new friends…Welcome! And to our old…Welcome back! From my current viewpoint, it is almost assured that this will be a most interesting year indeed. Before we get into this luscious feast so readily prepared for us, I just need to say one thing…Tuck in!"
The hall cheered as the food appeared on their plates. Harry noticed a few odd dishes, which he could only assume were Japanese, scatter amongst the usual meats and potatoes. Among them were a large, thick bowl of some kind of beef stew, a few trays of Onigiri, like that Izumi had made, and a plate of things that looked like little white flowers.
They weren't the only odd things. Next to their usual utensils, they had a small, flat dish with a pair of thin wooden sticks sitting on it that he could only assume were some kind of eating device. There was also a small bowl accompanying each set of plates and goblets that he had no idea what it was for…until Kouji stood and opened the large cask at the end of the table, scooping some plain white rice into Takuya's, Tomoki's and his own.
Harry turned back to Ron, who had picked up his own wooden sticks and was examining them. "What on earth are these things?"
"Chop sticks." Takuya said brightly. He held a pair in his right hand, almost like two pencils at once, and clicked them together in example. "See?"
Ron tried to position his the same way, but they fell loose and clattered to the table after only a second.
Takuya laughed a bit, then reached down into a flat dish and pulled out something white and round, with black…something…circling it and an odd pink thing in the middle. He held it expertly in the chopsticks, eating it bite by bite. On the other side of the table, Kouji had some sliced, spiced chicken on his plate, which he took piece by piece with a bit of rice following each bite, not saying a word and keeping one eye on the Slytherin table.
Harry, having already eaten a bit of everything he recognized, leaned over the wider, lower-set dish. He found several small objects of different size, color and shape, almost artfully arranged so that they fitted together nice and neat.
He took his spoon and scooped out one of the round things Takuya had taken, flipping it into his hand. The outside was kind of papery, like thick lettuce, while the innermost portion was a dark, almost slimy-looking red. At least the white stuff inside the black was definitely rice, all packed in nice and tight.
Takuya watched him with an amused air as he took a large bite, all three at once. Instantly, he gagged and spat it out into his napkin. "Yuck!"
"Harry!" Hermione looked annoyed, which made him consider that he might have offended someone.
Takuya and Tomoki, however, were cracking up over their food, and even Kouji looked amused at the show. Harry gulped down some pumpkin juice from his goblet, coming up for air a moment later.
"What is that stuff?" he exclaimed.
Takuya calmed down. "It's just sushi, Potter. White rice and fish…usually salmon, with that kind."
"Raw salmon." Kouji mentioned off-hand. Harry gagged again.
Ron looked pale. "So what's it wrapped in?"
"Seaweed." Kouji said simply.
Harry now looked rather green.
"It's a little weird if you're not used to it." Takuya grinned, trying to be comfortingly. "But if you develop a taste for it, it's really swell." Seeing the strained look on the other boy's face, he added. "Just be happy you didn't get the wasabi."
The British-born wizards refrained from eating the oriental dishes until dinner vanished and desert appeared. There were a few unusual sweet things amongst it all, but luckily, they were only a few odd chocolate or vanilla treats and dishes of tiny spun-sugar star flakes.
Kouji glanced back at the Slytherin table as he scooped out some mint-chocolate-swirled ice cream from one of the giant blocks. Kouichi was sitting at the very end of the bench, looking rather meek and quiet amongst the chattering, green-robed housemates. Occasionally, he would nod in response to whatever the blonde from before said to him, but other than that, his attention seamed completely focused on the piece of chocolate cake he was eating.
Kouji sighed, sitting down. He wanted to talk to him…very badly, he wanted to talk…but there was too much interference here. It would never get through properly. He shook his head and started on the ice cream.
Twenty minutes later, the remains of desert faded from sight, and the hall was immediately hushed. Dumbledore stood, looking out to address the school once more.
"Now that we have all partaken in another glorious opening feast, there are a few announcements to be made before we all head off to bed." he said, with his own kind of dignity and a warm smile on his lips. "First of all, I am pleased to welcome Professor Nymphadora…" the young woman coughed slightly in annoyance, and he smiled wider. "Professor Tonks, who has agreed to take up the position of our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for this coming year."
Tonks stood up to a mild applause. When she righted from a deep bow, her once lime-green hair was now a brilliant shade of sky blue, and her eyes were blazing orange. This earned her a great deal more cheers.
Dumbledore clapped as she sat down, then turned back. "Also, First Years and Transfers would do very well to note that the Forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden. By which I mean that no one…absolutely no one…is to enter it, at any time." For a moment, his eyes landed on Harry, Ron and Hermione, who glanced at each other a bit sheepishly. "Some of our older students may do well to remember that as well."
"Quidditch try-outs will be next week. If anyone is interested in playing for their house team…and I do believe there are many new openings…please see Madam Hooch. We're all looking forward to an impressive season this year."
"And finally…" a few people sighed gratefully. "There is a pressing matter I feel I must address: No one, absolutely no one is to leave the school building at any time after dark. Do not wander the grounds in the moonlight, however tempting though it may be, and take care not to stray outside of our boundaries at any time. There are dangers out there…dangers which, very soon, may come frighteningly close. But as long as the school remains standing, it shall be a safe place…for everyone."
For some reason, Kouji felt a chill run down his spine at the mention of dangers. Certainly it had nothing to do with him, but the Sorting Hat's warning made him more than a little jumpy.
"Now, I do believe it is time we returned to our separate bed chambers. Prefects, please lead the first years up to your dormitories…Transfers, if you will follow as well. I doubt anyone wants to sleep here in the Great Hall, however splendid it may be. Good night, all!"
TBC…
Gee…I hope I wrote Dumbledore alright…GAH!!! (runs away from reviewers, still angry over Kouichi being in Slytherin) DON'T YOU PEOPLE EVER TAKE A BREAK?!
