As the door shut, she sighed heavily and turned to face the thoughtful looking portrait on the wall. "What do you think Albus?"

"I think they have a very good point, and that you should let them into the school. But what do I know? I'm just a painting." His blue eyes twinkled mischievously as he settled back into his chair and read his book again. "It's your choice Minerva."

She sighed and smiled, shaking her head. "Alright Albus. Have a good evening."

"You too my Dear."

Chapter 8 - First Impressions

The next morning, Sora jumped about a foot in the air when he was pounced on and fire red hair slipped into his field of vision. "Oh god! Axel!" he scolded when the fire user cackled and slipped into the bench beside him, Demyx, Zexion and Lexaeus joining him.

"Morning squirt!"

Half the Gryffindor table stared nervously at Lexaeus' hulking frame, as he scooped up some food and began to eat.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, McGonagall cleared things with her staff last night when she had a chance. They'll all be yawning today after their huge discussion, but she pulled it off. We're in for the time being," Axel reported with a grin.

"That's great!"

"Right, Sora, who are your friends?" James asked with a frown as she surveyed the four Organization members.

Sora blinked before suddenly registering that they hadn't been introduced. "Sorry guys, this is Axel, Demyx, Zexion and Lexaeus. They're… well… I wouldn't say friends but I'm hoping we'll get there soon enough." He smiled and Demyx met him with a bright grin.

"Right."

"Demyx, stop being so bubbly," Zexion complained, and the blond pouted.

"Why? Zexy, don't you love me?" he whined and leant over the table to stare into the slate haired man's eyes with wide eyes.

Zexion pushed his face away and sighed. "It's too early to be putting up with your nonsense Demyx. I need coffee first. You know that."

The blond grinned and winked at Sora, who grinned back. "He loves me really, but he just doesn't want to admit it."

"Ugh, fluff," Axel gagged sarcastically while rolling his eyes. "Demyx, lay off the sweet sugary crap. Some of us are trying to eat breakfast."

"But it's good sweet sugary crap."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. You just don't want to admit it. You're jealous~!" he sung, laughing and ducking as the fire user threw a spoon full of baked beans at him.

James just looked amused and shrugged at Sora. "They're okay, I guess."

"Yeah, well we're the fun ones," Axel replied with a shrug. "The others all seem to have a very large stick up their arse."

"Don't let Saix hear you say that," Demyx warned.

Axel paled a little but laughed it off nervously with a shrug. "He's heard me say it a few times."

"Is that why you were limping for a couple of days after Saix when on a rampage?" Demyx asked warily, looking like he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Maybe," the red head replied evasively, scooping up some more food and beginning to eat.

"It was, wasn't it? See, I told you Zexy, it was Saix, not Xaldin!"

The slate haired nobody shrugged and went back to his breakfast of toast and coffee, along with some bacon and eggs. "You started that debate, not me."

Demyx just pouted.

Vexen suddenly slid into a seat across from Lexaeus, Marluxia, Larxene and Luxord joining the other Gryffindor's.

"Good morning," Luxord greeted pleasantly.

"Morning Lux," Demyx greeted with a grin. "Morning Lar-Lar, Marly, Vexen."

"Nine, how many times have I told you not to call me that?" Marluxia growled, glaring at the blond angrily.

"Uh...one hundred and seventy six times, I think," Demyx answered after a several seconds thought, eyes squinted in thought. "Or maybe it was one hundred and seventy seven… is that right?" He looked at Axel for confirmation.

Axel shrugged. "Don't look at me. I haven't been counting."

Marluxia rolled his eyes and served himself some breakfast.

Riku suddenly slid into the seat on the other side of Sora. "Morning," he greeted, giving the Organization members a wary look.

"Morning Riku!" Demyx greeted brightly. "You look well. It's been ages since we saw you last."

"Yeah," he mumbled and immediately went about serving himself some breakfast.

"Jeeze, someone's got the morning grumps. I'm just trying to be nice," Demyx grumbled with a pout.

"Riku's always been a grouch Dem. Don't let him get to you," Xigbar suddenly added, popping out of the table headfirst. The Gryffindor's that saw him screeched in surprise as the man jumped out of what looked like a pudding and landed behind the other members.

Vexen gave the Freeshooter an annoyed look. "Is it impossible for you to make an entrance to breakfast normally?"

"Yup," Xigbar replied with a grin and placed an arm around the academic's shoulders, sighing as it was shrugged off. "Oh loosen up Vex. That stick seems like it's gotten tighter instead of looser after a good night's sleep."

"What stick?" Marluxia asked with a smirk. "He seems to have a permanent butt plug cemented in there."

Vexen glared at the Graceful assassin while Xigbar laughed and Zexion hid a smirk in his coffee. Axel snickered and Demyx just looked confused.

"Can we keep the conversation to a PG rating at the breakfast table please?" Luxord asked grimly, sipping at his coffee. "Some of us would like to eat without vulgar comments making this whole meal unpleasant."

"I agree," Lexaeus rumbled, going back to his toast.

"Spoil sports," Larxene mumbled around a smirk.

Sora blinked at them in confusion while Riku sighed. "Hey um… what's a butt plug?" Sora asked curiously.

The Organization members all blinked at the Keyblade Master before falling about in varying degrees of laughter, unless of course you were Vexen and Lexaeus, who just looked amused. Demyx was also looking curious. Riku blushed bright crimson and hid his face, trying not to laugh as well.

"It's a sex toy," Vexen explained, ignoring the raucous laughter coming from the more immature members of the Organization.

"Oh…" Sora murmured, eyes lighting up in acknowledgement. "But… isn't that bad for your health? Having one permanently cemented in your ass? It must feel weird…"

Riku face palmed and shook his head, a few chuckles leaving his throat to make themselves known. "Sora, you're not meant to take it literally. Xigbar meant it figuratively."

Xigbar, Larxene, Marluxia and Axel by this point were about to hit the floor from how hard they were laughing, tears running down their cheeks as they clutched at their stomachs.

"Oh…" Sora murmured, blushing embarrassedly.

Axel slung an arm around the brunette's shoulders, ignoring the protective glare from Riku, still laughing. "Ah, Sora, how I missed your naivety."

Sora just gave a sheepish grin and went back to his breakfast.

"Good morning," Saix greeted as he appeared behind Larxene and Marluxia. He took one look at the snickering members and decided he'd rather not ask. He focused on Vexen and Zexion instead. "We have a meeting with Headmistress McGonagall this morning after breakfast. All of us."

"Alright," Zexion nodded and took another sip of his coffee.

The Luna Diviner turned and walked away.

"Doesn't he ever eat?" Demyx asked curiously.

"Doesn't look like it," Axel replied with a shrug and a grin. "Maybe it's all those moon beams?"

"Maybe…"


Sora walked into the dining hall that night for dinner and stopped and stared as he saw Demyx chatting happily to Axel, James, Albus, Lily and Hugo, dressed in Gryffindor robes.

"How the heck did Demyx make Gryffindor?" Riku asked in disbelief, making a beeline for the musical blond.

"I don't know," Sora replied, following his friend.

"Yo," Axel greeted with a two-fingered salute and a grin as they drew closer. "Guess what, we made Gryffindor."

"How?" Riku asked, staring at Demyx. "I mean… I can understand you Axel, but Demyx?"

"We're not sure either," Axel replied with a shrug. "Either way, he is one."

"Where are the others placed?" Sora asked curiously, taking a seat at the table.

Riku joined him, ignoring the glare from Professor Vane.

"Well… Xigbar is staff, and he's Ravenclaw; Xaldin is staff, and he's Slytherin; Vexen is staff, he's a Ravenclaw; Lexaeus is staff, and he's Hufflepuff; Zexion is a student, and he's Slytherin; Saix is staff, and he's Slytherin; I'm a Gryffindor student, obviously; Demyx is a Gryffindor student as well. We're both in seventh year. Luxord is a Slytherin teacher; Marly is Slytherin staff and Larxene is Slytherin staff."

"I would have thought Zexion would be Ravenclaw," Riku mused thoughtfully.

"So did we," Axel said with a shrug. "Although I guess he made Slytherin because he's such a scheming bastard."

"That's not nice Axel," Demyx suddenly defended with a scowl.

"How did you make Gryffindor?" Sora asked the blond musician curiously.

Demyx pouted and teared up a little. "I didn't want to be by myself…"

Riku's palm connected with his face. "The hat has a sense of empathy. Great."

Axel just laughed and slung an arm around his friend, shaking his head. "Only you Dem."

Demyx grinned and shrugged, a light blush crossing his face.

"Good morning!" Demyx greeted cheerfully the next morning.

Lily glared at him. "Must you be so cheerful in the morning?"

"It's his natural charm," Axel informed her, slipping into the seat beside her, making her jump as he practically appeared out of nowhere. "You'll get used to it."

She glared at him while clutching at her chest. "Jeeze, give me a heart attack why don't you?"

"Yup. Didn't you know? It's national scare Lily day," the red head said with a grin as he patted her on the head and grabbed a piece of toast.

She grumbled and brushed him off.

"Good morning you three," Sora greeted as he approached with Rose, Albus and James. "I hope you all slept well?"

"Nope, I have a test first thing this morning and I was up most of the night studying," Lily complained as she yawned.

Rose gave her a sympathetic look. "What topic?"

"Potions."

"Oh, good luck."

"Thanks."

"What time does it start?"

"Soon." She quickly went back to her breakfast, glancing at a couple of pages of notes as she ate.

Rose scooped them up. "Here, I'll test you."

Lily gave her a grateful smile.


Sora couldn't help but laugh as he found Zexion in his potion's class later that day. The slate haired teen just glared at him and then ignored him.

"Sorry," Sora apologised as he approached the nobody. "I wasn't expecting to find you here. I thought you were older than me?"

"No, I'm a year younger than you," Zexion replied even as he scanned the potions textbook. "Why? Does it interest you that much?"

Sora blinked in surprise at the curt tone. "Well, I suppose so, otherwise I wouldn't be asking."

Zexion blinked and looked at him in surprise before shaking his head. "Go and sit down Sora, we can talk later."

Nodding, the brunette did as he was instructed, a few seconds before the potions master swept into the room.


"Burn, baby, burn!" Axel cackled later that day at lunch, laughing as he flambéed his underdone steak, which was actually quite well cooked.

The Gryffindor students around him just looked at him and scooted down the bench as far as they could away from him.

Axel didn't care though, and when it was cooked enough for his liking, he smothered the flames, waving a hand over his now smoking steak.

"Must you do that in polite company?" Luxord asked grimly as he approached the fire head.

"Yo, Lux," Axel greeted with a grin as he looked up at the Brit. "Care for some steak?" He reached for another piece of nicely cooked steak.

"No thank you," Luxord quickly intercepted, grimacing at the sight of the charcoal black smoking steak. "I was looking for Vexen. Have you seen him?"

"Last I saw that old fart he was down exploring the potions stores in the dungeons."

"Thanks. Enjoy your…. Steak," Luxord said, not quite sure what to call the lump of burnt meat.

"Will do," Axel said with a laugh and turned back to scoop up some salad.

Luxord just quickly left.


"Wheeeeeeeeeeee~!" Demyx squealed as he surfed down a corridor on his sitar. The water he was riding left the stone tiles behind him barely damp as it recollected at the front.

People just stared as Demyx swept past them, arms thrown out in front of him.

The wave suddenly froze and stopped dead, sending Demyx flying off his sitar to sprawl on the cold stone. "Ow…. Vexen that hurt!" Demyx whined as he sat up to glare at the Chilly Academic, who was looking rather unimpressed while holding a stack of papers, his right arm outstretched towards the now frozen wave.

"You should not have been riding it through the halls in the first place."

"Why? It's not like I was hurting anyone, or leaving a mess." The musician pouted and stood upright, walking back over to his sitar to try and extract it from the ice.

"Regardless, the last thing we want right now is to be thrown out of the castle," the scientist replied with a sigh before continuing on his way. "Please refrain from such antics for now."

"Fine," Demyx grumbled. "Can you at least unfreeze my sitar before you leave?"

Vexen didn't bother answering and kept walking.


KABOOOM!

The castle rocked and some stone dust rained down on them in the Potion's lab.

"What was that?" Sora asked as he coughed, looking at the ceiling.

"It sounded like Axel," Zexion reported as he went back to his potion, drawing his partners' attention back to the bubbling purple liquid.

"Aren't you even a little bit concerned?" Albus asked worriedly. "I don't know what he blew up, but it sound like a big explosion."

"Demyx is with him and Axel can control his fire. I am not worried about them," Zexion replied without even looking up from reading the instructions in the textbook.

The rest of fourth year Slytherin and Gryffindor took their cue and went back to their work, curiosity burning to go and see what had happened.

Vexen watched them all with an approving eye from the front of the class, his nose buried in a potions book as he scribbled out notes for his own use.


"AXEL!" Riku yelled angrily as he coughed and unplastered himself from the wall that he'd hit in the last explosion. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"

"This… stupid… stick!" Axel growled as he waved his wand around, flicking it up and down as he tried to get it to work properly. "It won't do what I want it to do. Ugh… You are retarded, you hear me?" He yelled at the wand, before flicking it back at the wall again, creating another explosion, except this one on a smaller scale as he wall exploded.

Riku quickly threw up a shield, reflecting the flying debris before growling at Axel again. "Axel, put the frigging thing down before you kill someone!"

The fire wielder grumbled and did as he was told.

The class all sagged in relief, coughing and either sinking to the ground or pushing themselves upright as the tension released from their bodies now that the danger of being blown up had been removed.

"Mr Flame," Minerva growled, glaring at the red head over the top of her blackened glasses and messy bun, "Would you remain behind please? The rest of you, you are dismissed. Please go and see Madame Pomphry if you need to."

The class all gathered their possessions and left the room quickly, Riku following their example.

"He's insane!" Riku hissed at Demyx, who quickly followed him out of the room with everyone else.

"He's just frustrated," Demyx replied as they walked towards the Gryffindor tower together. "I can understand why. All my spells are coming out with water at the moment. I keep drenching everything I try to do."

"Really?" Riku asked curiously.

"Yup. Ready? I'll show you." Demyx pulled his wand out, flicked it, and said "Lumos!"

A glowing fountain of water emerged from the wand and flew straight at a second year Ravenclaw, drenching her.

She shrieked, and Demyx froze, the spell breaking now that his concentration had been broken.

"Oh… I'm so sorry!" Demyx squeaked. "I didn't know it would hit anyone!"

The girl glared at him before looking down at her dripping books, her eyes widening in horror. "My notes!" Green eyes turned to glare at the blond angrily. "How DARE you! You'll pay for that!" Her wand was whipped out and pointed at Demyx, who squeaked and hid behind Riku. "Defodio!"

Riku and Demyx both ducked and the spell flew over their heads, gouging a large hole into the wall behind them. They looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They were getting out of there. Both other worlders broke into a sprint for the Gryffindor Tower, the second year Ravenclaw chasing them all the way, firing spell after spell at them angrily.

The Fat Lady took one look at them, opened the portrait and closed it behind them quickly. Demyx and Riku both doubled over, panting as they stood in the middle of the Gryffindor Common room.

"Well, we're alive," Demyx panted as he straightened and wiped the sweat from his chin.

The two fifth years both looked at each other and burst into laughter. Looking back on it, that had been quite funny.

Tbc~