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/An•guis/

Noun – Latin

1. a long limbless reptile that has no eyelids, a short tail, and jaws that are capable of considerable extension. Some snakes have a venomous bite.

2. a treacherous or deceitful person.

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Chapter III

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The transparent glass separating the sixteen-year-old and the outside world prevented the sooty steam from seeping inside the Hogwarts' Express. Even in the most secluded corner of the middle compartment carriage, the joyful hustle of children and teenagers entered his ears, the noise a distinct reminiscent of the time he had spent staying at the pub. The shrill sound of the last warning whistle alerted the students still standing on platform nine and three quarters that the train was about to depart with or without them. His dark eyes danced with hidden amusement as his potential peers gave out muffled squeals, hurrying with their last farewells before boarding the smoke emitting transportation.

There was a peculiar stirring in the depths of his belly as the cloud of steam dissolved, revealing the expressions of various guardians who stayed behind to watch the train take off, proudness dancing across their features. He remembered all the times he had wished his own father would have regarded him with an identical expression such as the older wizards and witches still standing on the platform sported, before brushing the longing feeling into the back of his mind.

He shifted his eyes to observe his more than lively environment – which was filled with deep green garments of clothing in an obvious statement of house pride, with a few traces of yellow and blue here and there – before turning his attention to the roar of laughter resounding all the way from the other carriages of the train. He peered out of the cool window, narrowing his eyes when his onyx gaze landed on the shaggy black dog chasing the scarlet train in delight, before the metal transportation turned a sharp corner.

Some of the Slytherin students mirrored his actions, yet quickly looked away as the excited dog didn't bring the same sort of amusement to them as it did to the Gryffindor house just a closed door away. He leaned into his cushioned seat, flicking up his standard – house color lacking – black robes behind him to reveal long legs in dark required trousers. His long fingers – prosthetic and his own flesh – steepled together unconsciously as he placed his elbows on the small wooden surface of the train's table.

He couldn't quite recall the last time he was surrounded by such infuriating clatter, yet a sense of déjà vu of his less than enjoyable academy days flashed before his vision. The stares that some of the students directed at him were those of curiosity – seeing as they couldn't place a name to his face and the obvious fact he wasn't a First Year – yet half of the females regarded him with the all too familiar gaze that he loathed to no end.

The ruckus died down over time when the rest of the students seemed to find themselves a stable place to rest in for the remaining of hours it took to get to the castle. Relaxing slightly when he could finally make out his own thoughts from the noisy chatter of the Hufflepuff Third Year and a Slytherin Fourth Year girl, he let his shoulders slouch.

Once, the door to the spacious compartment was opened by a bushy haired girl and a red haired male. They seemed to be supervising their behavior as the ginger haired boy strutted around, while his companion scowled at him disapprovingly. A few of the Slytherins – seeing as the carriage was overrun by them – shot open hostile looks at them, making the two Gryffindors rather uncomfortable if their quickly changing body language was anything to go by. After that, the only ones patrolling the almost strictly snake den were two Fifth Year Slytherins.

Sasuke soon realized that the duos of students were so called 'Prefects' that he had read about in one of the volumes of 'HOGWARTS: A HISTORY', that were supposed to keep order among the student body.

Yet he didn't miss the hints of supremacy the pale blonde was idly showing, or the sugar coated threats the Fifth Year girl threaded with years of practice to the Hufflepuff girl sitting on the other side of the aisle from him.

As time dragged on, Sasuke looked out the western window at the rapidly setting sun as he skimmed through one of his textbooks he had taken from his trunk that rested on the rack above him. He did not miss the calculating looks of barely hidden confusion from the male Slytherin Prefect every time he surveyed the carriage when his eyes landed on him, until the sky clouded in inky dark rain clouds. Sasuke didn't look up when he heard the opposite cushioned seat dip with the weight of the blonde, until his ears picked up the arrogant drawl of the other male.

"I don't seem to recall ever seeing you around here." The blonde stated, looking pointedly at the textbook resting loosely in his left artificial hand. The dark haired male clenched his jaw when the intruding boy regarded the ring resting on his index finger with mild interest, causing Sasuke to shut his book with a loud snap.

"I'm new here." His tone was clipped, each syllable dropped with precision, the alien English language rolling from his tongue with ease. The blonde looked thoughtful for a few moments, flashes of confusion morphing his aristocratic features. "I wasn't aware Hogwarts allowed new students, especially during OWLs Year." His eyes shot down to the Fifth Year Potions textbook Sasuke placed on the small table between them, that he himself had in possession.

"They usually don't." Sasuke agreed with a vague lilt in his tone. "But I'm a special case, Malfoy." The Uchiha held back the smirk threatening to emerge on his face as the Malfoy's heir's eyes widened at the mention of his family name. Sasuke recalled the various descriptions of all the noble houses in wizarding Britain – frowning deeply at the words of madness and insanity written next to the Gaunt family name – and the prominent distinct feature of pale blonde hair running in the Malfoy family for several centuries

"Indeed." His peer nodded his head slowly, before a smirk curled up on his face. "I couldn't help but notice your accent, you're a foreigner, aren't you?" The raven haired male nodded his head slightly, indicating that the Malfoy was correct in his assumption.

"It would seem I don't need to introduce myself to you, seeing as you already know my last name." The blonde extended his right hand for the dark youth to shake. "But it is customary to introduce oneself to a potential…" The blonde paused, as if searching for the right word to use. "Friend." The undertone of the statement was well understood by the Uchiha, even if his words were laced with an innocent flare to them.

"I agree." Sasuke said, his dark gaze judging his every nuance and reaction. "Sasuke Uchiha." His gaze didn't waver, even when his peer's face scurried into a frown – trying to determine his blood status no doubt – as Sasuke grasped his still awaiting hand in a steel grip. A smirk lighted up his usually blank face when the blonde gave a rather meek shake. "Draco Malfoy." He introduced himself with an arrogant tone which didn't match his intimidated form that cowered slightly from the heavily dark gaze.

"A pleasure." Sasuke forced out, figuring that having one of the – if not the – most influential families as an ally was highly beneficial.

Even if the company of a spoiled brat was completely, personally unwelcome and uncalled for.

Minutes passed in barely comfortable silence before Draco stood up to take his leave, his nod indicating a farewell which made Sasuke smirk slightly. It would seem that he had recieved a sort of approval from the blonde. The Prefect obviously labeled him as a half-blood – pureblood at best – which seemed to suffice to the Malfoy enough to not cut off all ties with the Uchiha after the first meeting. Sasuke twirled the ring wrapped around his prosthetic finger in thought, contemplating his own potential allies he should require.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours as the train rattled and swayed along the road. The Uchiha long since tossed the textbook back into his quite light – for reasons the rest of the students shouldn't know – trunk, preferring to look out the window instead. Soon, the lamps above his head automatically lighted up, making it harder to make out the dark scenery even more. The calm of the students started to dissolve, leading Sasuke to believe that their arrival will come sooner than he had expected. Withdrawing the plastic container of the magic-infused pills when the mild chatter of the Slytherin students started to sound like total gibberish, he plopped the dreadfully tasting tablet into his mouth. Closing his onyx colored eyes as the knowledge of the foreign English language started to come back to him in waves as all the different words engraved themselves in his brain for a few hours.

He frowned as a mild headache started to form at an alarming rate, vowing to learn the dreadful language as soon as time permitted him to as a voice echoed through the train, telling the students of their soon arrival. Not a five full minutes passed when the train came to an abrupt stop, making Sasuke look out the rain covered window. As he suspected, they have finally arrived to their destination. Students from the further carriage spilled into theirs, excitement etched into their faces as they shoved lightly to fasten the pace. The Uchiha stood up, grasping his trunk's handle before hauling the container from the rack above his head with his real hand – even when it was required to leave his luggage on the train, he wasn't naïve as to leave his research with the likes of Dumbledore. He, like many others waited patiently for the exit of the train to unclog, all the while letting himself drift into the string of students paying him no mind.

When his leather covered right foot met the solid flooring of the cold and damp platform, he scanned his surroundings, wondering which direction should he take. He saw the little First Years heading down a narrow path, making the gears in the shinobi's mind turned in contemplation at the prospect of following the Firsties, considering that he too needed to be sorted into a house. Activating his bloodline limit in the blackness of the evening, he saw older students walking in the other direction, but before he could form another thought, he heard his name being called in the distance.

He turned his scarlet gaze to the path the small eleven year olds took, only for a beacon of pale blonde to enter his vision. Releasing a small breath of cool air that formed a mist in front of his schooled blank face, he traversed the small platform and reached Draco in several quick strides, his Sharingan deactivating before the other male had the chance to catch a glimpse of the unnatural color his eyes were moments ago. He nodded in greeting as the blonde gave him a smirk, the other Slytherin Prefect by his side.

Sasuke scanned her features, before looking back to the face of the Malfoy. He felt the female's eyes on him, but paid no mind as he was used to the dream-filled gazes directed at him from a rather tender age. "How about we crash a lift?" He gestured to the small fleet of boats ready to depart the moment the female Professor barked out a command of 'forwards'. The brown haired girl looked up with a hint of uncertainty at the prospect of getting caught and getting her authority stripped away on her very first day while Sasuke stared blankly ahead where the rest of the Fifth year Prefects helped the first timers board the self-sailing boats. Without uttering a single word, he tossed his trunk carelessly onto the wooden boat which rocked when it supported Sasuke's weight.

The water around him seemed to rise when a First Year boy joined him, staring wide-eyed at the obviously older boy. Sasuke looked down at him with his disarming eyes, making the small male shift rather uncomfortably. He could see his newly made acquaintance at the shore arguing with the two Gryffindor Prefects from before as the bushy haired girl threatened to report him and the Slytherin girl for their less than acceptable behavior towards the frightened First Years.

A sardonic smirk curled itself onto his face when the rather disgusting insult of the Gryffindor's blood purity was hurled at her by Malfoy, making Sasuke's guess about the blonde's political views confirm.

Did he really want to get himself tangled with supremacist sycophants for the rest of his educational years?

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In his defense, he already suspected this result ever since he cracked open the first volume of the countless of tomes about the ancient school he currently resided in.

Tugging off the emerald green and silver tie that adorned his neck moments ago, he observed the lavish common room of his new house.

Slytherin.

What an entirely unsurprisingly surprise.

Ambitious as he was, he suspected that the ugly, faded brown hat would of considered him a Gryffindor after the events that fell into place during the war, yet the cunningness of his nature seemed to push through the possibility of becoming the golden red lion of Hogwarts. When he sat there, on a stool in the rubbish-stuffed office of Albus Dumbledore with the old-fashioned hat filled with patch-jobs resting on top of his head, Hufflepuff was not uttered a single time.

There was an ominous suggestion of Ravenclaw at one point, but the prying hat brushed the suggestion off when he dug deeper into his head. All the while, chuckles and incredulous laughter filled his thoughts as the sorting hat scouted through his memories, never before having witnessed the sight of a shinobi's mind. With a breathless giggle and a promise of secrecy from spilling a single thing he saw in the Uchiha's mind, the aged hat gave a shout of "SLYTHERIN", much to the grimness of the equally aged Headmaster. It was obvious from Dumbledore's expression that the result was much expected as it was to Sasuke himself.

After that was done, the two wizards entered the awaiting Great Hall, walking side-by-side before Albus pointed out the Slytherin table to which Sasuke walked over to, catching the sight of a waving, ring-filled hand of one Draco Malfoy calling him over yet again. He reluctantly sat down between Draco and a male with light brown hair who introduced himself as Theodore Nott later that evening. He figured it was best to stick with the more prominent students that bore more powerful surnames, because even though they were rather annoying like the others, at least they were distinctly more useful than the other lot.

What a Slytherin thing to do, indeed.

With Malfoy's uncanny sort of delusion that he was under his wing of sort, the other students opened up to him in a heartbeat – to his dismay – causing an eruption of questions to befall on him to which he didn't feel a least bit obligated to answer.

Yet an unexpected obstacle seemed to worm its way into the school that placed even Albus Dumbledore on edge. And that was the interference of the Ministry of Magic. When Dolores Umbridge stood up from her seat at the teachers' table, the first and only thought that came to mind during the length of her speech was that Naruto had ordered an abomination of a toad he calls a great summoning to spy on him, because no genetical excuses Sakura would've tried to tell him could explain the toad-like features of the horrid woman in the cardigan. Digesting the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher's words and the rest of his meal that was filled with pointless chatter, Sasuke soon came to realize that the Ministry's interference was caused by the old Headmaster and the boy with the round glasses just a table or so away.

He had messy hair, just as it looked like in the black and white moving pictures in the Daily Prophet that he had read once or twice, sporting vibrant green eyes from behind the lenses of his glasses. With Sasuke's sharp vision, he could detect a scar on his forehead that was covered with the locks of his dark hair. The standard Gryffindor tie was tied loosely around his neck, that his two friends that adorned Prefect badges also wore. He seemed to sense Sasuke's unwavering stare, due to the fact he turned his own eyes to him. They shared a look for several seconds, making Sasuke's eyebrows pinch in confusion when the boy rubbed his forehead almost as if soothing a rising headache. The Uchiha's did a double check to see if his Sharingan didn't accidentally activate, yet realized that they were in fact, not activated.

His friends sent the new member of the Slytherin house fleeting looks as Sasuke tried to recall the name of the boy, before it clicked. Harry Potter. The boy-who-lived, more commonly known now as the boy-who-lied. The two of them – Dumbledore including – claimed that the 'Dark Lord' has returned, which the Ministry heavily denied. Sasuke paused in his musings. Voldemort. That was the name of the Dark Wizard that had caused the First Wizarding War. Sasuke had a mild feeling in his gut that it was in fact, entirely possible – considering the return of Madara Uchiha who was presumed dead after his Battle with his long time rival Hashirama.

Yet he came back stronger than ever and any doubts that the ninja have had of his return were crushed into the dust like countless of lives that were lost in the war.

Now, sitting in the rather comfortable armchair placed besides the window, he asserted what would be the next course of action he should take. On his lap rested a book he had took from his trunk that he had stashed under his bed in his dorm that he shared with Nott and Zabini. He was quite glad he didn't get roomed with the likes of Malfoy – his boasting was infuriating to no end.

He gazed out the window that gave him a generous eyeful of the underwater view of the Great Lake. The body of water surrounding the spacious room gave a green tinge to it, as well as a cold atmosphere. A sneer curled onto his face when he saw a a tentacle swish by. He didn't have much love for the cephalopod mollusks after the brief encounter with the Eight Tails. When the sound of the common room entrance being opened and closed became fewer by each passing minute, Sasuke decided that it was best to go to bed earlier than usual.

Entering the dorm room, he paused in his step, giving a nod of greeting to his more favored housemates that were more collected – if you could call Zabini that – than the rest. Theodore Nott looked up from the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook to acknowledge the Uchiha, before burying his nose back into the pages. From the frown clipped onto his expression, the brown haired Slytherin seemed to share his disdain for the lack of practical work that they'll be performing during their DADA lessons for the duration of the year. On the other hand, Blaise Zabini was unpacking his clothes from his trunk, turning around to give his brown owl that was perched on his shoulder a treat or two from time to time.

''I was beginning to wonder when you'll be joining us, Uchiha.'' Blaise shot a boyish grin, which was dismissed when the only response he received was a muted 'hn' from the said male. He traversed to his bed at the far off corner, noting the slight vain streak in the dark skinned boy when he stepped next to the full-length mirror and examined his person. Nott gave out a snort of amusement which was followed by a snarky comment on Blaise's unchallengeable ability of posing, which resulted in painting Zabini's face a furious red.

Blocking out the unwelcome banter of the two other occupants of the room, Sasuke placed his wand under his pillow, before drawing the silky green hangings surrounding his four-poster bed. He examined the slightly different coloring of his hands in comparison, before removing the Gaunt family ring from his leathery index finger of his left hand. Resting the ring next to the cherry wood wand, he placed his head onto the quite comfortable cushion, not bothering to bid goodnight to his roomates as he drifted off to sleep.

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A/N:
Kuroneko: Thank you so much! I de-aged him to sixteen just for that reason, actually. :D As much as I love Sasuke, he needs to have at least a few restrictions from time to time, otherwise the story would become quite dull.
Ndasuunye: Sasuke from the start was very selective on the matter of what is and what is not a waste of his time. He wouldn't necessarily find every spell useful to him, that's why he 'partially memorized' persay. When I say memorize, it actually means he could recite every description of wand movement and incantation that his eyes had grazed over in those pages, and lemme tell you, that book isn't thin either! Some of the spells he ruled out as uncanny, yet the effects of them he had read over for future reference if it was cast against him. Hope that clears some things up for you, thank you for reviewing!