The exchange students shuffled along the large corridors, the hogwarts three a little behind them.
"Exchange students!"
All of the ninjas stopped and looked to their left.
McGonagall was standing at the foot of a large stone griffin, motioning for the exchange students to come over, and they did.
More specifically; Naruto bounced-, Kiba sauntered-, Sasuke strolled-, Gaara scuffed-, Neji glided- and Sakura skipped- over.
"It is time for you three--" McGonagall motioned to Kiba, Neji and Gaara, "-- to be sorted. Please follow me." McGonagall turned to face the griffin and murmered a soft word to it, it immeietly revealing a spiral staircase.
"Please enter." McGonagall said simply, stepping aside.
"Can we come?" Sakura asked excitedly as Kiba, Neji and Gaara swept up the stairs.
McGonagall nodded and followed Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke up the stairs, the griffin making the staircase disappear after them.
Harry, Hermione and Ron stared at the griffin from a little way down the hallway.
"We've got potions in three minuites!" Hermione squeaked, looking at her watch.
Harry and Ron cursed at the same time and the three of them sprinted to the dungeons.
Meanwhile, in Dumbledore's office, team seven were sitting on a couch, watching Neji be sorted, Dumbledore watching closely from behind his desk.
"Hmm... Confusing, a little confusing..." frowned the sorting hat atop Neji's bandanna.
Neji said nothing, sitting perfectly and elegantly on the wooden stool.
"Hn... You've got quite a brain here, 'genius', some would say." the hat continued, it's brim drooping a little, casting Neji's shallow eyes into darkness.
Neji merely closed his eyes.
"Ah! I know! Ravenclaw!" the hat crowed.
Neji nodded and McGonagall gripped the hat, lifting it off Neji's head, the brim catching on Neji's bandanna and pulling it away from his forehead a little.
Neji gasped, clapping his hand over his forehead, standing up and sitting on one of the plush chairs, edging the bandanna back over his forehead carefully.
McGonagall glanced at Dumbledore, silently asking what that was about, but Dumbledore merely gave her a smile that said 'It is not our buisness Minerva, if he wishes to tell us, he will.' Yes. Dumbledore can fit lots of words into one look.
"Who is next?" McGonagall asked sharply, looking over at Kiba and Gaara, who were still standing.
Kiba bounded forward and jumped onto the stool, swinging his legs backward and forward, grinning like a lunatic.
McGonagall placed the hat on Kiba's head and the hat immediately said "Got a brain like a Weasley, this one."
Kiba looked up at the brim of the hat, pouting a little. "Is that good?"
"It sure as hell makes my job easier! Griffindor!"
McGonagall pulled the hat off again, Kiba immediately raising a hand to his hair and messing it up a little before walking over and sitting on the chair beside Neji.
Gaara walked forward, sitting on the stool.
"... Mr Gaara, i think it would be easier if you took of your hat." McGonagall said sternly.
"No." was all Gaara said, not taking off his cap that covered everything above his glowing eyes.
McGonagall felt the hat squirm in her hand. "Slytherin."
Dumbledore and McGonagall raised their eyebrows at the hat. It hadn't even been placed on Gaara's head yet.
"Are you sure?" asked McGonagall. "You havn't even seen the child's mind ye--"
"Oh yes i have!"
Everyone blinked at the hat.
"I can feel it from here... Both of them, in that head of his..." the hat shuddered.
Gaara slowly turned to the sorting hat. "Both of us?"
Naruto squirmed slightly and walked over to Gaara. "C'mon. Leave it."
"He said both!" Gaara hissed, turning to Naruto, still sitting on the stool.
"he's a hat!" Naruto argued. "And anyway! You can't kill a hat just because he knows about him!"
"Yes..." whispered the hat, everyone turning to him again. "Those second minds of yours... They're rather similar."
Gaara felt Naruto tense immedietly.
Dumbledore sat at his desk, observing the children closely over his interlinked fingers. "I think that will be all, Sorting hat..."
The hat looked at Dumbledore. "... Hn."
McGonagall gave Dumbledore a glance before placing the hat on it's shelf.
Gaara stared down at his tie, as it faded from it's plain black, to silver and green.
"Well, you should all go to your lessons. The Griffindors and Slytherins are having a potions lesson, and the Ravenclaws are having a herbology lesson." McGonagall said sharply, handing Sakura and Neji the Ravenclaw timetables, ((i am very sorry! i noticed sakura should've been in Ravenclaw because she's smart. i only just changed it!)) Sasuke and Gaara the Slytherin timetables, and Kiba and Naruto the Griffindor timetables.
A few minuites later, the six shinobi were outside the office, just in front of the griffin, saying a light 'seeya' and walking off to their lessons.
Kiba and Naruto were talking hurriedly about what 'potions' could possibly be, and Gaara and Sasuke were completely silent.
Eventually they made their way to the right dungeon and Kiba and Naruto shoved it open, Sasuke and Gaara a way behind them, still not at the door just yet, silence falling in the class immediately after the door opened.
"Oh. It's him." Naruto blinked, looking at Snape, who was standing at the front of the class.
"Late, are we?" hissed Snape threateningly.
"We had to be sorted." Kiba shrugged, completely forgetting about being polite, jabbing a thumb at his new gold and red tie.
"Let's see.." Snape grinned. "Five points off each of you."
"It's a pity, since you're docking your own house ten points too." came Gaara's soft voice as he nudged in between Naruto and Kiba, walking into the room, Sasuke walking in behind him.
Malfoy, who was sitting near the front of the class wrinkled his nose a little at Sasuke, while Snape glared down at Gaara, who was leaning against the back wall lightly.
"You were sorted into my house?" Snape hissed.
Gaara did his 'I am going to kill you in your sleep and suck your blood out your ears' grin.
"Sit!" was all Snape said, pointing sharply at an empty table at the back of the class.
Gaara took his time walking over to the table, sliding into the stool and dropping his bag at his feet. Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba all waited patiently at the door.
"All of you! Sit!" Snape growled, still pointing at the table.
Naruto and Kiba hurriedly ran to the table, Sasuke merely walking over to it.
"Mr Gaara..." Snape gritted out, gliding in between the tables and standing right behind Gaara.
Gaara turned his head minutely to the side so he could see Snape.
"... Your hat." Snape growled.
"What about it?"
"... Take it off."
"... And if i don't want to?"
Harry, Hermione and Ron, who were on the other side of the room, could feel the killing intent radiating from Snape's body, but it seems that Gaara couldn't.
Naruto poked Gaara in the shoulder, since he was the one next to him. "Maybe you should..."
Gaara merely shook his head, raising his hand and brushing a finger just above his eyes, under his cap, Naruto making a soft 'oh' sound.
"Fine! Detention!"
The whole class flinched in unison, except Sasuke and Gaara.
"What kind?" Gaara asked Snape lazily, not looking at the professor.
"The worst one i can get." Snape growled, stalking back up to the front of the class.
"I'll look forward to it." Gaara said simply, making Snape seethe and Harry could see the professor's eye twitching magnificently.
The class went on as normally as a hogwarts potions lesson could. They were trying to make antivenins for basalisk bites, but from what Harry had experienced from basalisk bites, he doubted that anyone could get the antivenin into their system before the poison killed them.
Crabbe and Goyle made their cauldron blow up, Nevil's brew seemed to be hiccuping, and Naruto got the weird idea that maybe whatever they were making, would be good on ramen.
"No, really!" Naruto whispered as Snape stalked past.
Sasuke and Gaara shook their heads, Gaara slicing something that looked remarkably like a human finger, and Sasuke stirring the cauldron that was smelling faintly like ants.
"No! Drinking that stuff wouldn't be a good idea, i don't think!" Kiba whispered back urgently, pointing to the cauldron.
"Come on! I've got some ramen in my bag! Can i just try it out?" Naruto whined softly, shoving his nose in his book as Snape snapped his gaze to them.
"No!" Gaara and Sasuke hissed at the same time, Gaara pushing the sliced finger in Sasuke's direction, and slicing open what looked like a pickled arm.
"You look like you've done this before, Mr Gaara." came the sharp deep voice of Snape behind Kiba, that made Naruto and Kiba squeak.
"Once or twice." Gaara said simply, pushing the flesh of the arm apart and removing a large artery that was wound around the bone.
Some of the kids in the class glanced at Gaara.
"He's dissected someone's arm before?" Hermione hissed in horror, dropping some of her ingredients into her cauldron.
"They are foreigners." shrugged Ron.
"Not all foreigners are able to dissect human parts without throwing up, Ron..." Harry said slowly, hesitantly prodding his pickled arm that was lying in front of him on his table and gulping.
"Where have you done it before...?" Snape ventured, circling around Naruto, Kiba, Sasuke and Gaara's table.
Gaara was silent for a moment, placing the artery on the table and slicing it open. "... Home."
"Oh? They dissect humans regularly, do they?" Snape asked loudly, getting the classes' attention.
Gaara placed the artery in the cauldron and Sasuke continued stirring.
"Um... Snape?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
Snape took no notice of Naruto, his eyes fixed on Gaara.
"They were enemies. We were allowed to dissect them. We did it for school anyway. Checking human anatomy and such." Gaara shrugged, looking up at Snape.
"Enemies?" Snape questioned.
Gaara nodded.
"We kill people regularly from where we come from." Kiba explained, inspecting a large fang he found in the box of things they had to use.
"You kill anyone you like, do you?" Snape hissed, sounding disgusted.
"Not entirely. You get in trouble if you try to kill someone you're not allowed to." Sasuke continued for Kiba.
"Like when Sasuke tried to kill me. Or when Gaara tried to." Naruto grinned.
The four exchange students now had the attention of the whole class.
"I tried to kill you too, remember!" Kiba whined, unhappy he was forgotten.
"That was just for the exam! That doesn't count!" Naruto grinned.
"You broke my nose in that fight, y'know." Kiba pouted.
"Really?" Naruto gasped. "Here! Lemme kiss it better!"
((TBC. Thanks Echo for pointing out Sakura should've been in Ravenclaw! XD and thank you sillymail for the idea about having a fiasco in potions. it's most definitely coming! X3 sorry if this chapter is centering around Gaara too much. i'm a rabid Gaara fangirl. sorry. 8D))