And… here's the third chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I'm actually trying to plan this story now :] (Thank you Ultramatt17 and RmfD for the advice).

Disclaimer (also applies to all the other chapters as well in case I forget to do it): I do not own Harry Potter or Bleach.

The windows rattled and shook as a train passed by. The entire inn of The Leaky Cauldron quivered. Hitsugaya cracked open one eye, then the other, lying on his bed for nearly ten minutes before groaning and kicking his legs over the oversized bed (Well, at least it was oversized for him). He yawned loudly and headed downstairs for breakfast. The bar was pretty empty, considering it was still quite early. Tom spotted the white haired teen and back away, knowing that he would call for him when he was ready.

Hitsugaya yawned again, scratching his snowy hair sleepily. The only reason he was waking up this early was because he had to try to master as much magic as he could before tomorrow, when they were leaving for Hogwarts. Everything was pretty straightforward: Herbology and Potions were a piece of cake, History of Magic was actually rather interesting, Transifiguration and Charms were all under control, and unfortunately Matsumoto was right, but Defense Against the Dark Arts was very similar to Kidou (much to her delight, meaning she could spend more time on shopping and Momo and less on actually working). But he still wasn't good enough at it, apparently, and he didn't want to have to waste time having 'make-up lessons' or whatever they were called (make-up?) when he had a mission to complete. Knowing Matsumoto, she'd much rather empty all the supplies of booze and get drunk with a couple of male teachers than scurry around the school investigating and writing reports for the captain commander, which left him with practically the whole job.

He had a slice of burnt toast and some rather sour orange juice before retiring to his room. Matsumoto was still sleeping in the opposite room, her snores reverberating up and down the hallway, with occasional mews. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and entered the dusty room, dropping onto the bed and sighing loudly. It was rare for him to be this tired after a good nights sleep; his only explanation for it was that the continuous use of magic was eating away at his energy, but then that would mean all wizards and witches would be exhausted all the time. Maybe he just wasn't used to using it. He randomly opened one of the books that lay beside his bed, which happened to be a Transfiguration textbook. Apparently, he was supposed to know how to turn a piece of paper into a pigeon. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. What on earth was the point of making a paper pigeon? Anyway, there really was no need for a spell, origami already took care of the shape, and the wind could at least trick you into believing it could fly. Nevertheless, he tried the spell out and made an entire flock of paper pigeons, which dropped paper droppings all over his head. A vein popped in his neck and the pigeons were immediately covered in ice which, too heavy to fly, dropped to the ground. Hitsugaya shook his head to rid it of paper poo before throwing the book down to the floor in disgust and pulling another book out of his pile.

He spent the rest of the day reading about demonic bean sprouts, how to chop up a mandrake root properly so that any potion it was used in didn't start screaming, Saturn and its moons, Beedle the Bard, turning a goblet into a glass, and the 'Protego' spell. At around three in the afternoon, he slammed a rather thick book on vampires shut and left his room, knocking on the door opposite his.

The door flew open to reveal Matsumoto, who was clutching Momo in one hand and holding a shopping bag in the other.

"Taicho! Where were you? I didn't see you at lunch-"

"Have you packed everything?"

Matsumoto looked at him with a look of bewilderment on her face. "Pack?"

Hitsugaya slapped his forehead in frustration. "Yes! We're leaving for this Hogwarts place tomorrow!"

"Oh, right!" She dropped Momo on the floor and ran to her bed. Hitsugaya pushed open the door an inch. The floor was strewn with robes, dresses, glitter, and hairballs. Thirty or so paper bags lay beside the bed with more than half of them overflowing with whatever Matsumoto had bought. The books given to her by the captain commander on Defense Against the Dark Arts were still tied together with the same piece of string and were tucked away in the corner behind the screeching mirror.

"You spent the last five days... buying all this?"

Matsumoto opened her already full trunk and started stuffing it with the shopping bags. Obviously it didn't fit, but she did not abandon the effort, instead sat on it trying to flatten it.

"How much money did you spend on this? What on Earth do you plan to do with them?" Hitsugaya yelled in disbelief. Then again, this was partly his fault. He hadn't kept an eye on Matsumoto, as he knew he should have, and so this happened. It was the result of trusting the woman. Somehow, he had let his guard down enough to commit that unspeakable sin.

"I'm sorry taicho!" Matsumoto wailed, "It's just, I saw them at the window, and you know... I had no control over my body... the next thing I knew I was standing outside with a million shopping bags in my hands!"

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Well, you're just going to have to go back to the store to give them back, or-"

"I could send it over to the office!"

"You are not filling the office with your ridiculous and useless shopping items!" Hitsugaya growled.

"Taicho!"

"I said no!"

Matsumoto whimpered. "Fine! I'll take them back... imagine what that shopkeeper would say..."

Hitsugaya left the room, heaving a huge sigh as he left. Seriously, the woman was just screaming for a demotion, wasn't she?

"Oof!" Matsumoto fell forward as a result of being repeatedly pushed across the platform by rushing humans. She rubbed her knees and complained: "That hurt!"

"You've suffered much worse, so deal with it." Hitsugaya muttered. Matsumoto opened her mouth to protest then thought better of it and closed it.

"Which platform are we supposed to be getting to?"

Hitsugaya dug out the tickets from his pockets. "It says here..." he paused, and reread the ticket again to see if he had read it wrong. "Platform nine and three quarters."

Matsumoto raised an eyebrow. "Since when did humans start using fractions when naming platforms?"

"I dunno." Hitsugaya looked up, his eye running down the line of platforms (figuratively, of course). "Anyhow, I don't see such a platform here."

"Maybe we got the wrong station?" Matsumoto inquired, reading the ticket.

"No, I'm pretty sure this is the King's Cross Station." He looked at the ticket thoughtfully. "Platform nine and three quarters is probably a magical platform, in case any ordinary human gets on the wrong train. But how do we get there..."

"Did the captain commander's note say anything?"

Hitsugaya shook his head. "Lets assume it's close to platform nine." He picked up his trunk and lugged it up to platform nine. Matsumoto picked up Momo, who was licking her foot and her trunk and followed him. The platform looked normal enough, bustling with businessmen in suits, families with mothers dragging the screaming children, teenagers on their way to school, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Well this is great." Hitsugaya groaned. "What are we supposed to do, walk through a wall or something?"

"Taicho, look!" Matsumoto pointed at a family of vivid red heads heading towards them. Hitsugaya recognized one of the red heads as the Weasley boy that he had met at the bookstore. Next to him were the scarred, black haired boy and the bushy haired girl with the enormous buckteeth. As they watched, the boys and girls wheeled their carts towards the wall, and disappeared behind the red bricks.

They both blinked. "Taicho, you were right!" Hitsugaya stared in amazement.

Ron, or whatever his name was, and Harry Potter were still standing before the wall. Ron noticed Hitsugaya.

"Hey, it's the little freak!"

Another vein throbbed, this time in his neck. "I am not little, thank you very much."

Ron's eyes narrowed. Harry put a hand on his shoulder and muttered, "Hey, calm down." Ron's shoulders relaxed and his face returned to normal. "Well, why don't you go in first?"

Hitsugaya nodded and pulled his trunk to the wall. He took a deep breath and stepped through it, closing his eyes as the red bricks rushed up to meet him. The next moment he was staring at a crowded platform full of young witches and wizards kissing their families goodbye and boarding the scarlet steam train. Matsumoto came through after him and gasped in surprise. She gripped his arm and exclaimed, "Taicho, this is so cool!"

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya growled under his breath. The temperature dropped and Matsumoto let go of him.

"Stop acting as if you know me. From now on, I am a student and you are a teacher. If you show any signs of familiarity-"

"Our cover will be blown." Matsumoto finished for him. "Got it!"

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes.

The train was bustling with excited wizards and witches, and Hitsugaya was tripped and stepped on multiple times. He was unable to find an empty compartment, and to add to his suffering, the far-too-curious Granger girl spotted him and invited him to sit with her. He sat at next to the window, across from a rather plump and nervous looking boy.

"Toshiro, have you seen Harry and Ron?"

Hitsugaya recalled the two boys that had gone in through the wall after him. "Yeah... I came in before them."

"Really? I haven't seen them around... hm... Well, they'll show up later." Hitsugaya nodded absentmindedly.

Hermione gestured towards the other boy who had a thin layer of sweat covering his face. "Toshiro, this is Neville. Neville, Toshiro."

"H-hello." Neville stammered. Hitsugaya nodded at him.

"Toshiro's in our year, you know Neville. He missed last year but he's here now!" she smiled at him, displaying her enormous buckteeth.

"O-oh really? Well... n-nice to meet you..."

"You too." Hitsugaya grunted.

Hermione's head swiveled back and forth as she tried to make them talk a bit more. When they didn't she laughed awkwardly and said,

"Well, hope you have a... good year... this year."

"Yeah."

The next hour was spent in silence. Hitsugaya spent most of it staring out the window, and Hermione had tried multiple times to make conversation but had failed horribly each time. Neville was terrified to make eye-contact with the white haired 'boy', instead preferring to stare at his shoes and sweat all over his neck.

The silence was disturbed by the door sliding open. Matsumoto stood there, sweat lining her forehead. She looked rather desperate, for what, however, nobody knew. A look of panic crossed Hitsugaya's pale face and he shook his head frantically. Matsumoto gave him a look that said, "I've got it handled," Obviously he didn't trust her this time, given the disastrous results the last time he had done so.

"Well, hello... are you selling candies?" Hermione asked.

"No actually, I'm your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Hermione reddened in embarrassment.

"Oh... I-I'm sorry... I-I d-didn't know t-that..."

"It's okay!" Matsumoto said cheerfully. "Er... I couldn't find an empty compartment, so can I sit with you guys?"

"Sure!" Hermione answered, her voice a few octaves too high. Apparently she was still mortified, as if Matsumoto would unleash some demon onto her. "Nice to meet you, Professor...?"

"Matsumoto." she answered. "Professor Matsumoto Rangiku."

"Oh, are you from Japan as well?" Neville asked.

Matsumoto's mouth opened to say yes, but at the last minute she caught Hitsugaya shaking his head frantically. When she shot him a confused look, he crossed him hands in front of his face.

"A-as well?"

"Toshiro's from Japan too!" Hermione answered.

"Really?" Matsumoto asked, her voice slightly shaky. It looked like she was fighting back a laugh, even more so when her lip quivered violently. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes.

"It's nice to meet you, Toshiro!" Her eyes twinkled mischievously, and it took all of Hitsugaya's control to stop himself from yelling at her.

"N-nice to meet you, Professor."

The two stared at each other for about half a minute, with Hitsugaya shooting daggers at Matsumoto and Matsumoto smiling that annoying smile. Hermione and Neville stared at them in confusion, and it wasn't until the train jerked that they were brought back to their senses.

"Well!" Matsumoto said, clearing her throat. "Thanks for letting me sit with you!"

Hitsugaya leaned back in his seat and continued to stare out the window. Matsumoto grunted as she pulled her enormous trunk into the compartment, then bent down to pick up Momo.

"Oh my gosh, that cat is so cute!" Hermione squealed, jumping up and down in her seat. "Can I hold it? Please?"

"Sure." Matsumoto handed Momo over to Hermione, who purred and curled up in her lap. "Well, at least someone finally agrees with me." Matsumoto said, shooting an annoyed look at Hitsugaya. He pretended not to notice.

Hermione was stroking Momo's speckled fur when she suddenly stopped and looked around. "Harry and Ron still aren't here. I wonder if anything happened to them." A hint of worry tinted her voice, and she stood up, completely unaware to Momo's screeches as she fell to the floor. "I wonder if something happened to them."

"Hey, aren't Harry and Ron the two boys that followed us through the wall... tai- I mean... Momo?" The feline stared up at her.

"You saw them come through the wall?"

Matsumoto thought. "Actually, I don't remember them coming through after us..."

Hermione drew a sharp breath. "What if... they never went through the gate?" She threw open the door and stormed outside, calling for the two boys that apparently were not on the train.

"Oh my gosh... I wonder what happened to them." Neville whispered, clutching his chair. "You know what, I'll go with Hermione." He stumbled twice over his own shoes, then fell out of the compartment and tried to catch up with Hermione.

"Taicho, want to go look for them too?"

Hitsugaya shook his head. "Either they're on the train or they're not. It's not something we have to worry our heads about."

Matsumoto sighed and picked up Momo. "Phew, it's really hard trying not to know you! I mean, it's hard enough to have to be careful with everything I do, and-"

"Well, you're just going to have to deal with it." Hitsugaya interjected. "Can't exactly erase these people's memories every time you screw up."

"I know, but..." she pouted and crossed her arms and legs.

"All you have to do is be careful, Matsumoto. Not really a hard thing to do, at least, not for normal people."

"Taicho, you're so mean!" Matsumoto complained. "Of course I can be careful!"

Hitsugaya snorted. "Sure."

Harry's POV

It had seemed like a good idea, eating caramels in the car and exchanging jokes. We'd be at Hogwarts at about the same time as the train, and no one would notice our absence.

Obviously we were wrong.

The caramel, although delicious, was now sticking to my throat, and we had run out of water so I had nothing to wash it down with. I was thirsty, my throat was parched, my voice raspy. The car was so cramped I couldn't twitch a toe, and I was sweating bucketfuls. The jumper Mrs. Weasley had knitted for me was sticking to the chair, and the ceiling of the car was so low I couldn't take it off. The compass was malfunctioning, spinning in all directions and emitting some weird noise similar to a cat clawing at a wall. Ron seemed tired of driving, and he didn't talk so much now as he did before. Hell, even the car seemed tired. If I didn't know better, I'd say the car was wheezing. Maybe it was. It was a magical car after all.

"Shh... it's okay." Ron muttered. He turned to me. "It's just that this car hasn't gone this far before. But it'll hold." He tried to smile to reassure me, but it came out as a frown.

"I wonder how far we are form the train." I muttered, scratching an itchy spot on my arm. My elbow hit the window and I rubbed it painfully.

"Wait a second." Ron stared at me. "I hear it! We must be right behind it!"

And just at that moment, the train came from right behind us. We screamed, and Ron swerved off the tracks to avoid it. I was sweating even more, and my glasses were all wet from it.

"Well... at least we know we're on the right track."

I didn't even bother laughing at the pun, if it even was. "Yeah..."

I leaned out of the open window and looked at the scarlet train that was making its way around a bend in the track. I could see a few people I knew: Dean and Sean were eating Chocolate Frogs, Hermione and Neville whizzed past their compartment, and Malfoy smirked in the compartment behind. Then, behind Malfoy's compartment, I caught sight of a boy with pure white hair, not silver, but white, like freshly fallen snow. He was the boy he had seen at the bookshop, right? What was his name... Hitsugaya? Hitsugaya Toshiro- yes, that was it. He looked even more unsettling than the other day, when I had more to worry about than a boy with weirdly colored hair.

The boy looked up, as if he had sensed someone looking at him. Instinctively, I ducked out of view, somehow, and waited a few seconds before sitting upright again. The boy was still looking, but he didn't seem to have spotted us. A blond woman shifted over to the other window seat and looked up, then said something to him that I couldn't hear. I wondered who she was, but she was the least of my problems right now. I was completely focused on the strange and bizarre boy. As if he had sensed my ceaseless staring, he strained his neck a bit more, and his cold, teal eyes focused on mine. I stiffened. While I was confident that we were far too high to be seen from the train, I still felt a sense of unease creep over me. Hell, screw that, it wasn't just unease, it was pure terror, almost as bad as what I felt last year when I came face-to-face with Voldemort. I was frozen in place with fear, and my limbs wouldn't move. He was suddenly distracted by something behind him, and he turned, his back facing me. I was able to move again, but I could still feel them, those cold, cold eyes burning into my skull.

"Harry. Harry! Bloody hell, mate, you're as pale as a sheet!" Ron shook my shoulder, and I jerked as if I had just woken from a dream.

"It-it's nothing to worry about, you have to watch the road-er- clouds... Ron." My voice was shaky, which wasn't very reassuring, but I managed to squeeze out a smile anyway.

"A-all right." Ron said, but I sensed that he would bring the subject up again later. I decided to let it go, hopefully he'd forget about it.

The train jerked to a stop, sending the trunks tumbling forward. One landed on Matsumoto, who was sleeping. She jumped up in her seat and yelled out in pain.

"Ouch! Taicho, that hurt!" she rubbed her head and grimaced, before she noticed the temperature had dropped to the point where the windows froze over. Hermione, who was still breathless from her endless running up and down the train in search for Harry and Ron, stared at her and Neville looked rather perplexed. They both shivered, but had become accustomed to the strange weather, even though they could not explain it.

"I-I mean... Momo! Yeah, Momo, that hurt!" She pretended to scold the cat, who looked at her with an annoyed look on its face. Flushing in embarrassment, she looked up at the others. "Aheh?"

Hitsugaya sighed. At least these teenagers didn't understand Japanese, or they'd be rather baffled at why she had called someone in the compartment a 'captain'.

"We're here." Hermione said, peering out the window. "And Harry and Ron are still nowhere to be found."

"Don't worry Hermione" Neville said, "They can take care of themselves. They'll show up soon."

Hermione chewed on her lower lip, not looking very convinced. "I hope you're right Neville."

Hitsugaya stretched his legs, feeling rather wary about the stiffness of the uniform. It was so thick and rigid, and would certainly hinder his movements. He had tucked his wand in the uniform, and could feel it poking him in the chest. He squirmed uncomfortably- his shinigami uniform was so much more practical, not to mention comfortable, than these itchy robes. However, he tried not to complain too much about it, after all, he'd been through much, much worse than an irritating uniform.

They heard the doors of the train sliding open, then suddenly everybody was up and running out of the compartments and were squishing each other to get out of the train.

"Have these people ever heard of an 'orderly' exit?" Hitsugaya grumbled. They waited until the crowd thinned, then grabbed their trunks (and pet) and got off. They could see a huge castle in the distance, surrounded by trees. There was a lake a few meters ahead of them, and were sparkling with boats that were crossing it. Unsure where to go, they decided to follow the swarm of students who were heading toward a thick patch of trees. As they came closer, they noticed a line of carriages pulled by black, skeletal horses. They looked rather intimidating, and it seemed as if death emanated from them, however, the two shinigami were not too bothered, after all, they were dead themselves. But then again, these horses didn't seem like spirits: they didn't have chains hanging out of them, and they didn't seem to give off the same reiatsu.

"Toshiro!" Hitsugaya turned, and saw Hermione waving at him. He sighed; this girl was far too persistent.

"Matsumoto, you stay here." He dragged his trunk through the buzzing students and dropped it when he got to Hermione.

"Toshiro, I'd like you to meet Ron's family." Hermione gestured at a group of students with the same vivid red hair as the Weasley boy's. "This is Ginny." The only girl of the redheaded group waved shyly, then took a step back. Obviously, she was frightened. "These two are Fred and George." She pointed at the two twins that stood behind her. Hitsugaya couldn't help but dislike them for being taller than him. They grinned at the same time, then made a rather annoying comment on his hair before Hermione stepped on their foots. "Ron also has another brother Percy, but he's with his friends somewhere else." She turned to the red headed family. "Everyone, this is Toshiro. He's in my year this year, aren't you, Toshiro?"

"Hitsugaya." he snapped.

"You really are a freak, aren't you?" Fred (or George) asked. "I really didn't believe Ron when he said it, but man..."

"George!" Ginny protested. "That's really mean!"

"I'm Fred!" he said. "Really, you can't tell the difference between your own brothers?"

"Well you look exactly the same, so how am I supposed to know? Even mum can't tell!"

"Well then, she's a horrible mother." the other boy (presumably George) retorted. When Ginny gasped in shock he ruffled her bright red hair. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding."

"I wonder where Ron is." Ginny said after a while. "Did he miss the train, or..."

"Don't forget Harry as well." one of the twins interjected. Ginny flushed and turned her back to Hitsugaya and Hermione. Obviously she was trying to hide her embarrassment, but the back of her ears were still glowing red. Hermione giggled quietly but Hitsugaya paid no attention to the matter, it was probably another one of those useless human troubles.

One of the horses trotted over to them with a carriage tied to it. Hermione's face brightened up, but the strange thing was that she seemed to stare past the horse, as if it wasn't there. Hitsugaya's suspicions about it being a spirit rose, although, while this girl didn't give off much reiatsu, there was something that radiated from her. Hitsugaya guessed it was something to do with magic, as the other people in the forest (apart from Matsumoto) seemed to give off the same strange thing.

"The carriage is pulling itself!" Hermione and Ginny exclaimed in surprise. "That's just weird!"

"Well, get in then." George (or Fred) sighed. "And yes, I was talking to you as well, Toe-sheer-road."

Hitsugaya hissed viciously. It was bad enough that they had to call him by his christened name, even worse that they had to kill that as well with their horrible pronunciation. The temperature dropped and everyone's breath came out as wisps of white steam.

"Get in quickly, Toshiro!" Hermione shivered. "It's cold!"

Hitsugaya took a deep breath to calm himself and entered the carriage. The temperature did not rise- Hitsugaya was pretty sure he'd lash out if it returned to normal. Really, he had to work on controlling himself when it came to people calling him the wrong name or commenting on his height.

The horse outside snorted and pulled the carriage towards the huge castle. Out of the corner of his eye, Hitsugaya spotted Matsumoto, who was shivering violently, although not as much as everyone, having gotten a little used to the temperature taking drops at times.

Edit 03/09/10: This used to be part of the third chapter but due to length problems (it was 9000 words!) I separated them. Sorry if it caused any confusion…

The carriage reached the castle. Fred and George pushed the others out of the way and stepped on Hitsugaya's foot. They jumped off and yelled out gleefully, before they were bombarded by water balloons that came from... the sky?

Hitsugaya twisted his neck slightly and saw a giggling ghost floating up in sky and throwing stuff at the approaching students. A couple of girl squealed as a load of green goo came their way, and ran away quickly before the goo hit them. Hitsugaya sighed. He'd have to perform konso on this spirit later.

'Well, come on.' Hermione grunted and jumped out of the carriage, ducking her head before rushing into the castle as to avoid the syrup that was aimed at her head. Ginny and Hitsugaya followed her, although something strange happened as the spirit aimed a rubber ball at Hitsugaya's white hair. He (or it) suddenly yelped out in fright and retreated into a nearby window. A few students who had just got off the carriage stared at Hitsugaya suspiciously, their eyes asking a question that clearly was not about to be answered.

Hitsugaya made his way to the huge doors of the... school (a big school, nevertheless). He was making his way up the stairs when a woman suddenly stopped him. She was probably in her late 40s or 50s, and her mouth was drawn in a tight line across her stern face.

'Are you Mr. Toshiro Hitsugaya?' she asked. Hitsugaya observed that she was wearing a ridiculously tall pointed hat.

'Yes... ma'am.'

The woman paused before relaxing slightly. 'I am Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts.' She held out a hand and Hitsugaya shook it. 'Welcome to Hogwarts.'

'Thank you.' She released his cold hand and continued,

'I understand that you are in second year, however, if I am correct, you did not attend last year.'

'That is correct.'

'Which means that you will have to be sorted with the rest of the first years. If you could please follow me, Mr. Hitsugaya.'

Hitsugaya followed her up another flight of stairs, through a large door, down a long corridor, around a corner, up another flight of stairs, and through another door. He tried very hard to remember the way, but after the 10th corner after the 17th corridor he lost the mental map that had been forming within his head. Finally, they climbed up the twenty-something-th flight of stairs and he joined a group of bustling first years. McGonagall took her place in front of them all and made an announcement and welcomed the wet first years. They were whispering between themselves, which annoyed Hitsugaya greatly, as he found it awfully hard to concentrate when talking over rude, buzzing people.

Then she opened the doors behind her, revealing a huge hall full of students, and a line of teachers at the front. Hitsugaya spotted Matsumoto, who was trying hard to figure out what to do with the many bit of cutlery set before her. When she noticed Hitsugaya she waved, before lowering her hand after it was practically burned away by Hitsugaya's furious stare. He heard some students gasp in surprise and followed their gazes up to the ceiling, if there was one. Because there were clouds that moved across the starry night sky, and the moon shone very faintly through a wisp of cloud. Apart from the sky, the sources of light in the hall were what seemed like hundreds of candles suspended in mid-air, their flames flickering slightly. Although it was rather warm in the hall, Hitsugaya had to admire these people's work. It was actually quite beautiful.

They walked up to the front, where a rather scruffy looking man laid a tall stool down and set an ancient looking hat on top of it (ancient by human standards, by shinigami standards Hitsugaya guessed it was about as old as the technology department- not very old at all, maybe about a hundred years old).

They stood there until the students calmed down, to the point where you could hear a tissue fall to the floor. A tense atmosphere descended upon them, and a few of the first years twitched. After a few seconds, a fold in the hat moved and opened up into what seemed like a mouth. There was a pause, then the hat suddenly burst into song. It was a horrible singer in Hitsugaya's opinion, but then again, he couldn't really blame it, after all, it was a hat. While Hitsugaya had never been one for listening to songs, he decided to try paying attention to the lyrics anyway; the song might be informative, after all. He caught some mention of a Gryffindor, which he had heard Hermione talk about, a Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, and something that sounded like Slytherin. It sang of unity between houses, the education of young children such as the ones that stood before it, peace within the magical world, blady blady bla. At the very end it sang: 'Now put me on so I can sort you into the house of your destiny'. Hitsugaya rolled his eyes as the song ended and the whole hall filled with applause. The house of your destiny? He caught Matsumoto mouthing 'lame' out of the corner of his eye.

McGonagall waited until the hall fell silent again, and unrolled a long sheet of parchment.

'Anasazi, Susan!'

A nervous girl with ginger locks approached the stool, and nearly tripped over her own feet as she tried to get on it. She pulled the hat over her head, and there was silence for a few seconds before the hat called out: 'Ravenclaw!'

The hall burst into applause and the girl hopped off and dropped the hat back on the stool, rushing towards the table under the purple and silver drapes. The same continued, then after a 'Hegang, Thomas' who was sorted into Hufflepuff, McGonagall called out: 'Hitsugaya, Toshiro!'

Hitsugaya walked calmly up to the stool. Whispers suddenly broke out across the hall. He heard some mention of his hair, his eyes, his name, his pale skin, and somewhere near the table under the green and silver drapes, his height. The temperature dropped slightly, although not too much as to freeze the candles, before Hitsugaya pulled the hat onto his head.

He was surrounded by darkness, and the noises of the hall were suddenly blocked off. He felt as if he were inside Tousen's Bankai, although he still had his sense of smell and his ability to sense reiatsu, even though the latter was not too important since everyone in the room didn't emit reiatsu. Then a voice echoed through his head, and he nearly jumped off the stool in surprise.

'You're a rather interesting one, aren't you?'

Hitsugaya realized that the voice came from the hat, somehow. Apparently it was speaking into his mind, and Hitsugaya felt somewhat vulnerable, at least his mind was. This hat was invading his head and it was a vital part of him. He hissed slightly, then projected a thought through his head.

'If you delve too far in...'

'Don't worry don't worry! Even if I do go overboard I will never tell anyone. It's against the rules, you know? Anyway... wow! Dead, are you? But you don't seem very ghostly, I am on your head after all. Hmm... this is quite strange. But then, it's none of my business whether you're alive or not, even though I must admit I am rather curious. No, I have to sort you into a house, don't I?

Hitsugaya stayed silent for a few more seconds as he reluctantly let the hat sort through his mind. Then the hat spoke again.

'You're quite a smart one, aren't you? Child prodigy, eh? But I sense loyalty, yes, especially towards... the thirteen? Your thought are quite hard to sift through, they are. But there's pride as well, and a hint of arrogance, I must say.'

Hitsugaya growled under his breath but the hat didn't seem to notice.

'But then, you have great power. Yes, and there is quite a lot of bravery stored away here, especially for that brown haired girl... Yes... Why, this is quite a hard decision to make, this is...'

Hitsugaya waited, his patience being zapped away by the second. Finally the hat shouted out, projecting its voice out of Hitsugaya's head and to the whole hall.

'GRYFFINDOR!'

There was no clapping, simply hushed whispers that weren't exactly very hushed. Ignoring the burning stares from the students of all four tables, he seated himself at the table underneath the red and gold drapes, as far away from the other students as possible. Hermione was beaming at him but she seemed to be the only one who was trying to communicate with him. Hitsugaya heard the students of Gryffindor (my house he cringed reluctantly) muttering in disbelief and disapproval. The students of Slytherin were sneering, as if tempting him to unleash Hyorinmaru on them. The students of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff simply commented on his abnormal complexion and some shivered either because of the cold or of fear. Up front, the students were still being sorted, and it had reached a 'Racemic (pronounced ra-se-mik), Gordon' who was sorted into Ravenclaw, but no one was really paying attention to the rather jealous first years, focusing instead on the pale, white-haired 'teen' that was edging closer and closer to the edge of the bench as more students joined the table. Matsumoto was smiling at him, although it wasn't exactly a pleasant smile, more like a: 'Haha, you're in super discomfort and everyone is staring at you, haha' smile. He shot an extremely annoyed look, then stared forward at nothing in particular, not flinching the slightest as he sometimes caught a staring student's gaze. Their persistent stares didn't bother him the slightest; he had always been stared at for his hair and isolation from others, not to mention his love for ice and cold. He saw Hermione get up and walk over to him. She looked rather uncomfortable as the stares diverted to her direction, however, she tried not to let it get to her as she bent down and said,

'Hey. Congratulations on getting into Gryffindor! Now we're in the same house!'

Hitsugaya nodded unenthusiastically. Hermione then continued, her voice wavering slightly as she shifted in discomfort from the endless stares and whispers.

'Why don't you come and sit over there? Then we can talk about stuff with Neville and some of my other friends. It's an opportunity for you to make friends too!'

Hitsugaya got up reluctantly and followed her up to the middle of the table and seated himself in the space that Hermione had apparently saved for him.

'This is Dean and Seamus.' she said, pointing at the two boys that sat across from her. 'Guys, this is Toshiro. He's in the same year as us, you know, but he just didn't come last year.'

'Hitsugaya.' Hitsugaya corrected angrily, although he knew he was wasting his breath, everyone acted as if they had not heard him.

Their eyes widened, and he could sense a hint of anger in the Seamus boy's eyes, as if he was annoyed that the 'freak' was in his year as well. Then the Dean boy piped up,

'Hermione, what do you think happened to Harry and Ron? I mean, they just popped up, wearing Muggle clothes too! Then Snape took them off somewhere. People are saying that they crashed Ron's dad's flying car into the Weeping Willow!'

Hermione crossed her arms and declared rather crossly, 'Those two are just silly and immature. Honestly, they're going to get themselves killed sometime or another! And I'm not joking!' she fumed, as the two boys chuckled. 'I don't care whether Harry ran into You-Know-Who when he was a little boy, he shouldn't just recklessly throw himself into whatever situation presents itself without thinking it through! And he's rubbed off on Ron, I mean, when are those two going to learn that you don't get famous just by killing yourself!'

'Hermione, it's not that bad.' Seamus reassured her. 'I mean, well, who knows what Snape will do, but it's not like they're dead or anything. It could be worse.' Hitsugaya couldn't help but feel a little curious, but he quickly dismissed it as a human worry, and that Hermione was simply overreacting.

McGonagall called out, 'Weasley, Ginny!' and Hermione squealed in excitement as she sat in tension, staring as Ginny placed the hat over her eyes. The hall fell silent slightly, although not too much. Then the hat shouted out, 'GRYFFINDOR!'

Hermione clapped and cheered as the red head climbed off the stool and rushed towards them.

'Congratulations, Ginny!' Hermione shouted happily amidst the cheering from the table (apparently she had gotten their attention, maybe from her family name, considering her four other brothers were in the same house). The twins came over and patted her on the head. 'Hey, now the whole Weasley family's in Gryffindor! Quite impressive, eh?'

Ginny blushed happily and sat down next to Hermione. She was congratulated by a lot of the house, and a fourth year who was supposedly her brother recited a long speech that he had apparently kept in his head for three years. After being congratulated about a hundred times, she sat down, her face a happy pink. Then she did something rather unexpected.

'Hey Toshiro! We got into the same house, eh? Congratulations!' She was no longer stammering and the fear had completely disappeared from her face. Hitsugaya looked quite speechless.

'Y-yeah... thanks. You too.'

She beamed and started chatting with another first year that sat in front of her. The sorting ended with a 'Zinc, Adam' and the hall fell quiet. About three quarters of the stares had ceased, the students had found something more interesting to do than look at some strange boy.

The stool and hat were taken away, and McGonagall took her seat at the long table up front, next to an old man (of course, old by human standards) with a long, silver beard, although not as long as the captain commander's. He was wearing a dark purple tall and pointed hat with silver stars all over it, but by then Hitsugaya had stopped criticizing those strange hats, as all the wizards and witches wore them. In fact, Matsumoto was the only one not wearing a hat. He cringed, making a mental note to remind her to wear one.

The old man stood and walked to the front. The hall fell silent again, and there was a pause before he said,

'Welcome all, to a new year at Hogwarts! Now, I know everyone is quite famished, so I would just like to make one statement before everyone tucks in.' There was another small pause. 'Try the pumpkin pie. It's delicious.'

The students laughed, and Hitsugaya watched as the golden plates that were laid out before them filled themselves with food. The hall was filled with chatter as everyone scrambled to fill their own plates with food. Orange pumpkin juice emerged from the bottom of the goblets. Hitsugaya eyed the cutlery set before him: there were two forks, one spoon, and two knives- one for meat and one for butter. Picking up a fork and spoon, he took a bit of potato salad and started chewing on it.

The puddings finally disappeared, and were not replaced again by another course. Hitsugaya had eaten very little- while he needed food, he wasn't going to stuff himself until he had difficulty moving. After all, they were supposed to investigate strange human activity- and strange could mean anything at all. The old man, whom Hitsugaya learned was called Dumbledore stood and walked up to the front again. Silence descended upon the hall once more.

'Now, I would just like to say a few more words. First, I'd like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Rangiku Matsumoto!'

The students and teachers applauded as she stood. Hitsugaya could tell she was really trying very hard to resist the temptation of flicking her blonde hair at the 'audience'.

Dumbledore waited until the applause died down, then continued. 'First years also note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all students. Some of the older students might want to remember that too.' His eyes wandered to the direction of the twins, who smiled. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. 'Also, Mr. Filch would also like me to remind students that the use of magic between lessons in the corridors is prohibited. That is all. Goodnight, everyone!' He bowed slightly before exiting through the door on the left of the hall. He was then followed by McGonagall, who suddenly had a stern look on her face.

'Strange.' Hermione commented.

'Strange?' Hitsugaya asked.

She nodded. 'The Professor usually follows the students out the main doors behind us.' She motioned to the stream of students clamoring to get out. 'Also, Snape hasn't come back.'

'Probably still dealing with Harry and Ron.' Dean quipped. 'Must be bad if they had to call in the headmaster.'

Hermione's suspicion and worry disappeared and were replaced by fury and... envy?

'Well then, it's their fault. Really, they're going to get expelled at this rate.' She turned to Hitsugaya and grumbled, 'Come on, let's get to the common room before they start showering those two idiots with a welcome party.'

He reluctantly followed her out the doors, shooting a look that said, 'behave yourself' to a panicking Matsumoto before making his way up the stairs.

The first thing Hitsugaya thought as he stepped through the portrait that concealed the Gryffindor was: It's burning! Hermione seemed completely oblivious to the warmth, on the contrary, she seemed to look more comfortable in the stuffy and blazing common room.

'Toshiro, are you okay?' Ginny came out from behind them and scrutinized his face. 'You look rather green. Was it something you ate?'

Hitsugaya swallowed his discomfort and choked out, 'No, I'm fine.'

Ginny didn't look too reassured, but she nodded anyway and went to find some of her friends.

'Here they come.' Hermione whispered angrily as she eyed the Potter and Weasley boys, who were coming through the portrait hole.

'Harry! Ron! What happened, mate?' Seamus yelled as he spotted the bewildered pre-teens. 'How was Snape?'

'Harry! Did you really arrive in a flying car?'

'Blimey Ron, Dad will have your head for that car, you know!'

The two boys looked very pleased as they were surrounded by the crowd. Ron spotted Hermione and yelled out, 'Hermione, hey!'

Hermione grunted and turned her back to them, making her way up to the dormitories. Ron looked rather perplexed, and tried chasing her. However, he stopped in his tracks the moment he saw Hitsugaya.

'You! You got into Gryffindor?'

The common room fell silent as Hitsugaya regarded the rather flushed boy that stood before him. 'Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be here, would I?'

Ron turned pink and growled under his breath, 'Couldn't have been sorted into Huffllepuff eh, had to be in our house... bloody hell...'

Hitsugaya pretended not to hear and asked the rest of the crowd, 'Please, can someone point me to the dormitories?'

One of the boys pointed at a flight of stairs next to the ones Hermione had climbed up. 'Y-you'll find your n-name written s-somewhere...'

Hitsugaya nodded and muttered his thanks, then made his way up them, trying his best to get away from the heat that came from, he found out, an inferno that crackled away in the fireplace.

The moment he was out of sight, the chatter started again, and this time some people were talking about him. He didn't care at the moment though, all he wanted was to get to a window.

He found a little plaque that had his name written on it next to a wooden door. He opened the door and staggered to the nearest window. Throwing it open, he took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling the cold night breeze blow into the room. He heaved a sigh of relief and stayed by the window for a bit longer before he went around the room and threw open all the other windows. He savored the cool autumn air that blew against his skin and swirled around the musty dormitory.

He stayed at the open window for a few minutes before taking a look around the room. There were six four poster beds and his was the one furthest from the door. It looked as if someone had shoved it in at the last minute, the space between it and the bed next to it was smaller than the space between the other beds. Of course, he didn't care. Feeling exhaustion take over him, he fell onto the bed, noting his trunk, which had been placed next to his bed, before falling asleep.

Edit 3/09/10: This was originally cut in half then put back together again. I figured it'd be too troublesome anyway.

Thank you to all those who reviewed!

FallenSnow12 (Candied Sweets)