Hi! I wrote this chapter in under a day! Yay!

There's some OOC here, but I think that's only to be expected. Also, Kakashi goes a little schizophrenic.

Review!

Disclaimer: Just borrowing.

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Chapter Two

Kakashi's first introduction to the Order of the Phoenix was laughter.

Mad-Eye had one hand on his shoulder, steering him down the hallway towards the kitchen after he dropped his duffle bag by the door. His mind was screaming at him to tell the man he didn't like physical contact, but the Hokage's warning of "play nice" was echoing in his head. When they approached the desired destination, there wasn't much noise coming from the room until suddenly, when he was right outside the door, several people broke into peals of laughter. It took all his self control not to jump in surprise at the sound, because this house was one of the gloomiest he'd ever been in, and the laughing felt so out of place. Mad-Eye's grip tightening for a moment before the man opened the door.

All laughed stopped abruptly, but faces were still flushed in the aftermath of such loudly vocalized happiness. Several were still smiling, though they lessened at the sight of him, and there were a few who apparently hadn't laughed at all. While it wasn't an uncommon reaction to him, it was usually caused by the "flee on sight" warning in the bingo books next to his name, not out of normal, innocent surprise. Mad-Eye gave him a small shove, leaving him to stand alone as the center of interest in the room, all eyes turned to him. Automatically, he felt his face wipe of emotion before remembered he wasn't supposed to do that.

Play nice. Tactical advantage. Oh, whatever.

"Good morning," he said, taking a moment to look each person in the face before bowing. "I am Kakashi Hatake, shinobi of Konohagakure and member of the ANBU. My client Albus Dumbledore has hired me to protect Hogwarts for the coming year."

"What's a shinobi?" asked a short man.

"In laymen's terms," he answered, "shinobi are ninja. Assassins, hired killers, soldiers, body guards, message runners, cat saviors—anything that's asked of us."

There was a moment of tense silence before the same short man looked at him and said, "But you're just a kid."

Stigma on children, he reminded himself, you aren't allowed to kill the charges.

As politely as he could, he answered, "Yes, sir. I'm thirteen-years-old, turning fourteen on September fifteenth."

A plump, cheerful looking redhead woman with laugh lines stared at him with something akin to terror. "Does Albus know they sent a child here, Mad-Eye?" The man behind him shrugged.

"I'm more than competent," he said before anyone else could comment on the horror of a teenage killer. "ANBU is the elite of the elite in Konoha; the leader of my village only sends the best available."

Then a girl with bushy brown hair as the most intelligent question so far: "Excuse me, but what's Konoha?"

Instincts made him almost say, "I can't answer that," before he remembered that secrecy laws didn't apply here in England. "A shinobi village on the Hidden Continent, which, as the name implies, is Hidden. Very few people here—the Outside, as we call it—know about its existence. One is Albus Dumbledore who appears to be a good friend of Konoha's current Hokage, leader and strongest of the village."

"And they use children to fight?" said another one of the adults, a stern looking woman with her hair pulled back in a painfully tight bun. Kakashi really wished he'd been given a list of people in this organization because that could make life so much easier.

Screw the Hokage, he thought. I don't want to do this.

Then a voice that sounded an awful lot like Obito and which he was pretty sure was his conscious said, Just make something up.

Having his dead teammate's voice in his head was never fun no matter how many times this happened, but he decided to take its advice.

"In Konoha, we have a lower life expectancy," he said, words flying out of his mouth before he really thought about it, "so we become soldiers early. The normal graduation age for a shinobi is twelve, but I graduated at five as the top of my class, which is considered exceptionally young. Because of this, I was able to reach one of the highest ranks of the village at young age, making me ideal for this mission.

"According to the instructions, this is an infiltration mission. To protect the school, I need to disguise myself as a student and enter fifth year—"

"So you're protecting me, then," said a dark-haired boy with a scar on his forehead, one Kakashi recognized as his main charge.

Lie.

No, you're supposed to be honest!

Shut up.

Do it, Kakashi-kun.

Arguing himself was the first sign of madness and he was doing it more often than he liked lately. "Along with everyone else," he said, "but you, as well as the other Hogwarts students and teachers in this Order of the Phoenix are my top priorities. If you feel discriminated for being singled out, then take it up with the man who hired me."

A man with shaggy brown hair that smelled like a wolf (how the fuck did that work?) looked to him and said in a soft voice, "How do we know you're as good as you say?"

With a sigh, his hand strayed the weapon pouch on his leg and faster than their eyes could follow, he threw a shuriken so it embedded deeply in the wood barely a centimeter from the man's head. Everyone jumped again, which was satisfying, but he knew he had to say something quick before the yelling started.

"If I wanted to, I could've hit any vital point on your body," he said bluntly, ignoring their shocked faces. Since he needed to be nice for this mission, the least he could do was take the few snatches of fun when he could get it. "I will never harm any of you unless you turn out to be a traitor and it becomes necessity, but I can harm or kill others when ordered. I would prove to you my skills in some other way, but I see no opportunity. If you have any suggestions, I'll be happy to demonstrate."

Silence. So far about half the people in the room hadn't said anything and he wasn't in the mood to ramble. Luckily Mad-Eye came to the rescues, saving him in the form of introductions.

From behind, the man said, "Hatake, I'm assuming that you were never told the names of the Order members?"

"No, the information was never given to me."

For a moment there was nothing. Then a black-haired man with haunted eyes and a friendly smile on his face stood up and held his hand out. Kakashi, not knowing what else to do, shook it. "I'm Sirius Black," he said. "Harry's godfather. If Dumbledore hired you, I don't doubt your skills, Hatake."

Finally! Someone with logic. He forced a small smile back, reminding himself about what the Hokage told him about emotions. "Nice to meet you, Black-san," he said. "You can call me Kakashi."

"And you can call me Sirius."

That seemed to break some of the tension. Two identical redhead boys rushed over, causing Sirius to scoot quickly out of the way. As they both grabbed one of his hands at the same time and shook it, the one of the right said, "I'm Fred—"

Then the other one cut him off, "And I'm George. We're the Weasley twins, number one pranksters and rule breakers of Hogwarts—"

Sounds like Obito! said a voice in his head, one that sounded like Rin's. Now that was new.

"George!" said the redhead woman from earlier, a frown on her face. The two jumped out of the way as she came over and put on a kind smile on her face, though it seemed a little strained from worry. "Nice to meet you, dear," she added. "I'm Molly Weasley. We're just sitting down to lunch now. Would you like anything to eat?"

Oh, joy, a mother. "Yes, please," he answered because it didn't seem polite to turn it down. That, and he hadn't eaten for the past day and half despite Tsunade's nagging. "I'm don't know much about English food, though."

"Oh, well, I'll just whip up something quickly."

"Thank you, Weasley-san."

"Just Molly's okay, dear."

She was cut off from anymore conversation when a redhead man came over to replace her, the man he threw the shuriken at a bit behind, the weapon in his hand. "I'm Arthur Weasley," he said. "Molly's husband. You can call me Arthur."

From the vaguely confused look on the kids' faces, he had a feeling an adult allowing someone to call him or her by a given name was a sign of respect. Convincing them was easier than he thought; either that, or he accidently leaked killing intent when he threw the shuriken and scarred them all for life.

"I'm Remus Lupin," said the next one, handing back the shuriken. "Remus is fine. It's nice to meet you, Kakashi, even if you did throw a sharp object at me."

Kakashi forced his mouth into a sheepish half smile and accepted his weapon back, sliding it into its holder. "Sorry about that," he said, "but I needed to prove a point somehow. Thank you for giving it back."

Remus shrugged. "I understand, and second Sirius. Since Dumbledore hired you, I shouldn't have questioned you skill."

"It's fine," he answered politely, hating everything. "I was informed beforehand that your society here has a different view on age than mine does, though being treated as a child will take some getting used to."

"'Ello, I'm Mundungus Fletcher," said the short man who spoke first, practically shoving Remus out of the way. Kakashi tried not to have his mouth twitch into a scowl. Talking to the other man could've been interesting. "Collector and seller of rare objects."

"Thief more like it," mumbled a woman with violently pink hair that earlier was purple and looked completely natural. How was that possible? Was it a type of magic? "Hi, Kakashi. I'm Nymphadora Tonks, but call me Tonks—everyone does. Ignore Mundungus if he tries to sell you anything. What do they speak in Konoha? You're English is perfect."

"A form of Japanese," he answered. "Thank you."

"Impressive," said the stern woman, holding out her hand. "I'm Minerva McGonagall. Here, you may call me Minerva, but once school starts, you'll have to call me Professor McGonagall in class. I teach Transfigurations; if you have any questions during this month on any subject, feel free to ask."

"Thank you, Minerva-san. I'll keep that in mind once I buy my wand later today."

"Ah, I forgot you have yet to get one. Well, I'll move aside now so you can speak to your new classmates," she said, moving out of the way as the girl from earlier, two redheads, and his main charge came forward.

"I'm Harry Potter," he said and he looked about as happy about this situation as Kakashi did, "but you knew that already. You'll be in my year."

Go on, said the Obito voice, say something friendly.

"Hi," he said, words sticking to his throat. "I hope we'll get along."

Way to sound like an idiot, 'Kashi.

Just shut up.

Make me!

You're in my head, that isn't too hard.

But—but—

"So do you know magic yet?" asked the girl. "Oh—I'm Hermione Granger."

"No, I'm learning this month," he answered. "And nice to meet you, Hermione-san."

"You too. Four years of learning in a month? That sounds difficult. If you ever need help with anything, just ask." She smiled. "I know getting used to a new culture can be disorienting. I spent some of my summer in France, though that's not as drastic."

Note to self: Find out what France is.

"I'm Ron Weasley," said the redhead boy as the other girl said, "I'm Ginny Weasley, the year under you."

The girl had long red hair, reminding him a bit too much of Kushina now that she was up close. Through some miracle, he squashed his discomfort and gave another smile. "Nice to meet you, too. I don't know much about Hogwarts. What're the classes like?"

Apparently that was the right question to ask. Suddenly all the kids, twins included, broke off into chatter.

Hermione said, "Oh, you'll love them! What classes are you—"

"Watch out in Potions," said Harry, "especially if you're a Gryffindor. Snape—"

"Have you been Sorted yet, mate?" asked Ron, but Kakashi didn't have time to answer.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts has a new teacher every year," said either Fred or George.

Then the other twin added, "And Divinations is a joke," before he was cut off by Ginny.

"If you're only pretending, do you have to do homework?"

"The castle itself is huge," said Hermione, "If you're in Gryffindor, we'll show you around the first day!"

"What's Gryffin—"

"And History of Magic is taught by a ghost," said Ron. "It's really boring—"

"You can sleep the entire time," said Fred.

Then Sirius saved him by saying, "You know, maybe you should let him talk. I think he was trying to ask something. What is it?"

Kakashi hated having to ask questions and hated being clueless, but for once he really needed help. All the kids shut up after another few seconds of babble, giving him enough time to ask, "So, what's Gryffindor and Sorting?"

Naturally, it was Hermione who answered.

"Hogwarts students are split into four houses," she answered. "Houses are divisions within the students, chosen by personality traits. Gryffindor is a house; loyalty and courage are its main traits. Then there's Ravenclaw, whose students are voracious learners and very clever; Hufflepuffs are hard-works. And Slytherins are power hungry and cunning." Well, definitely not Slytherin, then. His ambition died along with Obito, and only worsened with the death of Minato-sensei and Rin. Definitely not Slytherin. "We're all Gryffindors. The Sorting Hat was bewitched by Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of which the houses are named, to have a mind of its own and Sort the students."

"And this…hat will Sort me?" he said, figuring that asking too many questions was just going to give him a headache. It was hard enough adjusting to the fact that magic even existed; he'd get all his answers later through process of deduction.

"Yes," said Hermione. "I can lend you Hogwarts, A History if you'd like. It's an interesting read. Do you read English as well as you speak it?"

Even if it was a logical question, it still ticked him off. "Yeah. I learned by reading."

She smiled brightly, obviously happy that someone was going to follow her advice, which made him think she was very smart and often made fun of for it.

Then Molly said, "Food's ready!"

To Kakashi's surprise, she didn't bring the dishes to the table—they brought themselves. They levitated in the area before placing themselves in front of individual chairs. A trickle of genuine emotion slid over his face, causing Harry to laugh, pat him on the back, and say, "You'll get used to it."

And then Kakashi knew this: Harry did not grow up knowing magic.

Molly said, "Kakashi, you go sit the chair with the poached eggs and unions; I gave you something light since you've never eaten English food before."

"Thank you," he said, surprised again, though this time because of the consideration. Having others care about his comfort or discomfort was nonexistent now. When the surprise disappeared, he realized something terrible:

He needed to learn how to use a fork.

This was what people called a culture shock, he was assuming. Never in his life had he been the one to not know anything. Being a child prodigy, he usually learned things faster than anyone else, or could do things more precisely than anyone else, so he refused to be conquered by an eating utensil.

"Are you staying, Mad-Eye?" asked Arthur as Kakashi took his seat, Hermione on his right and Harry on his left. The fact that they didn't hate him so far (or at least it didn't seem, normally he could figure that out no matter how terrible he was at reading emotions, but everything was so different here that his mind was overloading with trying to comprehend it all) was a good sign.

"No," answered the heavily scarred man. "Best be off."

"Me, too, unfortunately," said Minerva. "I'll see you tomorrow. Severus will be coming too. Nice meeting you, Kakashi."

None of the kids looked to happy with this and Sirius' face darkened. Whoever Severus was, he wasn't liked.

"You too," he said awkwardly and a few more goodbyes exchanged between the two leaving and those staying. Then he looked down at the problematic eating utensil and waited for someone else to pick it up before he did.

But Hermione saved him the trouble. "Do they use chopsticks where you're from?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, a fork isn't held that way, as I'm sure you've guessed. Instead hold it the way you hold a pencil."

He obediently followed her instructions and after a few seconds of maneuvering his fingers, he figured it out. "Thank you," he said, which was probably his most commonly used words so far.

"What's Konoha like?" asked Tonks cheerfully as she took a seat across from him. Looking around, he saw that everyone was looking at him, which was uncanny. As a masked ANBU, he wasn't used to being the center of attention.

You'll get used to it, said the Rin voice, and he didn't answer.

Not knowing what else to say, he answered, "It's nice. The village itself is really colorful with people always talking on the streets or in one of the restaurants. Fire Country, where Konoha is located, is almost entirely forests, and the trees are a lot bigger than the ones in the park. We have festivals four times a year at the changes of the season."

"What're the festivals like?" asked one the twins quickly followed by, "Are they really big?"

"Huge," he said, because it was true. "All the streets are shut down and the shops bring merchandise outside to sell; games are set up and at night there're fireworks. The Fire Country is pretty temperate, so we rarely get snow in winter. In comparison, England's really cold."

Sirius asked, "What's that academy you graduated from?"

I hate questions.

Deal with it. It was Obito again.

"It's where you learn to be a shinobi," he said. "You know, all the moral codes and expectations, along with the skills necessary. Your parents usually teach you how to read, write, and use mathematics before you enter, and if you're an orphan, you traditionally learn in the first year of the academy. For normal shinobi-in-training, you go through the academy in five years, from seven to twelve, but I only went for about a year and a half, entering at three. Child prodigy."

"And your parents are fine with you being this far from home for a year?" said Molly, on the verge of voicing disapproval.

Family was a touchy subject for him for obvious reasons, but since he wasn't allowed to be rude, he sent her an uncomfortable smile. "I don't have parents," he said. It wasn't a normal question, since everyone knew he was the son of Hatake Sakumo and Hatake Mori, both of whom were dead.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said and there was a moment of extremely awkward silence.

Ginny broke it. "Are you nervous about Hogwarts? You know, as you haven't really been to school before."

"Not really," he lied with a shrug. In truth he was absolutely terrified, which was a very unusual sensation for him. But he'd never been given a mission that he was so likely to screw up on. Play nice? Kakashi didn't do nice, and he wasn't sure how long he could stand being treated like a child. Emotions weren't his strong point as he attempted to stay as closed off as possible, but even the best shinobi fucked up. "How many people are the Order of the Phoenix?"

"More than you met today," said Arthur as Mundungus become bored with the conversation and started talking in hushed tones to the Weasley twins. Due to his sensitive hearing, Kakashi managed to pick something up about doxy eggs, whatever those were. "We were only told you were coming two days ago, so a lot of them couldn't make it. They'll be in and out though, so by the time the month is up, you'll probably meet all of them."

He nodded and took his first bite of egg. While it wasn't the worst thing in the world he'd ever eaten (that title was taken by the nutrient bars he ate on the warfront), it was nowhere near the usual food he had. Another bit of culture shock. Hopefully not all English food was this bad.

"So, where am I getting the school supplies?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Mad-Eye—" He paused, stopping himself from adding the honorific because he realized by now that equals here weren't treated the same way they were in Konoha. That, and no one knew what he meant, except maybe Hermione. "I was told I would be getting a wand the first day."

Remus said, "I'll be bringing you to Diagon Alley to get robes and a wand. Dumbledore gave me some money out of the school funds to help you."

"And the books?"

"The book list for fifth years hasn't come yet," answered Molly, swishing her wand so all the finished dishes went over to the sink and started cleaning themselves, Kakashi's included. "Ronald still has all his old textbooks, though, so I went back home yesterday to get them. You'll also be helped along by us."

"We can leave whenever you're ready," added Remus. "Any questions?"

Yeah, a multitude of them, but he wasn't going to ask every single one. "Um, where am I sleeping?"

"There's an extra bed in Harry and Ron's room," said Sirius, standing. "Did you bring anything?"

He nodded. "A bag of clothes. It's by the door. Should I bring it up?"

"No, go with Remus," he answered. "I'll take it. You might want throw a sweater on first. What your wearing will make you stick out."

Again, Kakashi found himself saying, "Thank you, I'll be back in a moment," before disappearing outside the room of the door. He pulled open the bag and took out his sweater, which was thankfully on top. He slid it over his head, making sure it covered the entirety of the armor before reentering. He moved so he was next to Remus and added, "I'm ready."

"Then come here and take my arm. We're Apparating."

He moved, causing Remus to jump when he was suddenly next to him. Oh, if they weren't used to that type of speed here, he was going to have fun screwing with them. Just because he had to be nice didn't mean he couldn't get some entertainment out of it. "What's Apparating?" he asked, acting like he hadn't seen everyone's reaction.

"Think of it as teleportation," answered Hermione instead of Remus. "You go instantaneously from one place to the other."

Though he felt incredibly awkward doing so (screw physical contact), he placed his hand around Remus' upper arm.

"Thanks for the lunch, by the way," he added quickly, looking to Molly, who smiled cheerfully in reply.

"You're welcome, dear."

"Be prepared," said Remus, and they were gone.

.

For a moment, there was a rare silence inside Grimmauld Place.

Then Ginny said, "He's so short!" and the silence was shattered.

"Well, I like him," said Fred and his twin nodded in agreement.

Harry looked to Ron and Hermione and together they excused themselves, heading upstairs after Sirius as the conversation continued in the kitchen. He heard Mrs. Weasley say, "But he's such a well-mannered child," before the door swung shut behind them.

"So I need a guard now?" he said furiously once they were on the stairwell, both angry and intrigued at the same time. "How wonderful it is to know Dumbledore has such confidence in me."

Hermione worried her bottom lip. "I'm not so sure," she said and Harry almost blew up again before she continued, "There's something strange about this. Everyone knows that You-Know-Who is afraid of Dumbledore, so I don't think he'll attack the school. Why have a guard?"

She had a point. Even in his third year when everyone thought Sirius was out to kill him, Dumbledore hadn't assigned a guard. Yes, the Ministry assigned the dementors, but all the Hogwarts teachers were angry because of it. This sudden decision didn't make much sense.

Ron shrugged. "I don't know. What's up with his hair?"

"Premature grey?" suggested Harry, even if he a feeling it wasn't it. "I don't thinking fitting in is going to be all that easy with white hair."

"It's not the hair I'm curious about," said Hermione as they reached the floor of the boys' bedroom. "Did you see his face?"

"How it was half covered by that metal thing?" said Ron. "Yeah. Wonder what's up with that."

Then Sirius, who in the bedroom as they entered, said, "I think she meant the cuts."

"His face was cut?" Harry hadn't noticed it at all. "Where?"

"Scattered," he answered, shrugging one shoulder. "They were thin, hardly noticeable, but still there."

Harry frowned, then asked, "Sirius, what do you think of him?"

Again, he shrugged. "I think Dumbledore has reasons for hiring him, and you better hope he's a Gryffindor."

"Why?" said Ron.

"He's going to need help fitting in, and it isn't just the hair," answered Sirius, leaning against the wall. "After being in Azkaban for twelve years and living with my family for sixteen, I know how to tell when a person has social problems. He's good at faking, but I'm guessing he isn't much a people person."

Hermione stared at him before saying, "You know something!"

"No," he said, and Harry was near positive his godfather was lying, "but I'll leave you up here to speculate. I need to talk to Tonks about something before she leaves."

"What was that all about?" said Ron, sitting on his bed. Hermione shook her hair and joined him; Harry sat on the edge of the bed across from them. "Did Sirius just tell us to make friends with him?"

"I think so," said Harry, wondering what could be so important that his godfather would lie to him. After all, he started that whole argument with Mrs. Weasley about him being old enough to be told the truth about what was going on. "Never thought I'd be told to be friends with a killer."

After he said it, the gravity of the situation hit full force and shiver went through the room. Assassins, hired killers, soldiers, body guards, message runners, cat saviors—anything that's asked of us, Kakashi said. What was Dumbledore doing letting a kid like that infiltrate with the students?

"He didn't seem like a bad kid," said Hermione tentatively. "Smart and polite, too. I think I could like him."

Ron smirked. "Hermione, you just like him because he agreed to read your book."

"Hey!"

Harry sat in silence, thinking. Hermione had a point; he hadn't seemed like a murderer. Even when he threw the sharp thing at Remus, it was pretty obvious that was trying not to hit him, just make everyone believe him. Even if it wasn't in the same context, Harry could understand his aversion to being treated like a kid.

"Besides," Hermione was saying, "we shouldn't leave him to fend for himself in Hogwarts. I think it's beneficial to both him and us for us to be friends."

"How's it a good thing for us?" asked Harry, crossing his arms..

Then Hermione smiled her rare rule-breaking smile and answered, "Because we can find out the real reason Professor Dumbledore hired him."

.

"Feel any better?" Remus asked him five minutes after they Apparated into the thin London alleyway bordering the Leaky Cauldron.

"Y-yeah," he answered, hating how weak he sounded, wiping his mouth on the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

"As I am the one taking you to Diagon Alley, Albus told me about the conditions with your lungs," he said and Kakashi felt a stab of hatred at Orochimaru for making him this pathetic. "And I don't know the cause, which is why I asked if you were skilled."

As much as he loathed to admit, what Remus said makes sense. "I'll be better in a week," he mumbled, following the man out of the alley and into the dingy bar—or pub, as they called it in England. "Does everyone know?"

When they entered, several people looked up; a few openly stared. White hair wasn't common here, apparently, and neither was having an eye protected. If anyone were to actually speak up, Kakashi would be perfectly happy to point out that the barman was toothless, a man was wearing a legitimate eye patch, and a woman was wearing robes with bright orange snails all over it. But no one did ask, so he had to leave all comments to himself.

"No," answered Remus. "Only Sirius, who overheard me talking to Albus after the meeting two days ago when we were told you were coming, and Mad-Eye, since he was the one who picked you up. Everyone else assumes that you're a perfectly healthy individual."

Perfectly healthy. Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he counted as healthy. On the yearly update paperwork turned it the week before the incident with Orochimaru (that bastard), he lied about his weight since he was nearly ten kilograms before the necessary minimum for an active shinobi of his height. He hated hospitals with a passion, so if he came back injured, even if it was to the point he could barely stand, he bandaged himself up. He'd taken so many consecutive, high class missions that he had trouble avoiding chakra exhaustion. Healthy was a foreign word for him.

And now there was this. One week until he was better, but it felt like an eternity. Apparating had sucked all the air from his lungs, so when they popped back out of it, his respiratory system rebelled against him. Almost as much blood came up as it did back in his apartment, and if it weren't for Remus' cleaning spell, his sweater would still be covered in blood, noticeable even if the fabric was black. Considering how much effort Tsunade put into healing his lungs, Kakashi had to wonder exactly how bad of shape they were in when Jiraiya first dragged him in there.

"Watch closely in case you need to do this yourself," said Remus after they exited into a tiny alley behind the Leaky Cauldron. Confused, he nodded, and watched the man tap the bricks, memorizing the movements easily. Then the wall started separating and after a moment, there was an entire archway leading to one of the most amazing places Kakashi had ever seen. With a smile, he added, "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

Obito would love this place, was his first thought as they stepped into the street, the wall closing up behind them.

The hustle and bustle all around him made Konoha seem calm in comparison and while that normally bothered him, he was in too much awe to really register it. It really was like he stepped into one of those old story books—there was a shop selling pets, an apothecary spelling potion supplies, a huge bookstore, a store for this thing called Quidditch that sold flying broomsticks, a giant marble building Remus identified as a bank, and about a million other places. All the robes people wore were brightly colored like festival formal wear, and people of all ages were meeting up to stand around and talk.

For one solid, aching moment, Kakashi wished this peaceful, innocent place was his world.

Then he quickly squashed that down. Thinking that was disloyal to Konoha, and he didn't want to think about he would be like if he really did grow up here. His lifestyle was in his blood and even if his father wasn't from a clan, someone who built himself out of nothing, Kakashi still had that ingrained in him. Being anything else was impossible.

"Let's get your robes first," Remus said, pointing to a shop called Madam Malkin's. He nodded and followed without a word.

Twenty minutes later they walked out again and Kakashi's initial glee at finding this place was ruined. The woman fitting actually bothered to point out that he was small for his age and it took a whole five minutes to convince her that he didn't have a self-harm problem, he got them from accidently putting his hand through a window (if he wasn't such a good liar, that probably never could've worked, but by some miracle it did). Remus seemed to recognize a bad mood when he saw one, because he didn't talk, simply lead him out and in the direction of the wand shop.

The wand shop was called Ollivander's and it was nowhere near as extravagant as half the other stores in Diagon Alley. Simplicity was usually key for him, but taking one look at the place put him on guard. They entered and he struggled very, very hard not to have a sudden sneeze attack.

He wanted out. Fast.

"I was wondering when another one would come into my shop," said a man, appearing in front of him almost as suddenly and as silently as a trained shinobi. He tapped the leaf symbol on Kakashi's forehead protector, way too close for comfort. "Konoha, correct? It's been many years since the last one came. Do you by chance know a man named Hiruzen Sarutobi?"

Everything about this man was extremely unnerving. "Yes," he answered, and didn't elaborate.

"And you are?"

"Kakashi Hatake."

"Hold out your wand arm, Mr. Hatake." He must have looked confused, because Ollivander clarified, "The hand you use the most."

"I'm ambidextrous."

"Then what hand did you begin writing with?"

"My right," he answered, and held it up.

The man didn't say anything, just turned around and headed back towards the man shelves as a tape measure moved on its own. It wasn't until it was measuring the width of his eye that Ollivander said, "That will do," and it crumbled to a heap on the floor.

"Try this one first," he said, pulling a wand (which was basically a stick) out of the top box of the stack he created and handed it over. "Ten inches, yew, with a core of dragon heart string. Excellent for Transfiguration spells." The moment he held it, he felt the chakra—magic—and everything about it screamed this is wrong! Ollivander apparently came to the same conclusion because he snatched it out of his hand, shook his head, and held out a new one. "Eight inches, birch, with a core of phoenix feather."

Then that one was snatched out his hand too, and the one after that, and somewhere the long time of snatching and replacing, Ollivander said something about a wand choosing a wizard, which made no sense since a wand was an inanimate object, but he knew better to ask. At one point he looked back at Remus, portraying help me! as best he could with his eyes, but the man gave a small smile, amused, leaving Kakashi to get tortured by a man who was obviously enjoying the difficulty of his costumer.

"Ten inches, maple, with a core of a unicorn hair. Nice and flexible; good for Charms work," said the shop owner and Kakashi accepted it with a resignation of giving up. But this time it was different. Something about this wand's magic and his chakra clicked and warmth spread through his body. He longed to pull the forehead protector off and look at this with his Sharigan, because he was sure whatever was going on was visible. "Mr. Hatake, I believe we found your wand. That will be seven Galleons. You have the money, I assume, Mr. Lupin."

"Yes," said Remus, pulling out seven gold coins and handing it over. "Thank you. We'll be on our way, now."

"If you see him, give Hiruzen Sarutobi my regards, Mr. Hatake," he said as they made their exit. Kakashi managed a nod, and fell into a sneeze attack the moment they were outside. One of the great things about his mask: it stopped him from breathing in dust.

"Is he always like that?" he asked when the sneeze attack was finished, feeling like crap from the coughing earlier, this only making it worse. He slipped his wand into his weapon holder.

"Actually, he's usually worse," said Remus mildly before holding out his arm. "We're unfortunately going to Apparate back, but I'll make our destination the park just in case."

He nodded, wiggled his nose from the discomfort, and place his hand on the offered arm. There was the awful sensation of being pressed two-dimensional before they were suddenly in the park outside Grimmauld Place. When Hermione first explained it to him, he imagined it being like a Shunshin, but it was completely different. This hurt.

The coughing was shorter this time, but his body hadn't had time to recover since the last attack, and Remus actually supported him so he stayed upright. So much for being a talented shinobi. When he finished, another cleaning charm was cast and again he wiped his mouth. It was only then that he realized the curse seal burned.

Well, this wasn't good.

"Done?" Remus asked, and Kakashi nodded. "Okay, come on. I can teach you some spells today, or you can read and get Molly or Sirius to begin tomorrow."

"Today works," he said, though his voice sounded a little hoarse. "I think I'll change first, if that's okay."

The ANBU armor was tight, and while it normally didn't bother him, the slight constriction wasn't helping his ability to breath like a "healthy individual." And besides, for the rest of time he was dressing in what was classified as civilian clothing before donning incredibly impractical robes for the school year.

"That's fine." He pulled open the front door at themselves in. "Actually, take a few minutes to talk to Harry, Ron, and Hermione if you run into them. It's two now, so I bet Molly has them cleaning."

Apparently the tactical advantage of making friends wasn't lost on wizards, either. He wondered for a moment if the kids realized it before deciding they most likely didn't. The Hermione girl, maybe, and he could see the twins figuring it out, but he wasn't sure about the others. Hell, he wasn't even sure if all the adults realized it either. But even if he didn't like it, he saw the advantage too.

"Cleaning?" he said after the automatic response of nodding.

"This house hasn't been used for years." There were voices in the kitchen still, though two floors up he could hear Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They reminded him a bit of a genin team, one that knew how to work together. "Come on, I'll show you to your room."

He followed in silence, mind still bursting with unanswered questions, but he didn't have it in him to ask anymore at the moment. The curse mark still burned on his shoulder, and he stopped his hand from straying over to press down on it.

Orochimaru's such a creep, said Rin's voice.

I've noticed.

"Here we are," said Remus, holding open a door for him. "I'll be downstairs in the kitchen when you need to find me."

"Thank you," he said automatically before disappearing in the room and shutting the door behind him.

His bag was set on the bed he assumed was his for now. Sharing this with two other boys was going to be a pain, but he'd done worse. With a sigh he headed over and put his newly acquired robes next to the duffle bag before opening it and pulling out a pair of black pants and a white shirt. He changed slowly, struggling for once with the clasps on his armor as he tried to ignore the burning on his neck and his difficulty breathing; there was probably still blood in his lungs. Finally he got it off and slid it along with his the rest of his uniform back into the bag.

Two minutes later he was fully changed into civilian clothing, with the forehead protector still pulled over one eye and the weapon holster wrapped around his left leg. Out on missions, all his teammates knew about the scar, and at home he was always alone, so he usually slept without it on, but these kids already knew enough about him, and he preferred that they didn't find out about his eye until later when it was necessary. Then he realized he could just wear a bandage around it at night, and acknowledged that for a genius, he had quite a lot of idiot moments.

He slipped out of the room and followed the sounds of the three friends' voices, discovering them in what was probably a sitting room of some kind at one point.

"Hey," he said, feeling stupid. All three of them turned to look at him in surprise. Witches and wizards were skittish little things, Kakashi decided.

"Hi," said Hermione brightly, putting down the rag she was holding. "Did you get your wand?"

He pulled it out of his weapon pouch and held it up. "Yeah. Useless at the moment, but Remus is going to show me the basics when I go downstairs."

"What did you think of Diagon Alley?" asked Harry as the two boys came over.

"It was cool." And for once he was honest. "Crowded, though. Ollivander's was weird."

"I don't like his eyes," said Ron, mouth tugging into a frown. Kakashi nodded in agreement; they really were creepy. "You weren't gone all that long. Where did you go?"

"Just Madam Malkin's and Ollivander's. If I get a chance to go again, I think I'll look at the bookstore and the apothecary."

"You can go later, when the book list comes," Hermione said. "Then Harry, Ron, and I can show you around properly."

He smiled. "Okay. I'd like that. Is everywhere in the wizarding world like that?"

"Not exactly," said Harry, "but it's very different from the Muggle world, and probably yours, too."

"Muggle?"

Goddamnit, he hated asking questions.

"Someone who can't use magic," said Ron. Civilians, he immediately thought. "Don't mention Muggles around Dad, though."

"Why not?"

"He's obsessed with anything Muggle related. Thinks their way of life is fascinating."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "Well, I better be going downstairs. Hopefully the next time you'll see me I can use a spell or two."

"Good luck," said Hermione with a wide smile as Harry said, "We'll see you at dinner," and Ron gave a normal goodbye.

"Bye," he said, a disappeared downstairs, genuinely interested now in learning magic.

.

Don't worry, Kakashi won't be weakling the entire time.