A/N—12/26/14: Erm. Hi. Hello there. Nice to, uh, see you all. After like what over a year? Ha ha ha... /laughs guiltily and nervously and pathetically/ but you guys don't realise how much I love you all for sticking with this story. I was like ehhh tis liek the holiday why dont I like update... im sorry its tots bad but erh here ya go.
Also I don't copy the exact dialogue the book does half outta laziness and half out of I don't want to copy things exac-i-tackly.
Also, to address the issue of romance that many readers have been mentioning, there will be...
?
Romance was never a huge part of LVÈM, and wellll idunnomaybe. Tsuna still has his weird stalkerish crush on Kyoko and I apologise for exaggerating and for the fact I will not be exploring that at length and Mukuro has his normal and healthy obsession-crush over Tsuna's lacking body.
As for HP, Harry still has that thing for Cho or was it during the fifth book I'm honestly too lazy to look it up it's not like he ends with her anyway and Ron still hasn't grown balls to admit he wants Hermione so that's just going down and Draco still has his ferret and well Mr. Weasley is still married to Mrs. Weasley so those two are probably enough romance for all of you, right?
I mean, if you want romance, what exactly would you want? Just gimme sumfin to ponder over
And and and someone brought up the Simon Guardians and I realised that I totally forgot them. But don't fear! They will make an appearance. Probably.
ANYWAY. The third installment of LVÈM, my much too kind readers...
Dripping wet and fed up with life was Sawada Tsunayoshi, a young man who had just recently been unwillingly dragged unconscious on to a private jet to the land of Scotland where some bizarre school named something similar to Pigwarts was situated. After insistently being told that magic was real, he finally began to actually believe that it was. After actually receiving a wand, the idea of magic was beginning to become more and more probable.
It was already the nerve wracking first of September—the day Tsuna had been dreading while everyone else were both excited and nervous. They had been learning furiously since then, and ever since they got their wands, Reborn had made them practise constantly to conquer some spells. Most of the guardians had actually found the spellwork to be quite easy, but some like Tsuna and Ryohei were having a bit difficulties when it came to mastering.
All in all, their practicing amounted to an actual mastering of a few spells. For example, Expelliarmus and Alohomora could be done. However, more difficult spells like Engorgio or Flipendo would take more effort. In order to cast a spell, you needed the movements and the will to do it. You needed to feel the magic pulsing underneath your skin.
However, Tsuna could only barely feel the magic in him. Perhaps it was because he hadn't fully registered that he had magic coursing through him. Reborn was determined to resolve this—three nights a week, the entire group was to meet up to catch up on course work.
And now, after all that time and effort and falling into the rather large lake and nearly screaming when a tentacle from the squid who apparently lived inside said lake touched his leg, Tsuna was almost done with it all. But something kept him from just letting his bottled up frustration at the fast-paced events out. His guardians and friends.
They seemed so excited. Perhaps not Hibari, but who knew whatever that freakishly strong monster felt underneath his terrifying exterior? But he couldn't ruin the good mood they all had. They were all gathered around a wooden, oak door, waiting for the woman, who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, to come back so they could be sorted. While the first-year students were too anxious and scared—admittedly, Tsuna felt the same way—to speak, the transfer students were at ease every second.
"Are you sure you're alright, Tenth?" Gokudera asked the shorter boy, standing side-by-side with the only person he idolised. He had been the one to save Tsuna from drowning in the Great Lake. Tsuna was grateful that it was raining much too hard for Gokudera to throw dynamites at the Giant Squid—mostly because Hagrid had assured them the squid was harmless and docile, but definitely because Tsuna didn't want to cause a scene that would further frighten the first-years.
Shivering slightly, Tsuna awkwardly bit his lip. "I-I guess," Tsuna replied unsurely, whispering the last part, "but not completely."
An arm wrapped around his shoulders tightly. Feeling the air rush out of his lungs instantly, Tsuna jolted forward. "Ha, Sawada!" Ryohei exclaimed, haggling the boy further. "I wish I had fallen into the lake. I would've been rejuvenated to the extreme!"
"Quit choking the Tenth, Lawn-head!" Gokudera grouched, tearing off Ryohei's tight grip on Tsuna.
Not another argument, Tsuna thought wearily. The two, and occasionally an innocently smiling Yamamoto had been having constant disagreements from the hotel to the portkey to Hogsmeade via portkey during the boat ride, and now as they waited. Another thing Tsuna was fed up with.
Luckily, Reborn and Chrome came to the rescue.
Due to Lambo's youth and because he had already fallen asleep, Reborn had decided that Lambo could not be seen at the present moment. That McGonagall woman had allowed Chrome to carry Lambo with Reborn leading the way to where Reborn's quarters in the castle were. When asked what would occur if Lambo awoke, Reborn had reassured, with a mysterious glint in his eyes, that Lambo would be napping for a long time.
Reborn leaped into the air and whacked both of Gokudera and Ryohei's head roughly, landing expertly on Yamamoto's broad shoulder. "Nice landing, little guy!" Yamamoto commented, holding back a laugh at the pained expressions on the two light-haired teens.
"Thank you, Yamamoto," Reborn squeaked smoothly, seating himself down on the shoulder in a graceful manner. "Now," His sharp gaze fell upon the two guilty teens, his tone scolding, "there's no use in fighting, especially in an area where we are unused to. Keep yourselves in high alert. Ryohei, tone it down." The boxer nodded eagerly in agreement. "Gokudera, remember what Yamamoto said to you in the future?" A small nod from Gokudera was all the baby received. "Well, listen to what he said. After all, 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'"
"Well said, ex-Arcobaleno," Mukuro chimed in, a mocking smile playing on his lips directed toward Gokudera. The green-eyed boy scowled in response.
Reborn then gave everyone his usual curl of the lips. "Now, let's get you all sorted," He declared as the double doors swung open.
"Who are they?"
Murmurs of that questioned echoed throughout the Great Hall. Trailing behind Professor McGonagall were the usual group of first-year students, and trailing behind the usual group of first-year students were a group of older-looking students who looked much out of place. In addition to their older age, they had the most unusual hairstyles and a mixture of Asian and European looks. Along with them was also a baby, who was seated on the shoulder of a young teen with brown, spiked-up hair. The sight of them left almost everyone in confusion, aside from the Golden Trio and the Weasleys.
Ron leaned closer to Harry. "Reckon that's the transfer students?" He asked, eying them curiously.
"I think," Harry replied, watching as they strolled between the tables. They didn't look frightening. Or imposing, or like a threat to any of the students. They just looked like regular teenagers, just a bit out of place in a place like Hogwarts.
Hermione, on the other hand, lit up at the sight of them. She was curious and excited to see whether they had different spells or methods of magic then theirs. "I wonder if they went to Mahoutokoro School of Magic," Hermione mused thoughtfully.
"What in Merlin's beard is May-ho-took-or-oh?" repeated Ron in confusion.
The curly-haired girl rolled her eyes at his attempts to say the name correctly and his obvious zero knowledge of the name. "It's a magic school in Japan, Ronald," She informed him, brushing back a bushy curl from her face.
"Shouldn't we be more focused on the baby?" Fred hissed to them, jerking his red locks to where the group stood. "Who brings a baby to Hogwarts?"
"Oh, he looks adorable," gushed Ginny, leaning backwards to stare more at the little kid, "don't you think so, Hermione?"
Well... The baby did look cute. An over-sized fedora was placed upon his little head, and he was decked out in a full-on suit, a contrast to the robes everyone else was wearing. There was also a tiny lizard resting on the brim of his fedora, and his big black eyes seemed to take in the Great Hall appreciatively.
And said baby smirked at the attention.
"And now, I am delighted to inform you of our new transfer students!"
Dumbledore waved a hand toward the Vongola youth, the bright twinkle in his eyes growing larger as his gaze fell upon a fidgeting Tsuna. Whispers broke out again at Dumbledore's words, but he soon spoke again. "First, I would like you to meet their teacher, who decided to accompany them from Namimori, Magic School of Japan to our school. Professor Reborn Riboyama!"
All the students and faculty applauded out of politeness, and everyone peered through the group to see which one was their teacher. None of them looked old enough to properly teach, but nobody knew well enough to know.
And then, jaws dropped. Reborn materialised beside Dumbledore's podium, seated on it neatly. "Hello," Reborn greeted them evenly, his babyish voice echoing through the Great Hall, "you can just call me Professor Reborn. It is a pleasure to be staying here, at your school. Please be kind to my—" he refrained from saying no good, "—students."
And he hopped off of the podium as everyone blankly applauded, still in a large amount of shock.
Only when Professor McGonagall walked forward, holding up the parchment of new names, did people start snapping out of their surprise. "Dokuro, Chrome!" She said loudly.
The purple-haired girl's head jerked upward at the sound of her name being called. She hesitantly inched forward, glancing toward Tsuna as if she needed his approval. Tsuna blinked and sent her a nervous smile in response to urge her forward. Chrome, already feeling extremely awkward due to the silence pervading in the Great Hall, stepped forward to where the Sorting Hat was placed upon the stool. Grabbing the rim of the hat, she gently placed it upon her head while facing the whole group of students.
A boy seated next to the table where Tsuna was standing nearby chuckled lowly. "Wouldn't mind snogging her," He smirked, and his group sniggered along, "and chopping off that god-awful pineapple hairstyle."
Mukuro, who had heard every word, smiled maliciously at the group of boys. A perverse comment about his dear, little Chrome and his perfectly un-pineapple-like haircut did not make him a happy camper. "Oya, oya. I'm sorry," He said sweetly, "perhaps you would care to repeat that again?" His voice may have been like honey, but his eyes held an underlying warning of fire. Tsuna flinched at the look, even though he had done nothing.
"Uh, n-no," The Ravenclaw student stammered in fear, sliding down further on the long seats and away from Mukuro's murderous aura.
A sudden weight fell upon the Mist Guardian's shoulder. "No threatening students," said Reborn scoldingly into Mukuro's ear, but the little hitman didn't sound too bothered by it.
Mukuro just smiled in response, choosing to watch Chrome being sorted again.
A voice croaked into Chrome's thoughts, 'What an innocent mind...' She jumped suddenly at the voice, her visible violet eye widening. From the Sorting she had just witnessed, she didn't realise that the Hat could talk into your mind. She figured that it just randomly shouted out House names like a broken robot. 'A dedication to prove yourself isn't a bad thing—hm, your values are strong. And you do care rather strongly for your friends, particularly that pineapple boy over there.' The Hat broke out into chortles.
Mukuro suddenly twitched.
'Alright...?' Chrome thought hesitantly, unsure and a little bit unnerved by the idea of a talking hat. Especially one talking to her mentally.
'Ah, let's see... A rather strong sense of loyalty in here,' The Hat murmured contemplatively, 'well, I suppose I'll have to go with...—'
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hat bellowed.
The Hufflepuff table cheered in response to the young girl's chosen House, waving her over to their table as the other Houses politely clapped along. She smiled nervously at the unsorted group of the rest of the Vongola guardians. Chrome focused on the little nod Mukuro gave in her direction, her cheeks flooding with pink. Settling down at the Hufflepuff table, she shyly greeted several enthusiastic boys and girls.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, and announced the next person to be sorted. "Gokudera, Hayato!"
Gokudera inwardly cursed. Although he knew the names went in alphabetical order, he had wanted Tsuna to go first. And then, he could possibly coerce—or kindly threaten—the Sorting Hat to place him into the same House as Tsuna. After all, what sort of right-hand man didn't accompany his leader?
Stalking toward the Hat, he shoved it on top of his head roughly. There was no doubt about it—he was immensely irritated.
'Ow,' The Hat grumbled, before it hummed in an almost odd delight. 'I see intelligence... Definitely a thinker, Mr. Gokudera. There's wit, certainly, and boldness.'
'I don't fucking care what the hell you think of me. Just put me into whatever House you were planning to put Tenth into.'
'Your loyalty is quite strong...' remarked the Hat, who sounded a bit scandalised by Gokudera's choice of words. Because the Hat mostly dealt with scared-out-of-their-wits eleven-year-olds, he wasn't quite used to Gokudera's rapid and fiery language. Although there was a student who was as scathing before... 'But I'm afraid Sorting doesn't work that way. I have not seen into the mind of Mr. Tsunayoshi Sawada, so I cannot say which House he is to be in. However, I'm quite certain which is the one for you...—'
"RAVENCLAW!"
Like Hufflepuff did for Chrome, the Ravenclaw table enthusiastically invited their newest member to their House. Gokudera scowled all the way, emitting annoyance. Only when he passed by Tsuna did his expression change. An almost disappointed look crossed Gokudera's face—what sort of right-hand man was he?
Sensing Gokudera's emotional distress, Tsuna waved his hands upward in an attempt to calm down the silver head. "H-Have fun in your House, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna encouraged him.
Gokudera's eyes shone almost comically. His strength was renewed, considering Tsuna still believed in him.
The next name was called. "Hibari, Kyoya!"
A moment passed.
Glancing upward from the list of names, Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Hibari, Kyoya," she repeated, staring at the group of teens and waiting for one of them to pop out and be sorted.
"Where's Hibari?" Yamamoto wondered aloud, also looking over the rest of the group. He remembered him being with them, but over a few yards away from them due to his dislike of crowding. However, there was supposed to be five of them left, but there was one missing: Hibari.
The five Guardians all glanced at Reborn since the ex-Arcobaleno was still leisurely seated on Mukuro's shoulder. The baby hitman blinked and shrugged in response to Yamamoto's question. "I believe he's out patrolling," stated Reborn casually.
"Patrolling?" repeated Tsuna, jaw dropping as he pulled at his brown locks. "For what? This isn't Namimori!"
And then Tsuna flushed red. Now all the eyes in the Great Hall were on him. This was quite embarrassing, and he hadn't even been sorted yet.
"How valiant to the extreme!" Ryohei exclaimed, thrusting a bandaged fist upward. A bright fire ignited in his eyes, one that made Tsuna groan and want to run off and hide away from all the attention. "Hibari is fearless, isn't he?" The white-haired teen laughed zealously. "I should go on some extreme patrolling with him, too!"
The doors to the Great Hall burst open abruptly, and all eyes turned upon the wooden doors being shoved apart by a lone figure.
A young man, with piercing eyes and a small, yellow bird perched on his head, stepped into the limelight. He strode forward swiftly, unamused and uncaring of the curious eyes of the students and swooning from several of the female (and a few of the male) population. Ah, yes. Hibari Kyoya had made his entrance. He reached the stool in front of the Professor's table in less than a minute, grasping the Hat. The bird flew off of his head and rested by his knee, chirping and dancing around.
'It's obvious where to put you,' The Hat murmured thoughtfully, 'but there's that loyalty once again! Tsk, tsk. The alienation of yourself would be no good in Hufflepuff or Slytherin for that matter... It's quite obvious you're of the independent and analytical sort, but there's also that impulsive streak in you.'
'Quit rambling,' Hibari thought blatantly, 'or I'll—'
'Bite you to death, yes.' The Hat had the audacity to sound exasperated. Hibari made an irritated noise. 'Well then, I suppose I've figured it out..."
"RAVENCLAW!"
The House erupted into excited cheers and laughter once again. Two transfer students in a row—what great luck. A few girls were giggling and were whispering excitedly about Hibari, making Gokudera roll his eyes in disgust. How could anyone find that school-obsessed monster attractive? But Hibari said nothing in response to his sorting and sat himself at the far end of the table, far away from anyone. And should anyone press onward to slide closer to him, they would receive a deadly look and the flashing of his tonfas underneath his baggy robe.
"Rokudo, Mukuro!"
"It appears I'm next," Mukuro brightly said to Reborn. The baby jumped off his shoulder, landing on top of Tsuna's. As the brunette jerked out of fear, the indigo-haired illusionist began slinking off toward the front with a gracefulness that put many to shame.
Placing it upon his head, Mukuro waited patiently. He knew that the Hat sometimes spoke to the students after secretly borrowing and reading Hogwarts, A History from Gokudera's book bag. To be perfectly honest, he was quite intrigued on what it would possibly say to him.
'Well, Mr. Hat?' Mukuro probed mentally.
'...Oh—' The tiny voice in his mind said before stopping abruptly. It started back up again, undoubtedly troubled by whatever it saw inside of Mukuro's mind. Which was no surprise, considering how ruthless and apathetic the teen was. 'Your past is not what I was expecting... Considering how young you are...'
Mukuro mused, 'I thought this was a Sorting, not an invasion of my privacy.'
'Apologies, Mr. Rokudo. Continuing on... There's a cunning and charming streak in you, coupled with your ideals of using others as tools.'
'Oh, such sweet words,' thought Mukuro in a sort of lazy, sarcastic way, 'I thank you, Mr. Hat.'
'That leaves an ideal House for you...—'
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Kufufufufu," Mukuro's eyes slid to the table full of what he had already been focusing on. He saw them applaud and he snorted—if only they knew he wasn't a pureblood fanatic like they were. However, he had counted on Slytherin or possibly Ravenclaw. But not anymore, considering that darling Hibari was place into that House. "I hope you'll be seated beside me at that table, Tsunayoshi-kun," Mukuro leaned down to smirk at the shorter teen, his mismatched coloured eyes flickering to the Slytherin table and back to the Vongola successor.
Tsuna took one glance at the group and the white blond-haired one that was smirking triumphantly over at them and promptly looked forward again. "Hopefully not," Tsuna replied. Of all the Houses, he did not entirely prefer Slytherin.
"Sasagawa, Ryohei!" Professor McGonagall called out.
"Alright!" Ryohei cheered excitedly, zooming up the Great Hall steps. Tsuna bit back a smile at the antics of Ryohei, wondering how Kyoko would react if she were here to see it all happening. And then the fourteen-year-old groaned inwardly and blushed outwardly again—he really did miss her.
As soon as Ryohei placed the Hat on his head, he nearly jumped off the seat hearing it talk. 'Well, this is a no-brainer,' The Hat said bluntly.
'Whoa! You can talk? This is extremely cool!' Ryohei thought rapidly.
'Passion, stubbornness, confidence... Certainly good traits, but that lack of common sense could use some work...'
Ryohei was offended. 'Hey!'
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"This is great to the extreme!" Ryohei exclaimed raucously, jumping upward from the stool. Haphazardly dropping the Hat on the edge of the stool, he jogged over to the Gryffindor table. The whole table had erupted into the most loudest and enthusiastic cheers of the night, mostly because none of the new transfer students had been declared to be in Gryffindor yet.
Watching Ryohei greet several of his new Housemates, Yamamoto grinned happily for him. "I guess it's just the two of us, huh, Tsuna?" He remarked.
"Eh?" Tsuna asked confusedly, eyebrows darting upwards. It finally hit him a moment later. He now realised there were only two of them left—himself and Yamamoto. And while Yamamoto appeared excited and ready to be sorted, Tsuna, on the other hand... was not. He had read about the Houses and did not particularly feel like he fit in to any one of them.
"Sawada, Tsunayoshi!"
Tsuna squeaked at his name being called. An anxious feeling permeated throughout him, and he nervously shuffled his feet a few inches forward. Ohgodohgod, Tsuna repeated in his mind hurriedly. There wasn't any major reason why he felt so worried about the whole affair, but he was a teeny bit concerned that he could possibly end up in Slytherin with Mukuro. Now those were two freakishly scary things... A shiver racketed his body at the thought. He stopped when Reborn's hand flicked the side of his head. "Ow," Tsuna complained, rubbing the spot as his tutor flipped to the ground.
"Just hurry up, my no good student," Reborn instructed, arms crossed underneath his chest. Flickering fire from the lit candles showed the glint of a gun hidden beneath Reborn's tiny arms. Say no more, do no more, Tsuna gulped nervously, brown eyes widening further. He hurried up, shoving the Hat on his head before Reborn could possibly shoot it.
'I was wondering when I'd finally be able to see inside your mind, Mr. Sawada,' The Sorting Hat said pleasantly.
Tsuna blinked in confusion. 'Why?'
'Coming across any of Giotto's descendants is a rare occasion, after all.' The Hat's words made Tsuna's jaw almost drop. 'You're almost similar to him. But continuing on with the Sorting... Intelligence is not your strongest suit.' The brunette embarrassedly glanced downward—mostly due to the eyes of everyone on him and because of that comment. Even with Gokudera shooting him hopeful eyes and mouthing "Go Tenth" and Yamamoto giving him a thumbs-up, Tsuna still felt a little downtrodden. 'But I do see you can be logical... Perhaps not overly courageous, but you want to achieve more than being no good or worthless... Oh, my.'
'W-What?' Tsuna heard the voice suddenly sound a bit excited and surprised. And then he rolled his eyes at himself for actually stuttering in his own mind.
'Ambition, and then there's that unwavering loyalty all of you transfer students have,' The Hat said, listing on and on while ignoring the outburst. Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows at those words. 'And not hard-working in schoolwork, but in certain aspects, you give your dying will to do it. And what an empathetic heart you have... Tell me, Mr. Sawada, what House would you like to be sorted in?'
Tsuna confusedly replied back. 'I have a choice in which House?' Gokudera had told him that the Hat chose the one thought best for the student, so why was it asking his opinion? And why was it taking so long for it to decide where to put him?
'Well, when a student is sorted, they usually have an idea of which House they want to be sorted in. You have none in mind,' explained the voice.
'I—I don't know,' Tsuna thought helplessly. In all actuality, he really didn't. He didn't connect with any, nor did he really find himself in any of the traits associated with then. If they had a House for students with horrid grades, constant failures, and hitmen as their tutors, perhaps he could be sorted into that one.
'So indecisive.' The patronising tone made Tsuna imagine the Hat shaking its head. 'Not a great habit for any soon-to-be Mafia boss.'
'I'm not going to become a Mafia boss!'
'Ah, and in denial. So, Mr. Sawada, since you haven't decided, I have—'
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hufflepuff table broke out into loud and cheerful chatterings at the shout. Tsuna meekly set the Hat down and slowly walked over to his appointed House where they were waving him over. Yamamoto patted his back and grinned down at Tsuna, who managed a weak one back. As Tsuna finally settled into a seat beside a relieved Chrome, he finally looked to Gokudera.
"Tenth," He mourned solemnly, a frown on his lips.
"S-Sorry, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna apologised guiltily, seeing how disappointed his (best?) friend was.
"What?" Gokudera shook his silver head rapidly. "Tenth, don't blame yourself! I blame that stupid Hat." He growled.
Tsuna sweatdropped, and turned to face the front. There was only Yamamoto left.
"Yamamoto, Takeshi!"
A wide grin was plastered on Yamamoto's face, the baseball player stepping forward. He placed the Hat on his head, tapping his foot against one of the wooden bars on the small stool he was seated on. Hopefully, I'll be with Tsuna or Gokudera, he thought cheerfully.
'Maybe, maybe not,' A voice chimed in his ear.
'You must be the Hat,' Yamamoto figured, 'hello, I'm Yamamoto Takeshi!'
'How polite,' The Hat said delightedly, finding him an upgrade from the others and definitely Gokudera, 'well, where to place you, Mr. Yamamoto? Underneath that carefree exterior of yours, I see you're quite perceptive. And if you put your mind to it, you can master almost anything...'
'Haha. You think so?'
'Indeed,' The Hat probed further, 'and there's that reckless bravery I constantly see. A sort of protective sense, as well. No other choice, but...—'
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Although a bit disappointed he was neither with Tsuna or Gokudera, Yamamoto still smiled at the enthusiastic greeting he received from the Gryffindor table. Ryohei was there to greet him, grinning from ear to ear. "Ha! This is great to the extreme, Yamamoto!" Ryohei declared. "Glad to have you on the team!"
"You too, Senpai," Yamamoto agreed. He glanced over the group of people Ryohei had waved him over to.
There were two twins, with red hair that differed from Shoichi's due to its more orange hue. They grinned wickedly at him, leaning forward. "I'm Fred, he's George," They stated simultaneously, pointing at one twin and then pointing at the other. There was another guy with dreadlocks, seated beside him. "He's Lee Jordan. And you're Yamamoto, right?"
"Ah, yeah," Yamamoto beamed back, "nice to meet you."
"D'you play any Quidditch?" A girl inquired from Jordan's side. "Er, Angelina Johnson," She introduced herself quickly.
The Japanese teen thought back to the book he read about Quidditch a week ago. While he was initially confused—and still, sort of—he knew enough that they flew on broomsticks and there was some involvement of hitting flying balls. "No, our school isn't big enough to have those sorts of stuff. I usually play baseball, though," He admitted. All he received were blank looks from the quartet.
"It's a Muggle sport." Yamamoto's gaze slid to the person who piped up. It was another boy, with messy black hair and green irises almost akin to Gokudera's. After studying him for a moment, Yamamoto realised who it was. That Harry Potter guy, his eyes widened. "It's a game you play on the ground, and you use equipment like the Beater bat—slimmer and longer, though—to hit a ball... Sort of like that." He sheepishly turned to Yamamoto. "Sorry, I haven't played baseball in ages."
"Haha, it's okay!" Yamamoto assured the bespectacled teen.
Ryohei's eyebrows furrowed. "This Quidditch game sounds exciting to the extreme! I would like to play it," He announced, nodding his head furiously.
Yamamoto chuckled at Ryohei's antics, choosing to look on the brighter side of the situation. After all, he could've been alone in House... Quite like Mukuro.
And at the Slytherin table, Mukuro was being barraged with questions.
"I hear you're from Japan," One girl, who had introduced herself as Daphne Greengrass, spoke, "what of your family there?"
Mukuro understood the real question—Are you a Mudblood or are you one of us?
The group of students stared back at him rather expectantly. They consisted of a bulky girl with a square jaw, two other bulky young men that seemed to flank an arrogant looking blond-haired boy, a hard-faced girl, another boy with rather prominent cheekbones and unnerving eyes, along with several others. Mukuro hadn't known them for a long time, but his opinion of them was already slipping. However, he wasn't about to tell the truth. No, he could use them, especially in finding out more solid information on their "oh-so-dangerous" Dark Lord Voldemort. Even if he was proclaimed to have disappeared, the fifteen-year-old believed otherwise. Besides, if anyone was to gain power over the world, it would be Mukuro, not some egotistic wizard with daddy issues who couldn't even manage to kill a simple boy.
A sly smirk almost crossed his face, but he remembered that he needed to look solemn for the lie he had concocted in the last five minutes.
"Well, my parents were both wizards and were killed during the wizarding riots overseas in America," Mukuro lied smoothly, choosing to sound rather saddened by the whole affair. He coughed slightly, glancing away. "I'm sorry, it's a bit difficult for me to talk about it." He nearly wanted to laugh when one of the girls made a sympathetic noise—how pathetic. "I was rather young at the time, so I was adopted into another family in Japan."
"Which family?" The blond one asked—Draco Malfoy, he'd arrogantly introduced himself awhile ago. Mukuro had instantly disliked him.
As if they'll ever learn the truth, Mukuro thought, but instead he calmly answered the boy. "Kokuyo," Mukuro said, "they taught me how to harness magic truly before they sent me off to school."
"Wow," Pansy, the hard-faced girl, breathed out, "they let you practise magic in Japan even though you're underage?"
Ah, that stupid law, Mukuro remembered reading about it. What a waste, considering what havoc teens could wreak if they were able to do magic outside of Hogwarts. "Not at all. They have a rather large amount of trust in us and our capabilities." Mukuro informed them, gently sipping on the chocolate milk he had been delighted to find in the cup in front of him. The chocolate was probably the best part of the night at the table, in his opinion.
That seemed to be enough for the group that had crowded around him, for they appeared to sling them into their group of supposed "evilness".
Mukuro gave a small smile, contrasting with the mocking emotions he felt inside. It was deliciously entertaining to him—they believed every word he had said.
"Why is he sitting alone?"
Gokudera glanced upward from poking furiously at the meal in front of him. His eyes narrowed at the girls that gathered in front of him. One of them was pointing at a lonesome Hibari. The black-haired teen was looking more annoyed and disgusted by the minute at the sight and noise of all the people around him. Another girl was blatantly staring at Gokudera, and when he raised an eyebrow at her, she blushed red and ducked her head.
"God, not Namimori again," Gokudera groaned to himself, recalling the girls who had followed him everywhere and cooed over everything he did on Valentine's Day. But at least in Namimori, the girls had the common sense to stay as far away as possible from Hibari.
"Well?" The girl asked impatiently.
Before Gokudera could answer in what would most probably be a mixture of cussing and insulting words, another Ravenclaw student cut in. He and his group of mixed genders also swooped in. "Turpin, lay off," He rolled his eyes, "can't you see he's trying to eat?"
Turpin—Gokudera figured that was either her given or surname—sneered in disgust. "Why don't you sod off, Goldstein?" She questioned. But she and her group got up and left, along with the same girl and several others who were admiring Gokudera's mixed EuroAsian features.
"Sorry, she can be a bit pushy," The "saviour" of Gokudera apologised with a roll of his eyes, "the name's Anthony Goldstein. Welcome to Ravenclaw and Hogwarts, Gokudera."
Gokudera frowned. Should he speak or keep his silence? Now that he thought more clearly about it, he mostly just spoke to Tsuna and everyone involved with his beloved Tenth. Did these Housemates of his even matter? His green eyes darted to where the Hufflepuffs resided. Tsuna met his gaze and gave Gokudera a small nod and an encouraging beam.
The Tenth is so great, Gokudera thought proudly, he wants me to branch out! After all, what sort of right-arm would I be if I didn't gain him and the Vongola some allies?
Er, why does Gokudera-kun look so weird now? Tsuna wondered idly after he gave the silver-headed boy a nervous smile, he looks way too happy.
"Hey!" Another person clapped Tsuna on the back. "Congrats on joining us Hufflepuffs." He nearly spat out the rice ball he was eating—earlier, he'd almost had a heart attack after seeing the food appear on the plates—and managed a smile at them as well.
The person turned out to be a young man, who even Tsuna could not deny was handsome. Chrome, who turned to see the young man as well, blushed at the sight of him. "I'm Cedric Diggory," He offered a hand to Chrome first, and she blinked down at it in confusion. His smile faded slightly.
"O-Oh," She quickly realised her mistake, even more embarrassed, "in Japan, we don't really, um..."
"It's not a custom to shake hands," intercepted Tsuna, who recognised her distress.
"Ah, got it," He retracted his hand back, the friendly look and tone still back full-force, "well, I'm a prefect, so if the both of you have any questions, feel free to come and ask me."
"Cedric!" Someone called from down the table. "Hurry up, mate!"
Cedric waved a dismissive hand at them, turning his grinning face back to Chrome and Tsuna. "Well, looks like I'm being called back to the pack," Cedric joked, standing up, "but it was nice meeting you guys. Uh, Dokuro, right?" She nodded mutely. "I like your hair," He revealed, throwing her another charming smile before walking off.
Tsuna's jaw dropped as Chrome turned even more red. If only he could do the same to Kyoko, Tsuna pondered wistfully. The eyepatched-girl cleared her throat. "Um, Boss," Chrome murmured softly, fidgeting as she poked at her food, "I-I'm glad..."
"About what?" Tsuna questioned.
She shyly glanced downward, setting down her utensils. "I'm glad you got sorted in here with me," Chrome admitted, cheeks flushing pink again as she spoke. She wasn't particularly the most confident, but when it came to Tsuna or Mukuro, she wanted to show and be her best.
"Oh," Tsuna felt surprised and grateful, "thanks, Chrome..." She wasn't as loud or obnoxious as the others usually were, so he was a bit grateful. The two continued eating in a comfortable silence until Dumbledore spoke up.
"I must ask for your attention as I give out a few notices," Dumbledore announced loudly, attracting the attention of students and faculty alike, "Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle..."
Tsuna tuned out the words of Dumbledore, not bothered to listen any further out of disinterest and a need to mull over his thoughts more. Maybe things will be peaceful, He thought idly, staring closely at the plates that had magically been cleaned. Being away from Namimori felt odd, but perhaps this year could be good for him and everyone—
"Hiee!" Tsuna whimpered softly.
Somebody had just whacked him in the frigging head. The ache lingered and his brown eyes searched for whoever had whacked him in the head. Nobody was behind him— "Oh my no good student," The squeaky voice made Tsuna groan, "that gets you every time. Pay attention." Reborn stood before Tsuna, his little arms crossed over his chest, since he had finished speaking to Dumbledore. He ignored the looks the Hufflepuffs sent them, staring straight at Dumbledore.
Tsuna sighed, deciding to focus. He heard the gasps of several students. Apparently some event would soon begin at Hogwarts that Dumbledore made out to sound like fun and good. Before he could announce its name, a bolt of thunder slammed down and the doors slammed open. Lambo...? Tsuna thought worriedly of his Lightning Guardian.
However, it wasn't. Instead, it was probably one of the most frightening man Tsuna had seen in a while. Deep scars and gashes could rival the skin of Xanxus', but that was where the similarities ended. Aside from their imposing and scary figures. But there was a—prosthetic, he wondered—eye attached to the stranger's, and was rolling around everywhere. Chrome made a small sound in her throat, touching her eyepatch with a deep frown.
Black eyes watched the man limp through the Great Hall, lips pursed as the scarred man spoke in a hushed voice with Dumbledore. Something was off to Reborn. He just couldn't put his hand on it...
"Everyone," Dumbledore proclaimed merrily to the shocked students, "I would like to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher—" a few students choked at those words, "—Professor Moody!" He waved a hand toward the man, who had seated himself down in one of the two empty chairs of the faculty table and was eating savagely. Whispers flared up again.
Hardly anyone clapped at the news, but it didn't make Dumbledore falter.
"Where was I?" He mused before clapping his hands once. "Ah, yes. Hogwarts is hosting an event soon, and it has not happened in over a century, I believe. I am pleased to inform everyone that this year, the Triwizard Tournament will take place here, at Hogwarts."
Someone from the Gryffindor table jolted up. A flash of red hair blurred. "You're joking!" They exclaimed.
Another one stood up as well. "That sounds EXTREME!" The loud voice was recognisable to all of the transfer students. Chrome broke out into a giggle, and soon people started laughing at the abrupt outbursts.
"Well, it's not a joke, but it can possibly be extreme, Mr. Sasagawa," Dumbledore stated amusedly while glancing at the two Gryffindors behind his half-moon glasses, before going back on topic. "A short explanation is due, especially for those who do not know the Triwizard Tournament as well as others. It began as an amicable tournament between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. One champion is chosen from each school to represent and compete in three tasks..."
Tsuna suddenly felt more and more uneasy. Hearing things like tournament and tasks were probably key words to the baby who constantly interfered in his life. "Tsuna." Reborn prodded his student roughly, causing the brunette to suddenly dread what could be said further. "Perhaps this would be a—"
"No," whispered Tsuna feverishly, "I don't want to hear it!"
He plugged his ears despite the fear he felt at what Reborn could do to him as punishment, returning to hear Dumbledore. The words "death toll" caught him by surprise, and his Spartan-like tutor grew even more excited. "Tsuna," Reborn started again.
"No, Reborn," Tsuna hissed back, shaking his head.
"Only students of age, who are seventeen and older, will be allowed to participate," said Dumbledore, who let the words sink in. An uproar of complaints shouted from almost all the students.
A wave of triumph washed over Tsuna immediately. "Ha, Reborn," He retorted smugly. He was fourteen—although, turning fifteen quite soon—and therefore unable to enter the competition.
That silenced his tutor for the moment, but not for a long time. "How... unfortunate," He said mysteriously and thoughtfully, a hand on his little chin. Tsuna knew the danger levels were rising whenever Reborn had that tone of voice, and chose wisely to ignore it with the best of his ability.
"I beg you to not waste time submitting your name if you are underage," implored Dumbledore, but the aged wizard didn't sound overly worried by the matter at all, "the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are arriving in October and will stay here for a major part of the year. I have faith you will all be courteous and kind to our guests and give your utmost support to our champion, whoever it may be. Now, as you all can see, it is becoming quite late..." Suddenly he paused for a moment, glancing back and forth between the equally confused students and faculty.
Tsuna also looked around to see whether something was happening. Instead, he spotted all of his guardians, all talking and conversing and actually getting along with people—except for Hibari, ahem—and smiled slightly. Maybe... Maybe we'll fit in here... And things will be okay... And quiet...
"Oh!" Dumbledore abruptly began. "And before you leave, let me say one more thing! My old age has been getting too me much too much," he chuckled, "we also have a Professor's assistant joining us this year. I fear he's running a bit late." The double doors to the Great Hall were shaken suddenly, alerting everyone that someone was out there. "It appears that he's here," said the Headmaster, a knowing smile on his lips.
Filch finally pulled the doors open, revealing whoever it was on the other side.
A flustered young man, his messy blond hair and robes dripping from the rain, grinned awkwardly at Dumbledore. He walked forward, oblivious to all the attention. "I'm sorry, I had a little trouble—"
And then he suddenly tripped on his feet, landing face forward on the ground.
Students stood up to see what had happened, and several people were giggling over just how cute he was and some were just laughing because of his clumsiness. As Reborn sighed at the blond's constant mistake, Tsuna openly gaped at the sight of the man who had fallen almost right next to him. "D-Dino?!" He spluttered out. Now it made sense why there was an empty seat where the professors sat—it wasn't for Reborn, it was for him.
"Hey, little bro!" Dino laughed embarrassedly, leaning on his knees and grasping the seat of the tables to steady himself. The left of his forehead was bright red from falling.
That outburst caught Hibari's attention. The stationary position the sixteen-year-old had taken was forgotten when he stood and tensed up at the sight of a grinning Dino. His eyes narrowed, and that action did not go unnoticed by Tsuna.
No, scratch that part about peacefulness. Things are going to worsen.
OMAKE — Xanxus' Smile
"Hey, why does part of that wall look different from the rest?"
Yamamoto squinted at one of the walls connected to the Great Hall. The middle of the wall's grey stone was a slightly darker colour than the rest of the stones that it was surrounded by. It appeared like someone or something had blasted a massive hole through the wall, and the school's attempts to make it unnoticeable had slightly failed.
"Oh," Reborn hummed casually from Tsuna's shoulder, "that's because of Xanxus."
What. Tsuna jerked at the sound of his ex-competitor for the Vongola title—not that Tsuna was going to become the Tenth anyway, ahem—horrified at the idea that a) Xanxus had went to Hogwarts and b) he had also probably used his X-Guns to shoot a hole through a wall. "Xanxus went to Hogwarts?" Tsuna gaped.
"When he was eleven, yes," Reborn nodded sagely, "but because of that wall, he was asked to leave and the Ninth pulled him out of the school. Apparently they wouldn't serve him steak and he ended up almost shooting off a student's arm."
"Steak?!" Tsuna echoed, still not quite over the shock. He knew Xanxus had the tendency to overreact and was a spoiled, hateful brat, but not to that level. And at eleven-years-old, Xanxus was, until now, the same bloodthirsty and wrathful monster. "No one destroys a wall over something like that!"
Reborn smiled secretively, reaching inside his suit's hidden pocket to find a certain photo. "Well, Xanxus did..." He stated, pulling it out for the guardians to marvel and gawk at.
Meanwhile, in Italy...
Xanxus sneezed suddenly in his armchair.
"Wipe your nose, Xanxus," The Ninth Vongola Boss, Timoteo, smiled cheerfully from his spot on the couch opposite his adopted son.
After Xanxus' whole "trying to take over the Vongola and subsequent attempts to kill Tsuna" time—the Ninth dubbed it as just a rebellious phase for Xanxus and forgave and forgot—Timoteo had taken it upon himself to declare father and son bonding time with his only living son every two weeks. And while Xanxus had fought vehemently against the idea, Timoteo had ultimately won in the end. This week, they were spending time watching old Mafia films like The Godfather.
"Tch, I fucking know already, old man," Xanxus snarled, grabbing a nearby tissue and shoving it over his nose, "let's just get these stupid movies over with."
"Now, now, Xanxus," Timoteo scolded the impatient twenty-four-year-old, "I've been waiting to spend time with you this whole week—it's been such a long time since I've seen you. You are my only son and you're always preoccupied by your hard work commandeering the Varia."
Xanxus ignored the pride he felt blossoming inside of him. Despite all those years of betrayal and fighting, he still couldn't avoid how good it felt when his adoptive father praised him. Even though the traces of hatred and fury still lingered inside of him, Xanxus continued to... care—more than what he could ever admit—what his father thought of him. Daddy issues, Squalo had scoffed under his breath before Xanxus had chucked four empty bottles of tequila and whiskey at the Sword Emperor.
Timoteo continued onward. "After all, I can't visit Tsuna, since he's at Hogwarts, along with his guardians—"
"That shitty brat is going to Hogwarts?" Xanxus growled out, his grip on the glass of whiskey tightening more and more. "That shitty, scummy brat..."
Now he was even more annoyed. Just the mentioning of that trash pissed him off during their supposed "father-and-son bonding", and now he got to go to Hogwarts? Un-fucking-believable, Xanxus thought angrily. Hell, he barely remembered where he put his wand ever since he was forced out of that dumbass school over a decade ago. All because he broke a wall. Fucking wusses.
"And I remember how you looked in your little robes back then," Timoteo sighed nostalgically, oblivious to the obvious frustration of his son. He pulled out an almost faded photo of a tiny, eleven-year-old Xanxus from the front pocket of his suit, showing it to the horrified Varia commander. The young Xanxus was clad in flowing black robes, the green and silver Slytherin scarf wrapped around his slim neck. And he was smiling in an almost sweet manner without a trace of malevolence at the camera, with his little hands holding on to his wand and a packet of cauldron cakes. "Don't you look so—"
"Don't you fucking finish that sentence, old man!" Xanxus bellowed, rushing over to the couch where his father was seated. "And give me that picture!" He reached over to take the picture and burn it until all that was left were the ashes of his childhood.
"What?" The Ninth chuckled amusedly, pocketing the photo back into the security of his clothes. "There's no need to be so shy, Xanxus! The Varia and Reborn-kun have already seen this."
Dammit, Xanxus thought, wondering if he could possibly shoot a hole into the pocket of his father's suit. And then it hit him. "You did what?" He seethed. Now all his subordinates, and probably that little Japanese fucker Tsuna had seen him in such a pathetic state. Those scum were probably laughing behind his back—those fucking scumbag pieces of utter trash. "I fucking hate you, old man!" Xanxus fumed.
The Ninth laughed merrily. "How to Deal with Emotional and Frustrated Teens", a booklet he'd borrowed from Iemitsu, stated that when your kids said "I hate you" or "go away", they didn't really mean it. "I love you too, mio figlio," Timoteo smiled.
Xanxus groaned angrily, throwing his glass into Al Pacino's face on the television. "Ugh!"
Don't know the exact age when Xanxus was adopted by Timoteo, but I figure it's like around age nine. But like, little Xanxus takes my heart away. And TYL!Xanxus too but whateves.
On another note, how would you feel if Tsuna or one of the other guardians joined the Tri-Wizard Tournament? I know it seems like a cliché thing to do, but I sorta liked the idea of writing it in. It's either I force one in or I pop Harry or Cedric out of the equation, but I realised that his death was such a major turning point and really important to the overall story and plot. So either way, give me your opinion please.