Reunion

"Yuu! H-how?" Alma stared at the return of the long ponytail.

"Went to sleep with short hair, woke up with long" Kanda shrugged, unsure of whether to mention the dream.

"Did you want me to cut it again?" Allen asked quietly, but Kanda shook his head.

"I'll leave it for now. Let's get going" he told the others and they set off on their run.

An hour later, the group started to head back to the castle when a flash of blond caused Timothy's head to snap up in surprise, making the others jolt with his shout of,
"Link!" as the boy sped towards his target.

The man in question had no time to react as he was thrown onto the floor by the force of the muscled teen. He quickly recovered from the shock and wrapped his arms around the younger boy chuckling,

"Good to see you too Timothy"

"Wonderful to see you again Allen" Krory smiled as he pulled the younger man into a calmer hug. Lenalee was bundled into an affectionate squeeze by Lavi as Alma shook the hand of Chaoji and Johnny gave a hesitant hug to Kanda who smiled in reply and tightened his hold.

"Oi Yuu, I thought you cut your hair?" Lavi gave the man a suspicious look as he pulled back from their hug. Kanda merely shrugged,

"Magic" was all he replied.

"So, specially recommended fighting teachers huh?" Howard raised an eyebrow at Kanda, a smirk appearing on his face,

"Don't think too highly of yourself two-dot" Kanda growled slightly but Howard just smiled and shook his head fondly.

"Um thanks for asking for us Kanda. It's good to see you all again" Johnny spoke softly and Kanda smirked.

"Well you three are massive geeks so I thought this would be a fun trip for you. And they're a couple of knuckle-heads but I presume they can teach"

"Oi!"

"Um"

Came the reply from the 'knuckle-heads' and Lavi laughed.

"Don't worry Chaoji, he just likes pretending to be grumpy. Come on,come with us?" Lavi asked the group who, after getting permission from the headmaster, tagged along on the way to their old quarters, catching each other up on the way.

"So these are our old rooms and where you'll be staying." Allen announced once they opened the portrait door and ushered the group inside.

"Cute" Johnny exclaimed, looking around and soon the new introductions were exploring their new accomodation freely. Lavi beelined for the books as Krory stuck his head in the classroom, looking at everything intently. Chaoji and Howard headed up the stairs to choose bedrooms, Johnny eventually following with Krory and Lavi's belongings, picking rooms for them.

"Ah Alyster, I meant to ask previously. Did you want to join me in Diagon Alley tomorrow to pick up a new wand? You mentioned your previous one was destroyed" Albus asked the taller man.

Kanda and crew paused and the only one not shocked was Lavi.

"Wait, you're a wizard Krory?" Allen asked, looking up. Krory gave a bashful smile and nodded,

"I didn't think my magic would come back and I didn't have a wand anymore so I never mentioned it" he apologised.

"Don't worry about it. At least you'll fit right in here" Lenalee put a hand on his arm. The group headed out into the corridor and Alma mumbled something to Lavi who shouted over to Dumbledore,

"Could we try the hat too?"

"The hat?" Chaoji cocked his head as Alma chuckled,

"The sorting hat. Hogwarts sorts into four houses"

"What do the houses mean?" Johnny asked, eyes shining.

"Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each has their own traits that help those in each band closer - though, over the years, it's created some issues also. And, I don't see why not if your friends wish to" Dumbledore turned to the group who conferred within themselves. Though they cringed when a woman's voice rang out,

"Timothy Hearst! I wondered why you didn't join me in the greenhouse! Get yourself over here - the saplings won't plant themselves" Pomona Sprout marched down the corridor and grabbed Tim's arm, dragging him back down the corridor as he gave the others a pitiful wave goodbye.

"Ah! I was supposed to be watching over Sybil's first lesson!" Lenalee panicked and, giving fleeting hugs, sprinted down the corridor.

Kanda, Allen and Alma looked at each other, comprehending the time and all rushed to their given destinations.

Lavi and Dumbledore chuckled as the others watched, stunned.

"Time flies when you're having fun. Shall I show you to my office? I believe the hat will work on Muggles. It will be quite an interesting experiment" Dumbledore said and led the five newcomers up to the headmaster's office.

Kanda was running down the corridor to the potions classroom after changing out of his training gear when he bumped into Draco Malfoy,

"There you are! Professor Snape sent me to look for you. Class is about to start and you're supposed to be helping" the boy snapped, though he no longer sounded snooty.

"Got caught up with the Headmaster" he gave as an explanation.

Draco looked surprised,

"Well, at least that's a good reason. Come on" and Kanda followed the young blond down into the dungeons where Snape had already begun the lesson.

"Where have you been?" he hissed when Kanda got close enough, Kanda winced,

"With the Headmaster. The new guys arrived today" he whispered the second part and Snape raised an eyebrow.

"That man has no concept of timekeeping. Very well. Help whoever needs it"

Kanda glanced at the instructions on the board and instantly beelined towards Neville who was definitely not adding the correct beetle to his potion.

"That is not a Scarab kid. Here, you want one of these. No, hold the knife straighter or it'll shoot off. Here"

Snape watched as Kanda calmly helped the Longbottom boy with his knife and realised the man would be a useful asset to his classroom. There'd be less explosions at least.

"Professor. I've finished" Snape looked up to see Draco approaching with his potion decanted.

"Father said he's been sent by the governors to look in on the apprentices tomorrow. He mentioned paying you a visit too to catch up" the boy told him. Snape nodded, it would be good to see his old friend again, especially with his newly changing opinions of the world. He'd been meaning to contact the older man for a while, if only to give him a helping hand.

"Thank you Draco. I'll firecall him this evening to sort the details."

After a quick look, he noted the potion down as excellent and instructed the boy to prevent his two Neanderthal friends from breaking another cauldron.