Chapter Text
“What the fuck?” Akutagawa asked, looking around the room. They (Akutagawa and Atsushi) had been fighting an ability user together and had gotten hit by their ability. Someone said something, but neither Atsushi nor Akutagawa understood them.
“I’m sorry! We have no clue what you’re saying!” Atsushi blurted. The people stopped shouting for a moment, then one of them waved a stick.
“Can you understand us now?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, how did you get past the anti-apparition wards?” the man with a rather long beard asked.
“The what now? I’m really sorry for intruding on whatever you guys were doing, but we,” he gestured at himself and Akutagawa, “were fighting an ability user and they got a lucky shot in and hit us, and then suddenly we were here?” Akutagawa flicked him on the forehead.
“Idiot weretiger! Why are you telling them anything!”
“Well, where do you think we’re going to go without telling them, besides a prison cell for trespassing?”
“...whatever.”
– - –
Several very long explanations later, Akutagawa and Atsushi were enrolled in Hogwarts. Apparently, there were rules in place for students that hadn’t been able to join Hogwarts when they were eleven, though the rule hadn’t been used on anyone as old as them before. Regardless, that was how they got where they were now, sitting on a bench with a bunch of eleven-year-olds who were not-so-subtly staring at the pair. It was fair, as Atsushi was nineteen and Akutagawa was twenty. Though the two of them did look on the younger side of their respective ages they very clearly weren’t eleven.
– - –
“Akutagawa, Ryuunosuke!” He walked up and a hat was placed on his head.
‘Hello there.’ Akutagawa startled. ‘Oh don’t worry. I’m magically bound not to tell anyone what’s inside your head.’
‘Ok…’
‘Now, let’s see…you’re loyal, yes. But you are far too ambitious for me to place you anywhere except…’
“SLYTHERIN!” Akutagawa shrugged, got up off the stool, and walked over to the table.
– - –
“Nakajima, Atsushi!”
‘Hello there.’
‘Oh!’
‘Now, let’s see. Hm, you’re brave, that much is true. But you’re very loyal and besides, I think you’d do best in…’
“HUFFLEPUFF!”
– - –
“Welcome to Slytherin.” A man with black hair swept into a room. “I am Professor Snape of Potions. As you all surely know, Slytherin is not the most well-liked house. The main reason for that belongs to the dunderheads in Gryffindor. So, here are the rules. One, any issues you may have with your fellow Slytherins stay within the common room and dorms. As I said, we are not well-liked, meaning we must show a united front. Two, third years and below travel in packs. Griffindor is not above attacking us in the halls. Third, do not make us look bad. Tutoring is available if needed. Any questions?”
“Yeah. Who’s this? He’s not only an adult, but since I’ve never seen him before I assume he’s not a pureblood.”
“He’s Ryuunosuke Akutagawa. Hogwarts has a rule in place that if someone above the age of eleven has not received a magical education they can be put in with the first years.”
“You didn’t answer the second part of my question.” the kid insisted.
“I’m a muggleborn, and if you want to throw a hissy fit about it I’m sure I could beat you in a fight.” Akutagawa replied for Snape. The kid glared at him, but Akutagawa was part of the Port Mafia and the kid was eleven. He gave the kid an unimpressed look, and the kid seemed to decide to deal with this at a later date.
– - –
“Welcome to Hufflepuff! I’m Professor Sprout, and I teach Herbology! Now, we’re going to take a seat and go around and introduce ourselves, along with a fun fact about yourself if you want to share.” They did so, eventually landing on Atsushi.
“Um, I’m Atsushi Nakajima and yes, I’m nineteen. Apparently, Hogwarts has a rule that if you haven’t received a magical education you can be put in with the first years?” apparently that was that, as the introductions just kept moving.
“Now,” Professor Sprout said when they were finished. “Any questions before you go to bed?”
“Yeah, um, can we sit with other houses at meals? My friend got sorted into a different house and…yeah.”
“Unfortunately, no. As much as I’d welcome inter-house friendships, Dumbledore seems to think its best if you’re all kept separate.” then she muttered under her breath, low enough that only Atsushis enhanced senses could pick up what she was saying, “keeping kids at each other's throats, honestly.”
– - –
Since Hufflepuff was in the dungeons, they had enough room to allow the students to request if they preferred a room to themself or to share with someone else. Atsushi had immediately asked for a room alone because although he was used to sharing, and even enjoyed sharing with Kyoka, he didn’t know if his possible roommate would be as ok with his nightmares.
– - –
So far, things had been running smoothly. Atsushi loved his classes and loved learning magic. Akutagawa was slightly less happy but begrudgingly agreed that magic was pretty cool. Thankfully, the ability that had brought them here had presumably changed them to match the world they were being put into, and they’d been lucky enough to both develop magical cores. Then Akutagawa had Potions with the Griffindors and witnessed first-hand Snapes' treatment of Potter.
– - –
It was their first Potions class and Akutagawa was excited. While he’d never been spectacular at science, he was intrigued by it and potions were the closest thing wixen had to science. He’d been somewhat excited, and Snapes’ speech made him a little more excited. He’d never been the most emotional person, but he was interested. But then Snape had called on Potter. Singled him out to make fun of him. Almost everyone in the school had heard the gossip by this point, the gossip that Potter knew nothing about magic. And while Akutagawa generally ignored gossip, it roared to the front of his mind as he watched Snape pick on a literal child. He’d resolved to talk to Atsushi about it after classes, knowing that the weretiger was too softhearted to let something like that go on without at least trying to comfort Potter. (Akutagawa was not soft. He wasn’t .)