2/2

Ninja training included moderation for an underfed body, usually for torture recovery instead of children who weren't given enough, but the idea was the same. Slow eating, small portions, nothing too rich or flavorful, carbs and protein to build up healthy fat and muscle. He wanted to try everything but restrained himself, he would be here for the next year, after all. And six more after that. Plenty of time to taste the cuisine.

"That does look rather good," someone said from behind his shoulder. He didn't startle or draw any of his numerous hidden weapons (gifted via blood seals that being who'd planted him here had drawn on his arms, disturbing to think about where the blood was from but at least they were invisible until activated) but it was a near thing. In his other life, he would have. This body's reactions were too soft. He did slowly turn his head, and saw a ghost looking rather mournfully at the steak Harry was eating.

The boy in question gestured to his food. "Can't you…?" he asked. The ghost shook his head.

"I haven't been able to eat for centuries. I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it…" He drew himself up a little importantly. "I must introduce myself. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington at your service." Why did everyone say that here? Service was something rather valuable to offer. Shikamaru certainly wouldn't have.

"I know you!" someone said. "My brothers told me, you're Nearly Headless Nick!" Ah, that was Ron. Sir Nicholas looked seemed to get stiffer - it was hard to tell with transparent bodies.

"I'd prefer you call me Sir Nicholas de Mim-" he began, when someone else interrupted him. And also, Shikamaru refused to use such a long name. Way too much trouble. Even the daimyos hadn't had long titles, just fancy ones.

"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?" a boy with sandy hair that Shikamaru vaguely remembered to be Seamus something-or-other asked. Sir Nicholas looked extremely irritated.

"Like this," he snapped, and then unhinged his head until it hung on his shoulder like a demented doll head that hadn't been glued on right. Well, that was something new. Shikamaru had seen many things, but a beheading gone wrong? Shinobi were too precise for that. But, wait there was that bandit trio...did it count if the head only stuck on because of a seal?

Either way, the ghost looked pleased at the disgusted and amazed expressions as he floated away. Shikamaru remembered his priorities and returned to his food, even as the conversation turned to heritage. Quite a few half-bloods, a couple pure-bloods and a few muggle-borns thrown into the mix. Then, Neville started on his magic discovering story straight out of a bizarre court case, eliciting some laughs and some horrified looks from the muggle-borns. Apparently Shikamaru wasn't the only one who found multiple things wrong with how his relatives went about discovering their son wasn't a squib.

No one said anything though, even Hermione, who looked extremely troublesome. Perhaps they all senses the normalcy in Neville's tone and how the other children who'd lived with magical parents didn't react, though if that didn't say something about the state of society, Shikamaru didn't know what did.

When every dish was gone from both courses, the headmaster stood up and said, "And now that we're all fed and watered, before we turn in, we shall sing the school song."

What.

No. Just...no. Shikamaru had willingly sung exactly once in both of his lives - for his son's first birthday - and he would be damned if this school tried to make him break that record. Therefore, he tapped out the lyrics in Morse code with his fingers, garnering odd looks, but didn't sing like mostly everyone else. The head of Slytherin, some Slytherin students he didn't know, and himself were the only ones who didn't sing. When it was over, and he was relieved to find out from an upper classman they didn't do this with every meal, just the first one, they were dismissed to their common rooms.

Shikamaru had to give credit to whoever had built the castle, it was large enough for the students to move around comfortably and for the various classes it offered, and its unique floor plans made defense easier in case of attack. Maybe that was just his standpoint, and the people who'd made it hadn't been thinking about tactical advantage, but it was still a nice bonus. They reached their portrait, a large lady in a pink dress, a prefect gave the password, and then they were inside. It was...roomy.

It already had a nice fire going, probably courtesy of the many house-elves that resided here, and it seemed like a nice place to do homework or causally talk with friends. So different from the dungeons of the Slytherins, or even the Ravenclaw Tower. The first year boys were directed up one set of stairs, and when they reached the beds, Shikamaru immediately went for the one farthest from the door, coincidentally ending up next to Harry.

He went about keeping up the appearance that he was getting ready to sleep like his roommates, noting a feather belonging to his owl sitting on his trunk, changing clothes and making sure his holsters were being kept out of sight. He had a wand holster, old and beaten from a third-hand shop, for his right arm - two kunai holsters, on for his left arm and one on his waist - a senbon holder that was around his right leg - a shuriken container at his waist, sheathes for a pair of chakra blades at his forearms and a sheath for his tantō at his left hip (all of which had arrived with him in this new world), concealed with a small invisibility enchantment that he'd managed to get someone to do before he came to the school.

He kept his senbon holder around his leg, and wand and kunai holster around his arm, but discreetly sealed the rest into the four blood seals on his arms. The markings of the seals wouldn't disappear for another hour or so, but if he kept his bed curtains in use and didn't show the underside of his arm, he wouldn't be getting dragged to Professor McGonagall for tattoos. He bade a goodnight to the others, and then settled down with his book from the train - the one he'd never gotten to finish.

Shikamaru had this little thing called insomnia.

It was common in his clan, kind of hereditary, and while he knew it normally didn't work that way, there was just something in the controlling of Yin chakra to make sure it didn't lash out and kill everything in a mile radius that made deep sleep hard to achieve, made more so the stronger a person was, thus the naps on all sides.

Add that to the ninja problems of new environment plus next to no knowledge of guaranteed personal safety equaled one sleepless Nara. In the orphanage, it had been more of a fact that he didn't feel safe at all in the building, helped by the fact that he was in the attic and had been for years. Here, it was just strange being with people again after so long, and he wasn't tired anyway.

He'd nap during the next day anyway. Naras usually managed about four hours of sleep, and then seven or eight hours in nap time, if not all at once, nine if they were lucky. With missions, that number cut down to anywhere between zero to four. Somehow, he thought he probably wouldn't be getting very much napping done in a school full of children learning magic. (2)

Troublesome, thy name was Life.

…

One thing that rather annoyed Shikamaru about the Hogwarts castle, well, two things really, was the unbearable amount of stairs it had (would it have killed them to install the wizard equivalent of an elevator? For people who pushed reliance on wands to save the day, they were really exercising their students and building up lacking stamina), and the fact that his two friends were absolutely incapable of directing themselves to their classes. So, maybe not the castle's fault, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it had been designed that way on purpose.

It was because of this un-present sense of direction that Shikamaru spent his first day leading his hopeless friends around the castle, having taken in a decent amount from the previous trip to the common room, and using common sense and asking directions for what he didn't know. It was thanks to his efforts, exasperated as they might have been that he, Harry and Ron got to their classes on time. The classes themselves were something like what he'd hypothesized they'd be from his observations of the teachers the previous night.

While disappointed that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher didn't take his own subject very seriously - the man seemed to be afraid of it for the Shodai's sake - he hadn't seen anything outstandingly brave or impressive from the man the previous night, so it wasn't a total surprise. The feeling of something being...off about the man had him on his guard during the duration of class, even if Professor Quirrell had stuttered his way through his introduction. He was looking underneath the underneath, as Kakashi had been so fond of saying, and the very most underneath was telling him that something was wrong with the man.

Transfiguration was much like the teacher - straightforward, strict in ruling, and not to be played with. The very first lesson included a sharp dressing down, and the turning of a desk into a pig. He came to the conclusion that this would be a class in which not to fall asleep, for fear of waking up looking different than when he came in, whether from punishment from the teacher or a stray hit from a classmate had yet to be determined.

And, Potions was another class in which resting wouldn't be an option. Not only was Professor Snape incredibly sharp, but he didn't seem to be overly fond of Gryffindors, or people in general really, especially Harry. Now, Shikamaru knew deep-seated loathing when he saw it, and it rather unnerved him to see it directed at someone like Harry.

Maybe Ron was a little reasonable, because the redhead could rub people the wrong way with his temper, but Harry hadn't done anything to warrant the interrogation-like questioning and deduction of points. While two points wasn't a lot in the long run, to a somewhat insecure first year on the first day of school, in front of all of his friends and housemates, that was going a bit overboard. Shikamaru didn't say anything though, knowing better than to challenge the man in his own class.

Thankfully they were assigned partners and a potion not long after the grilling, with Shikamaru ending up with Neville. Five seconds in, and he knew it was going to be a lot more challenging than he first thought. At least he wouldn't be bored, he thought wryly as he stopped Neville from putting in the wrong ingredient for the fifth time. And, it was a good thing he'd had the foresight to memorize the recipe, otherwise this would probably be hazardous to his health. He was so caught up in making sure the potion didn't explode in his face and cause an unfortunate number of boils that missed his professor's appearance behind him until a cold voice interrupted him.

"Mister Nara, what are you doing?"

Shikamaru almost pulled out his wand. Almost. And, his other weapons, but thankfully Neville's frightened squeak let him relax just the smallest bit. His voice was perfectly respectful when it came out. "Making my potion, Professor." His reply? Not so much. His friend's horrified and shocked faces let him know that the Potions Master probably wasn't pleased. He craned his head to see Professor Snape giving him a rather unpleasant glare. Then, a movement in the corner of his eye had him snapping his hand out to catch the porcupine quill Neville dropped in terror, just barely catching it before it touched the surface of the potion.

He sighed in relief. That would have been an explosive disaster. He placed the quill on the table, and when he looked at his professor again, he was being given an appraising look instead of an outright glare.

"You're not following the instructions on the board," the man said, eyes resting briefly on the quill. The meaning behind his action hadn't gone unnoticed. Shikamaru turned and saw that he had indeed differed from the process on the board. Truth be told, he hadn't even looked at the thing except for once at the beginning to see what they were brewing.

"I created my own version and memorized it," he replied, wondering if this would be a problem since he'd sort of done it for all of the potions in his book. They were mostly untested, but in theory, they should be sound. Better, even, than some of the recipes, but certainly cheaper. Substitutes could create potions just as good as the originals, it turned out. "I'm sorry, sir, is there a problem?" he asked. He hadn't meant it to sound belligerent, but it apparently did if the gasps meant anything.

Fortunately, those gasps also served to remind Professor Snape that they had an audience. He whirled around, cloak flaring about him. "Get back to work, unless you've all memorized it as well," he ordered coldly. They hurried to do so under his intimidating eyes. He turned back to Shikamaru, meeting his gaze.

Immediately, the latter felt a mental probe carefully touch his mind. Instead of raising suspicions as to his mental fortitude, Shikamaru guided him around a few memories of the orphanage and Harry looking not so...Gryffindorish, and then promptly booted him out with a wince that wasn't entirely fake as Neville dropped a rather heavy bottle on his hand. The professor's eyes were considering as he finally turned to go back to his desk, while a headache started up behind Shikamaru's eyes.

He'd forgotten how taxing parrying mental attacks could be if he hadn't been working on his defenses like he should have. A stupid mistake. Thankfully the rest of the class went peacefully, him and Neville working a partnership that didn't result in exploding or melting cauldrons. When it was finished, he bottled up some to hand in for inspection, and then another vial for himself, for later. When he pulled out the small case full of different potions from the book bag made of moleskin and opened it, there was a gasp from behind him.

"Did you make all of these?" Hermione asked, pointing to the ten or so potions in the case. Shikamaru nodded absently as he carefully put in the Cure for Boils. "How? Some of these look really advanced!"

"I read ahead," he told her dryly. He'd make a label for the potion later, when there weren't so many eyes on him.

"And what language is this? Chinese?" she asked, noticing the characters on neat labels below each bottle.

"Close. Japanese," he said, pulling out a book for the last ten minutes of class. Apparently she didn't understand that this usually signaled the end of a conversation, for she kept talking.

"So, you're a native speaker, then? You must be," she mused. "Do you know any other languages? I bet it's dead useful, being bi-lingual. I wanted to try learning French, but no one I know can speak it so I couldn't. How did you learn English? Were you born in Japan? Or did you learn it at home from your parents?"

Shikamaru didn't know which question to answer first, and ordinarily he might have just ignored her until she got the hint, but his headache was rapidly increasing in strength. It was a little amazing how she could make him want to find the nearest tower and jump off, but then again, she had nothing on Ino's rants when was worrying about her clothes (3).

Thankfully the ringing of the school bell had him moving with the rest of the class and away from her questions, and the fact that he'd left her mid-question didn't make him feel guilty anymore. She'd have to learn eventually that people wouldn't just stand still and take being talked at instead of talked to. On the way to lunch, however, he noticed Harry's downcast disposition.

"What's up?" he asked, nudging the latter's arm. Harry looked up with a slight frown.

"Nothing, it's just, Professor Snape seemed to really hate me," he said slowly. Shikamaru nodded.

"Seems like it," he agreed. Then he yawned. At least his headache was finally receding. "What?" he asked at Harry's surprised look.

"I thought you'd tell me I was imagining it or something," the latter confessed. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Nah. I know the difference between general and pointed dislike. He definitely doesn't like you for something," he said. "I might be lazy, but I can read people decently." Harry looked considering when they split up, Ron and Harry going to meet Hagrid, and Shikamaru back to the Common Room, which was far better than depressed.

On his way back, he met a group of Ravenclaw fourth or fifth years circling something. Curious, he ventured closer, and then stopped short when he saw the situation. Four of the older Ravenclaws had surrounded three Slytherin first years. He recognized Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode from his Potions class.

"-stupid Slytherin first years, think you're so smart," one Ravenclaw sneered. Shikamaru was surprised at the animosity in that expression - wasn't Hogwarts supposed to be against this sort of thing?

"No, that's your job," Blaise drawled, dark eyes narrowed. "And you're doing a wonderful job displaying your awe inspiring intelligence."

Weren't Slytherins supposed to have self-preservation instincts? But, enough of that, because that particular Ravenclaw was looking dangerously close to braining the first year with the book in his hand.

"Oi," Shikamaru called out, internally sighing. He disliked bullies more than many things, mainly because Naruto and Chōji had suffered so many of them when they were younger, but also because he found them to be cowards who tried to pick on others to make themselves feel better. This coming from the one who used to refer to himself as the 'number one person at running away' too.

"What do you want?" a Ravenclaw snapped. The Slytherins were giving him wary and intrigued looks.

"Well, not that it's really my business, but I couldn't help but notice the unfairness of this situation," Shikamaru said. "But, do three Slytherin first years equal four Ravenclaw fifth years? Is that something I'm not aware of?"

The Ravenclaws spluttered in indignation.

"Wait just a minute," one started, and Shikamaru had his wand out and pointing between his eyes, causing him to halt and try to retreat instinctively.

"You don't know how to use that! Put it down before you hurt yourself," a different Ravenclaw said impatiently. Shikamaru let his eyes narrow and some of his own impatience colored his tone.

"I know what this can do better than you can, probably. Want to guess what spell I'll use first?" he asked dangerously calm, letting a small amount of killing intent surround the older people. It was enough to make them blanch. They bravely drew their wands.

"We'll see, first year," one said with fake bravado, watching him with unnerved eyes. Before any spells could be thrown, a dangerously silky voice echoed.

"What is happening here?" Professor Snape asked. All eyes went to him in silence, horrified on some parts, relieved on others. "I believe I asked a question," he said, when there was no answer forthcoming.

"This first year-" one Ravenclaw started, when he held up his hand.

"I won't ask the person who was pointing a wand at someone younger than him," the man said coolly. "Zabini, what happened?"

"These guys accosted us in the hall, Professor," Blaise said promptly. "Said something about an induction to make sure we knew our place. Would have been worse, but Nara here interfered and was about to start a duel." A grin split his face. "I think he might have won too, if you hadn't arrived when you did."

Professor Snape surveyed the gathered crowd.

"All of you, back to your tower. I'll be having words with Professor Flitwick, because I know he personally detests this kind of behavior. If he doesn't punish you, I will so you'd best hope he does," he ordered. They wasted no time in leaving, hurrying to get away from the glowering professor. He dismissed them from thought and turned to those of his house. "Are any of you in need of the Hospital Wing?" he asked.

They all shook their head. "Good, get back to the common room." They left, shooting Shikamaru curious glances as they left. "Mister Nara, why did you interfere instead of getting a teacher?" he asked when they were alone.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know. Those types of people are all bark, Professor. They might know theory, but their practice is lacking. Besides, a duel would have drawn attention anyway, and I wasn't going to leave those guys alone with three students younger than them, looking on the verge of throwing a punch."

Professor Snape studied him, and then nodded. "You have my gratitude for stepping in, but next time, try to get an adult," he said. Shikamaru nodded.

"Of course." Not that he meant it. Then, he bowed slightly and turned and left.

Well, if all fights were that easy, maybe Hogwarts wouldn't be too bad after all.

(1): Ha, sorry, I can just picture Shikamaru f**king around with these two. And my friend said I should try and limit the visible swearing, but it's a work in progress, like Shikamaru's social skills.

(2): Not cannon, but I wanted to give him an excuse for the napping besides just laziness, because somehow, I can't see that in a militaristic society.

(3): No, I'm not bashing her, but Hermione can be very nosey, as seen multiple times in the books. Besides, Shikamaru had to deal with Ino in full on 'fangirl' mode. Hermione isn't really that bad when you think about it and he knows it.

A/N: So, how was it? I've re-written this to hopefully make Shikamaru a little less OOC than before, and also more mature, for those of you who've read this already. I replaced the interaction with Fred and George because the Slytherin interaction in later chapters sort of flew out of the left field from nowhere, so yeah. They'll come later though. Sorry for my absence and the changes, but yeah. For the full list, check the latest chapter when it comes out, which might be a while. Please review!