Chapter 2: A New School 1/3

Disclaimer: I do not own either Harry Potter (rightfully owned by J.K Rowling) or Naruto (rightfully owned by Masashi Kishimoto) nor do I make any money out of this fiction.

A/N: I was worried I wouldn't finish before September, no particular reason I just wanted to get it done. Thank you to all of the marvellous reviewers out there! I wont answer all of them because the only response I could give to them would be: "You people are great!"

I want to say that if anyone finds a plot hole or anything to that effect I won't put the answer in the author's note if possible. I don't like it when people do that as it seems lazy. Instead I will try and insert it into the story. As such some of the raised questions in the reviews may not have been answered but truth be told this was more like a secondary introductory chapter with the rest of the main plot coming soon in the coming chapters.

I don't intend this to be a short series. I won't say how long I plan it to be but it will be a lengthy fiction.

Enjoy!

Updated 25 January 2014: Once again, this chapter has been checked and double checked thanks to my generous Beta, RisingNight.

Just as the rotting black hand reached out to remove the covering of the human with the soul more tempting than a hundred Azkaban inmates, the blanket was thrown to the side of the compartment revealing a very awake and predictably angry Sabaku no Gaara, brandishing a kunai, the only weapon he had been able to smuggle with him to Diagon Alley. The dark metal blade glinted in the pale light left by sun trying desperately to shine through the thick and dark storm clouds overhead. When the evil creature recovered from its shock, if that was what that behaviour could be described as, it started forward again to take the massive soul within the container in front of it. As the monster approached Gaara, even he felt the slightest effects as he was made to relive even the most brutal of his killings when he was a child, but that did not stop him from throwing the kunai straight at where he assumed the creature's heart would have been. Unfortunately the dagger struck the folds of the black cloak as if it was empty and soon hit the ground making a quiet clanging sound, all but ignored as Gaara backed away from the creature, having nothing left to defend himself with that wouldn't also harm the others in the compartment. He didn't even have his armour of sand on, because he had been reluctant to wear it when he travelled to Diagon Alley as it might have been too heavy to transport with him when apparating, he didn't quite know how the whole "apparating" technique worked.

One of the mangled bony hands moved to Gaara's cheek and, almost tenderly, embraced it as the dementor leaned in to kiss the boy. It opened its circular 'mouth' and started to suck the very soul out of the shinobi. All of a sudden Gaara could feel every ounce of his chakra being consumed right from his mouth. His very essence was being eaten. And that was when it got really interesting for the other passengers of the train compartment.

The chakra that had been absorbed by the creature was replaced so quickly by more and more chakra, which was getting progressively wilder and increasingly violent. It was as if the devil himself was fuelling the soul of the boy being kissed by the dementor. The shadowy figure started to spasm as it continued taking in the boy's soul until it was shaken off by its own wild movements. It looked, to all present, as if it had overloaded on the spirit of the red-headed mute and was having a fit. But it didn't end with the jerking, as the creature started to dissolve into pitch black sand from the bottom upwards. The entire dementor was soon nothing more than a pile of black dust on the train compartment's floor.

Gaara understood exactly what had happened as he had felt everything, and was unaffected in the slightest as he sat back down and pulled a small book out of his pocket and resumed reading from where he had left off. He had felt the creature absorb his chakra, the essence of his soul, until, in a bid to protect his host, Shukaku had released its own chakra. This caused the monster to absorb too much of the demon's soul and subsequently died returning the absorbed chakra to the original owner. As his chakra had been returned he was more or less unaffected by the ordeal and wanted nothing more than to relax for the rest of the train journey. Gaara wouldn't have been a worthwhile ninja if he hadn't been able to cope with something like that, in his opinion.

The rest of the cabin, on the other hand, was shocked, including Remus Lupin, who had woken up halfway through the encounter to see Gaara being kissed by a dementor before the magical creature… disappeared. Before he could make any kind of comment or form a coherent question, the familiar presence was felt again by the doorway. An exact duplicate of the previous grim creature floated in, but this time it flew straight towards Harry Potter who fainted not long after it took an interest in him. At this, Lupin flew from his seat and shouted "Expecto Patronum!" And out of the end of his extended wand came a white mist that seemed to engulf the dementor. The grim-reaper look-alike flew out of the cabin faster than a kyubi-host towards ramen and wasn't seen again. A few minutes later the train's power seemed to spark back into life and the motionless train started again towards its destination.

The last couple hours of the train journey were spent reviving the unconscious Potter, giving the red-headed mystery teen (Gaara) wary glances; and, although reluctantly for some, changing into the school's mandatory uniform. Gaara had only been persuaded to put it on when Lupin, who was on his way out of the compartment to check on the other students after the dementor inspection, said, in response to Gaara glaring at the uniform he had pulled out of his bag, that if he didn't wear it he would be expelled before the term officially started, creating a new school record and stopping him from researching any possible methods to get home. The uniform itself was a big change from his normal attire. The constricting school-code trousers were bad enough, they would make running more difficult, but the shirt, tie and jumper were ridiculous. They were impractical in every physical sense. He was just glad he was allowed to wear his own clothes on the weekend. He hadn't asked or anything, he couldn't, but he didn't care, he wouldn't wear the hated school uniform on his days off. The clothes only saving grace was that the robes would be an ideal place to hide weapons. Of course, he also strapped on his trusty leather band under his cloak which would soon carry his patented gourd again. He'd like to see someone try to take it from him then.

When the train finally came to a halt it was still pouring down outside and was probably going to start to get dark soon, though that was more or less irrelevant as the clouds covered any trace of the sun. Gaara was reluctant to exit the train with the rest of the student body as he looked at the water with disdain. He hated getting wet, and always had, for one reason or another. Eventually when all of the other people behind him grew impatient and started to hurl insults at him, he walked out into the wet train-station platform. All of the other students were walking towards the carriages, so the newcomer followed suit, ignoring all of the smaller children who were marching towards the lake. He walked with the crowd, scaring everyone out of his path with a stare colder than the icy rain falling all around them, until he reached the stage coaches.

As he walked up to the ancient looking black carriages, the first thing he noticed, other than they were ancient and black, were the creatures pulling them. They looked like horses that had been mated with bats. They were the size and roughly the same shape as their equine counterparts, but looked deathly bony and thin, as if their bones were only covered by a thin layer of black skin and a pair of folded bat wings. Their eyes were one of the most haunting facets of their appearance as they were completely and deathly white, pale, much like the Byakugan of Konoha. One of the strangest things about the odd creatures was that none of the other students around him seemed to pay them any mind as they boarded their carriages. Gaara also tried to pay as little heed as possible as he walked up to the last carriage and stepped in.

Inside of the dry and warm carriage sat three people, all roughly his age and one of which he had met previously. The one he knew had identified himself as Draco Malfoy a few days prior. The carriages had two adjacent seats and could comfortably hold two or three people each. Malfoy was sat on one side and the two large boys were sitting on the other. That was before Gaara stepped into the vehicle. As soon as his scarlet head popped through the doorway both of the goons snapped to attention and looked as if they were about to start some sort of a fight, but they were calmed by a wave of the platinum-blonde's hand. Said blonde, waved them to sit on his side of the carriage, much to Gaara's inner relief as he sat down opposite the trio. His relief came from the notion of having to sit between the two obese teens for what was sure to be a lengthy ride, if his luck was anything to go by or to have to sit facing them whilst sitting next to the snob, an almost equally undesirable thought. Of course, had they not moved, he would have moved them one way or another. His composure could only go so far.

"We met in the robe shop, as I'm sure you'll remember," Draco started the conversation with his normal confident and superior smirk. A nod from Gaara confirmed his hope as the aristocrat continued to talk about how he was sure Gaara already knew there were certain types of people that deserved respect without earning it and certain people that didn't, the certain people that did deserve the respect apparently deserved it just because of their lineage. It was times like these that he wished he could talk, because he would have verbally beaten the boy in front of him worse than the kunoichi Tsunade after finding her fellow Sannin Jiraiya peeping on her, though his would be strictly verbal rather than a physical beating. Instead he had to settle for nodding on occasion to the seemingly rehearsed speech and ignoring him as much as he could.

Eventually the time came when his input was required "Don't you think we should just cast out all of the mud-bloods from Hogwarts?" Draco asked as he fixed Gaara with what some might have described as an intense stare. What was returned would universally be described as a real intense stare. It scared all three of the non-shinobi senseless, and then amidst the intimidation, Gaara slowly but surely shook his head meaning a resounding 'No'.

For the rest of the ride, the three Slytherins attempted to fight back with weak glares but it was nothing compared to the tried-&-tested glare of the demon container of Suna.

When they arrived at the school itself, the three from the carriage scuttled off before Gaara walked out, and followed the others through the main entrance and into the great hall. The dining hall was as grand as it had been the last time he was there, though his admiration of the dining room was diminished by the number of scrambling students running to their tables. It left Gaara wondering if he should just sit at the end of the table like last time, but quickly dismissed the thought as the area was abruptly flooded by children. Deciding to forgo the trouble of finding a seat he crossed his arms and moved to the back of the enormous room and leaned against the warm stone wall. He watched the continuing chaos for several minutes until they had all finally been seated and were engrossed in quieter conversations. Soon after the main pandemonium of returning to the school had ended for most of the students, a group made their way to the front from one of the four tables and arranged themselves to face the rest of the student body with one boy at the front supporting a sizeable toad that made Gaara think back to the largest toad he had ever seen, then again, that toad had also had a pipe in his mouth and was about the same size as the castle he was currently standing in. The group at the front then started to sing, as a choir, a lively song to the others in the hall. Gaara didn't particularly care for the song, but he did pay attention, to be polite to the singers and to drown out the mindless conversations wafting around the huge room that were even less appealing.

After the song had finished with a loud croak from the toad, the choir dispersed and walked to their seats, each at one of the four tables, revealing the teaching body seated at their table behind where the choir had been standing. The conversations resumed soon after and Gaara couldn't help but overhear a few of them. One that he did overhear was Draco Malfoy mocking Harry Potter across the hall about fainting on the train. Gaara had a feeling that he could make the weasel-like boy faint within a minute of trying, and as he had been told when he was a child 'you never know until you try,' but that was best saved for another day.

Around ten minutes later the teachers finished their own conversations with their usual stern looks on their faces, except for Hagrid, the grounds keeper, who looked like he was having the best day of his life.

McGonagall walked out of the back entrance to the hall carrying an old small wooden stool and an even older looking witch's hat. She sat the hat down on the stool just in front of the teachers table and walked to the end of the hall and slipped out of the massive doors.

The conversations around the hall continued until she re-entered, this time followed by nearly a hundred scared looking first years; Gaara assumed they were first years because of the their size and skittish behaviour. Once they had been led to the front, Minerva broke off from the group and walked to the table there where she was handed a scroll listing all of the new student's names. She examined the scroll a little before waiting for something. That something was the hat spontaneously launching into song. The song was short and riddled with clues for some of the students to be wary, any other hidden meanings were lost on Gaara as he didn't understand most of the references that the hat made. He was also startled to see a hat singing.

Singing hats… wizards.

When the song had ended, McGonagall had taken the scroll out once again and started to read through the list. She called out the first student, sorted obviously by the alphabetical order of his surname, and the student walked to the rickety old stool and sat down on it whilst putting the sorting hat on his head.

The hat seemed to shift as it was on his head before one of the creases seemed to darken and not long after the crease opened again, wide like a mouth, and screamed "Ravenclaw!"

Each student standing at the front of the hall was told to move to the front and was then announced as a certain house. They would then move to the corresponding table which would usually cheer or clap, except Slytherin which merely gave a few polite claps and then interrogated the new student about their blood purity, status and other such details.

After the last was called and sorted, Dumbledore rose to standing and made a few announcements, like new rules, reminders of old ones like not to enter the 'forbidden forest' and the two new staff members: Rubeus Hagrid and Remus Lupin, both of which he'd met before and had seemed friendly enough, though it was a mystery to Gaara why Lupin had abstained from the start of term feast. After a few more announcements along those lines he came to one of his final points, "And finally I would like to add that there will be a new student joining our third years this year," He said as he surveyed the room for the red-haired 'monster.' "He will be sorted into one of the houses and will be treated as a regular student from this day forward," Dumbledore gestured to Minerva who had since ditched the scroll and shouted in her usual calling tone.

"Gaara!" The fact that the new student only had one name sparked a lot of interest in the student body, along with the entire idea of a new third year student, it was unheard of. The rumours spread instantly as the red-head walked to the front of the hall at a leisurely pace until he reached the stool at the front. Along the way many people were surprised by his looks. He had porcelain white skin, blood-red hair, a tattoo in a foreign language on his forehead, a large, thick leather sash across his torso, a metal plate tied around his neck with a black material bandanna and finally his intensely scary eyes, ringed with black, that put anyone else's glare to shame easily.

Immediately the 'Gaara fan club' was founded among a few disturbed girls of Hogwarts.

Gaara sat down on the stool like all those before him and placed the worn hat on his head. The hat sat on his head for a few moments in which Gaara wondered if this was all that was supposed to happen when finally the hat said in normal albeit loud speaking tone: "I cannot see into this boy's mind…!"

The entirety of the great hall was taken aback by this admission by the hat that had seen into hundreds of wizards every year since the founding of the school many centuries ago.

Gaara wasn't overly surprised to hear this really, as he had spent so many years keeping a demon out of his mind that his mind might have been one of the strongest in the world at repelling intruders, along with those of the other Jinchuriki.

Some of the staff were calling for Snape to use Legilimency on the new student. Gaara didn't know what 'Legilimency' was, but it sounded like some kind of spell, which Gaara wasn't willing to allow. Dumbledore mused over the idea before disregarding it and standing up, immediately silencing all of the chatter that had started. "Would you please allow the sorting hat to examine your mind? It is necessary for you to be sorted into one of the four great houses of Hogwarts." He spoke loudly enough for everyone to clearly hear but not so loud as to be shouting at Gaara who couldn't have been sitting more than ten feet in front of him.

Gaara closed his eyes and nodded his head clearly signifying his cooperation.

"Have no fear, the sorting hat will not reveal any secrets it unearths within a mind it examines," The old man said, quieter than before so only the red-head could hear, as he sat back down on his throne eagerly anticipating the results. Truthfully Dumbledore would have relished the chance to examine the mysterious boy's mind, more so with this discovery that he was an adept at Occlumency, but if the sorting hat had been unable to penetrate the teen's mind then he didn't have much hope of succeeding. Whoever this boy was he was going to find out the old fashioned way, he had let Gaara into the school because he hoped he could protect Harry but from what his dutiful potions teacher had told him, this boy was no pawn. He would have to keep a close eye on him. It was a gamble but if he was as good a judge of character as he thought he was then he wouldn't have to worry about Gaara, and if he wasn't then he would have to deal with him. But that was a last resort.

Gaara concentrated hard to open his mind enough to allow the probing headgear to access his mind without inadvertently giving Shukaku an invitation to slaughter the countless children and adults around him. Even without sand, the one tailed demon could probably kill most of the fledgling wizards in the vast room.

"So, you've allowed me access into your mind," Gaara heard the echoing voice in his head.

Simply to test out his inner voice he said "Hurry, I do not enjoy having others in my mind." Gaara was almost happy to hear his own voice, even if it was just in his own head.

"Patience, first I need to look through your entire mind. See who you truly are," The hat said as it probed deeper. Before he could stop its progress, Gaara felt it contact the other occupant. "Hmm? What's thi-?"

The entire of the great hall heard and saw the sorting hat literally scream in what looked like pure agony, unheard of for a hat. The hat, sat on Gaara's head, continued screaming whilst Professor McGonagall rushed over to remove it. As soon as the sorting hat had been taken off of the blood-red spikes it whispered, almost inaudibly, "Slytherin…" The transfiguration teacher, who had been carrying the hat away from the boy, heard the word and although not surprised she was a little hesitant to declare this sorting. The boy obviously had many 'demons,' figuratively speaking, in his mind and sending him to the house known for their cruelty and hatred didn't seem sensible. But she was duty bound to report the tormented hat's decision despite her opinion and subsequent reluctance.

She sat the hat down in the darkened trophy room to rest before she re-emerged, walked to the front and said, in her loudest voice, "The sorting hat has chosen Slytherin!"

Unlike in all of the previous selections for the snake-house, this one elicited a roaring cheer as Gaara stood up, slightly shakily some might have noticed, and made his way to the clapping table of snobs. He was thanking the gods that he had been able to force Shukaku back into his cage after the intruder had been forcibly removed. He could scarcely imagine what the hat had seen when it had tried to enter the demons mind, but he imagined that it would be quite a few months before it was back to normal.

As the sand-tanuki host took his seat on one the benches of the Slytherin table, he heard Dumbledore announce one or two more things to ease the tension that had built in the previous five minutes, which wasn't overly effective as he announced the dementors presence for the foreseeable future and for the students to take caution due to the escaped mass murderer Sirius Black, before he signalled for everyone to start the feast that appeared when the headmaster had clapped his hands.

As Dumbledore had been announcing, he was inwardly cursing himself for not foreseeing this turn of events. The boy was undeniably dangerous if left to his own devices and he had been pushed into the blue-blooded Slytherins domain. The only thing left to see now was the boy's magical potential. If things did get out of hand he would have to use the elder-wand to eliminate the threat no matter how much he didn't want to hurt a child, but the prophecy came first if Harry was to save the wizarding and the muggle world from Tom.

Gaara had tried to sit down near people of his own age group to spare himself the endless and idiotic questions of the younger years and the matured snobbery of the older years. He hoped he had found a bearable medium. He had judged the ages simply by the weasel-like platinum blonde boy he had met before. It pained him to think he would have to stay in the same dorm as the insufferable boy but he was the only one he knew and that knew that he couldn't talk. He didn't want to have to make pulling down his forehead protector to show the scar on his throat his new greeting.

"How did you do that to the old hat?" One asked.

"What's your second name?" Came quickly from another.

"Did you hex the sorting hat?"

"Did you see the look on that old trollops face when you made the mangy old hat scream?"

"Why are you transferring in?"

"Who are you?"

All of these and countless other questions, most of which weren't as valid, flooded in as everyone started to eat. Another popular question was regarding his blood purity. Of course, Gaara paid them neither heed nor attention, as he started to eat the delectable food before him. Some of the table seemed to be getting annoyed at being ignored and Gaara was readying himself for a table-silencing glare. Fortunately he was saved the trouble of silencing the table when the boy whom he previously thought to be of no use, Draco Malfoy, spoke up on his behalf.

"Shut it!" He had all but shouted, just managing to avoid the teacher's ears, "Stop making such an irritating noise. He can't speak, you simpletons." After that a few insincere apologies were sent in both their directions then the table sat there in relative silence to finish the good food, the only noise on the table coming from the few whispered conversations originating from the younger years and the braver older years. No one wanted to provoke Draco Malfoy, especially not if he was in league the scary new red-headed serial killer look-alike.

The rest of the feast progressed, including a second course and desert, after which Gaara was happy enough to go to bed with a full stomach and enjoy one of the greatest luxuries, sleep. He was also going to be reunited with his precious sand, meaning he wouldn't feel as helpless as he did without it.

One of the older students lead the way down to the lower levels of the school after the feast had ended and Dumbledore had sent them to bed. They arrived at the entrance to the common room where the prefect told them the new password for the year: "Noble Salazar"

Gaara could foresee the need to verbally speak the password to his temporary home as a potential problem. Then again, he was only at Hogwarts to find a way home and for shelter so a minor inconvenience was acceptable in the long run.

The insides of the underground dormitory were as grand as everything else he remembered about the ancient school. The rich black leather sofas, the eerie collections of human skulls, the big blazing fire set into the black marble fireplace, everything about the place screamed class and dignity, all of which Gaara could live with. It seemed he could get used to living in the Slytherin house for the coming school year.

Being as tired as he was, Gaara walked straight back to the bedroom he had stayed in before. When he arrived the door was closed and on the door were two name plaques which read: 'Draco Malfoy' and 'Gaara'. Gaara was going to have to tell them his full name at some point, but not right now as he wanted to go to bed.

Gaara was about to open the door to his room when he heard an unwelcome voice from down the hall. "Oy! Where do you think you're goin'?" Gaara saw it was one of the henchmen that that Draco boy always kept with him. Not wanting to get into a meaningless fight, Gaara simply pointed at the door, and more specifically at his name on the door. Obviously the boy wasn't happy with the nonverbal answer as he called over the other lackey and they both advanced on him. When the two tall boys were upon him, Gaara hoped Draco might intervene on their behalf. No sign of him.

"What do you think you're doin'?" The other, slightly shorter slurred, as he tried to intimidate the new student. "Just 'cus Draco thinks you're okay doesn't mean you get to stay in our room," He continued. It was only after the next sentence that things escalated "-you freak." It wasn't much of an insult but it was enough. In the last few months Gaara had become a fairly well balanced person, to the point that he wouldn't kill someone for such a stupid insult, but unfortunately for the two 'bullies,' this was a special occasion. It was the first full moon Gaara had experienced in this world that night, and, although the main effects were prevented by the clouds covering the moon, Shukaku was still banging on his bars to get free or for blood to be spilt and the memory of his lonely and hated childhood that had been brought to his attention by the all too familiar taunt was only aiding in the one tailed demons desire for carnage. For some unknown reason, the effects of the moon seemed to be so much stronger in this world, though Gaara didn't stop to think about the potency of the moon and the potential future implications as he was all too soon on a mindless rampage.

The red-head jumped into the air between Crabbe & Goyle and spun around to deal a harsh kick to the side of each of their faces causing them to spin around whilst falling to the ground, bleeding from the gashes on the sides of their heads. Gaara wasted no time as he landed in a crouch before diving onto the first boy and started to beat his face repeatedly, using his other hand to bring the podgy face back to where he wanted it so he could continue to bludgeon the boy with his trained fist. When the boy's sobbing had ceased and he had lost consciousness Gaara jumped to his feet and walked over to the other boy who had started to crawl away with a look of absolute terror on his face. He didn't get more than ten feet down the lavishly decorated, empty, hallway as he was blown from his hands and knees and onto his side by the foot that connected with his gut. Gaara picked up the single conscious boy by the collar of his shirt and jumper and flung him back to the other. He then leapt over to them and started to kick and punch the other's face and gut. He continued until both had been knocked out and were bleeding profusely. The look on the boys faces were enough to show what had happened, the look of sheer agony and terror. The agony was self explanatory but the terror, the terror was from Gaara's face. Throughout the entire brutal attack, the insanely wide smile had never left his face.

After he was done, Gaara slumped against the wall and seemed to wake from a daze which he hadn't even noticed going into. Though it wasn't really a daze as he could remember every detail of what had happened, everything he had done. Gaara pulled himself to his feet and walked back to his door before entering. The place was still empty except for their belongings and his precious gourd. He suddenly felt glad he hadn't had it on him at the time otherwise he would have undoubtedly killed those two kids.

It was only now, as he lay on the bed, that he was able to contemplate his situation. It worried him that he had lost control like that and accepted Shukaku's anger. But that wasn't it. He hadn't just accepted the beast's anger; he had taken in parts of its chakra and parts of the beast itself. He didn't know what he could do, when it was the full moon he might revert to his old ways of killing indiscriminately. He had to think of something to do to keep the monster away from others. Somewhere where others wouldn't go. Somewhere where he could be sure he wouldn't be found by any students. But he didn't know the castle that well yet. And he only had a month to find somewhere before the next full moon.