Scars Of White

"Silence." The towering sorcerer briefly waved his hand as the crowd once again turned towards the staff table. The previous chattering between the English and Japanese exchange students instantly ended.

"As much as I would like to enjoy the festivities further, we have a few things to see to. First, as we've all gathered now. The Forbidden Forest and the entire 3rd floor of this castle is off bounds to any student who does not seek a most horrible and tragic death. You have been warned." What a change in mood. The aged wizards' eyes were completely clear as he uttered those words, it was meant with the utmost sincerity. That just made me all the more curious as to what horrors awaited in those depths. His voice altered, in a much lighter tone as he continued.

"On a lighter note, the house competition will be starting tomorrow, immediately. Everyone, keep on your best behaviour and contribute as much as you can to the glory of your houses. I expect much of all of you. Director Sakayanagi, feel free to take the stage." His right hand gestured to the much younger, yet still mature man.

"Thank you, Professor." The older gentleman wearing thick rimmed glasses, characterised by his shade of peculiar white hair approached.

"With the great success of previous years, it is my hope to keep this agreement between our schools in effect for years to come. As such it is my great pleasure to announce that the prize for this year's house cup winners will be; exclusive use of the room of requirement. The house that wins this year will have exclusive ownership rights to its usage for the entirety of next year." All of the students started whispering excitedly to each other. Assuming the facilities were as special as the crowd made it seem that an entire year's worth of use is certainly a big deal. Could I assume the room was specialised to whatever the user needed? The name itself was a bit suspicious. I couldn't imagine that the room only had one use otherwise there would be students that wouldn't care for it. Rather, every student that wasn't from my batch was also showing the same enthused look. But what would the final year students get in reward? They wouldn't have any stake in the competition if they didn't see the fruits of their labour. I suppose they might be too busy preparing to enter the working world to contribute much.

"Finally, it is my great pleasure to introduce the homeroom teachers for this year's respective houses. Step forward and introduce yourselves." The director gestured with his right arm towards a group of four Japanese adults. Two men and two women. Once again, a perfect ratio.

The man who previously announced the Japanese students for sorting stepped forward. He had a large frame and strict presence. His eyes hovered over the entire hall as he approached and introduced himself. "My name is Mashima Tomonari. You may address me as Professor Mashima. I'll be taking instruction of the first year Gryffindors." With a quick bow he stepped back for the next in the line.

A woman with curly hazelnut hair stepped forward, generous proportions visible even through her robes gave the impression of a maternal figure. With a cheery smile she introduced herself. "Hoshinomiya Chie, it's a pleasure to get to know you all. I'll be taking instruction of the first-year Hufflepuffs. Let's all get along!" A pop in her step she retreated to allow the next teacher forward.

A man with sunken cheeks and a hollow expression. He nudged his glasses further up his nose as he introduced himself indifferently. "Sakagami Kazuma. I'll be taking instruction of the Slytherins this year." He stepped backwards immediately, not caring to add anymore.

The final in the group stepped forward. A woman with black hair that flowed down to her mid back, styled into a ponytail. Her expression was indifferent, her gaze immediately narrowing in on our table. Venom practically seeped out of her voice. "Chabashira Sae. Ravenclaw first-years."

"Thank you. These staff members will also be responsible for muggle studies and the foundational subjects that will be studied." Foundational? Like maths and science? How would they manage to fit everything in the schedule? Either magic was much easier to learn than I expected, or perhaps magic folk had formal education for these foundational topics. Meaning we didn't need to study them as rigorously.

I was curious how the childhood of most magicians was conducted. Did they have early educations consisting of purely magical topics? If so, they would be far ahead of any muggle born wizards and witches. I was curious but couldn't risk asking the question. One reason being finding the right time to ask it, the other because it would inevitably result in questions being directed back at me. That wasn't something I was prepared for. I wasn't aware of how the average wizard spent their childhood; the average muggle-born was on the same pedestal. They were too far removed from the monotony that was my past. If I were asked what we were taught as a child, then I would quickly become the target of scrutiny. Or would it be stranger if I didn't ask any questions?

Michael's eyes met my own before he asked a question: "Foundational skills? You know what they're talking about, Koji?" It was more a question for the others I thought. The fact he knew what anime was and watched it often must mean he had a somewhat familiar grasp of a muggle lifestyle. Now that I thought about it… Did wizards and witches' have their own version of television and entertainment? Did they have their own anime? I was once again reminded by just how little I actually knew about the magical world.

Despite the current year, any such implements were absent from the Weasley's house. I assumed that was because their family was in the red. Plus they had the country farm lifestyle often busy with chores, so I never thought much of it.

"The usual subjects; Science, Mathematics, History. Japanese or well English in your case, I guess. Those sorts of things, are wizards taught the same?" After being prompted it was less natural to show no interest in how magic folk are brought up. In trying to avoid questions I would only invite more of them onto me. However, with this I've established a connection. It was now natural and even encouraged to ask questions regarding schooling and upbringing. Something I lacked a clear vision of.

"We were both brought up mostly magical. We've visited muggle settlements and spent time in their company. But we went to magical primary academies." Anthony said whilst pointing between himself and Terry. They grew up together.

He continued. "We did magical history and fundamental laws of magic. Other than that, arithmancy and basic literacy took most of our time."

"Did you do magic before coming here?" I was confused, I thought it was outlawed for such young children to perform magic, unless on accident or in the case of self-defence. Not only that, but wands also weren't typically bought until starting at a school like Hogwarts.

"Of course not! It was basically all theory work. A lot of the time we were just getting more accustomed with magic society, specific locations. Learning laws that apply to the general citizens. Basically, it was preparing us for this." Anthony never bothered asking Michael why he asked about the subjects. I was assuming he understood his intentions of explaining the situation to them in a natural way.

It was different. Wizards had their own academies for the young. Ron and the Weasley's in general were all homeschooled until they came to the eligible age to attend Hogwarts. I imagine this was for several reasons, the most major one being economics. In which case I probably had more in common with them than I did with the other students here.

Well, that was pointless to think about. Even if our circumstances were somewhat similar, the people we became after couldn't be more different. The most express example of that was Ron. Antisocial and lacking in self-esteem before we left for the Hogwarts express. A feature of growing with 5 older brothers, I mused. That led to him having little confidence as he was overshined by those siblings. That was his honest self. In contrast that was how I chose to exist. How would he react after coming here?

The almost fated meeting with Harry Potter, an influential figure in the wizarding world… I could see his attitude overcorrecting in real time. Too much of an antidote became a poison to the patient in the end. This was a product of that same idea. Well, it was a bit unfair to predict this sort of thing before it played out. We had seven years ahead of us. The growth, regression, reclamation and metamorphosis that would occur in each and every student was something I was looking forward to.

Who knows? Maybe, I'll also be irreversibly changed by the time I leave this place.

I don't know whether that would be a good thing…

Would I even want that?

Coming here wasn't even my choice in the first place. The circumstances dictated it. By chance I was experiencing the same thing that my last roommate… cellmate would be more appropriate, had shared with me.

Chance, huh?

I had always been taught to control chance, to leave no variable in the hands of fate. Yet here I was. Grasped firmly in its hand. The strings that made me work in the hands of innumerable disjointed figures.

Him. This school. ANHS. This wand. The Weasleys. The boy who lived. Dark forces. And Dumbledore himself.

There were too many confounding variables. Too many forces at play. Who was the enemy? Who could be turned into an ally?

As always, a stark, clear answer remained in my mind.

"With the announcements out of the way, please enjoy the rest of this free day. Schedules will be provided in the common rooms of your houses, ask a nearby prefect if there are any issues regarding them. Any final thoughts Headmaster Dumbledore?" The Director regarded the rest of the students. A full free day. I wonder how the other planned to spend it?

"Ah. A warm welcome to Professor Quirrell. He will be taking charge of magical beast studies." Dumbledore affably gestured to a nervous looking man at the end of the staff table. A large purple turban draped over his head. Upon the attention, he quickly dropped his fork under the table. Jittering and immediately reaching for it his head disappeared under the table. A few seconds after his fiasco his head emerged from the table, the cloth draped over it caught on one of the chairs' arms.

Slowly the turban became unfurled, in a depraved sense of comedic voyeurism the students nearby gleamed at him with interest. As the bare skin of his cranium became closer to the surface, I could see some sort of dark mark just under the fabric, though I couldn't make out just what it was…

"A-A-AHHH! P-P-PLEASURE T-TO M-MEET Y-YOU ALL!" Frantically grabbing the headdress and gathering it in a ball to hide his head. He slunk once again into the chair, with a deep crimson blush on his face.

A few of the students nearby shrugged with disinterest, whilst others apparently felt cheated out of seeing some spectacle. Strangely enough I also felt the same. Just what exactly was under the turban played at my mind. Originally, I thought it was religious, or he was bald underneath, but there was something…

Did he have tattoos? In which case a lot of places of employment did look down on them in the workplace, especially on visible areas like the head. I imagined the fact he would be working with children was also a contributing factor. I'm speculating too much about it…

For some reason it just wasn't leaving my mind, it ached on it. 'Revealing shadows that are cast upon me'. That was precisely why I felt so strange given this sudden accident. I hated making assumptions, especially when information was precisely given to me.

Just like that headdress didn't fully expose the secret beneath it, I too didn't believe that the Director or Dumbledore had shown their full hand with the announcements. It felt too… contrived. Telling a bunch of children not to go somewhere was like placing a sweet in front of them and expecting them not to eat it.

If I were to reveal anything, it would have to be hidden in the first place. Too convenient. I half expected the man to give me a sly wink and smile as he sat in his throne at the end of the hall. Alas, there was no such gaudy display of knowledge. No, if he knew then he was very satisfied with the fact that I didn't know that he did. At the very least I wouldn't be able to move forward if I didn't at least investigate those areas. The question was how much did he know? It would all rely on how much Ollivander or the Weasley family had relayed to him. I was in the Weasley family care so they no doubt had regular contact with Dumbledore, but they didn't understand Japanese. I also hadn't told them what exactly my objective was, in the off chance they intended to. That still left Ollivander, an aged and experienced wizard. It was possible he knew Japanese, though he'd still have to transpose the image in his head and translate it.

It was pointless to remain on that topic any longer, I could make as many assumptions as I wanted, I'd likely never get a straight answer from Dumbledore. He'd probably tell me exactly what I needed or wanted to hear in the moment. It was more prudent to spend my time getting more familiar with the area.

If I wanted to discover the third floor or the forbidden forest I needed to know the routes, when I could roam about them and what exactly I needed in terms of defence when I decided to look around them. If mortality was in danger, then why? It meant something important was there. That was even more apparent by using an area within the castle. It could be used for more storage or teaching facilities, why take an entire floor for no apparent reason other than a death trap, when there are children around? The verbal warning also made it very apparent that there wouldn't be constant surveillance in that area, after all why bother making that threat when you could simply prevent them from physically approaching?

The more I thought about it, the more obvious bait it became. The only question that remained was: who is the trap for? If I believed Ollivander understood the task, then it was me. But, what if he didn't? Wouldn't this trap be designed for someone else? Who?

My eyes tracked along the distant Gryffindor table. Resting on a particular raven-haired boy with a unique scar. Too soon to say. But he was the most important individual to have joined the school this year. The convenient nature of it made me ponder it all the more.

Whilst my mind wandered, the assembly was over and the students were free to explore the facilities, before we would begin classes tomorrow, the first Monday. The first week of school. I was excited all things considered; equal parts anxious as well.

"What should we do?" My housemates excitedly began chattering amongst each other, deciding just where in the castle they would take their search parties.

"Where do you want to check out first?"

"Earth to Kouji? You got any ideas?" Michael asked whilst prodding my shoulder gently.

"Anywhere is fine." Glancing briefly at him, I replied.

"Boring. You're in a magical castle, there has to be something you want to see." He flapped his hand from side to side, waiting for me to elaborate.

"It's more like I want to see everything, so my mind isn't made up."

"Gotcha, gotcha. I guess we'll wander for now." The four of us stood from the table, wandering around the castle for a few hours looking at random halls and classrooms. Wandering around the courtyard as other students did the same, until eventually deciding we wanted to take a break in the common room.

The castle was much more lively compared to our morning stroll, even as we approached the Ravenclaw common room up one of the top spires. The four of us approached the rather meagre looking wooden door. Michael grasped the knocker in hand and begun to rasp on the wood.

Knock, knock.

"What gets wetter the more it dries?" An aged, indeterminably human voice answered.

Are you kidding me? This is our security measure? I might as well throw my belongings into the hall and tell anyone they can have their pick.

"A towel." Michael said in a disinterested tone.

The inside was rather well populated, apparently other students had desired a break as well. I imagine there was also some intrigue regarding the schedules for classes tomorrow.

I approached the nearby prefect, someone I became more familiar with today. Daniel Whitworth. He had waited or rather ambushed us this morning just before breakfast. Michael didn't show much of a visible reaction, though I imagined that was because he was on his guard. Once again, I registered that same noise, the grinding of two surfaces. Quiet and small, but existent enough to grab my attention. It stopped as quickly as it started. Michael's jaw slackened and he regarded the upperclassmen with respect as he approached.

"Ahh. Mr. Ayanokouji and Mr. Corner. And these are?" The older boy regarded our other two roommates with a warm gaze.

"We're roommates. Anthony Goldstein, and this is my friend Terry Boot. Pleased to meet you."

"As am I. Daniel Whitworth." He held a firm handshake with Anthony. "Here are your schedules. Pretty much all the first years have the same one. Lessons only change in your third year with electives." I was probably over thinking it… That meant that I'd at least have partners for class with these guys.

Looking down at the small handbook, I could finally get a decent grasp of what magic entailed. Variations of the same lessons in altered patterns, some days begun with potions and ended with astronomy, whilst others begun with defence against the dark arts and ended with potions.

The schedule was blocked into weeks, each day had at least 5 lessons. Depending on the day the lessons had a variable length, the shortest being an hour long. Potions and Herbology were the most common classes which tiptoed over that line. Most of their lessons were in 2-hour blocks.

Noticing a certain piece of text appended by the first week I couldn't contain a sigh.

"Talk about bad luck." Michael looked up from his schedule, a smile tugging at his lips slyly.

"Why, what's up?" Anthony asked as Michael made an exaggerated show of being depressed. I didn't look like that.

"Hisss…" His hands pressed together as they bent and twisted in a crude squirming motion.

"Stop overreacting, he can't do anything in the classroom." Anthony attempted to reassure me. Meanwhile, Michael continued his goading.

"Potions. First as well…" Daniel looked over the schedule, appearing to be muttering to himself. I knew differently.

"Is there a problem with that, Mr. Whitworth?"

"…It's just… Be careful with the teacher, Professor Snape. He can be a piece of work, and he's Slytherin's head of house."

"Surely he can't show favouritism in lessons." Anthony was quick on the uptake in these situations. Fair to say that the entire competition would be façade f there was obvious favouritism. Though, I suppose you could argue that it would balance out if all of the house heads were biased.

Still, it was a valid concern.

"Hmmm. I wouldn't go that far. Still, I'd just be careful." Scratching the small stubble of his chin, Daniel appeared to be mulling it over.

"…I see. I'll take it to heart." Anthony gracefully bowed his head briefly at Daniel. The formality was really throwing me off. The month I had spent with the Weasley's was almost entirely incongruent with this image. It was strange.

In reality, this level of etiquette was more inline with what I was used to, yet this brief month had adjusted me to a different way of life. How strange. I guess it was just an application of human plasticity.

Looking at the next week I was relieved to see that I would be seeing Ron and Harry somewhat soon at least. Not like I couldn't see them during other times, just… I felt a bit uncomfortable moving between tables in the great hall. That feeling would only deepen as the competition became more ingrained in the students.

Would they refuse to hang out with me because of the competition? I couldn't tell. I didn't think so, but what advantage would they get from seeing me?

They could get information or attempt it at least. Though that would risk leaking information to the enemy. Maybe they wouldn't care that much about the competition, after all most of it will be sporting events and behaviour. It isn't like I'd be able to do much if that were the case.

"…The last week is weird…" A quiet utterance came from behind. Terry was always rather languid and silent. It wasn't as if he never had anything to say, no I never had that impression. If anything, I felt it was the opposite. He had too much to say, too much to comment. That was precisely why he rarely spoke.

My eyes looked at the final week, slightly narrowing as they hovered over each day. Then remaining on the bottom of the page. There were no appendices like the other weeks. This was a week with only our house. Why?

From a learning and staffing perspective this didn't make much sense. You could teach twice as many students with a single teacher, you would take half as many classrooms. This week focused on the foundational subjects which the Japanese teachers were responsible for as well as independent study.

This wasn't optimal learning, it's strange.

If the foundational subjects were simply being treated as an afterthought, then that would be fine. But this is neither. They've been given a full week to learn at the expense of magical subjects, but they'll be relegated to a single week of learning in one month.

Learning required consistent efforts, sleep and challenging practice. On this schedule we wouldn't see any math for 3 weeks of a month and be expected to return to studying that subject immediately. It seemed almost nonsensical. Was this why we were separated by house, so the teacher could spend more time on each student? That would increase learning efficiency, though something still felt as if it were missing.

"Oh, right. You need to take these." He held four slips in his hand, presenting each to the four of us.

What now?

I gingerly grabbed the paper, with the utmost caution. I wasn't about to be pranked, was I? It wouldn't suddenly combust or… I don't know, make me bald or something would it? My mind raced back to dinner at the Weasley's. Can I even trust food again at this point? Fred and George's mouths were removed through a simple meal. I could only hope that such machination never came my way, else I too would find myself with no mouth to scream.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji,

As established by the Hogwarts-ANHS act shall have an assigned study buddy. Hermione Granger will act as the stipulated study buddy. Every week four hours of time spent studying must be completed and verified by a prefect or teacher. These meetings are to be discussed and chosen in mediation with a teacher.

The contents of study are in decision of the students. However, English skills of a certain standard are expected, should these become an obstacle in further learning then suspension or expulsion may become a possibility.

Sincerely on behalf of the ANHS institute.

Even more self-study… I have an annoying feeling.

"Is this during free time?" Michael immediately turned to the older boy. His tone was cordial, but the words had certainly lost that reverent feeling.

"Haha… No getting past you, huh?" Daniel raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"Is everyone a part of this system?" Anthony asked, sceptically.

"No. I'm sure you noticed the emphasis on English skills." Daniel said whilst regarding us all with a blank smile.

"I see. I wonder why they decided to pick us?" It was all of us in a room, it felt too deliberate to be coincidence.

"I'd take it as a compliment, it probably means they're expecting good things from you." One could make that assumption, but it felt off.

"Who are you guys partnered with?" Michael displayed his as he regarded the rest of us.

Shiina Hiyori. That was the peculiar girl that joined our house.

"I've got Masumi Kamuro. She's in this house, right?"

"Yeah, same as mine. What about you, Boot?" Michael turned to the shorter boy.

"…Yuki Himeno. Was she in this house as well?" He asked quietly, averting eye contact as he did.

"Yeah… Who do you have Kouji? There aren't any more Ravenclaws in this year."

"Hermione Granger." I showed them the slip in my hand. "I suppose they never said it would be a member of our own house."

"I guess… You think it'll be a problem?"

"Shouldn't be. I've met her once before, she seemed serious enough. Might even be useful for me." Although this practically confirmed any doubt, I had that the sorting ceremony was a conspiracy. Problems may rear their head from now, but I was correct in my decision of escaping to a different house.

I just wonder how things would've changed if I had chosen a different house. Not that it matters…

Control the sorting hat and you could control the environment. That means whoever was behind the sorting hat was responsible in part for the plot.

Such an obvious trail led to the height of the school's staff. Meaning I had questions for the headmaster. Was the director involved? It'd be safe to assume he would have some knowledge, the extent of it is questionable…

One thing was for certain though. I'd have to think what this meant, the reasons why he wanted me in that house. And just what I should be doing in retaliation.

White had moved first, now it was my turn…

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Word count: 4478

Apologies for the lack of uploads it has been a busy month, I think that's the case for everyone.

I'm not the proudest of this upload, I wanted to build intrigue f and needed some things elaborated without bogging down the readers with exposition in a boring format. Hopefully, it was at least partially entertaining as Ayanokouji becomes more suspicious of his environment.

The other Japanese students in Ravenclaw have been revealed. Hiyori, Kamuro and Himeno being the students in question. With time I'll reveal the students in other classes. I had plenty of ideas for which students in particular to add, unfortunately some didn't fit the narrative, felt like dead ends or conflicted too much with other characters etc. That being said I have some basic ideas of what to do with them, so we'll just have to see how it goes.

As always let me know your thoughts on the story so far.

Until next time.