Italics=Foreign Language/Dream

Underline=Thoughts

Underline Italics=Foreign Language in Dream

Bold=Emphasis

Disclaimer: Though this may be shocking, I am not Japanese(gasp!), A troll-I mean Devil- I mean New York Times Best selling Author, or a British woman. This means, sadly, that I am not Hiromi Arakawa, Rick Riordan, or J.K.Rowling, which also implies that I don't own any of the main/side characters except for Augustine. Sorry to disappoint.

Harry Potter's POV

The new boy was to put it lightly, interesting. His name was Alfred Jones, although he insisted on putting an "F" in as his middle name every time he introduced himself. When we asked what the F stood for, he just shrugged and said that he didn't know. He then jokingly said "Florida", but the only one who ended up laughing was himself.

The other new Gryffindors had just rolled their eyes and slipped on their pyjamas. I felt nostalgic being in the 1st year's dormitory again, remembering the nights I'd spent with Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville, laughing our worries away. Before I'd had to deal with Voldemort.

Alfred chattered away, annoying Jason, Myself, Ron, and Dudley. I looked over at Jason, whose bed was located opposite of my own. He had a sky-blue pyjama shirt and grey pants with white and black clouds on them. He took off his golden-framed glasses and slipped beneath the red velvety fabric of his comforter.

"Good Night Guys." He said, his words becoming muffled due to the comforter. I kinda felt bad for Jason. He was one of the only American boys in Gryffindor, besides Alfred who didn't really count because he basically was too hyper to honestly be best friends with, and Ron, Dudley, and I already knew each other. Granted, Dudley and I hadn't been on the best of terms for the past few years, but we still at least knew each other. Jason only had himself, not counting his sister and friend in the girl's dormitories.

The remaining boys agreed to end all discussions until morning. We said our farewells before drifting off into sleep, the sound of the soft breeze rattling the window panes lulling us to sleep.

-o0O0o-

Harry found himself on a battlefield, watching a stare down between two forces. The ground was muddy, and cold rain drizzled over Harry's spirit. Two men stood in between the forces, both of them holding muskets in their hands and glaring at each other. The younger of the two, a boy in his mid-teens, was dressed in a blue soldier's uniform. His golden hair was coated in dirt and grime. His blue eyes showed defiance and rage.

The other soldier was older and dressed in a red uniform. His dirty-blond hair was also matted, but it was much cleaner and well kept. He glared at the young soldier before him with his distinct green eyes showing distaste and a hint of outraged betrayal.

The boy shouted at the red-coat, his word filled with passion. "It's too late England! I've chosen. My people, my citizens, have chosen this. I can only join them."

The red-coat sneered at the boy's threat. He held an air of importance and ego, meaning that he would not back down easily. Harry's ghost watched in horror. "You're being foolish! Stand down this instant! I am your older brother! You will listen to me!"

The boy set down his musket and spread his arms. "I'm tired of only listening! It's my turn to speak for myself!" The boy grabbed his musket and ran. He tore through the ground, leaving nothing but mush in his wake. He aimed carefully as he ran at the red-coat. His musket knocked the red-coat's to the ground, and he aimed the barrel at the red-coat's head.

"It's time for me to become my own person. To become independent of you and your constant oppression. Surrender and let me free, for if you don't, you'll never touch your soil again, England."

The red-coat smiled despairingly after a moment of silence. He looked up at the teens, tears mixing with the rain falling from the sky. He slowly rose his hands as he stood to his knees. "You win, if only for now. I cannot bring myself to do harm to you. But remember, the sun will never set on the British Empire."

The boy looked sad too, but held his position. "That's what they said about Rome."

And with that, the scene faded and Harry saw only darkness.

-o0O0o-

Harry woke, breathing hard. He looked around wildly, trying to find his bearings. The world was blurry, and only after calming himself down Harry remembered that he was in Hogwarts. He slipped on his glasses and looked around at the dormitory. Dudley and Ron were still snoring away, Alfred was gone, and Jason was nearly out the door.

"Wait!" Harry exclaimed. Jason stopped at the doorway and spun around. "Jason, wait for me. Do you mind if I walk down with you to breakfast?"

Jason smiled, obviously relieved that it was something simple. "Sure. I don't mind."

Harry grinned and slipped into his robes. He was ready after 3 minutes and joined Jason as they walked together down to breakfast. At the Great Hall, Jason split off, heading for the group of Americans that had gathered in the corner of the room on the floor. Harry just said farewell for the time being, walked over to sit next to Alfred. Alfred was sitting facing the Hufflepuffs, talking to his brother Matthew.

"Iggy was like 'What?' and I was like 'Bro.' and Iggy totally, like, flipped." Alfred chattered, speaking in a stereotypical valley-girl accent. Matthew just nodded, looking slightly bored. His eyes brightened when he saw Harry.

"Hi Harry! Good morning. How are you doing today?" Matthew inquired.

Harry shrugged and plopped down beside Alfred. "I'm doing fine, I guess. Had a bit of a rough night, that's all. How about you?"

Alfred gave a blinding smile. "I slept like a log. Then again, I'm still jet-lagged. America is like, at least 6 hours ahead of y'all."

Matthew shrugged. "Hufflepuff is same as always. People forgot about me after initiation, so I felt invisible, like always. Other than that, I slept pretty well, although I have to agree with Alfred on the whole-jet-lag thing."

Harry tried his best to give an encouraging smile. "Then I guess you'll have to stay here a bit longer to adjust to our time."

The brothers grinned. They high-fived, which ultimately resulted in Matthew groaning in pain and holding his hand. "Al, I told you not to be so strong?"

Al just shrugged, his mouth full of oatmeal. "Iths noth like iths my faulth. I canth control ith."

"I know, but you can't treat everyone like they're Ru-"

"HEY LOOK! IT'S THE POST!" Alfred practically screamed, cutting Matthew off entirely. Matthew sighed in resignation, apparently having given up on his brother.

Harry laughed, unable to keep it in. Ron joined in, obviously also amused by the brothers' dynamic. The boys stared for a moment before laughing as well. They laughed until Alfred squirted oatmeal out of his nose, the byproduct landing squarely on a Gryffindor 1st year named Cadi. Cadi groaned and excused herself to the ladies' room, complaining the whole way there. The 4 of them just laughed harder, and when Harry told Dudley, Dudley joined in as well. The group didn't care about the looks that they were getting. It was funny dammit and they were determined to laugh. Once all of the breakfast shenanigans were well and done, the boys excused themselves to head to their first class, which was Home EC, an elective that had been recommended to them. Harry found himself walking to a classroom he'd never visited before, located a bit past the kitchen pear. The door to the classroom was a wooden dutch door(A/N: A door that opens up in half), so they accidentally opened up only the top half on the first try.

Harry observed that the room was much...how could he put it...morerustic than the rest of the castle. The floors were thick uneven slabs of stone mismatch in a collage of materials and colors. The walls were the same rough stone pattern with thick wooden beams every 2 meters or so. The sconces on the wall held candles that actually dripped wax. Dozens of various jars filled with herbs and ingredients hung from the ceiling on strings. And, in the middle of it all, was a large fireplace the back of the room.

Harry fumbled open the door properly and creaked it open. It appeared that they were the first ones here. He randomly chose a seat near the wall in the middle, setting his books and supplies on his desk. Dudley and Ron sat behind him and Al and Matthew sat in front. Harry turned around and chatted amiably with Ron and Dudley while they waited.

"So, Dudley, are you excited for your first magic class ever?" Ron questioned, grinning. It was fascinating to Ron that a muggle-born such as Dudley was so open about muggle life. Granted, he wasn't so obsessive as his dad, but Harry saw the twinkle that they both shared for the subject.

Dudley beamed, his slightly chubby cheeks creating dimples. "Yeah! I know that this technically isn't a real magic class because its Home EC, but its still my first class at a magic school!"

"That's the spirit!" Ron cheered.

Harry smiled at the duo's antics as more students filed in. Their robes were all different colors, ranging from the bronze and blue of Ravenclaw to the Silver and green of Slytherin.

Not surprising anyone, the Slytherin students sat on the opposite side of the classroom as the Gryffindors with the Ravenclaws closer to the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs closer to the Gryffindors. The room buzzed with chatter before it came to a halt when the teacher entered the room.

She had long wavy auburn red hair that reached down to the bottom of her ribcage, green eyes, freckles everywhere, an apron with the Irish flag on it on top of a black tee and jeans, and combat boots. To put it simply, she didn't look anything like a professor.

She walked up to the front of the room and cleared her throat. "Nigh, oi nu al' av yer are proobably tinkin dat 'um ec 'ill be a dumb class aboyt bakin' an' sewin' an' such. But, let me tell yer dat yisser preconcepshuns are wrong. 'um ec is, ter simply put it, a class aboyt 'oy ter survive on yisser own at 'um. Nigh, oi want al' av yer ter tell me at laest wan tin' yer tink we shud learn. An' naw sayin' de seem tin' twice. 'Oy aboyt we start witcha, Mister Wells." (Now, I know all of you are probably thinking that Home EC will be a dumb class about baking and sewing and such. But, let me tell you that your preconceptions are wrong. Home EC is, to simply put it, a class about how to survive on your own at home. Now, I want all of you to tell me at least one thing you think we should learn. And no saying the same thing twice. How about we start with you, Mister Wells.)

It was obvious that it took some students some time to understand what she had said. Her accent was so strong that it basically radiated Irish. Harold Wells was one of the kids who took his time to translate. Professor Nolan walked up to his desk and looked at him.

" Well Mister Wells? Chucker yer 'av an answer for me?" (Well Mister Wells? Do you have an answer for me?)

Harold snapped out of his daze and loudly announced, "How about Gardening? Not Herbology, but like pruning and trimming and stuff?""

Professor Nolan beamed. "Sounds deadly! Miss Daran, you're next." (Sounds great! Miss Daran, you're next.)

Naeve Daran quietly whispered, "Wiring and electricity? I know the Wizarding world doesn't use them that often, but I want to do a lot of stuff my dad did back home."

"Fabulous! Next!"

The professor continued down the rows, writing the answers on the board as she went. Eventually, she reached Alfred.

"An' waaat aboyt yer, Mister Jones?" (And what about you, Mister Jones?)

Alfred, for possibly the first time in his life, was silent. Eventually, he looked at Professor Nolan and inaudibly whispered something. Her smiling face dimmed a few lumens as she carried on to Matthew.

"An' yer, Mister Williams. Do yer 'av dee seem answer as Mister Jones?" (And you, Mister Williams. Do you have the same answer as Mister Jones?)

Matthew whispered a small yes. Professor Nolan sighed in disappointment and continued on to Harry's seat.

"An' yer, Mister Pot-er, Porter?"

Harry thought for a moment before answering. "I know this sounds weird, but Finances? We honestly have no clue how to pay taxes and bills and such. Or how to buy a house, all of which we probably should."

Some kids snickered at Harry's answer, saying that he was taking this too seriously. Harry didn't care. He had been concerned about this when he had graduated from Hogwarts. Buying an apartment and sustainably living had been one of the hardest things that Harry had ever done. This kids needed to learn.

Harry snapped of out his daze, realizing that Ms. Nolan was already past Dudley. The words "Cooking" and "Table Manners" were written under the board, leaving Harry confused as to whether Dudley or Ron had said "Cooking".

After 4 more students, Ms. Nolan was done. She walked up to the front of the room and whispered a spell.

"Roghnaigh Randamach"

The words spun and blurred until the phrase popped onto the board. Most people groaned. The first topic was to be-

"SEWING!" Ron shouted. "YOU EXPECT US TO SEW?!"

The teacher grinned and waved her finger. Bundles of fabric and sewing machines appeared in front of us.

Ms. Nolan cleared throat, and for the first time the class, spoke in a british accent.

"Now, time for our first lesson. Welcome to Home EC."