AN: I don't like posting unless a story is almost finished, or I have a place where I would be happy to call it completed even though the idea is far from over, or both. This was one of the first cross over fan Fictions I ever started, but as the idea required quite a few chapters, it isn't the first I've published

I recommend not reading this if you haven't read the HP books. This will have spoilers for almost everything, and anything that is the same from the series I tried to omit so you may get lost. And I don't own anything, it all belongs to other people.

NOTE ON TITLE: it is not meant to make sense yet, though you can just look at as a comment on how many characters are manipulative bastards

Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table and worried. She hadn't seen Ron or Harry on the train or in the Great Hall and the sorting was about to start. The hat was out and the little kids, though they were only a year younger, were filing in. Now she was very worried.

Despite her worry she couldn't help noting two that didn't quite fit in. One was white, there was no other word for it, he had silver eyes and hair that was not blond but actually white. The only colour he had was a red scar starting under his hair that kept going through his eye to his chin; it was startling compared to his otherwise pale completion. The other wasn't quite so obvious, other than the fact that he (she thought it was a he) had long hair and was standing a little closer to the other than many would consider normal.

What made them really stand out, at least to her, was their attitude. While the others were nervous and uncertain these two looked relaxed, as if to say they had seen and done it all before.

So, Hermione watched as the two were called up to be sorted. The first was the long haired one, 'Kanda, Yuu' still undetermined gender. They only had the hat on for a little while before they were sorted into Gryffindor. The pale one, 'Walker, Allen' was called up just before Ginny and was also fairly quickly sent to join his friend with Ginny following soon after.

Finally the sorting finished and the feast began, with still no sign of Harry or Ron. Her worry came back even worse when she watched some teachers leave the hall. To distract herself she took to watching the new students. Allen and Yuu provided the most distraction.

Apparently tact, or lack of, ran in families. This was supported when Fred and Gorge approached the duo.

'So, Yuu, are you a boy or girl?' after the comment she watched both twins, and almost everyone else sitting close by, back up and go pale at the site of the kid's glare. This possibly would have escalated if not for the intervention of the scarred, white haired boy. Everyone else looked on in shock and horror as he wacked the threatening boy (girl?) over the head.

'Kanda, behaved,' he then turned to the others with a smile so sweet and innocent it was unbelievable. 'Please forgive him, he has no manners. For your own well-being I suggest you refrain from calling him by his first name, call him Kanda.' The boy frowned for a second and brought a hand to his chin as if thinking. 'Actually, for safety, just pretend he doesn't exist. God knows I wish he didn't.' That smile was back again.

'Che, Moyashi, you should keep quiet in order to avoid embarrassment,' the boy, Kanda, complained; but he looked less like he was about to kill half the hall for the previous comment.

'Two centimetres, BaKanda, two centimetres; it is not as big of a difference as you seem to think.'

'Doesn't matter, you are and always will be, a Moyashi.'

'Moyashi? What's that?' Hermione asked, new information would help keep her worry at bay.

'A Japanese word which will never be repeated. I'm sorry where are my manners? My name is Allen Walker, and you would be?' Allen held out his gloved right hand.

'Hermione Granger, those two were Fred and Gorge Weasley,' she replied, shaking the hand.

'Nice to meet you,' and with that they went back to eating, though she occasionally looked up at the pair. She frowned, she hadn't noticed the unnamed dish that Kanda had apparently found, and there was something wrong with Allen's plate. He seemed to be constantly reaching for food, but the plate was never more than reasonably full, then it would be empty, then full. She had no idea how much he had eaten, she hadn't seen him eating, just the constant filling and emptying of his plate.

By the time she had found Harry and Ron (a flying car, really?) and the whole house had celebrated their actions before going to bed, there was only one conclusion she could come to about the two first years.

Allen and Kanda where strange by anyone's standards, even wizards.

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Harry sat at the table for lunch with a groan, first day of school and he had forgotten everything from the year before. Lockhart and his obsession with fame (and Hermione's crush on him) just seemed to make everything that little bit worse. A little after they sat down they were joined by two first years who gave Hermione a friendly smile. The (slightly) shorter white haired boy started talking first.

'Hello, Hermione, I don't believe we have had the pleasure of meeting your friends. My name is Allen Walker and this is Kanda, don't call him anything else, also don't mention the hair, in fact don't mention him at all, he is rather anti-social.' Harry watched as Allen held out his right hand with a smile on his face that could put Lockhart's to shame.

'Ronald Weasley, but most people call me Ron.' Ron seemed a little confused about the two first years but shook Allen's hand anyway. The hand was then offered to Harry, and he got a good look at the boy's face for the first time, before he had only been able half of it. The scar adorning Allen's left cheek made him feel very self-conscious about his own; like someone had made a fuss over a paper cut he had while standing next to a guy who was mortally wounded.

'Harry Potter,' he finally managed to get out. Neither boys reacted, it could have been that Allen was too polite and Kanda just didn't care, they seemed the type. He actually found the lack of reaction a pleasant surprise, especially compared to Lockhart.

Unfortunately Ron was not that perceptive, or subtle.

'Did you hear him? His name is Harry Potter.' Ron spoke rather loudly, as if he thought the boys were hard of hearing.

'Believe me, Mr Weasley, I heard him just fine, though it might have been for the last time,' the smile turned slightly condescending, the one a parent gives a small child that has done something silly, not the one to give to person in the year above.

'Sorry, it's just that most people react rather strongly. You have to know who he is, everyone dose, even those who are muggle-born.' Ron was slightly quieter now, and sent Hermione a look to say that he wasn't being offensive, just stating fact.

'I do. Wizards are not subtle, as you just proved, I have been hearing about him for a while. I do, however, also know common curtesy.'

After Ron turned red at the admonishment and the five returned to their meals. The trio finished first and headed to the court yard. It was only at the end of the day, after the dreadful Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, that the three of them had time to discuss the two first years. They all came to the same conclusion as Hermione the night before; the boys were strange, maybe even stranger than Colin.

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The Duo seemed to be avoiding them after that, but Harry wasn't sure if it was all of them or just Ron that they didn't want to see. From a distance it looked as if they were fitting in with the rest of their year group, so the trio didn't worry much about it. It was several weeks later, just a little before Halloween, that the five of them ended up talking to each other again. The topic was mostly how they liked the school so far.

'So, what do you think of Hogwarts? Settling in okay?' Hermione was trying to act like a semi-responsible older student. At least that was what Ron told himself, the slight blush she had as she talked to them meant absolutely nothing. Kanda was the first to respond to her question, he snorted.

'If I was allowed to bring Mugden that bastard Lockhart would be dead already.' Hermione looked completely shocked, all signs of a blush gone.

'Other than him the school seems alright,' Allen intervened. 'I like the grounds keeper, Hagrid, he has the most interesting pets.' Harry liked Allen, and Kanda appeared to be able to see past fame and glory to see what people were really like. Even if the boy was rude and "anti-social" as Allen put it, at least he wasn't a suck up.

'What's your favourite class?' Ron seemed a bit friendlier now that they had insulted Lockhart, but that feeling diminished slightly after their response.

'Potions.' They said in unison. There was no response the three could give to that; they found themselves avoiding the two from then on.

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The two boys stood in front of the wall where Miss Norris had been found with the threatening message during one of the few times Filch was not on guard. The red words still glinted threateningly in the candle light, even after several days of scrubbing they were as fresh as Halloween night.

'Moyashi? What do you think, we safe?'

'That depends on what they are targeting; if they were taking out anyone other than pure and half-bloods, we are screwed. If they're only after those who are muggle born or squibs, we may be fine. Then there is the question of how the hell they can tell the difference. If they're going off of records or rumours all bets are off unless you can show your family tree, which neither of us can do.'

'Short answer?'

'I miss when we thought we were human and everything was so much simpler.'

'For once, I agree.'

The two contrasting people walked away. Once the footsteps faded Harry lifted his invisibility cloak, he had been on his way to check out the toilet for clues they may have missed. Now he had even more to think about.

What the hell did they mean, not human?

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It was just before Christmas holidays, Allen and Kanda weren't staying they found out, that the Duelling club hosted by Lockhart was organised. Harry was standing next to Allen so he heard the quiet words that were whispered when the two teachers walked in.

'My bets on Professor Snape, Kanda, what do you think?' the words were so quiet Harry was surprised he could hear them.

'I learnt a long time ago, Moyashi, not to bet against you,' Kanda's reply was just as quiet. 'Try your luck on someone who doesn't know you.'

They couldn't mean that the innocent looking boy was a gambler, could they? Then again it was only a month or two ago that he had heard them discussing not being human any more.

Lockhart started the lesson by being blown back by Professor Snape; Allen looked at Kanda with a raised eyebrow. Then they were placed into teams, Harry watched as Allen and Kanda were allowed to stay together while he was placed with Malfoy. He hadn't known that Snape had a soft spot for the boys; then again he wasn't in their class, he had just thought the man's prejudice against Gryffindor would mean it wasn't possible for him to favour any from their house.

After the various partners were told to stop Harry took a look at the mayhem that was the result. The only successful pair seemed to be the first years, Kanda had been glaring at Allen who had two wands in his hands and a slightly less innocent smile on his face than normal. They were watching in interest as the two girls were finally made to stop fighting.

He had to concentrate on his duel after that; he didn't see them again until the moment with the snake.

'Allow me!' Lockhart shouted and began to move, but the duo moved faster. Before he had finished the spell Kanda was standing between the man and the snake, shield spell raised. Whatever enchantment Lockhart had cast bounced off the shield and back to him, making Lockhart go flying into the air. Allen, in the meantime, had run up to the snake and now had it wrapped around his arm with its head almost in his hand.

'Don't hurt me and I won't hurt you, I will even help you if you behave.' Allen was talking to the snake, Harry didn't think it was weird, and then the boy turned to him.

'You want her? She was fired at you?'

'No thanks.' Harry replied, he didn't understand the boys look until much later.

How was he to know that the whole conversation had been in Parseltongue?

He heard from one of the other first years that the boy had permission to keep it as a familiar. If it wasn't for this fact, Harry was informed by Ron, then it would have been Harry who was the top suspect for being the Slytherin's heir instead of Allen.

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Professor Dumbledore stood in stunned silence after he entered his office. Of all the things he could have expected to see the day after putting Mr Flinch-Fletchley in the infirmary, and having to discuss with Harry the attacks, this was not one of them. How did two first years manage to break into his office? They must have broken in, because if they had been let in he would have been told.

He recognised them of course; he made it a habit to know all of the students in the school, no matter what. Allen Walker, the boy with a scar so large and fresh looking he worried about lingering pain, was sitting on the edge of his desk, playing with one of the gadgets that normally sat on a table on the other side of the room. Yuu Kanda, Mr Walker's shadow that seemed to have homicidal rage issues, was standing comfortably and talking to the portraits of past Headmasters; there were a couple he seemed particularly friendly with.

'May I inquire what you do would be doing in my office unannounced, Mr Walker and Mr Kanda?' Kanda was the first to speak.

'Che, Moyashi had somethings that he thought you should know,' the boy had been friendlier with the portraits. Allen sent a slight glare at his friend before turning to Dumbledore and explaining in a rather clipped tone.

'There are two things that I think you should be made aware of, if you don't know already. First, and most importantly, there is a basilisk in the pluming.' At Dumbledore's surprised look he elaborated. 'It's what has been petrifying all the students; it only kills if you look at it directly. I know it's there but I do not know who is controlling it, not really. There is a soul fragment that is manipulating it through another person; I don't know the identity of either of these people. If you want to avoid fatalities, I recommend telling people to carry a mirror, so that they can look around corners without getting a nasty surprise.' Dumbledore hadn't lost his dazed expression.

'How do you know it is a basilisk?' he finally managed to get out.

'I'm a parselmouth; I can hear it threatening people. Given everything, that was the only creature that made sense.'

The boy got up and Mr Kanda was at his side in an instant. They started towards the door.

'May I ask what the second thing was?' Dumbledore asked just before they left. Allen turned around, for once he wasn't smiling.

'Your chosen one, Harry? He is being used as a hoarcrux, just thought you should know,' with that the boys were gone.

The next day it was made mandatory that all students carry a mirror and check before walking around corners. Finally he could do something to protect his students.

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It was as the trio were making their way to the girl's bathroom, using the mandatory mirrors, that Hermione broached the subject they had been avoiding.

'I know that Harry isn't the Heir, and Malfoy is rather suspicious, but do you think we're wasting our time and we should be investigating Allen and Kanda instead? I mean, half the school still thinks it's them.'

'It has to be Malfoy!' Ron seriously hoped it would be, an excuse to expel the rat was too good to pass up. 'But on the off chance it's not, those two are the next on the list.'

'It's not them,' Harry muttered quietly once they, finally, reached the stall. His friends stared at him.

'Why do you say that?' Ron asked.

'You have to admit, they are almost as suspicious as Malfoy, Harry. They are always together, Allen is a Parselmouth,' at Harry's look she continued quickly, 'and he kept the snake that Malfoy made. They even get along with Professor Snape!'

Harry said no more as they added their hairs and drank the potion, he was thinking.

The boys were suspicious, for all the reasons Hermione said and more. He had overheard them saying there weren't human for crying out loud! They also acted so much older than first years; he didn't think they had been like that last year. They were suspicious, and most likely guilty of something, but he had heard them discussing motive and means while thinking themselves unheard. He didn't think they weren't guilty, just not when it came to this.

Then he and Ron were leaving and he didn't have time to think of anything else.

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The term after Christmas was quiet; there were no attacks for several weeks, bordering on a couple of months, when a disaster struck.

It was after the diary, during the Quidditch match, that three students were petrified. A Ravenclaw girl plus Kanda and Allen, were all found just outside the library. The Ravenclaw girl had been saved by the mandatory mirror as she went round a corner, that wasn't the case for the duo however.

They were found standing in the middle of a long corridor, the basilisk – as the school had thought it to be – had caught them. They were not looking in a mirror, there were staring straight ahead, a look of anger on Kanda's face and fear on Allen's. Allen had always claimed that two centimetres was not that big of a difference, but it was large enough for Kanda to hold him protectively.

The previous quiet of the school was shattered. Students panicked, Allen was exonerated because he was now petrified, and Harry was as well because he was on the Quidditch pitch at the time. The months after that would be a roller coaster for the trio, because there were so many things they had to find out and check as well as keeping up on homework that it was just not funny. They were just happy that they had Hermione to help them.

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The catching of the "heir of Slytherin" happened quite quickly in the end, and Lockhart was proven a fraud at the same time so that was a bonus.

After the attack on the three students at once people started doubting it was a Basilisk, especially as Allen and Kanda were still alive. Harry, personally, believed that the reason they survived was that they were not human, but he couldn't say that to anyone else.

The same day that the Mandrakes were ready was the same day that Ginny ended up in the chamber, and the same day that Harry figured out where the chamber was. The same day Hermione was petrified so she couldn't go with them, the same day it was confirmed – like Dumbledore had said – that the monster was a basilisk. A lot of things happened that day, and out of all of it Harry wished he could forget the fight in the chamber the most, it was horrifying. He was just glade they all survived in the end.

It was on the train ride home that the trio finally discussed Allen and Kanda properly, that Harry finally told his friends the conversation he had overheard.

By the end they had come to one conclusion, the duo was strange. It the years to come they would keep a very careful eye on them, and the things they would find would shake the world they thought they knew to the very foundations.

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