Digi Potter (for lack of a better title)

By Chyna Rose

Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Digimon.

Continuity/Spoilers: Everything up to and including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; just before Harry's fifth year starts.

Warnings: None

Couples: None yet.

Author's Note: I've finally done it. A new chapter. Yeah. I did take my time on this. I'll try not to take so long for the next installment, but there are no real guarantees on that. Life, and other projects, have a way of getting in the way. All bits of Japanese will be translated in a postscript although certain bits will only be translated once. I'm not going to translate something every single time I use it; I think by the hundredth you've seen it you'll be able to figure out that hai means yes. Same kinda goes with anything said that a character translates. As always, I'm using the Japanese names of the Digimon characters.

--- -- Watch that Fist Night; it's a Doozy -- ---

--Part One—

By the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station, the sun had just set leaving the station bathed in the ink of twilight. The students, now dressed in their school robes, disembarked in a roughly less chaotic way than they had boarded the Hogwarts Express. The older students went straight to the collection of horseless carriages, while the first years milled around in groups trying to figure out where they were supposed to go.

As Daisuke waited with Miyako, Takeru, and Yamato (his companions from the train), he saw a large (inhumanly so) bear of a man walking the banks of an enormous lake. He held a lit lantern aloft and a gaggle of young kids followed in his wake. His voice boomed out above the general buzz of hundreds of students talking; calling the first years over to him. It was a somewhat bizarre and frightening sight. However it might look, the older students ignored the sight (in fact, a few stopped to say hi to the man). Apparently, Daisuke decided, this was normal for here.

"So now what?" Miyako asked.

"We head toward that big guy" Daisuke replied, taking charge.

"Are you sure?"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Daisuke asked. He stared at Miyako; daring her to follow through with her challenge. She backed down without a word. "Besides, that's where everyone else our age is going"

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"The older kids don't look worried about him. If he was a threat, wouldn't they be a little concerned about him?" Having said that, Diasuke made his way over to Hagrid. It didn't take long for the others to follow suit.

Eventually they reached the lake, where Hagrid was busy helping kids onto the boats four at a time. As each boat was filled, it was pushed a little out of the way so an empty boat could take its place. While a few students held out for a boat with enough room for them and their friends, most got onto the nearest boat.

Just as Yamato was about to board a boat with his brother, Hagrid reached down and gently put a hand on his shoulder. Every first year stopped to look at what the strange man was going to o to the boy: fearing the worst. The older students ignored this. They knew that, despite his intimidating size, Hagrid was (mostly) harmless.

"You must be the transfer student. Yah-mah-toe E-she-dah right?"

Yamato nodded, completely unsure about what was going to happen. Hagrid broke out into a wide grin – which did nothing to allay Yamato's (and Takeru's) fear.

"Professor McGonagall'll meet you when you get to the castle. Don't worry, you'll know her when you see her. You can take one of the carriages with the older students"

Yamato was torn. On one hand, he didn't want to set off the unknown and fearsome man. On the other hand, he was loathe to leave his little brother alone and in possible danger.

"Shinpai shinaide. Daijoubu. Honto" Takeru said with a comforting smile. Yamato smiled back at Takeru's effort. Their parents had divorced when Takeru was five (Yamato was nine), and their mother had taken Takeru and moved to England. Therefore, while Yamato learned English in school, Takeru was left pretty much on his own when it came to learning Japanese. Needless to say, he wasn't very good and only made an attempt on rare occasions. It was just easier for Yamato to speak English than it was for Takeru to speak Japanese.

With Takeru's assurance that he'd be fine without his big brother hanging over him, Yamato came to a decision. He gathered his nerve and let Hagrid guide him to the carriages. It was too late now to back out – no matter how much he might want to.

When Yamato saw the three people already in the carriage, he almost got off to fin an empty one. But, seeing as he had arrived at the carriages at such a late time, he doubted that he would find an empty one.

"Anou... Sumimasen. Demo... Watashi wa koko ni suwatte moii ka?"

Yamato winced as he drew blank stares. They probably thought that he was crazy. Not a good way to start off. But he was nervous, and that made it difficult for him to remember to speak in English. Taking a deep calming breath, he decided to try again.

"Excuse me. But can I sit here?"

Ron, Hermione, and Harry exchanged silent looks as they considered Yamato's question. Harry shrugged, not caring if Yamato stayed. It wasn't like they were discussing anything sensitive. Ron's expression said that he had no problem with it and that Hermione had just been elected group spokes person.

"Sure" Hermione replied with a smile.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu. Err... Thank you very much"

Yamato kicked himself even as the words left his mouth. He had done it again. He was acting like an idiot. If he was going to act like an idiot, the least he could do was be a quiet idiot. He was perfectly happy not to say another thing until he caught back up with his brother. Life however (or was it Destiny?) had other ideas.

"So what's your name? I'm Hermione Granger, this is Ron Weasley, and this is Harry Potter" Hermione instructed. Ron looked at her questioningly; not sure what to make of her gambit. But in the end, he decided to trust her.

"How do you do. I am Ishida Yamato. It is a pleasure to meet you" Yamato said with a bow. Just because he didn't feel like talking, there was no reason to be rude.

Ron, Harry and Hermione on the other hand, didn't know what to think. Yamato hadn't reacted at all to Harry's name. Well, at least not in any way that they expected. As far as he acted, Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, could be just another bloke on the street. It was somewhat refreshing, although it raised a few alarm bells. But then, the fact that they had never seen Yamato before – and he obviously wasn't a first year – set off one or two of those bells. Hermione, of course had a theory. And to test it out, she'd have to do something she wasn't looking forward to doing. She came form an educated home with a professional mother. She cut her teeth on feminist ideals based on idols such as Margaret Thatcher and the Celtic queen Boudica. By the time she was five she had firmly declared to her parents that if being a girl meant that she would become a vapid airhead, then she didn't want to be a girl anymore. Even now, that kind of girl drove her nuts (although by now she had learned to tolerate such behavior).

"That language you spoke before. I don't think I ever heard it before. What was that?"

"It was Japanese."

"Did you come from Japan?"

"Ha... Yes"

"You speak English pretty good"

"Thank you"

They went on like that until they reached the castle. The trio (via Hermione) learned that Yamato was a transfer student from Japan and was going to be put in the fourth year of whatever house he was sorted into, and had never heard of Harry Potter or Lord Voldermort. They also learned that, while he had a pretty good grasp of English, he would occasionally default to Japanese – mostly when nervous or not thinking before speaking. Yamato found out about some of the reality of Hogwarts. Things that Hogwarts: A History wasn't able to touch on. He also discovered that it might be better for his health and sanity if he and Takeru spent as little time around Harry, Hermione, and Ron as possible. They were, quite frankly in Yamato's opinion, completely nuts.

"You speak Japanese?"

Takeru was brought back to reality by Daisuke's question. He had been absorbed in watching his older brother head toward the carriages. Despite his reassurances to Yamato, Takeru was just as unsure about what was going on as Yamato was, and regretted telling Yamato to go as soon as he had said it. However what was done was done, and there was no way for him to change things. Besides he had other things to focus on than what he wished he had done.

"A little"

"You don't look Japanese" Miyako bluntly pointed out.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Daisuke interjected.

At some unseen signal, the now filled boats began to start across the lake. Daisuke quickly sat down and turned to get a good look at the person he was sitting next to. The boy looked familiar, although Daisuke couldn't put a name to the face. A fact that was easily rectified.

"Hi" Daisuke ventured. The blue-haired boy ignored him. Daisuke didn't let that phase him. Instead he decided to try again.

"My name is Daisuke, and you are..." Again, he was shot down. And again, Daisuke wasn't deterred. He could be pretty single minded when he wanted to be and wouldn't let something go until he was satisfied with the outcome. It was one of the things that made him as good an artist as he was. He wasn't going to give up so easily. And as the say third time's the charm.

"So where are you from?" That didn't work either. The other boy just wasn't talking and didn't look like he was about to any time soon. Miyako and Takeru were no help. Miyako was too busy grilling Takeru about his brother and ability to understand (although on a limited basis) Japanese.

"So how long have you known that you were a wizard?"

"Leave me alone"

Success! It might've been a negative response, but it still was a response. And that was always a good sign. It proved that he wasn't being completely ignored. And Daisuke hated being ignored. Now, with one foot in the door, Daisuke cast about for something else to talk about. He found it in the form of a kitten settled serenely in the silent boy's lap. Perfect. If it was one thing that Daisuke could count on, it was the fact that pet owners loved talking about their pets. It was almost a compulsion, and it was easy to exploit.

"Is that your cat? What's its name? Is it a boy or a girl? What breed?" Daisuke began firing off questions at an almost inhuman rate. The boy turned to glare at him; obviously annoyed with Daisuke's attentions.

"Shut up"

"I've always wanted a cat. But my mom said we can't have one 'cause Jun's allergic. Jun's my annoying older sister. I swear that her only purpose is to annoy me. Hey, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I said shut up"

"Sometimes I wish I had an older brother. I mean, Jun's cool and all. She does do her best to protect me – she even got suspended once 'cause she beat up this kid who was picking on me. But she's a girl. She snaps your head off for no reason. Hell, she made me play dress up when we were little. Dress up! Bet you that if she were a boy, she'd never have done anything like that. Of course she might've been the kind of boy that actually enjoys dressing up in frilly clothes. What do you think?"

"I think that if you don't shut up and leave me alone right now, I'm going to throw you in the lake" Ken threatened in an even voice. His glare had melted away into a calm that promised violence at the least amount of provocation – with just a hint of madness. It said that there was no such thing as an idle threat. Daisuke, wisely decided to back off. Apparently, he had hit a major nerve. And even though he wanted to find out about the mysterious blue-haired boy, he wasn't going to press a topic if it was apparently painful. Daisuke understood that sometimes you just Didn't Go There. There were a few things about his life that he didn't want to touch with a ten foot pole. Daisuke spent the rest of the tri to the castle in silence.

Yamato stepped off the carriage carefully. He still felt a bit lost; nothing that Hermione, Ron, and Harry had told him had really prepared him for what was going to happen His was a unique case. The man who had sent him over to the carriages (Hagrid he had been told by his new 'friends') had said that a Professor McGonagall would meet him at the castle and explain what was expected of him. However, he was never really told who she was. It was just assumed (or so he assumed) that he'd know her when he saw her. This would not have happened at his old school. Back there, a transfer student would've been well informed about what to expect. Then again, if this was his old school he would've been brought to the school two weeks before the year started for testing and placement.

But that was really neither here nor there. The fact of the matter was that Yamato had reached the castle and didn't see this Professor McGonagall who was supposed to meet him.

Standing at the front of the stairs wasn't doing him any good. The other students flowed around him into the castle. He was pushed ever so slowly toward the school; not out of any real want to move him, but as a natural product of the crush of the crowd. In the end, Yamato decided to go with the flow of the crowd and enter the castle. He could always find the nearest adult and ask them to direct him to where he could find Professor McGonagall.

As it turned out, he needn't have worried. Professor McGonagall was waiting for him just inside the castle. She moved to stand before him, the students parting around her in deference to her position.

"Mf. Ishida, I presume?"

"Hai... Yes" Yamato answered. He looked at the woman before him somewhat confused. She was a sever looking woman, intimidating in her prim and proper manner.

"I am Professor McGonagall; Head of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress. I also teach Transfiguration. Welcome to Hogwarts Mr. Ishida" she said with a slight bow. Yamato appreciated the gesture "The first years will be arriving shortly. They will be sorted following an introductory speech about the House system – as is customary here. Once they have been sorted, the Headmaster will give a short speech and then you will be sorted"

No sooner had a moment passed since Professor McGonagall finished her short speech, than Hagrid arrived with the first years. They filed nervously into the chamber, Takeru immediately seeking out his older brother. Professor McGonagall looked them over while nodding to Hagrid, who quietly slipped outside. Alone now with the children Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and waited for the group to settle a bit and quiet down

"Welcome to Hogwarts"

Translation Notes:

Most of the Japanese was 'automatically' translated into English during the course of the chapter. But for the bit that wasn't, here's the translation.

Shinpai shinaide. Daijoubu. Honto Don't worry. It's ok. Honest.

Translations provided by Bable Fish, a Japanese-English dictionary, and the occasional class note. Accuracy not 100 guaranteed.