Pure Blood

After having done this six times before, running straight at a seemingly normal, completely solid support pillar with a luggage cart didn’t scare Xiao all that much anymore. He went right through and came out on the other side unscathed, arriving smoothly at platform 9¾. He got out of the way before his twin came crashing through (he had experience from previous years) and stopped his cart to look around. 

He recognized a few of his schoolmates, those who called themselves his friends standing in a big group. Most of them were in the same house as him, except Kazuha who was sorted into Hufflepuff and Heizou who was sorted into Ravenclaw. Kazuha was definitively the calmest member of the group, though that didn’t stop him from being absolutely unhinged at times. The redhead next to him was incredibly intelligent, but at the same time a bit strange, as if his senses were cut off from the surrounding world as he thought. Xiao didn’t have enough fingers to count how many times he had to be pulled away from the moving stairs in order to avoid falling to a very tragic end just last year.

The two other people were Venti and Aether, both members of Xiao’s own house: Gryffindor. Aether was kind and honest, and could probably have been a Hufflepuff if it weren’t for his boldness. He was the kind of person who’d jump into the lake to wrestle the giant octopus without a shred of hesitation if he was given a somewhat sensible reason to do so. But he was still a good and somewhat rule-abiding student, and not the one to cause trouble. The real troublemaker was Venti, and that’s probably why they fit so well together. Venti came up with ways to make chaos, and Aether helped him for a laugh. (But Venti was still the one who’d get detention if either of them was caught) 

It was Venti who then noticed Xiao, and waved enthusiastically at him, practically going up on his tiptoes to reach as far up as possible. Xiao grudgingly waved back, not stepping closer to them. Heizou turned around and yelled:

“Get over here, you’re late!”

Venti joined in with a visible giggle as he cupped his hands around his mouth.

“Yeah! We’ve got fun plans to discuss!”

Aether waved normally at his friend, smiling with the radiance of a thousand suns. Kazuha just smiled with his arms crossed across his chest. Xiao’s lip threatened to curl up into a smile as his chest turned a bit warmer, and he simply sighed. 

I suppose I should start calling them my friends too.

Just as he shook his head at them, his sister came through the entrance, riding the cart with the biggest smile on her lips. Xiao threw a glance at her, still questioning how they were related, and much less twins. Hu Tao turned her cart around at the last minute before she hit a group of bystanders and came running towards Xiao. 

“What’d I miss?” she grinned mischievously.

Xiao fervently prayed to the gods that she didn’t team up with Venti this year.

“Nothing.”

Hu Tao looked around and spotted Xiao’s friends. She leaned halfway over her luggage cart and cheerfully waved at them.

“Hi guys!”

The four of them waved, but Venti especially waved back. Xiao felt his chances of peace this year decreasing by the second. Hu Tao turned back to her brother and elbowed him in the side while they walked side by side. 

“Why haven’t you gone over to them?”

Xiao gave her a look of “really?”.

“I feel like I need to keep an eye on you.”

Hu Tao pouted.

”You’re no fun.”

Xiao hummed in disagreement.

“Come on!” his sister moaned.

“You don’t have to watch out for your sister all the time, Xiao”, said a voice from behind them, belonging to their father.

Hu Tao immediately lit up, not even turning to look at him, and triumphantly turned to face Xiao.

“Exactly! Suck on that, Xiao!”

Zhongli let out a heavy sigh as his daughter ran off while taunting her brother by sticking her tongue out. Xiao deadpanned at his father.

“And she’s gone.”

Zhongli nodded, somewhat deep in thought. “She’ll come back when she gets hungry.”

He cracked an amused smile at his own joke, causing Xiao to facepalm.

“Xiao!! Are you coming or not?!” a loud voice yelled from behind that made Xiao flinch and a lot of people in his surroundings looked around in confusion.

He turned around and gave his group of friends the middle finger gesture, causing them to gasp in excitement. Zhongli conveniently looked away.

“Anyway”, Zhongli said and cleared his throat, “How long until you depart?”

Xiao glanced up at the giant clock hanging from the ceiling.

“We need to get on the train in about half an hour. Why, eager to get rid of us?” he said sarcastically.

Zhongli gave an amused chuckle and smiled softly.

“I’m not. But I will enjoy some peace and quiet back home.”

Xiao sighed and rolled his eyes.

“If that’s the case, then just send Hu Tao to stay with one of her friends for a while.”

Zhongli glanced at his son.

“If my memory serves me right, she’s not the only person causing a ruckus at home. You two get up to quite a bit of trouble even within our walls.”

Xiao scoffed and cocked his eyebrow.

“Like what, exactly?”

Zhongli sighed, “The bickering, the annoying little charms you two use to inconvenience each other, the sound of you running after each other… I could go on forever.”

Xiao opened his mouth to defend himself, but was interrupted by Hu Tao putting her hands around his neck. She didn’t try to choke himstrangle him, but did pull his head back so he could look her in the face.

“You’re going to sit with your friends, right? I found Yanfei and I’m going to sit with her and her friends.” She flicked his nose. “No Xiaos allowed.”

Xiao glared at her.

“Just don’t blow anything up.”

Hu Tao grinned innocently.

“Now, how could you ever think that of me?”

She let him go and ran off with a smirk on her face. Xiao massaged his neck while Zhongli tried to spot his daughter in the crowd.

“Shouldn’t you stop her when she does that?” he mumbled with an annoyed tone.

Zhongli shrugged with a chuckle.

“As long as she isn’t strangling you, I see no problem.”

“Bye dad!” Hu Tao exclaimed as she got on the Hogwarts Express and waved at her father.

Zhongli waved back with a smile (although with an undertone of worry, this was his daughter after all) and then turned to his son. 

“You should board as well, Xiao. It’s only about ten minutes till the train leaves.”

Xiao looked up at his father.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright? At home, by yourself. Aren’t you going to feel lonely?”

Zhongli’s smile became forced.

“Oh, Xiao. I’ll be alright. I’ve been okay every other year up until now, haven’t I?”

Xiao pondered for a bit, “I suppose that’s true.” He turned to once again look his father in the eyes. “But I still want you to promise that you’ll send me a letter if you need some company. I’ll… come up with something.”

The older man placed a warm hand on his son’s shoulder with a firm and loving grip. 

“I will, Xiao. Don’t you worry about me.”

He pulled his only son into a loving embrace that lasted a few seconds. Xiao felt that he breathed more easily now that he had been reassured. Zhongli smiled.

“Don’t forget to take care of yourself. Oh, and to take your medicine.” His gaze turned serious. “If anything happens, if your prescribed medication stops working or if it flares up, you tell me immediately.” He bent down to meet his son at eye level. ”Is that clear?”

Xiao groaned under his breath.

“I will, don’t worry .”

He threw a glance at the train. “I should probably go. We’ll see you at Christmas.”

Zhongli smiled, forcing a happy look even though Xiao could see right through it. Of course, his father had been lonely ever since-

His thoughts were interrupted by the train whistle. Xiao hurried to run aboard and briefly waved goodbye as he stepped inside the car. He was allowed one last glimpse of platform 9¾ and his father’s sad face before the doors shut behind him. Xiao stood there and stared at them for a few seconds before tightening his grip around the handle of his suitcase and making his way through the train to find his friends.

It didn’t take long to find them. Not with all the ruckus Venti was making. Now that the students were allowed to freely use magic, Venti had conjured up a flock of white doves (one of his favorite animals, actually) that kept trying to escape into the corridor and had to be chased down by their conjurer personally. Xiao was almost tackled by the green-dressed fellow while looking for his four friends.

“Look, this one has two heads!”

Venti pushed the two-headed dove up into Aether’s visibly uncomfortable face, who stared in silent aversion at the disfigured creature in front of him. Xiao looked at the two from across the cabin with a judgemental look, something he wasn’t alone in doing. Kazuha also shared the majority’s distaste for Venti’s… unusual creation, and sent looks their way that he probably hoped would build a wall between the poor dove and himself, so that he wouldn’t have to see it up close.

“I’ve named him Dave.”

“How…interesting.” Heizou gave the dove a glance, then looked away a moment later. “So when will you be removing them from our presence?”

Venti gasped and clutched his imaginary pearls while Dave the dove flapped his wings and tried to get out of Venti’s grasp.

“I would never rob Dave of his life!”

One positive thing about conjured birds was that they didn’t produce any waste within the first few hours of their lives unless the caster really wanted them to.

“Venti, please put them away. We’re all suffering here.” Xiao massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Venti pouted, but reluctantly agreed and did as he was asked to. Dave the two-headed dove disappeared without even as much as a feather left behind, along with his equally short lived kin. The other boys in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Venti sighed too, but out of boredom and resorted to locking and unlocking his trunk with magic over and over again to keep himself entertained.

Click. Click. Click. Click. 

 On any normal day at Hogwarts, they might have asked him to not exhaust his energy so early on in the day, but they all knew the reason for his jittery demeanor. Every time he had to leave the church where he lived in order to attend wizarding school brought about equal parts of relief and stress. Venti needed to get it out of his system somehow, and that was mutually understood among the group.

“So,” Kazuha said, shifting in his seat to face the others, “What are you all looking forward to this year?”

“I’m actually quite excited for Defense Against the Dark Arts”, Heizou said. “I have a feeling that it’s going to be very interesting this year.”

“It’s interesting every year”, Aether laughed and rolled his eyes. “I’m looking forward to Charms, so that I can expand my arsenal of quick and handy spells.”

“Defense Against the Dark Arts”, Xiao said, looking out the window with an disinterested look on his face.

“Believe it or not, Transfiguration”, Venti said, grinning. “I’ve begun to appreciate how useful it is.”

As if to highlight his statement, he made his trunk grow legs and do a little spin on the shelf above him with a flick of his wand.

“Impressive”, Heizou said with a smile. “How’s your allergy?”

Venti shrugged, then sneezed abruptly. He sniffled slightly, but seemed okay.

“I’m doing alright. Thanks to the muggle medicine I’m taking, I’ll manage.”

He then turned to Aether.

“Just don’t keep that pesky cat in our dorm again.”

Aether chuckled.

“She’s not pesky. Sure, she can be a little stubborn… but that’s just part of her charm.”

Venti huffed, glaring at the basket sitting by the window, where an equally enthusiastic paw swatted at him from inside. Aether leaned forward and reached inside the small opening to scratch the cat’s ear.

“Be nice to Venti. Or you can forget treats.”

A loud complaining meow could be heard from the cat inside the basket, asking for sympathy. Aether, Kazuha and Heizou all got an amused look on their faces, even Xiao couldn’t hide the smile tugging at the ends of his lips. Venti, meanwhile, gave the cat a grumpy look.

“I’ll keep my eyes on you, pesky cat.”

Aether laughed and wrapped his arm around Venti.

“You’ll be fine. Both of you.”

Venti flicked at Aether’s collarbone. 

“Hey,” Xiao suddenly said, “I’m thinking of going to find the Trolley Lady. Do you want me to get something for you?”

All four of them nodded and began giving him their requests. It took a while, but Xiao finally left them to go look in the hallway. He sighed, feeling the familiar pressure that stress subjected his body to, but kept pushing forward with the reassurance that the discomfort would most likely subside. He passed compartments filled with students younger than him sitting and chatting with their friends, along with a few older than him. Of course, there were way fewer people that fit into that category these days.

 On his way past one of the compartments, he stuck his head in and reprimanded his sister for wrestling one of her friends.

“I can do what I want!” was her answer.

Sighing in defeat, Xiao continued walking. A minute later, he was passing a compartment filled with people dressed in Slytherin’s colors when he was startled by a sudden thump. Xiao looked up towards the clear glass only to see a Slytherin student his age waving at him with a smirk on his face that was framed by indigo bangs. Xiao stared at him for a moment, then deadpanned and continued walking. He heard the student step out and call for him but chose to ignore him. Xiao didn’t have the time nor energy to spare.

Xiao eventually found the Honeydukes Express and bought the snacks his friends wanted from the Trolley Lady. Exchanges with her went relatively smoothly and quickly, which Xiao appreciated. He then stopped and double-checked that he’d gotten everything on his list before returning to his friends, only briefly stopping on the way to drop off a candy bar for Hu Tao.

“Here are your purchases”, Xiao said nonchalantly and dropped everything he was carrying onto someone’s trunk that they were substituting for a table. “I expect to be paid back before Christmas, or these will be your presents.”

He glanced at Venti.

“Except you. I’ll cover it.”

Venti looked up at Xiao, offended.

“What, you think I can’t afford it?”

Xiao shook his head.

“No, but I’d rather save you the trouble of getting ahold of wizard currency. I know how awful the process is. Hence, I’m buying it for you.”

Venti looked discontent, but he didn’t argue. Kazuha smiled gratefully and gathered his sweets and such before handing Xiao a pile of gold.

“I’ll pay for Heizou.”

“What?!” Heizou exclaimed. “No, I refuse. I have money to burn, you know?”

“So do I”, Kazuha said. “You can pay for me next time. Deal?”

“Fine. Deal”, Heizou reluctantly muttered.

Xiao accepted Kazuha’s money and shrugged. “As long as I am paid.”

Aether paid for his share too while Venti ripped open a package of colorful beans and started organizing them by color. Heizou’s eyes lit up and he joined in, eagerly discussing each bean with Venti and further organizing them by possible flavor. Aether retreated to his corner with a book about herbs and the compartment fell mostly silent (save for the occasional “no, my intuition tells me that this one is tomato flavored!” and the snicker that followed). Xiao looked out the window while admiring the trees flying by and the occasional lake view whenever they passed a body of water. Resting his head against the wall, he started to doze off while the train rocked back and forth. He slowly closed his eyes and fell into a pleasant slumber.

About an hour later, Venti, Heizou and Aether wandered off to visit some friends in other compartments. Kazuha and Xiao were left alone, both of them peacefully sitting in silence. All of them had changed into uniform, and Xiao, Aether, and Venti were all dressed in Gryffindor’s colors while Kazuha and and Heizou were dressed in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw’s colors respectively.

Xiao was reading a book while Kazuha did his own thing on the other side of the compartment when the door suddenly opened. Xiao looked up to see who it was only to find that it was the Slytherin he’d encountered earlier.

“Hey, you!”

Xiao looked annoyed.

“Me?”

The indigo-haired teen grinned. Xiao felt his heart beat faster at the sight and a warm feeling spread throughout his chest. He didn’t like it.

“Yes, you. You ignored me earlier.”

Xiao shifted in his seat.

“I wasn’t interested in engaging in conversation with a Slytherin .”

The Slytherin fake pouted. 

“Wounding remarks. Anyway,” he walked in and sat down beside Xiao, “we can talk now. You’re Zhongli’s kid, correct?”

Xiao’s breath involuntarily hitched when the other’s hand brushed against his thigh. He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head in frustration.

“And so is my sister, what do you want from me?”

The other grinned.

“I’m Ei’s son.”

“Am I supposed to know you?”

Xiao deadpanned. The Slytherin teen’s confidence seemed to falter for a moment.

“Excuse me?”

The Gryffindor shot him a glare. He ignored the strange tingling feeling throughout his body.

“You’re excused. Now leave.”

The Slytherin scowled slightly.

“What’s your problem, huh?!”

Kazuha peeked over at them with a look of curiosity and slight concern.

“I could ask you the same thing”, Xiao said coldly. 

The other glared into Xiao’s golden eyes, clearly becoming less and less happy.

“I swear that I’ll-”

“Hey, chill out, buddy. We don’t want you to get detention before we even get to Hogwarts”, another student said as they appeared at the door.

The indigo guy backed down once he saw who it was: A blonde girl with flowers in her hair, also dressed in green uniform.

“..Fine. I’ll leave. But we,” he glared at Xiao, “are not done. As soon as I see you again, dumbass, I’ll make sure to-”

“That’s enough.”

The girl silenced him with a look. He disappeared into the hallway, muttering vulgar curses under his breath and slamming the sliding door behind him.

“Thanks, Lumine”, Kazuha said with a pale face. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you weren’t here.”

Lumine shrugged. She walked inside and kneeled down to greet the cat who had been sleeping.

“I reckon there would have been a fistfight. That guy, Xiao,” Lumine glanced towards the door, “is formidable in both physical and magical strength. You’ve just made a very dangerous enemy.”

Xiao crossed one leg over the other, narrowing his eyes.

“And yet you commanded him to leave just like that.”

Lumine grinned and brushed a few loose strands of her bangs behind her ear.

“Naturally, since I’m stronger than him. Most Slytherin know my name and respect it.”

Xiao rolled his eyes, but stayed silent. Kazuha straightened his posture and cleared his throat.

“What brings you here, Lumine? We haven’t seen you since we boarded the train.”

“I came to say hi to my brother, but it seems he isn’t here.”

The blonde girl snuck a treat into the pet basket and then sat down on the opposite row of the others.

Lumine scoffed, “He stole my hair ties as well, that bastard, so I’m here to get them back.” 

Kazuha cracked a smile, suppressing an amused laugh.

“I see. He’ll be back in a minute.”