Thrice
Dazai’s morning started much like it had during the last few days. He’d either wake up from a short power nap, the best sleep he could, that is, if he even got himself to sleep at all. Or he would just get up from the bed, having tossed and turned all night, reading through all the books in his procession.
As it had every morning this week, a knock would alert him that it was rather late in the morning, and as predicted, upon opening the door, he would find a small plate of food sitting innocently at his feet.
It seemed that good Tom had caught onto Dazai’s effort at avoiding him. With his bizarre, constant need to feed him, the man had decided to take on a more subtle approach. Sighing heavily, he picked up the plate and went back into his room. Contemplating whether to eat it or give it to Chibi instead.
He’d suspected poison at first but had eventually resigned himself to a quick death if it ended up being so. To his great disappointment, the food had been just as clean and decent as its maker. Tom really was too kind for this world. Dazai sometimes had the impulse to open him up and look into his brain, if only to see what could push a man to be so genuinely good. He blamed Mori entirely for those morbid urges and promptly banished them from his mind.
Settling down, he took the toast into his fingers, breaking half of it and passing it to CJ, who had been eying him warily for the past few days, as if he too, was suspecting Dazai of trying to poison him. He bit into the bread pointedly, never breaking eye contact. Only then did the bird eat. It seemed that he had a brain hidden somewhere among those ruffled feathers after all.
This morning would be his last here, since he needed to take the train in a few hours. Putting down the rest of his buttered toast rather carelessly, he stood and surveyed the room.
Books were scattered everywhere, papers and parchment betraying the work he had put in during the past few days. With another heavy sigh, he got to work packing up his things and cleaning the room.
It wouldn’t do to have good Tom do it for him. Idly, he wondered if the barman would let him have a drink before he went. Maybe he’d even give him some bleach if he showed him his now semi-eaten plate.
Shaking his head at the absurd thought, he double-checked that he hadn’t forgotten anything. Satisfied with the relatively paper-free state of the room, he gathered his suitcase, cage, and satchel and exited his room.
He found Tom waiting for him patiently behind the counter as he made his way down, looking at him with a big cheerful smile.
“Excited for what’s to come?” The man asked him with terribly exaggerated enthusiasm, sliding a cup across the bar towards him. Its content was orange much to Dazai’s crushed hopes. Soon he learned that it was pumpkin juice of all things.
He’d taken one sip and promptly slid the cup back to its owner. “I’d have expected you to have a sweet tooth.” Tom said, completely unbothered by the heated glare aimed his way. “There, have some water, then.” The man revised.
“Thanks.” He bowed lightly to the man, gulping down half of it before setting it down. “Professor Snape mentioned a floo network?” He really hoped that the man hadn’t been playing some kind of joke on him, even though he didn’t seem like the type. Dazai wasn’t going to trust anyone based on just a day’s interaction.
“Yes, yes, right over here, kid,” Tom led him to what appeared to be a completely ordinary fireplace. “Here you go,” He handed him what looked like dark grey powder. Was this like pixie dust or something? Was this what his life had turned into now? “You just get inside and throw it at your feet and yell out your place of destination.” He gestured again to the fireplace as if it made complete sense. Would this even work with No longer Human in the mix? “In this case, King’s Cross station.”
“Is there no other way to get there?” Dazai asked reluctantly, eying the fireplace with no small amount of skepticism.
“Don’t worry, this is as safe as it can get, you have my word.” Safety was the last thing on his mind right now.
Sighing softly, he figured that it wouldn’t hurt to try. Awkwardly huddling into the abnormally large fireplace, fitting his owl and his trunk into the fold, he took hold of the powder and readied himself.
Throwing the powder at his feet, he pronounced clearly his desired destination. Immediately a smoldering green fire enveloped the space around him. He could feel No Longer Human activating, but it was as if his ability was just trying to ward the flames off instead of nullifying them completely.
The world shifted around him and he unceremoniously found himself tumbling out of another fireplace, this time one in a corner of what was definitely the train station he was looking for.
He followed behind a group of wizards, all wearing tell-tale black robes, and watched with wide eyes as they disappeared into a wall. One labeled as 9 and 3/4, similar to the location on his Hogwarts information letter.
Steeling himself for another round of magical experimentation, he steadily walked right into the wall, passing through it seamlessly.
He couldn’t hold back the sharp intake of breath as he saw the immense magic train waiting for him on the other side. Kids ranging from 11 to 18 milled around the space, some exchanging teary eyed goodbyes with their families, and some greeting their friends with excited exclamation. Dazai shuffled his way through the mass, gaze trained resolutely on the ground as he boarded the train. Magic and energy hummed in the air around him as he walked down the length of the corridors leading to many rows of compartments. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he stumbled into an empty one, making quick work of putting away his luggage and setting Chibi’s cage on the window sill next to him. The owl hooted at him angrily for the brisk landing.
Knowing he had little time before other students would invade his peace, he quickly changed into his grey and black set of Hogwarts standard robes. He’d been told by the tailor that the color would change to adapt to his house.
He settled down after that, looking out the window, and waiting for the train to begin its long trek. Listlessly, he wondered if Chuuya would be on a mission at this time, or if he’d be stuck inside one of Kouyou’s lessons. He flicked Chibi’s cage absentmindedly, satisfied with the outraged squawk he got in return.
Feeling bored, he rummaged through his satchel and pulled out his favorite book. The red and white cover held comfortably in his hands had the title ‘The complete guide to suicide’ written in Japanese, splitting the cover through the middle.
Leaning against the seat comfortably, he delved into his favorite parts. Smiling at the notes he’d written in some particularly interesting sections.
The door to his compartment opened suddenly, breaking his concentration as three figures stood in the sliding doorway. “Excuse me, we were wondering if-“ Whatever question they had in mind was cut off as another voice piped up in surprise. “Oh, it’s you!” Ah, it seemed that Hermione Granger was going to be a recurring face on this mission. “See,” She turned and whispered rather ineffectively to her two companions. The redhead who’d been with her at the bookstore that day, and to Dazai's well-concealed surprise, Harry Potter himself. “I told you I hadn’t imagined him.”
Dazai straightened from his slouch, eye raking over the three newcomers in contemplation before putting on his most charming smile and leaning back casually. “As much as I’d like to take residence in your dreams, Miss Granger, I am very much real.” He smirked as her face reddened brightly once again.
“Who’re you?” The redhead asked bluntly, puffing his chest out as though to challenge Dazai to some kind of duel. He was significantly taller than him and would have made for an intimidating figure if Dazai hadn’t faced worse horrors in his life.
Eyes flitting between the two, he could immediately tell that there was something more there, still lurking in between the lines. The teen’s body language was practically screaming jealous boyfriend, even though he could deduce the friend zone they were currently stuck in.
“Ron! Don’t be rude!” Granger admonished, swatting the boy’s shoulder rather harshly. “B-but uhm,” She seemed to remember herself, turning back to address him. “I never did get your name…”
“Of course, my apologies, Miss Granger,” He amended seriously, his eyes glinting with barely concealed mirth. “My name is Dazai Osamu, please come in, I have this compartment all to my lonesome.” He said a little dramatically, putting on a convincing act.
“W-well thank you.” She stuttered, her cheeks still slightly red. They all shuffled inside, making quick work of putting away their luggage in the storage units above. “And you can call me Hermione, Miss Granger makes me sound old.” She continued with a smile, sitting across from him next to Potter, and the redhead- Ron – taking the seat next to Dazai himself.
“Alright, Hermione.” He grinned at her toothily, enunciating her name, his eyes flitting to regard her friends a moment later, “And your friends are…” He questioned lightly.
“Oh, of course, sorry, these are my best friends, Ron Weasley,” She gestured to the redhead sitting next to him, “And-“
“Harry Potter.” Potter interrupted, his hand stretched in invitation, his eyes regarding Dazai with a cautious glint in his eyes. Doing very little to hide his intrigue as he stared at the bandage visible on his face and under his robes. Ron was even less subtle in his staring, as Dazai could feel him drilling a hole into the side of his head.
Dazai regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before offering his own hand in turn. “Well, at least introductions are out of the way, now.” He smirked in Hermione’s way, before settling back against his seat.
“Your robes are grey…” Potter said abruptly as if the thought had suddenly popped right out of his mind and into his mouth. “I mean well-“ He rushed to explain when all eyes turned his way. “Aren’t first years the only ones with robes like that?”
“That’s right!” Hermione interjected, looking back at him closely, her eyes studying his attire as if it held all the secrets of the universe. The attention made his skin crawl but he kept his face neutral. “You also mentioned choosing your electives when we first met, and it’s been bugging me ever since, I mean, you look older than a third year so I can’t seem to find a good explanation for it.” She muttered, her thumb and forefingers tugging at her lower lip.
“Yeah mate, not to mention that we’ve never seen you before, and you know you’re like pretty-“ He gestured to Dazai’s face, his bandages. “-memorable, you know?”
“Ron!” She chided, something that Dazai was rapidly realizing was a common occurrence.
“What?” Weasley defended sheepishly, “You know what I mean, no one else has-“
“I believe that I might be able to clear up a few things for you.” He interjected, a little irritated by the redhead’s blunt demeanor, his eyes darkening only slightly. When they all turned towards him patiently, he continued. “I am a transfer student, this will be my first year attending Hogwarts, so I haven’t been sorted into a house yet.”
“Oh, of course, a transfer student! Why didn’t I think of that?” Hermione exclaimed, looking at him with renowned interest.
“That would explain the robes…” Potter was looking at him sheepishly now, rubbing his neck in a nervous gesture.
“So, are you a fifth-year too?” Weasley asked, leaning his way,
“Yes technically.” Was this conversation somehow turning into an interrogation? Wasn't he the one who was supposed to be getting information here...
“What school are you from?” He asked again, just as Dazai saw Hermione mouthing the words ‘technically’ under her breath. “You don’t sound like you’re from Beauxbatons, and you’re not Russian either so that rules out-“
“I didn’t have any wizarding education before this, so Hogwarts will be my first.” He interrupted once again, not wanting to prolong the conversation, despite his intrigue at hearing about the other schools around the world.
“What?!” Hermione shouted, rather suddenly, if the way Potter practically leaped out of his seat indicated. “I- I mean how is that even possible? Wizards can’t go long without schooling, it’s highly dangerous and completely unheard of!” She shot Potter an apologetic look before turning back her astonished gaze towards him.
“Guess my letter just got lost in the mail.” He joked carelessly. The old boss was insane, trying to decipher his reasoning would never lead him anywhere.
“Bloody hell,” Weasley said articulately.
“That must have been hard, having to grow up not knowing why things were happening to you,” She continued after a beat of silence. “Especially if given my understanding on the matter, accidental magic gets worse with time, it must have been so awful after you turned eleven!” Her gaze was so intent and earnest that Dazai couldn’t get himself to hold it for long, looking away and out the window.
“Hermione…” It was Potter’s turn to admonish the girl, giving her with a pointed look, silently communicating without saying a word. Dazai supposed that years of friendship could very well lead to this kind of complete understanding. Would his partnership with Chuuya get to this point someday, he figured they were already well on their way in the teamwork department.
“Oh sorry.” She spoke up, her voice considerably softer. “I tend to get carried away sometimes.”
“It’s alright.” He turned to look at her finally, feeling a little calmer now that the wall of the compartment didn’t feel like they were closing in. “They sent me a lot of material during the summer to catch up on the coursework, and I’ll be taking a placement test after I get sorted.” He offered, feeling like she was the type to go a little mad if left to dwell on unanswered questions. Better to get it out of the way now.
“That makes sense, don’t hesitate to come to us if you need any help. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go over all that work in such a short time.”
He regarded her thoughtfully, thinking that maybe this interaction had been worth it after all. “Thanks, I appreciate the offer.” She smiled, nodding at him seriously.
“So…” Weasley interjected after a moment as if to physically dispel the silence that had settled over the compartment. “What house d’you reckon you’ll get into?”
Potter leaned in, interested, while Hermione sat back in visible exasperation.
“I’m assuming you’re all Gryffindors, given all the red and gold.” He gestured to both their robes and their scarves. They nodded in confirmation. “I wouldn’t really care what house I end up in, as long as I get to learn to control my magic, I’ll be fine with it.” And as long as he completed his mission, went unsaid.
“Well, at least we know you won’t end up in Slytherin.” Weasley responded casually.
“Oh?” He was intrigued, “And why is that?”
“Well, you’re a muggle-born aren’t you?” He elaborated despite the very obvious look Hermione was trying to shoot his way. He almost wanted to laugh. Almost. “Can’t imagine bloody Slytherins ever taking in a muggle-born into their ranks.”
“Muggle-born…” It wasn’t hard to infer the meaning of the term, given that he already knew what Muggles were, but it was the first time he had heard of it. “My…parents were muggles yes.” His use of the past tense, went thankfully unnoticed, except for Potter whose eyes seemed to soften a little at Dazai’s words. “Do Slytherins somehow have a problem with that?” Of course, he imagined that discrimination and racism persisted everywhere, but to find it lurking even within a hidden wizarding society, well, that was humanity for you, he supposed.
“Well-“
“Yes.” Potter interrupted, his voice steely. “Slytherins believe that wizards who come from lines that aren’t completely pure are a stain on magic. They follow the concept that Pure-bloods are superior and muggle-borns and muggles should be all killed.” The subject clearly was delicate and a sore spot for the teen. A glance at Hermione told him that she felt very similarly if her white knuckles were of any clue.
“How pleasant.” His sarcasm dripped off his words like venom. He did always hate bigots and racists. “So they follow the ideals of that Voldy guy I read about.” Of course, he knew Voldemort’s name, but he wasn’t going to reveal how much information he had, just yet.
His mission wasn’t to join either side per say. After all, Mori had sent him for information foremost, info that would then be utilized to form a plan and come to a decision on their next course of action. He was not meant to join the light, nor was he meant to be one of Voldy’s brainless followers. He would also need to find out if Voldemort was really an active player in the game or not. Gaining control of his magic was a sweet bonus, though.
The news seemed to be adamant on calling Potter a liar. And yet, Dazai hadn’t seen any trace of deception in the boy’s gaze, he didn’t even think the kid had it in him. Besides, Dazai knew better than to believe everything the news decided to spew. He wasn’t called a prodigy for the pretty moniker, after all.
The three proceeded to explain the subject more in-depth after that, Hermione was apparently also a muggle-born, while Potter was considered a half-blood for his parentage and Weasley a pureblood. Although he did say his family was largely considered to be blood traitors.
It seemed he’d left behind mafia politics for an even more twisted game. His mission was turning out to be more interesting by the minute. Although given all the information he had on the houses, he was pretty sure he was going to end up in Slytherin whether they wanted him there or not.
Sighing softly, he looked out of the window, amused to see that Chibi-Chan had fallen asleep, burrowed into his feathers in a tiny, frankly adorable ball. He had the sudden urge to flick the bars but held back, not wanting to get bitten.
When it seemed that the conversation had died down, he picked up his book once more, intent on distracting himself through the last of his travel time.
He’d barely read through a chapter when Ron spoke up once more, making him want to roll his eyes at his restlessness. Were all redheads inherently annoying?
“What’s that?” He leaned over Dazai’s shoulder, too close for comfort, inspecting the lines of writing closely. “Is that Chinese?”
“Ron!” There it was, Mother Hermione to the rescue.
“It’s Japanese,” He corrected none too gently. “I’m from Yokohama.” His English was excellent, Father had beat into him the importance of worldwide communication, and he’d learned many languages over his younger years, Mori had even carried on the torch after the boss was gone. But surely Weasley must have noticed his slight accent, let alone his looks.
“I’d love to visit Japan one day, I’ve read so many amazing things about it,” Hermione said with a wistful smile, probably going through the information she had on that part of the world.
He hummed. His energy for social interactions was quickly reaching into the negatives. He wasn’t used to prolonged exposure to people his age. Let alone three curious teenagers at once.
“So, what are you reading?” He was tempted to strangle the boy but hesitated as an opportunity suddenly made itself known. This was going to be amusing, for him at least.
He turned to face the redhead, eyes narrowing into something darker, letting some of his façade fall for a moment. “The complete guide to suicide.” He smirked keenly. “You interested?”
Stunned silence was his only response as three pairs of eyes looked at him with shock and open concern. The tension was rising, he could sense it swelling in the air around them. He burst out laughing, feeling the three instantly lose the rigidity in their posture, relieved.
“Bloody hell mate, you got me for a second there.” Weasley had a hand holding his chest as if to physically will his heart into beating regularly once more.
Potter who’d even joined in laughing a little with him, straightened. “That was brilliant.”
“You shouldn’t joke about such things, Dazai.” Hermione was the only one still looking at him worriedly, her eyes still trained on the book held in his grasp. He closed it and stuffed it back into his bag, feeling a little less amused with the entire thing. As if on cue, the train horn sounded, echoing through the compartment.
They had arrived at Hogwarts.
chapter 5 is already up here
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