Heya~! Fast update here! Sorry, this chapter isn't really eventful, but a (possibly important) character makes an appearance! Don't know completely what I want to do with the character yet, but I know I'm going to try to bring Komui back into the story in the chapter after this one (so not this one or the next, but the one after that.)
Also, it may be a while for the next chapter to come out. I've had so much homework to do this year, so I've had little enjoyment/relaxation time. But hope you enjoy this chapter~!

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'It's great to be back!' ran through the heads of every students coming back to Hogwarts after the relaxing break. Unfortunately four students were unable to get into their dorm. The Fat Lady had a bit too much to drink over break and was acting very rash. It also didn't help that the quartet didn't know the new password. Lucky them Hermione comes to the rescue with the new password and a conversation.

"So how was everyone's Christmas?" Hermione started. Ron shrugged.

"Pretty eventful and good…well…except we had Allen…who was moping most of the break." Hermione gave him a look that obviously said she was shocked at his bluntness about someone who was right next to him. Ginny, on the other hand, became physical and hit his arm a few times. They talked for a minute more before Ron was jumped by Lavender and dragged off. Ginny soon left to find Dean, leaving three left to look at the bulletin board. Apparition Lessons were scheduled and seventeen year olds were allowed to sign up.

Harry signed up all three of them. Allen didn't want to take the lessons since he already knew how to Apparate, but he supposed he couldn't really say anything in protest. It would seem…odd. He didn't have time to ponder if he should find a way to get out of the lessons because Ron got away from Lavender and they started a conversation about the upcoming course.

"So you can start once you're seventeen! That's in March for me!"

"I have to wait until July," Harry stated glumly, "How about you two?"

"I can take it now since my I turned seventeen in September."

"I already had my birthday. I can take it now, I guess," Allen said, still not fully recovered from his mood over the break, but Albus visiting him really helped him get a bit better. The Golden Trio stared at him wide-eyed.

"I was your birthday and you didn't tell anyone?" Hermione asked, "When was it?"

"The…25th…" Allen stated sheepishly. Silence filled their small area.

"Wicked! How's it like getting double the presents?" Ron asked, receiving an incredulous 'Ronald!' from Hermione. Allen didn't really know how to answer the question. It was weird not to get presents, right? But he can't lie, otherwise they'll probably want to see them…I guess truth is best.

"Truth is I haven't gotten presents in years…and when I did when I was younger, it was only one or two small things. And I don't mind the lack of presents. It saves other people money that they were going to spend on something useless for me." Allen didn't meet the shocked eyes of his classmates. "C'mon! We're going to be late to our meeting with Hagrid. You three were invited, right? And we can sign up for Apparition lessons later; the sign's not going anywhere." White hair bounced up and down following its owners retreating figure. The Golden Trio soon followed.

~*^v^*~

"Ah! There you are! Although I'm sad that you three didn't choose my class in your schedule this year, but I have something spectacular to show you four! I thought you would like it too Allen, though I don't really know you…Well, just come on in and I'll show you!" Hagrid greeted to the quartet as he led them into his hut. The students looked around the hut as their eyes landed on a small to medium sized covered cage.

"Here he is!" Hagrid announced as he pulled off the cover. "Isn' he beau'iful? An' jus' a kitten, too!" The half giant beamed at them, showing off his newest creatures. "It's a Japanese cat monster, as yeh can tell by 'is two tails. 'is name is-"

"Kanda…" Allen murmured, eyes transfixed on the familiar mark on the cat's chest. Hagrid stared, very much confused.

"No…I was goin' ta say Nineko (1), but…Kanda works too, I guess…" Hagrid scratched his head. They all circled around the cage, but Allen headed for the lock.

"You don't understand. His name is actually Kanda. I know him." Allen broke the lock and tried to grab the cat but he lashed out at Allen with his paw. "Kanda! You're just as stubborn as I remember! If you come out right now I'll get you some soba from the kitchen." Kanda hissed for a while before deciding that coming out was worth the soba.

"How, exactly, do you know a Japanese cat monster? They exceptionally rare and very dangerous, how would you be able to befriend him in the first place?" Hermione interrogated, going into her super smart mode. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Hermione, you're the only one who would even know they're rare and dangerous, so how would Allen know that before meeting you? Don't blame a guy when they're not as super smart as you, Mione," Ron defended. Allen let out a breathy laugh while rubbing the back of his head.

"Heh…actually…I knew Kanda…well…before he was a Japanese cat monster…We used to go to the same academy before he died…" Allen trailed off, unsure of how to explain his and Kanda's relationship. Hermione scrutinized Allen.

"Are you saying this is your friend reincarnated? There's been no proof to reincarnation, and I simply can't believe it," Hermione clarified. Harry shrugged and Ron seemed like he couldn't care less. So Allen rolled his eyes at Hermione's attitude and picked up the cat-Kanda.

^Put me down, baka moyashi!^ Allen jumped at the hissing that suddenly became legible and almost had Kanda plummet to the ground. ^One of the unknown abilities of my…new form…is that I can choose who I'd like to understand me. You just talk normally to me, but now you can understand me since I can no longer speak English or Japanese. Let's go outside and talk more.^

Allen, still completely shocked, nodded to the confusion to the rest of the people within Hagrid's cottage before stepping out and sitting on a fallen tree at the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

"Okay…wow, I just can't get over the fact that you were reincarnated as something so…so…adorable!" the transfer Hogwarts student squealed, pulling Kanda into a suffocating embrace.

^Oh…I so wish I had Mugen right now…^ Kanda snarled. Allen chuckled a bit before he started his questioning. He also placed Kanda next to him on the fallen tree.

"How is it that you are reincarnated? And why now?"

^It has to do with my curse. Apparently it wasn't just healing me quickly while killing me sooner than what should have been. It also makes me live when I'm needed. When I was reborn around 50 years ago, I didn't know this, but I was able to find a witch that knew about my particular curse and she told me of my predicament. Then I went in search of where I was needed, travelling a lot, before ending up here. And, since you always cause trouble, I suppose that something will happen around you that I'll be a help to.^ Allen nodded in understanding and stared off into the distance.

"It's been so long since we've talked, and here we are, actually having a civil conversation. I think being a cat for 50 years helped mature you Bakanda," he stated cheekily. Kanda hissed and swatted at Allen's already scarred face. The white-haired man gave a heartfelt laugh as the atmosphere became more like what he was used.

"I love this. I feel…normal again. Just like back home when not on a mission. Carefree and happy. Everything so…peaceful…" Kanda stopped his paw swiping, only staring at Allen's stress-free expression. He climbed into Allen's lap, and they stayed there the rest of the day, just basking in the sunlight.

~*^v^*~

The next morning Allen sat next to the Golden Trio for breakfast with Kanda in his lap. He heard Harry tell his friends about trying to get the memory from Slughorn, though it wasn't like he meant to. The teen was just talking way too loud for it to not be heard by someone. Then Harry brought up the topic of Horcruxes. When Hermione didn't know what the dark magic was, Allen decided that he might as well save the group time researching, as there really wasn't a lot of info on Horcruxes anyways.

"If you are really interested, Horcruxes involve dark magic when someone murders another human being. It's dark magic because it splits the killer's soul in half and stores it into a nearby object. They're amply tricky to make, if what I read is correct," Allen explained before continuing, "Though you still might want to get that memory from Professor Slughorn; maybe there's some valuable information in there that I don't know about. And don't give me those looks! You were talking so loud I'm amazed no one else heard.

"Now please excuse me, I have classes to get to." Allen stood up with Kanda in his arms and pushed away his millions of plates before heading out of the Great Hall.

~*^v^*~

Time flew and class after class went by until February came along, bringing with it the first Apparition lesson. The signed up students all gathered in a vacant Great Hall where they were instructed to spread out.

Allen stood in a corner with a rare genuine smile on his face. It was obvious to all of Hogwarts that Allen's cat Kanda was really lifting his mood, and there was almost always a happy expression on his face nowadays. He half-listened to the Apparition instructor but tuned in when he started counting down for the students to try it out.

Allen concentrated on the spot near the instructor and spun. A soft pop reverberated throughout the Great Hall and everyone stared at the figure appearing at the front of the hall.

"Spectacular!" the instructor cried, "How ever did you get it in your first try!" The stout man's eyes sparkled. Allen sighed. Great; more attention.

"Actually…It's not my first time. I turned 17 last December. I've been practicing for a whole year."Complete bullshit, but they didn't need to know that.

"Then how come you are with the 6th years? Aren't you a 7th year?" Allen shook his head.

"At one point while moving, I wasn't able to continue my education for a whole year, so I held back a year in order to be properly caught up." Allen couldn't tell them it had been over 10 years since he actually had any type of schooling. It would be a cause for scrutinizing questioning if he told them that. The man hummed in response before handing Allen off to another man standing at the sidelines.

"I'll bring you to fill out your license, as you've shown you're capable enough," the other man said. Allen nodded and headed to get the millionth Apparition license in his long life.

[BREAK]

(1)-Yeah…I didn't really know what to have as a name, so I combined ni (two) and neko (cat) to go off of the two-tail cat "species" that is now Kanda. Btw, a Nekomata is a bakeneko with two tails (if you want more info, look it up on Wikipedia).
Also, my version of the nekomata lives longer than most cats, so even after 50-100 years, they are still kittens.