The first couple of months flew by pretty quickly, considering the amount of actual knowledge Naruto now suddenly had access to. For somebody denied even the simple act of reading something new (not to mention engaging and interesting), the situation very much appealed to the blonde. Especially when he had managed to find something he was actually good at. That something, surprisingly, being transfiguration.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Flashback
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto and Hermione were sitting in class the second day of the semester, in the transfiguration classroom, when their new housemates, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, barged in, panting.

"Oh, good, she's not here." The red-head muttered as the two boys walked down to some empty seats.

In front of the classroom, on the teacher's table, a cat sat, eyeing the two new arrivals. She (the cat) waited until they were just about to sit before jumping off, transforming mid-air into the elderly but very stern Minerva McGonagall.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Was the first thing that came to Ron's mind after a few moments of tense silence.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. Perhaps you would like for me to transfigure you into a pocket watch, seeing as how you are late. And to the first class no less."

"Sorry professor." The black haired bespectacled boy stepped forward. "But we were lost."

"A map then." She raised an eyebrow. "I trust you won't need one to find your way to your seats." She glared at the two boys as they made their way.

"Now, as I was saying, becoming an Animagus is just one way transfiguration can be used. But that is far more advanced that what you all will currently work on. We'll start with something simple. In front of each of you is a box filled matches. We will be transforming them into pins."

Naruto looked at the match he had gotten out, feeling the texture of the wood. "Pins, huh?" He muttered to himself, watching the professor as she demonstrated, flawlessly transforming her own match. "Now that is interesting." Beside him Hermione had already started, and he could just already just faintly see the butt of the match get a little sharper. "Well, here goes nothing." He performed the wand gesture and said the words, watching as magic flowed in a bright spark from his want into his target. It was still match-shaped, but there was something very odd about it.

"Interesting." Professor McGonagall had managed to sneak up behind him, with almost cat-like tread. She took the match up, the light reflecting from its metallic surface. "Mr. Uzumaki has already managed to turn the match into metal. Well done, indeed. You may have some natural talent at this. Just a few more tried should finish the process." It was two tries that did it, completely transforming the match into a sharp metallic pin. "Again, nicely done. If you keep going like this you might well become one of the best we've ever had. Five points to Gryffindor." Naruto wasn't paying attention to the last part, nor to the quiet cheers of his classmates. Or to Hermione tapping his shoulder with a smile. He was just looking at the now-pin in thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Flashback End
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The transfiguration classes after that first one just affirmed Naruto's apparent skill at it. There were very few spells that took him more than a few tries to master. The subtleties of changing shape just seemed to come naturally to him.

And none of the other classes were all that hard, probably because Naruto spent most of his free time reading or discussing the material with Hermione, who people already started referring to as 'the smartest witch of their year'. And, well, she was.

Potions with Professor Severus Snape were… a chore. They were held in the dungeons, always a block of two classes, and always with Slytherin. Naruto, on principle, made it a point to not dislike people he didn't know personally (bad experience), but he gladly made an exception the moment the first Slytherin muttered something bad about Hermione. The fact that Draco Malfoy was also there, also a Slytherin, and had taken it upon himself to silently jeer at the girl but without Naruto actually seeing him, was not helping matters.

The professor himself was not a bag of sunshine either. The first day he had asked Potter questions Naruto had only found the answers to at the back of the textbook and, despite both the blonde and his brunette friend holding their hands up, insisted the boy answer. The professor seemed to be singling him out, for reasons Naruto couldn't begging to understand. But at least he seemed to maybe like hard work and dedication. Not as much as being a Slytherin, but it was a start.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was held by the stuttering professor Quirinus Quirrell. And the man really was a wreck. They (and who 'they' exactly were Naruto never figured out; every story just started with 'them') said he used to be a competent and confident wizard, which Naruto was honestly having a little trouble believing. They also said that he had come into conflict with a vampire on one of his travels which scared him so much that he took to carrying garlic inside his turban from then on. That Naruto could believe, if the frankly horrid smell that emanated from the thing was anything to go buy.

The next class was Charms with Filius Flitwick, a pleasant if short man, and pretty decent teacher. Charms, it appeared, were the utility spells, those that you would use every day to accomplish various things, from levitation to doing the dishes. Harmless enough. So how had a classmate managed to make something explode on the first day?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Flashback
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright class, today we will be going over the most basic of charms, Wingardium Leviosa. The wandwork for this one is really simple. Just swish and flick." He made the motion, and then got the class to follow. "Swish and flick."

"Swish and flick." A sandy-blonde boy next to Naruto, called Seamus Finnegan, muttered to himself. "Right, here we go. Wingardium Leviosa." He made the swish and the flick correctly enough but the feather he was practicing on exploded. "Bloody hell."

"You're doing it wrong." Naruto deadpanned.

"No, really? I hadn't noticed."

"Cute. You're accenting the wrong letter. You need to stress the O, not the A. It's LeviOsa, not LeviosA. Here, watch. Wingardium Leviosa." Naruto's own feather fluttered into the air, joining Hermione's which was already up there. "Now you try again. And please aim for the feather, and not something delicate. Like the floor."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Flashback End
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

And finally there was Herbology, taught by the appropriately named professor Sprout. There wasn't much to be said about it, actually. It was outside, which was always a plus. And they had it with the Hufflepuffs, and not someone annoying. Like to Slytherins. Or… well, it was just the Slytherins, but they counted as at least two annoyances each. And Naruto found himself to enjoy the mostly-quiet nature, as he always did, even back in Konoha.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was now October 31st, a date that for Naruto held no special meaning, but which seemed to excite all the younger students, and even some of the older ones. The halls were suddenly far better decorated, with candles, and velvet cloths hanging here and there (mostly away from the candles, though), and even what looked like faces carved into pumpkins with candles in them for whatever strange reason, floating in air.

"Am I missing something?" He finally caved and asked an excited Hermione. "I'm missing something, aren't I? It's not a very pleasant feeling."

"What are you talking about?"

"The halls. The students excited like, well, children. The bizarre vegetable-lamps. What is going on?"

"Come on, it's October 31st." He just looked blankly at her. "You're kidding me, right. The last day of October. Halloween!" He still just looked at her. "You have to know what Halloween is! Everyone knows what Halloween is!"

"Never heard of it."

"What kind of ridiculous place do you come from if they don't have Halloween there?"

"Very ridiculous." Naruto chuckled dryly.

"Come on, you need a quick education on holidays."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So let me get this straight, one night a year you dress up in costumes and go door-to-door to threaten people with destruction of property if they don't bribe you with candy?"

"More or less."

"And a day where you run around a yard collecting hidden brightly colored eggs laid by a rabbit?"

"Pretty much."

"And then there's a holiday where a creepy fat guy dressed in bright red breaks into your house through your chimney to leave stuff?"

"Santa is not creepy."

"Anybody who comes into your house in the dead of night, while you're sleeping, isn't all right."

"He is not! He's just a happy magical man who makes toys with his elves and delivers them with his twelve flying reindeer."

"Elves? Like Liana?"

"No. These elves are paid more than a galleon a week." Now she was glaring at him.

"But she doesn't want more."

"Yes she does! She just doesn't know she does."

"What?"

"You're employing slavery."

"It's technically servitude, and how did we get to this again?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That night a huge feast was scheduled, much to everybody's joy. Even Naruto's, even though he still wasn't quite clear about the holiday. Not that he was going to ask Hermione again. One lecture on slavery and paying proper respect to people working for you was enough for him.

Naruto was sitting next to an empty spot, spending his time divided between glancing at the door in worry, glaring at Ronald Weasley and looking warily at the pumpkin-lamp, which was apparently called a 'jack o lantern' (strange name) that was winking at him every now and again.

Hermione was not there. She had been sent running in tears by a crass comment from the redhead and Naruto, having stayed back to whack him over the head, lost her somewhere in the vast hallways. Before he could go look for her, however, he was corralled into the main hall by other students. Maybe he could sneak out early and try to find her.

But the (mostly) festive mood was broken by the great doors of the Great Hall slamming open to show the turban-wearing form of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, professor Quirrell.

"TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" He screamed out, wobbling to the table at the far end of the hall, filled with teachers. "Thought you ought to know." He stopped in front of the headmaster before collapsing in a dead faint.

There was a beat. And then everybody decided they had something vital to say, so the said it. At the same time. The commotion was stopped by the sharp yell of "SILENCE!" from the head table. Dumbledore had gotten up and was glancing across the hall. "Will everybody please calm down. Will the prefects please escort the first years to their respective common rooms immediately. The professors shall handle this."

"First year Gryffindors with me." Naruto ignored the Gryffindor prefect, another Weasley, and turned around as soon as he could, making his way to the most likely place one would find a crying girl.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I've decided to rewrite this story now, instead of waiting until I finish. It'll be a few small changes, mainly things I wish I had thought of sooner and don't want to awkwardly shove into the plot at a later date. I'll begin after the Grand Posting Day of 2017, and will replace the chapters when I'm done, so this version will be on for a while. Pretty long while, considering my track record.

Well, "2017".