The man standing in front of Dazai was quite the image, so Dazai took a moment to catalog just what exactly he was seeing: covered in blood, transparent, floating two feet off the ground...

'Ghost? ' Dazai hazarded a guess.

'Yes, yes, that 's right. ' The man said, 'You may call me the Bloody Baron. As your house ghost ' '

'House ghost, huh? That seems like a trivial thing to have. '

The Baron 's eyes narrowed and his gaunt face pulled tense. 'Watch your tongue, boy. '

Dazai shrugged and readjusted on the armchair so that he was face-to-face with the Bloody Baron and his legs were dangling off the side. He squinted at the bloody wound the Baron wore. 'That 's self-inflicted, right? Congratulations! '

'Wha ' '

'Congrats on a successful suicide. Ah~ I 'm jealous! '

With a whine, Dazai melted back into the armchair. He didn 't really peg this 'ghost 'as a threat 'if anything, he pitied the poor man. Committing suicide but still being forced to live on as a 'ghost? Horrible! Sickening! He wanted to die more than ever, but he wanted to

stay dead

when he finally kicked the bucket. 'Jealous and... wait, you wanted something didn 't you, Mr. 'Ghost? '

'

Baron. '

He emphasized, practically spitting the retort. However, Dazai noted the lilt of shock in his tone in response to Dazai 's open appreciation towards suicide. The Baron seemed to shake himself, regarding the boy strangely and floating a tentative foot further from him. 'And

yes

, I did. You have quite the peculiar aura about you, young snake. I take it you didn 't realize? '

Dazai hummed, kicking his feet out childishly.

The ghost continued haltingly, 'You see, as a ghost I 'm especially aware of magical energies. Yet I get a strange feeling from you... it 's hard to say. Though I suppose if you don 't know, there 's no point in asking. '

Interesting... Sitting up a bit straighter, Dazai asked, 'You can sense something like that, huh? '

To be fair, Dazai had figured that might be the case. After all, if

he

could feel the magic in the air, it stood the reason magic 'and magical creatures 'could feel him in return. Now it was just a question of what exactly they were sensing from him.

'That 's right. It 's as if ' '

Suddenly, the boy 's dorm room door opened. Blaise stood in the doorway, blinking dully at the Baron and Dazai, as if silently asking what was happening. 'Good morning Baron, Dazai. ' He said after a moment.

The Bloody Baron cleared his throat and floated a few feet away from Dazai, smiling sheepishly. 'Right. I 'll be leaving then. Good luck on your first day, young snakes. '

'Hey, we were talking, Mr. Ghost Guy. You can 't just leave like that! '

'

Baron. '

He drew out the pronunciation and floated towards the front wall. When the Baron started to phase through the stone face, he added, 'And I 'm sure we 'll be seeing each other around. '

With that, he phased fully through the wall, disappearing from sight completely. Dazai huffed, drawing his shoulders together with a frown. He 'd have to track the Baron down later 'things always worked out better when he had all the information, and Dazai didn 't like the idea that the ghost knew something about him he didn 't.

'Making friends with the house ghost? Interesting choice, Dazai. '

Dazai fell back into the chair, bandaged limbs spilling over the sides carelessly. 'I 'm not sure anyone is this school is much good for company. Say, what time is it? '

He raised a brow, but kept his expression mostly blank otherwise. Dazai thought he saw a hint of humor there and counted it as a win. 'Six-thirty. Breakfast starts in about half-an-hour. ' Blaise frowned. 'You went off to bed early last night. Some of the others thought you might 've been sick. '

Dazai waved the concern off with a loose limb. He didn 't care to explain that he 'd spent most of his life completely isolated and that all the people made him antsy, so he didn 't. Instead, he titled a bit closer to the fireplace. 'Maybe. Hey, shouldn 't you be trying to bully me or something? '

'Why, because you 're a 'muggleborn? ' Blaise scoffed and, after a moment 's hesitation, took a seat near Dazai, 'Most of our housemates take great pride in their blood purity 'I'm not one of them. I 'd advise against letting anyone know you aren 't pure, but it seems you 've already burnt that bridge. Just keep your head down. '

'Are you giving me advice? Blaise is nicer than I thought! '

(Someone who 's loyal, obedient, and imprints quickly ')

'Hey, does that make us friends? '

Blaise startled in his seat, blinking wide-eyed at where Dazai had sprawled out in his own chair. 'It 's a word of advice from one Slytherin to another and nothing more. ' Still, the boy 's lips pulled up into a haughty smile as he stared into the fire.

'Right. '

Maybe Blaise would make a good subordinate, too. The boy would take a bit of work, obviously, but Dazai could use the challenge. Besides, it would be nice to have someone loyal to him in Slytherin, if only just to have someone nearby to order around.

It 'wasn 't 'long after that the other snakes woke and started filing out of their dorms. He 'wasn 't 'blind to the glares some of them sent his way. Being a 'muggleborn 'really hurt his standing that much? Dazai watched as the room grew more crowded by the minute with barely concealed distaste in the way his lips pressed together. Blaise shot him a curious look before getting to his feet.

'I 'm off to find Pansy. ' Almost as an afterthought, Blaise added in a muted voice, 'If you want to get to breakfast before it 's too crowded, you should head out now,

friend. '

Dazai flushed. That was... odd. He shook himself and rose to his feet, staring at Blaise 's departing back with a lost expression. Dazai rolled his shoulders, wondering what it was about his body language that gave away his discomfort.

Well...He 'd take Blaise 's advice and go to the Great Hall now for breakfast anyway. He was already looking forward to being in that place when it wasn 't so obnoxiously populated. Even though he wasn 't sure he could stomach much food at the moment, Dazai spotted on the bulletin board on his way out that schedules would be passed out during breakfast. Maybe he 'd find a Weasley while he was out! Breakfast wouldn 't be so abhorrent if he had someone like that to bully in the meantime.

Scratching the back of his head, Dazai pushed his way around a throng of students and left the common room. Once he was in the dungeon halls, Dazai felt a shiver run up his spine. It was so annoyingly cold down here! He 'd have to start carrying a blanket around with him... but that might look silly, and Dazai

was

trying to gather subordinates. He 'd need their respect, even if starting a little gang was just a hobby for him.

When Dazai had trekked up the last of the steps, he was almost relieved to find himself by the entrance hall. Given how little he 'd paid attention the night before, Dazai had anticipated having to wander the school grounds until he stumbled upon the Great Hall. But that didn 't seem to be necessary. After all, he recalled the path between the entrance and Great Hall to be relatively straight forward.

All for the better, he supposed, though the idea of getting lost did have some appeal.

It was only a few minutes of walking before he was pushing open one of the large doors to the Great Hall.

'Ah, ' he hummed, bouncing on his heels with a pleasant smile, 'I 'm the only one here. Lucky me~ '

Just as Dazai was about to take a seat, however, a voice interrupted him. Dazai felt himself turn to stone at the unexpected presence.

'Not quite, my boy. Good 'morning, Mr. Dazai. '

'Morning, ' Dazai 's slim fingers rapped along the tabletop and he glanced to the far door just in time to see Dumbledore walk in, followed closely by a tired-looking McGonagall. He willed a casual smile, even if their arrival made his skin crawl. 'Headmaster. Professor. '

'An early riser, are you? I 'm afraid you 'll have to wait for Professor Snape to arrive before you can receive your schedule. '

Dazai watched the man settle into his seat near the front of the hall with thinned eyes, suddenly wishing he could have the Great Hall to himself again. The room was wide and empty, but he was already starting to feel caged in. Still, he offered only a disarming, toothy smile in response.

Dumbledore chuckled. 'Well, I won 't keep you. Enjoy your breakfast. '

After that, the headmaster began to serve 'himself. Once 'the eyes were off him, Dazai forced himself to relax 'they weren 't a

threat,

he was just...

overreacting.

Looking to his own table, Dazai was startled to realize a few dishes of breakfast foods had scattered themselves around him.

Magic. Right.

He grabbed a glass of water, pulling it close with a sigh. There were too many options, he thought, and the smell was a bit off-putting, even if it was only the sweet odor of cinnamon oatmeal and the reek of burnt meat.

Instead, Dazai withdrew a textbook from his bag and began reading to the sound of Dumbledore and McGonagall chattering amongst themselves. After a few minutes, students started to arrive one-by-one.

At first, the disturbance barely even registered to him, and when it 'did 'he could easily ignore it. However, by the time each seat on Dazai 's sides were occupied, he knew ignoring the other students was a lost cause. Dozens of faces Dazai didn 't bother to put names to flooded the Great Hall until it was too noisy with conversations and laughter to focus. He snapped his book shut

'Magical Theory '

when Draco sat down directly in front of him across the table.

The blonde stared at him for a moment, wearing a haughty look, before clearing his throat. 'I believe we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. '

Dazai shot a sideways glance to Blaise, who met his blank expression with a shrug before flipping through a newspaper left on the table

'Break-in at Gringotts.

An interesting headline, but nothing for Dazai to bother himself with.

'It has come to my attention that the Sorting Hat

must

have placed you amongst us Slytherins for a reason. It did sort you

nearly

as fast as it did me, after all. '

'It sorted me faster than you, actually. '

Draco spoke over Dazai, seeming not to hear the correction at all. 'Because of this, I would like to offer a proverbial olive branch to you, Dazai. Clearly, a

mudblood

such as yourself was placed here for a reason. What other reason would a dirty muggle like yourself be put into Slytherin than for me to fix you? As such, I 'd like to offer my guidance. You 'll be following me around... maybe doing my homework... and in return I 'll teach you the ways of a

true

wizard. ' Malfoy 's smile was sharp and his eyes deceptively kind. The wild, overdramatic 'gesturing 'wasn 't making him look as serious as Dazai thought he was hoping for, however. 'You can thank me now. '

'You want me to be your subordinate? ' Dazai blinked, flustered with the

gracious

offer. Under his breath, Dazai mumbled to himself, 'I think you 've got our roles confused here. '

'Subordinate... yes, I like that word. Look at you, already doing your part in supporting

pure

wizards! '

Subordinate.

Him!

Dazai didn 't

do

subordinate. Where did this Malfoy brat get off?! And here he was prepared to play nice...

Dazai 's blinking expression must have been answer enough, because Malfoy continued with a self-assured nod. 'Good! I 'd like you to meet Crabbe and 'Goyle, ' the boy gestured to the two lumps of sentient meat at his side, 'They ' '

'Wait 'wait 'wait! Draco, you already have subordinates?! ' Dazai shrieked, 'That can 't be. There 's no way you did that faster than me. '

Draco preened at the unintentional compliment, running a slender hand over his tie.

He glared down Crabbe and 'Goyle, expression tight and searching. Only the more Dazai looked, the less he was able to tell the two apart. He made a face of vague comprehension. 'Oh, you didn 't. These are just mindless grunts. I feel better now. '

Crabbe and 'Goyle 'drew themselves together beside Malfoy, looking decently meat-headed and dull. 'Watch your mouth, 'mudblood! ' One of them shouted and at the same time the other intoned, 'Back off, mudblood! '

'You two are the same person. '

Draco 's mouth twitched into a serious-looking scowl immediately. The boy ground his teeth together with enough force that Dazai thought they might just snap. Dazai prepared himself to be thoroughly berated by getting comfortable enough to zone out and stare at the wall for the next ten minutes.

'Can 't you go one day without running your mouth, boy? '

Dazai blinked up into the dull eyes of Professor Snape, forcing himself not to startle in surprise. Before he could reply, the greasy professor handed him a slip of paper.

'I don 't want to see any fighting. Am I understood? '

Across the table from him, Draco shuffled in his seat and grumbled, 'Yes, sir. ' Dazai could see in the boy 's eyes that the message hadn 't quite stuck.

'Yes, sir. ' Dazai echoed.

Evidently satisfied, Snape turned on his heels and left them. Dazai watched him go with a wary eye.

He resisted shooting a final glare at Malfoy once the professor was gone and was mildly amused to see the other boy forcibly clamp down on his tongue instead of bickering further. Dazai turned his focus onto his timetable.

Charms is first, huh?

Dazai turned to Blaise, seeing the other boy inspecting his schedule in favor of the newspaper. Draco also seemed to be reading his with a bit too much scrutiny. A quick glance at Thug 1 and Thug 2 revealed that they might not even know how to read.

All was well-and-good. Dazai was looking forward to learning something before he wrote this whole Hogwarts experience off as a waste of time. After all, he didn 't think Mori would take kindly to him sending a letter '

I don 't have magic, I 'm coming home '

before he 'd even tried something out.

He 'd give his fancy new stick a wave,

then

send the letter.

Speaking of

fancy new sticks

, Dazai thought, feeling around in his book bag. After a moment of searching, his hand bumped up against the sleek, black case sitting in there, unopened. 'Ollivander 'had sent it just days before he had to catch the train, but Dazai had been so busy with mafia work that he never got to look at it. Still, he 'd tossed it into his bag this morning, unsure if they 'd get a chance to do some magic in class.

Draco, Pansy, Blaise, and those other two stood up, and Dazai dropped his hands to his side in anticipation. As all the other students 'around 'them also got to their feet, Dazai began to feel a bit out of place. He 'grabbed 'the strap of his bookbag and rose as well. Malfoy cleared his throat, beaming oddly.

'Well, Dazai, I best be off to class. Do think about that offer of mine. ' He tipped his head back, sneering. 'Crabbe, 'Goyle, let 's go. See you in class,

subordinate.

'

With that, Draco departed from the Great Hall. Dazai watched him go with two empty eyes and casually imagining all the things he could do to break that boy to his will. He 'd start with the fingers, then maybe pull a few teeth '

Blaise manifested beside him with a dull expression on his face. 'Subordinate, huh? You 're really stepping up in the world. '

'I 'm not ' ' Dazai stop-started, feeling his cheeks dust pink, 'If anything he 's

my

subordinate. '

'Does Draco know that? '

'...you 're less nice than I thought. '

Blaise shrugged. Without warning, he took a step past Dazai and continued out of the Great Hall. 'Maybe. Now aren 't you coming to class? We 'll be late if you keep dawdling. '