Sasu-chan [Uchiha Sasuke]: -raises eyebrows at the shimmying-
Naru-chan [Uzumaki Naruto]: -pouts- What’s so great about the next chapter nee-chan?
Nina: -evil glint enters eye- What was that sweet Naru-chan?
Naru-chan: I said what’s so great about th-OMPH!
Sasu-chan: -realized the danger and covered Naru-chan’s mouth before it was too late-
Nina: -looks at Sasu-chan with approval- Good boy. Anyways, the happenings in this chapter are: Remus and the two shinobi meet, and The Trio and Dumbledore (as well as the rest of the school) meet them as well……Other stuff happens.
Naru-chan: -grins at the readers for unknown reasons-
Sasu-chan: -glares because he's Sasuke-
All of the Sasuke fangirls: *SQUEE!!*
Nina: -evil glint enters eye once again- My, my you’re popular Sasu-chan…………
-mysterious kunai appears and author chases Sasu-chan with it-
~30 minutes later, in a booth outside the house, with a huge line of Sasuke fangirls in front of said table~
Me: -has thousands of pictures of Sasuke in front of her- COME GET YOUR SASUKE PICTURES HERE!! $20 bucks a piece!
Naru-chan: -mouth drops open- Why didn’t I ever think of that?! –mutters curses underneath his breath-
Sasu-chan: -sulks and tries to nurse his bruises (heh heh…..you can’t get away from me that easily Sasu-chan! Kukuku…..)-
Kaka-chan [Hatake Kakashi]: -appears and sweatdrops at the lot of us-
--
"Regular speech"
'Thoughts'
Emphasized words
[[Flashback]]
"Kyuubi speaking"
‘Kyuubi thinking'
-UC- = change of scene
(#) = Additional comments at the bottom
Disclaimer: If Naruto belonged to me then Sasuke, the basterd, who never have left and he'd be in love with Naruto. Anyone who suggests that I'm plagiarizing will be fed to Kama-chan.
--
Chapter Two
The Meetings with the Wizards
Keep smiling; it makes everyone wonder what you are up to.
--Unknown
August 31st, 1997; 11:00 pm
The Three Broomsticks, Scotland
Remus Lupin was a patient person.
He had been told for most of his life that "patience was a virtue" and "it would help him later in life" so he always tried to use it. Remus was usually patient with everyone; it was one of his trademark things. However, waiting for the ninjas Albus had sent for was wearing the werewolf’s patience thin.
He was well aware that the ninjas could take several days to get to The Three Broomsticks from their Hidden Villages in Japan. But, when he mentioned this fact to Albus, the old headmaster had smiled (with that –insert swear word here- twinkle in his eye) and told Remus that just because the shinobi of Konohagakure were without magic didn’t mean that they were unable to transport themselves in a day to Scotland. And, when further questioned about what that statement meant, old wizard had just shaken his head and continued to smile. So here he was, waiting for them days before they might actually arrive here.
Sighing he rested his head against his table. The Three Broomsticks was clearing out; more and more people were heading for the door. Rosetta was clearing the tables wearily, and her sparkly high heeled shoes were missing. Instead she padded around in her long pantyhose, a tray carrying the garbage of her customers underneath one arm. Remus sighed again, wondering what he was going to tell Snape in his letter. After all, the Potions Master would be the one to take his place if the ninjas (actually; didn’t Albus call them shinobi?) didn’t arrive by tonight or tomorrow afternoon. Rosetta gave him a quick nod before disappearing behind her counter: Albus had asked for permission for Remus to sit in the bar until Midnight. Remus let out another sigh and closed his eyes for several moments, wondering if this hour would go any faster so he could get to his bed and get some sleep.
Two soft touches to his shoulder alerted him to new people in the room, as did the small voice asking, “You’re Lupin Remus-san ne? Dumbledore-ojii-san said you’d be waiting for us here…..” Startled, he gave a soft jump and glanced upwards in alarm.
Remus stared at the short boy who had spoken, whose wide cerulean eyes were regarding him with a friendly interest. The boy’s hair was a wild mess of untamed golden spikes which gleamed even underneath the bar’s dim lighting. His tanned face was round and smooth except for three deep whisker like marks on each of his cheeks, making an air of mischievousness as well as innocence hang around him. He was slim and petite; however Remus could definitely see the muscles underneath the black cloth and billowing high collared white cloak he was wearing. A sword was strapped to his back and arm guards covered his arms from the back of his hands to his elbows. Underneath one arm the boy carried a triangular white hat with a very wide brim and soft cloth hanging from the sides; the front was turned to reveal a Japanese character written in red. Around his neck there was a deep blue cloth headband, with a strange, leaf-like symbol engraved into its flat silver front.
Another person stood near the beautiful blonde and Remus turned his gaze towards him with a wary, slightly awed eyes. This guy was taller than his companion and had dressed himself in all black. A length of white bandage ran around his thigh, binding a black pouch carrying who knew what inside of it. His hair was a dark shade of black blue, naturally spiking up in the back with neat bangs in the front. Obsidian eyes stared at Remus with an indifferent expression, though the werewolf could tell that this boy was taking in every detail about himself and the bar around him. Behind the boy’s head a black hilt of a sword poked out, and he also carried a headband; this one around his head with a deep scratch along the length of the silver, cutting across the leaf-like symbol.
Remus managed a nod, wondering how in Merlin’s name the ninjas (shinobi?) from the “Hidden Leaf Village” had gotten here so fast. These people could only be them! The Japanese character on the blonde’s hat helped him out there (After all Albus had informed him the ninjas would be Japanese) as well as the headbands, which he had been told all ninjas of Hidden Leaf wore. Plus the blonde had mentioned Albus saying he would be waiting for them. Yes, they must be the ninjas. There was no other explanation for why two beautiful, mysterious people carrying swords and wearing strange, foreign clothes would approach him. Remus, even after reaching this conclusion, still eyed them warily; after all, if they were Japanese why could they speak English so fluently? Did they teach English in the Hidden Leaf?
“Yosh! We’re the shinobi Dumbledore-san asked to come,” said the blonde excitedly. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto and this teme over here is Uchiha Sasuke. Sorry it took so long, but we had to stop for Ramen and Sakura-chan kept going on and on about everything she knew about wizards, plus Tsunade-baa-baa had to find us these bracelets…..” The boy held up a hand to reveal a small golden bracelet on one slim wrist. The dark boy also had one on his arm. Naruto continued on, “Obaa-chan was right after all. Just touch an English guy and you immediately know the language. These things are amazing.”
'Well that somewhat answers one of my questions' Remus thought wryly. 'Now about their names……' He remembered once reading up about Japanese customs as a teenager; he had been curious about other languages at the time. 'Let’s see…….the family name comes before the given name right? So the little blonde would be Naruto Uzumaki and the tall brooding one would be Sasuke Uchiha'.
“Lupin-oji-san?” he heard Naruto ask concernedly.
“Ah! Yes, yes I’m sorry,” Remus laughed uneasily. “It’s just you startled me. We weren’t expecting anyone to come for about two more days. It’s nice to meet you Uzumaki-san.” '–san: an honorific title that would be the equivalent of Mr. and Mrs. in the English language' he recited in his head with an inward self satisfied smile.
The blonde shuddered as he said, “Just Naruto please. And it’s nice to meet ya Oji-san.”
Naruto gave him a wide smile before turning back to Sasuke, leaving Remus to ponder the 'oji-san' he had heard already several times in this conversation. He watched as Naruto gave Sasuke a hard stare before leaping on his companion and complaining loudly, “Saaaasuke-teme!! Say hello to Oji-san! Yer not being very polite!”
Remus stifled a grin at the expression on Sasuke’s face. 'I suppose Naruto must be close to Sasuke to be able to say stuff like that and not get his head blown off' he thought idly, watching with amusement as the small blonde burst into tears. Sasuke, with obvious annoyance, drew his companion of his arm before turning to Remus with cold onyx eyes. The wizard was barely able to suppress a shudder; Snape’s glares were nothing compared to the black haired Uchiha’s.
The boy eyed him for a few moments before saying, with a short bow, "Thank you for agreeing to guide us Remus……"
Naruto immediately stopped crying and grinned up the Uchiha, "See that wasn’t so hard, was it teme?"
Remus could swear he saw Sasuke’s mouth twitch and his eyes sparkle with amusement for a moment before becoming cold and indifferent once again. Naruto turned back to the wizard and opened his mouth to talk again but then stopped short, his eyes becoming glazed. His mouth started to move as mumbled, incoherent words tumbled out. Remus watched him in slight surprise and concern; it looked like the boy was conversing with…..something. But as he and Sasuke were the only ones in the room and those mumbled words were clearly not meant for them……Who could it be? The werewolf’s fair blue eyes narrowed as he tried to figure it out. Quickly he ran through several theories before an idea hit him hard in the head.
Maybe it was…..something inside of Naruto? Like his own wolf? 'That’s what it looks like……' Remus thought with unease. He watched as Naruto snorted and felt his rising confusion go even higher as Sasuke put a hand on his comrade’s shoulder; as if the black haired Uchiha was used to this sort of thing from the blonde. After a few moments of silence (Remus tried to speak up, but was silenced by Sasuke’s eyes. Snape was going to have a fit when he realized that somebody was better at glaring coldly then he was.) Naruto’s eyes cleared and they were once again an unfoggy blue. However now he was scrutinizing Remus with obvious curiosity and….empathy? The wizard fidgeted uncomfortably; Naruto had very unnerving eyes when he stared at you like that. Very, very unnerving eyes.
“Lupin-oji-chan…….” Naruto said with an unusually soft voice that was laced with a surprising amount of empathy, “When did that basterd wolf get inside you?”
Remus nearly fell out of his chair, surprised beyond all measure at that statement. 'Wolf? What? He can’t mean……' But that was the only ‘wolf’ the wizard knew to be inside of him. The wolf that had come to be when Fenrir bite him in his childhood. But how would Naruto be able to know that? He didn’t know anything about wizard’s from what Remus could tell, and few wizards could sense a werewolf after talking to them for a short amount of time. And yet this boy, who had been utterly loud and slightly obnoxious for the first five minutes the sandy haired wizard had met him, was instantly able to tell he had another being living in his body.
“H-How can you know about that?” he choked out, feeling a little shell-shocked.
Raising his eyes he felt uneasy when he noticed Naruto’s eyes were still a soft and understanding blue. Unnerved he glanced at Sasuke who was watching his companion with something akin to weary acceptance. 'Does he know how Naruto did it?' Remus wondered. Remembering how the Uchiha had acted when Naruto was in that strange state, the wizard felt that Sasuke knew exactly what was going on.
“It sucks having a monster inside of you doesn’t it?” the blonde’s voice startled Remus out of his thoughts and he gazed up into weary, serious, and sad blue eyes.
Nearly falling off his chair for the second time, Remus stared at the boy who was offering him a weak grin. 'He speaks as if……' the sandy-haired wizard thought to himself 'as if he had a monster inside him as well. But that’s ridiculous! How could he have…………' The wizard snuck a look at Naruto who was still staring intensely at him with those damn cerulean eyes.
For a few minutes the two people stared at each other, one feeling understanding and the other feeling shock. The black haired boy between them felt the steadily rising tension in the room and was about to interrupt the staring match when Naruto spoke.
“Well let’s get going shall we Remus-oji-chan?” he said, grinning widely in a fox-like fashion to reveal a nice set of white teeth.
Remus, too shell-shocked to notice the slightly more intimate use of his name, nodded distractedly before walking out of the room. Sasuke noticed however and narrowed his eyes at his partner. Naruto’s own eyes weren’t sparkling like they always did when he really, truly smiled; making the ANBU captain more than fairly suspicious that Rokudaime was hiding his sadness behind a smile, once again. However he hid his annoyance and followed Naruto silently out of the room, making a note to talk to the dobe about it later on in private. (1)
-UC-
Remus kept stealing glances at he boys as they all sat down in the carriage that were currently carrying over Hogwarts Black Lake. Hagrid was still chasing the Threstals around the Forest, so Albus had magicked a carriage to carry him and the ninjas to Hogwarts. The vehicle moved slowly, powered only by Dumbledore’s strong magic. It was slightly unnerving to be floating above the Black Lake (especially knowing what was in the lake) but the wizard instead focused at the task at hand.
Observing the two ninjas sitting across from him Remus started to notice the black haired Sasuke sneak several looks at his companion, eyes holding emotions that drifted from annoyance to slight concern. The werewolf was faintly surprised that this boy, who had seemed not so outgoing to begin with, was suddenly letting his emotions to flicker across his face. 'But' he thought with a near sigh 'this Naruto seems to have that affect on people'. The werewolf allowed his thoughts to drift back to the semi-serious scene at The Three Broomsticks as it had been for the past half-hour in this carriage.
[[“It sucks having a monster inside of you doesn’t it?”]]
Frowning Remus wondered for the fiftieth time what the small boy had been talking about. The blonde seemed perfectly happy right now; he was chattering the ear off of the once again stoic Uchiha, a giant smile on his face. He didn’t act like a person in suffering; he barely acted as if he had seen pain at all. It was strange, to say the least.
'But……' A small voice whispered in the back of Remus’ mind 'what was that face in The Three Broomsticks? If the kid was really so happy-go-lucky he shouldn’t be able to make a face like that……' Quickly he pushed all of these thoughts of his mind. 'Of course the boy is happy he told himself he’s just a kid after all'.
Remus was startled out of his thoughts when Naruto spoke, “Aw, man this thing is going slow. Hey Sasuke-teme; how ‘bout we take the faster route?”
The little blonde turned to his companion with a grin, which Sasuke replied to with his own smirk and a nod. Confused, Remus watched as the two stood and made their way to the carriage doors. He was about to speak against whatever they were planning to do, but Naruto flung the door open and jumped outside before he could even open his mouth. The wizard jumped up as soon as that happened, expecting to hear a splash and cries for help.
Instead he was faced with the sight of a perfectly fine Naruto standing on the surface of the water as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
Remus gaped as he wondered how much these ninjas could do.
Sasuke (noticing his amazement) said in a low tone, “We can stay above water by focusing Chakra into our feet. It’s something we learned to do at an early age, so we can do it without thinking now. The dobe’s especially good at it because he finally got excellent Chakra control.”
However this added to the questions swirling around in Remus’ brain; what was Chakra? How else could they use it? What did dobe mean? How early on did they learn to do that? And hey; was the pride in Sasuke's tone when he talked about Naruto's Chakra control?
Sasuke, silent once again, moved around the gaping wizard and joined his companion on the surface of the Black Lake. He turned to look at Naruto, noticing the mask of innocence about the kitsune’s features, which covered a layer of amusement at Remus’ awe. Concealing his grin (Uchiha’s never grinned; it was improper after all), Sasuke raised an eyebrow in a silent question.
“How ‘bout a race teme?” Naruto turned to him with his own eyebrow raised.
The Uchiha merely smirked (2) and nodded, before readying himself. Naruto gave a grin of his own before turning to face the shore where the large shape of a castle could be seen against the dark skyline. He scanned the shoreline and instantly his eyes narrowed and a frown appeared on his face. Without turning to look at Sasuke, Naruto pointed towards the sloping coastline of the lake.
“Sorry Sasuke, that race’ll have to wait. It seems we have a welcoming party.”
Sasuke, also seeing the small, nearly invisible wizened person on the edge of the Black Lake merely nodded. Then he let his grin unfold on his face (to hell with the rules!); it would be interesting to see the old man’s reaction to the dobe’s abilities. Naruto was Hokage after all; and he didn't get to use his abilities often, so he'd probably show off to their host for entertainment. Sasuke watched the dobe give him a wave over his shoulder (still without looking back) and focus his chakra.
And then Naruto was gone.
-UC-
Albus Dumbledore watched with amusement as a small blonde figure hurtled out of the carriage doors and stood on the surface of his lake as if it was as easy as pie. He had seen Sarutobi do that trick once in a while; apparently he wasn’t the only one who could do it. The blonde figure was followed by a taller person dressed all in black who jumped out at a much more leisurely pace than his companion. Albus watched them with curiosity, wondering what kind of shinobi Sarutobi could have sent, and what news of Konohagakure they would have for him. His eyes went to the grass as he pondered the possibility of Sarutobi being dead, and a new Hokage. The letter he had received a half-hour ago hadn't given him any details; it had only contained the names of the shinobi coming and their physical descriptions.
When he looked up again, Albus blinked with surprise and dismay. Where had that small blonde fellow disappeared to?! Quickly he examined the gentle lawns around him for any hint of the shinobi. His companion was still standing on the water, his body obviously relaxed. So the blonde hadn’t been kidnapped or anything such as that……If that was the case where was he?! The old headmaster’s eyes caught a flash of gold coming towards him and instantly stiffened.
And then he was standing in front of Albus, serious blue eyes regarding him utmost curiosity.
Albus, startled, took a step back from the small figure in front of him with a sense of respect towards the blonde’s speed. If it hadn’t been for his bright hair, he would have never seen the child coming. 'No wonder he was sent' the wizard thought 'he is obviously talented in speed, and who knows what else'.
“Dumbledore-ojii-san?” the boy asked quietly.
Albus nodded and gave the boy (Uzumaki Naruto wasn't it?) one of his famous, twinkle eyed smiles. Naruto smiled back, his own grin wide and fox-like, filled with mischief. However, after a few moments, the grin slid off his face and a serious mask was put into place as he regarded Albus with an air of grimness. The old wizard was surprised at the change; he had rarely seen anyone change moods so quickly.
"Dumbledore-ojii-san," Naruto started, "we need to talk. As soon as possible, and in a place where we won't be overheard."
Albus nodded and sent a pointed glance at the black haired boy (Uchiha Sasuke right?) who was still standing on the lake's surface, watching their exchange. Naruto turned and gave an impatient sigh, muttering something under his breath about stupid teme's. Quickly the blonde gave off a clear, high whistle; three long notes and two shorter ones. The Uchiha instantly disappeared, landing next to his companion in a few seconds. Albus inwardly smiled; they were very good shinobi as far as he had seen, skilled in both speed and stealth as well as their chakra ability, if the trick on the lake was anything to go by.
"Will you both follow me to my office?" he asked, giving them a pleasant, twinkle eyed smile.
Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other before giving a simultaneous nod. Albus smiled again, turned, and walked away swiftly, heading towards his office with surprising speed for someone his age.
-UC-
Albus sat down easily in the chair behind his desk, before motioning Sasuke and Naruto to sit in the two chairs across from him. Naruto instantly took a seat, while Sasuke remained standing, an impassive look on his face. The old wizard let out a quiet sigh before peering out at the blonde Uzumaki with expectant eyes.
Naruto gave a sigh of his own before leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful look his face, as if he was unsure of how to start. After a few moments of silence, the blonde leaned forward again, opening his previously closed eyes to give Albus one of the most thoughtful eyes he had seen in quite a long while.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," he started, "but I am also known as Rokudaime Hokage. This is Uchiha Sasuke, head of our ANBU forces. Our Jounin and the rest of the ANBU squads were in missions and needed to protect Konoha, so we're all you're gonna get Dumbledore-ojii-san. Sandaime did not send us however. He's been dead for five to six years."
Albus gave Naruto a faintly puzzled look, "Sandaime?"
Sasuke answered his question (to Albus' surprise; he had begun to think the Uchiha was mute), "Sarutobi was known as Sandaime Hokage, the third leader of Konoha. Weren't you aware of his status?"
Albus peered thoughtfully into space for a few moments, reflecting back to those long years in the past when he and Sarutobi-kun had been comrades in battle. "He mentioned the position of Hokage," the wizard started slowly. "But I don't believe he ever admitted to being the one to fill that seat. We never talked after the war had ended, so I never knew. I sent the letter to him in hopes that he could arrange for us to have some shinobi escorts. I'm afraid I don't know much about your village systems. Sarutobi-kun is dead then?"
Naruto nodded in confirmation, and Albus gave him an interested look, "Then you would be his successor? You mentioned being Rokudaime Hokage."
The little blonde quickly shook his head and explained, "There was another Hokage before me; Tsunade-baabaa, Godaime Hokage. She retired last year and nominated me as her successor. The council agreed mostly because Baa-chan is very forceful."
Now the older wizard leaned forward in his chair, questions racing across his mind. However he only voice one; the most important one as it was.
"Hokage is the head position is it not? Sarutobi-kun mentioned that being Hokage……meant you had to protect your entire village and run it, correct?" Both shinobi nodded. "If that's so Naruto…..Then why are you here now instead of with your village. Certainty you could have waited until one of your better shinobi had come back from their missions and appointed the task to them?"
Naruto, to Albus' surprise, gave a loud, weary sigh and leaned back in his chair as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. "Why does everyone always ask that question? Do you know almighty Sasuke-teme?" he turned to his companion with a hopeful look that quickly turned to despair as Sasuke merely stared at him with annoyance. Rubbing his forehead in a tired fashion, Naruto sat up a little straighter and opened his eyes fully, giving Albus a solemn stare.
"Dumbledore-ojii-san," the little boy started, "let me ask you a question. If Konoha was under attack from a bad guy who was out to destroy you as soon as he had finished with us and we needed your help, and you had no available wizards to go, would you – you yourself, in person - go to help us?" Without waiting for a response, Naruto continued. "My Jounin and ANBU forces are needed elsewhere; I'm also well aware of the fact that I could have waited for a shinobi to show up after he had finished a mission. But I was afraid that you might have believed us to have rejected your offer if we did not come to your school close to the chosen date, and no shinobi were due back for at least three more weeks. I had no way of contacting you, so that wasn't an option. Sasuke was the only available ANBU I had, and he can't guard your castle day and night for 10 months by himself. I thought about this for a while before I got the idea that I might come with him. Tsunade-baabaa is still alive (God knows how) and she's done this Hokage thing before. The village can manage without me for a little while at least."
"Besides," Naruto leaned even more forward, as if he was telling a secret, "you mention that this Voldie crackpot," Albus covered his laugh with a cough (how would Tom react to being called 'Voldie crackpot'?), "might be a threat to Konoha's security. If your wizards fail Dumbledore-ojii-san, than Voldie may come after us next, and my people's lives will be put in danger. If it was anything less than that, I promise you that I would not be sitting in your office right now, discussing why I decided to come to Scotland. Anyways," Naruto gave Sasuke a sideways glance and smiled widely, "Sasuke's gonna need all the help he can get."
Sasuke scowled at his companion and Naruto answered with one of his own fox-like grins. Albus watched them in amusement and slight puzzlement; he had seen the soft gleams of respect and acknowledgement in their eyes as they looked at each other and yet here they were, acting like two school boy rivals. The old wizard felt curiosity come over him and longed to ask what kind of relationship they had…….but bit his tongue. Now was not the time to pry into his guest's lives.
"Dumbledore-ojii-san?" Albus was pulled out of his thoughts by Naruto's voice and turned to look at the small blonde. "Is there anything else you need, or can we go to wherever we're staying?"
Albus sighed, "Actually Naruto, there is something else I would request of you. Tomorrow our students will arrive, on a train coming from London. We usually have a feast, a sort of reunion ceremony if you will, and I would like you both to be there so I can introduce you. The students know Voldemort is back, and I'm sure some of them are uneasy; I think knowing there will be extra guards may help them feel more secure. The feast is at 7:00. Do you think you could both show up?"
Naruto and Sasuke traded looks, and then nodded simultaneously. Albus felt relieved; he couldn't have forced them to come, and this would make his job of explaining the shinobi to his students much easier.
"Well then!" clapping his hands together, Albus stood up from his chair and moved around his desk. "Shall I show you to where you'll be staying?"
-UC-
Harry Potter not a having a good day.
First of all; Ron and Hermione were starting to make him sick with all the love-talk. His best friends had (finally!) gotten themselves together during the last week of summer, only a few days before they had to leave for Hogwarts. And Harry was happy for them; he really was. But there are only so much goo-goo eyes and pet names that a single guy can take before he starts to go slightly insane.
The next problem on 'Harry Potter's List of Doom' was the fact that he had broken his relationship with Ginny Weasley only two weeks earlier, and the silly girl was still avoiding him. He loved Ginny; but now instead of a girlfriend all he could see was a sister and a close friend. It was unnerving and he couldn't really pinpoint when it had began, but when he started to feel guilt unravel in his stomach when he kissed her he had decided to call a halt to their relationship. At least until he could sort out his feelings for the violent redhead.
The third problem; it was godamned raining outside.
……Okay, so maybe he was fishing for problems! Everyone needed some brooding time right?! So what if he was trying to come up with reasons to brood, if only to distract himself from the soft sounds of kissing nearby.
Harry ran a hand through his already mussed up black hair and sighed wearily. At least they were close to Hogwarts where he wasn't stuck with Hermione and Ron in such close quarters all the time, and hopefully they would go off and be love-struck teenagers somewhere far away from him.
The door to their compartment slid open and Harry had never felt so relieved to see Draco Malfoy's pompous face before in his life.
"Potter," Malfoy said, strangely without a sneer and with a strange look in his eye for a few moments. Then his usual expression flared up and Harry had to wonder what the hell that was all about. Was everyone at Hogwarts going crazy this year, or was it just him?
"Malfoy," Harry added his own sneer to this, his eyes narrowing at the pale haired boy before him.
For a few moments they stayed like that; both of them sneering for all their worth, tension crackling and thickening the air until it was hard to breathe. Harry, out of the corner of his eye, could see Hermione wince and Ron clutch at his head, for once not joining the fray and growling at Malfoy.
Malfoy glared.
Harry glared back.
And the uncomfortable silence continued.
Malfoy glared one last time before giving a 'humph!' and stomping out the door without even a 'Scarhead', 'Weasel', or 'Mudblood'. 'Not that I mind….' Harry thought, watching with astonishment as the door closed shut behind his arch-nemesis 'but it seems rather odd, especially for Malfoy. I wonder if he's planning something'.
Shaking his head, Harry turned to the two other shocked members of his compartment and gave a rueful smile. At least the blonde Slytherin was good for something. Malfoy always had a way to shut people up, no matter if he said anything or not.
"We should get changed," Harry said after a few moments. "We should be coming to Hogwarts soon."
-UC-
Harry entered the Great Hall with the rest of the Seventh Years, feeling slightly lonely as he watched Hermione giggle at one of Ron's jokes. The two lovebirds probably didn't mean to leave him out, but he still felt like they were in their own world that he could never enter. Harry sighed and sat across from his friends, next to Seamus, Dean, and Neville. 'No use worrying about it' he thought, staring at the tabletop moodily.
"Hey!" Ron's exclamation of surprise brought the green-eyed Gryffindor out of his brooding. "What's with those weird looking people by Dumbledore?"
Harry raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the staff table, then whipped his head around for a full on stare. There were two very strange people standing behind his old Headmaster. One was tall with duck-butt black hair and a Raven mask covering his face, dressed in black. The other was a little shorter than his companion with bright blonde hair, tan skin, and ceruluean eyes. He was covered with a long white coat and had dark clothes on beneath it. On top of his head there was a strange white pointed hat that had soft cloth on the sides.
"Dunno," Harry said, eyeing the men cautiously. "The blondie doesn't seem to be much older than us, and that weird guy has that face-mask so you just can't tell. I wonder what they're doing here?"
Hermione's eyes changed to what Ron called her "studious gaze". "They're obviously very important. One of them could be the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, but then wouldn't he be sitting with the rest of the teachers? And those clothes remind me of Muggles, not Wizards."
Her lecture was cut off by the arrival of McGonagall and beginning of the Sorting. Harry kept his eyes on the two mysterious strangers during the ceremony, only turning away when his stare was met with a pair of bright blue eyes.
After the last girl was sorted (Zeel Kayla: Hufflepuff!), Dumbledore stood up and greeted his audience with one of his well-known twinkle-eyed smiles. "Hello and welcome to another year at Hogwarts, my dear students! I know that some of you are anxious to begin the feast," here a look was sent at Ron, who blushed a deep red. "But I ask you to reign yourselves in for a moment as I give a rather important announcement. I'm sure some of you have noticed the two men behind me," he gestured to blondie and duck-butt, "as they are rather hard to miss. As for why they are here; these two are Ninja from a faraway country who have come to watch over our school in case of attacks from Death Eaters."
Here a gasp rose from the ranks of the students. Dumbledore merely chuckled and continued on, "I would like them to introduce themselves. Uchiha-san, if you please?"
The man with the face-mask came forward and said – in a deep voice that sent many girls hearts a-thumping, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. It is my honor to assist the students of Hogwarts."
The other man, the blonde, rolled his eyes and bounced up besides his companion, giving the audience a full-blown, fox-like grin that made him look like his was 12 years old.
"Hey, hey! My name's Naruto Uzumaki! Don't mind this grouch Uchiha, he's just plain boring!" the blonde exclaimed, throwing an arm around the duck-butt's (Sasuke? Uchiha?) shoulder. His 'plain boring' companion turned his head, and Harry got the funniest feeling that the man was giving the blonde an annoyed look.
Dumbledore stepped in with a smile, "During the day our allies will be patrolling the halls, so you may see them around the school. Please do not be alarmed, as they are only here to help. Now! Please have an excellent feast. Spread."
Harry ignored his food and his friends that were hurriedly stuffing their faces in, in favor of watching the ninja approach Dumbledore about something and than disappear into thin air. Guessing from the gasps he had heard from around the room, the Raven wasn't the only one to notice the stunning escape. Harry frowned, quietly wondering why such strange looking people would appear out of nowhere and help them against Voldemort. It made absolutely no sense…..
He sighed and turned to his food. There was only so much time you could brood when faced with Hogwarts feasts after all.
A.N. Well, I'll end it there. Next chapter is the two Konoha shinobi meeting the Hogwarts Trio, and maybe some of Malfoy. Sorry this is kinda short, and that I didn't get it out sooner!
(1). I wanted to get a look at Naru's conversations with Kyuu-chan from an outside view. Trust me, this scene was extremely hard to write, especially from Remus' point of view.
(2). My, my there's a lotta smirking going on here isn't there?
The Idiots Guide to the Japanese Language (sorta):
Teme: Basterd; Naru's nickname for Sasu.
Baa-chan: A term used for woman older than 50, something like Grandma, Grandmother, Old Lady, Old Woman ect.
Baabaa: A less formal use of 'Baa-chan', it means something along the lines of Granny.
Ne: At the end of the sentence it's something like 'Correct?' or 'right?', and at the beginning it's used as a word to get your attention like 'hey'.
Ojii-san: A term used for men older than 50; something like Grandfather, Grandpa, Gramps, or Old Man.
Oji-san: A term used for men older than 25 or so; means something like Uncle.
Ano: Filler word, something like 'um' in English
Kitsune: Fox
Rokudaime: The Sixth
Dobe: Dead Last, Moron, Idiot, ect. Sasu's nickname for Naru
-san: Honorific, something equivalent to 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' in English.
-chan: Honorific, term used for girl friends and children, or to make something sound cute.
KC: Yatta! The next chapter is finally finished! I am awesome!
Naru-chan [Uzumaki Naruto]: -whines- Why'd ya have to make me all serious nee-chan? I'm all solemn and crap……
KC: -rolls eyes- 'Cause you're Rokudaime baka, so now you hafta be serious.
Sasu-chan [Uchiha Sasuke]: -glares- Duck-butt hair……?
KC: -swallows nervously- Ya hafta admit Sasu-chan……It does sorta look like a duck's behind with it being all sticky uppy and all……
Kaka-chan [Hatake Kakashi]: -giggle-
Saku-chan [Haruno Sakura]: -roars- Take that back!! How dare you insult Sasuke-kun's hair!!
KC: -rolls eyes- Oh dear. Ah well, readers please review as I try to calm down a pissed off fangirl. Next chapter will be up sooner or later.