Naruto 1. Prologue: Settling In

**Summary: **(HPxNaruto) Is it a new demon? One of Voldemort's creations? Whatever it is, it wants Harry dead. Magic is useless against it, so Dumbledore decides to bring in some shinobi and kunoichi to solve the problem…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

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"A basilisk maybe?"

"No, Harry would've heard it talking for sure then."

"Well, what do you suppose it would be?"

"I would ask Dolores Umbridge," at this, the woman's lip tightened, "but she merely simpered an answer that was quite vague and meaningless."

A muffled sigh was heard.

"Four students are already in the hospital wing. Poppy is having no success so far trying to revive them completely yet, although she and Severus have brewed a potion allowing them to wake up for approximately five minutes before going back into coma."

"Did any of them say what the beast looked like?"

"The answer varied. Miss Brown from Gryffindor described it as a monstrously huge horse. Miss Zeller from Hufflepuff mentioned a large, towering bear. Mr. Baddock from Slytherin only saw its eyes which, according to him, were a glowing green."

"And the last student?"

"She hasn't been able to utter a word."

A stir of murmurs circled around the room, put out harshly by a woman's stern voice.

"Albus, what should we do?"

The wise, yet old wizard sat at his desk, his crinkled face staring openly at his colleagues. His pale blue eyes did not twinkle behind his half – moon glasses. His long, white beard was tucked neatly on his dark blue clothed lap. On his head sat a tilting, matching pointed hat.

"You have said, Minerva, that the students have described this creature," a teacher interrupted.

"Yes-"

"Mr. Baddock and Miss Brown have been taught to defend themselves; did they not try to fend the beast off?" Another teacher piped up, clearly confused.

"Well," Minerva McGonagall's tight, stern face held uncertainty. "Miss Brown said that she tried a Stunning spell on it, but it merely slid off, leaving the creature unaffected."

The murmurs rose again, this time louder. Hushed whispers and shocked exclamations were heard as the talking circulated throughout the room.

"Well," Albus Dumbledore finally spoke up, his normally kindly voice grave, "It would seem that this creature is immune to magic."

Shocked gasps and babbled denials popped up from the surrounding teachers.

"Impossible…"

"A creature immune to magic?"

"Seems like it."

"Shouldn't the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher handle this?"

"Dolores Umbridge? That bat handle this?"

"Good point…"

"What do we do?" Minerva McGonagall repeated to the headmaster.

Dumbledore sighed as he closed his tired eyes, thinking. A quiet hum filled the room, the teachers whispering nervously among themselves. After a moment, Dumbledore opened his eyes again, his decision holding an iron will in them.

"It would seem that our best choice is to ask help from the Hidden Leaf Village in Japan. I will request some of their shinobi assistance."

"Dumbledore," a teacher spoke up confusedly, "how will these people help? Us wizards can't even harm this beast."

"Ah, but these shinobi don't use magic," Dumbledore explained mildly, "they use chakra. Now, I will inform everyone once I get an answer from them after I send a letter to their Hokage-" at this, most teachers' faces drew back at the unfamiliar word, "-but in the meantime, you should rest up and continue with planning your lessons. Good night."

The teachers filed out of Dumbledore's office, whispering and murmuring to each other.

Dumbledore closed his eyes again, thinking more deeply into the matter.

A creature immune to magic?

Impossible.

But things that are supposedly impossible have a habit of making themselves possible.

Four people already in the hospital wing, still being treated by Poppy Pomfrey and Severus Snape. Their parents were frantic, especially since now that it was summer where all of the students are supposed to have gone home already.

It was near the last week of school the creature struck.

Dumbledore sighed. No doubt Voldemort would know something about this. Sooner or later, the powerful dark wizard would probably try to recruit this strange beast in his drive to kill Harry Potter.

_We'll just have to fight fire with fire._

But first, a letter to the Hokage was in order…

---

"A political statement?" Tsunade stared blankly at the Hyuuga, "Where on earth will you manage that?"

"I don't know," Hinata explained patiently to the Godaime, "Which is why I'm asking if you know anywhere other than the other villages where I can make a political statement, with me representing the Hyuuga clan."

Tsunade frowned and tapped her fingers on her desk. Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, came over with many scrolls overflowing her arms.

"Tsunade – sama, these mission scrolls have to be sorted and handed to the mission desk by tomorrow," a muffled voice came from behind the mountain of scrolls. Tsunade stopped drumming and fingers and stared wide – eyed at the enormous pile.

"Why couldn't you give these to me sooner?" Tsunade moaned, her face resembling something that oddly looked like a pout and a frown.

"You were drunk," her assistant stated bluntly, "the most you would've done with these would be to toss them out of the window."

Tsunade glared at the deposited scrolls, which were now lying on her desk before returning her gaze back at the amused Hinata.

"Well, I don't know any-"

A soft tapping sound interrupted Tsunade (who looked like she was getting a massive headache) and Hinata peered around the Hokage to take a look.

A brown owl with speckled white feathers was patiently tapping the windowpane with its beak. That would've been odd enough (as owls are hardly the native animal to Konoha) but there was a rather large, brown packaged letter tied to one of its legs.

"What…?" apparently, the Hokage was just as perplexed as Hinata was at the owl and the rather large letter. Tsunade reached over and propped open the window, the owl sailing gracefully into the room. It landed neatly on one of the many scrolls on Tsunade's desk and held out its leg to her.

The busty woman untied the letter and a look of recognition dawned on her feature as she recognized the seal.

"Hinata, can you wait outside for a moment please? I'll send Shizune for you in a moment."

Apparently, this letter was of utmost importance. The jounin nodded and quietly left the room, making her way to one of the chairs outside of the Hokage's office.

_To: Tsunade, Godaime of Hidden Leaf Village,_

_My name is Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Perhaps you may have heard of me from the Sandaime, as I was a rather close friend of his. My sincerest regrets and apologies to his passing. _

_To get straight to the point, there is a creature that is terrorizing our school, already immobilizing four of our students unconscious. From the brief time we were able to revive them, it has been concluded that magic cannot work against this beast._

_Which brings to your attention the reason why I'm writing to you. I ask if you may help out an old friend in this time of need. I would like eight of your top shinobi to come and assist us in this mystery. If you cannot spare that many, then that is fine. _

_Please reply back with this owl as soon as possible. _

_With many thanks, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Tsunade sighed. _Great, I'm definitely going to get a headache by the end of the day…_

She had of course, heard of this Dumbledore from the Sandaime when he had still been alive. It was a brief mentioning, but under more study, Tsunade had gathered enough information to confirm that he was one of the most powerful wizards in the wizarding community; and that such a thing _did_ exist.

"Well, well…" Tsunade murmured, closing her eyes. Konoha had hit a lull, and most missions could be accomplished by genin or chuunin. She could spare a couple of ANBU and jounin for this mission. Then she remembered one of the Sandaime's words.

"_He's a dear old friend of mine, who gave everything and asked for nothing. If he does request something, it would be of utmost importance._"

She nodded to herself. She would send some ANBU and jounin members to help Dumbledore.

_Now, who to send?_

Shikamaru obviously. Brains would be needed for this kind of mission – and he _was_ in ANBU. Then Ino should go, as she was head of the interrogation department for ANBU; if they needed any information out of anyone, Ino could talk it out of them.

Sakura, medical specialist and ANBU would be a good choice to send for brains and healing emergencies. Sasuke and Naruto, both ANBU captains and top shinobi of the village, would be the ideal choice due to their strengths.

_Five down, three to go._

Neji would be another obvious choice, if not only for his quick mind. Another ANBU captain, he would be strong and sensible and Tenten, weapon specialist of the ANBU would create the perfect team between them for fights.

_That leaves one more…_

Hinata? No, she had that 'political statement' thing for the Hyuuga to deal with. Lee? Tsunade snorted. He'd probably blind everyone with that smile of his. Kiba was away on a mission, same with Shino.

Kakashi was teaching a new team of chuunin, same with Kurenai. Asuma was on a solo mission and Gai…well, that would be a little disastrous if he went.

Tsunade sighed. What the hell, she'll just have to send Hinata.

_Gives her a break from all that Hyuuga political crap too…_

Quickly writing a short, yet neat and precise reply letter, Tsunade re-tied the letter back on the owl's leg and watched as the bird soared out of the still open window and out of sight.

Taking a swig of sake to help clear her mind, the Godaime summoned a chuunin to gather Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Tenten and Sakura. Then she sent Shizune to fetch Hinata.

_I wonder how long it takes for the letter to reach the recipient…._

A gentle knock accompanied by the swinging of the door announced Hinata's arrival.

"Perfect. Hinata, take a seat while the others arrive. I have a mission for you guys," Tsunade took another swig of her sake, sighing blissfully as the alcohol slipped down her throat.

"A mission? But Tsunade – sama, what about-" Hinata started to protest. Dating Naruto, the future Hokage and being leader of the Hyuuga clan certainly attributed to her show of backbone.

"It's an important one," Tsunade explained patiently, "and I'm sure I can fit your political stuff in between."

There was a pop and two people appeared in the room. Tenten, her hair in her usual twin buns and wearing her training outfit, was looking dishevelled and out of breathe. Neji looked slightly ruffled, but otherwise calm.

"You sent for us?" the prodigy asked simply.

"Yeah. Wait a moment for everyone else to arrive."

Tenten nodded. It was a mission then, a big one by the looks of it. She sighed happily; things were getting boring around here with no fun missions to do. She leaned against the wall and took out her kodachi and a cleaning cloth, starting to clean her weapon. Neji leaned against the wall next to her, his face stoically blank.

A moment later, there was another pop and the members of Team 7 appeared.

"NEH, NEH, TSUNADE – BAACHAN, YOU COULDN'T HAVE WAITED UNTIL I FINISHED MY RAMEN?" a distressed and hyperactive Naruto wailed.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Tsunade fired up, smacking her half – empty sake bottle on her desk.

"Urasai dobe," the raven haired ANBU captain muttered, his dark eyes narrowing at his best friend.

"Sasuke – teme," the blond returned automatically.

The pink haired medic that stood between them sighed and rubbed her temples.

"How come I always get stuck with the idiots?" Sakura murmured to the ceiling. Then looking back down at her previous sensei, she added, "Mission?"

Tsunade nodded. She opened her mouth to say something but was rudely interrupted by the door banging loudly open to reveal a rather irritated blonde and a slightly exasperated, laid back male behind her.

"Troublesome ass," Ino muttered darkly to Shikamaru. The spiky – haired man just gave a bored look to her and shrugged.

"I wasn't the one who asked Kakashi why he read those books."

"I'm going to be traumatized for life!" Ino wailed, shuddering from the memory of the brief glances she caught when the jounin had showed her the book.

Naruto snickered, "You asked the pervert what the book was about? Well, since you were stupid to ask him about it in the first place, I think you got the right punishment."

"Why you-" Ino flared up.

"SHUT UP!" the Godaime roared. Instantly, silence fell on all of the occupants in the room. "You guys are all ANBU or jounin! ACT YOUR AGE!"

Ino glared murderously at the smirking Naruto before plopping herself in one of the chairs. Shikamaru just shook his head as he stood, relaxed by the wall. Team 7 moved to the side so everyone could see Tsunade.

"Ok, as I was saying-"

But as fate would have it, she was rudely interrupted yet again.

Another owl was tapping against the window – _That was fast_ – and was holding a thin, cream papered enveloped.

Shizune hurriedly opened the window for Tsunade (who had become so frustrated that she had downed the rest of her sake in one gulp) and admitted the owl in, who hooted in thanks.

Tsunade messily untied the letter from the tawny owl (who hooted with a baleful expression as Tsunade kept poking him with her shaky fingers) and opened the cream envelope.

_To Tsunade,_

_My deepest thanks in your acceptance to our ask of help. If you don't mind, I'll be showing up in about thirty minutes to discuss more details with you. _

_With thanks, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

"So eccentric…" Tsuande mumbled, the effects of the sake seeping into her mind.

"Tsunade, the mission," Tenten reminded the Hokage absently; she was still polishing her kodachi. _Damn stains…_

"Right," the blonde woman snapped to attention once more, "Ok, I'm assigning all of you guys on an A – rank mission."

"FINALLY! Some action!" Naruto yelled. Despite the fact that he was 23 years old, he still acted like an eight – year old…

"SHUT UP!" the woman roared again. Honestly, how had she put up with him all of these years? "As I was saying, you guys will be travelling to England, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-"

"Eh? What's that?" Naruto interrupted yet again. He yelped as a shuriken came whizzing by his face.

"Naruto, let her finish," Neji said.

"Thank you Neji. Yes, there is magic. The headmaster of this school should be coming in around 25 minutes to explain the details, but from what I've gathered, you have to protect the school from this beast which is apparently immune to magic."

"How long is the mission?" Shikamaru asked.

"The whole school year."

"Fantabulous," Sakura muttered, "We're hired bodyguards?"

"Precisely. Neji's team captain and Sasuke and Naruto, you're both co – captain. Oh yes! Before I forget, do all of you know how to speak English?"

Hinata and Neji gave affirmative nods, no surprise since they had to deal with people from all over the place as part of a prestigious clan. Sakura and Shikamaru nodded as well. They knew just because they were smart.

"I only know the basics and a bit more," Sasuke muttered, displeased that the Hyuuga had bested him once again.

"I know English, but my grammar's horrible," Tenten piped up. At some of the inquiring looks, she explained, "I had to go on a mission where my escort talked in English. After that, the knowledge just kinda stuck."

"I don't know much," Ino shrugged, "just the barest basics."

All eyes turned to Naruto.

"Eh heh…" Naruto scratched his head, "No one said I had to learn another language!"

"Well, better start learning," Tsunade conjured up a scroll from nowhere and threw it to Naruto who caught it with ease. Naruto sighed, looking dejectedly at the large scroll.

"Did they say what kind of creature this was?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not really; no details or information was given but it sounds unknown," Tsunade concluded.

"How troublesome…"

There was an ear-splitting _crack_ and everyone except Shizune and Tsunade jumped into action.

Tenten had the kodachi held out defensively in front of her and both Hinata and Neji had activated their Byakugan. Sasuke's Sharingan was also activated and Naruto held out his katana defensively as well. Ino and Shikamaru were in a stiff defensive position, ready to attack if necessary. Sakura had drawn her senbon needles coated in a strong sleeping potion.

"Hm, it seems that Apparating halfway across the world took less time than I thought," an extremely old man murmured to himself. The oddest part about him was his appearance; wearing robes – _or was it a dress?_ –of violet with gold stars and a matching hat was certainly an odd sight to see.

"Dumbledore – san," Tsunade greeted formally from her desk.

"Tsunade – sama," Dumbledore greeted back in perfect Japanese, "I trust these are the people whom you've assigned to this mission?"

"Yes. Everyone, this is Albus Dumbledore, your client. Dumbledore – san, I have briefed them on the basics already."

"Ah, that will make explaining easier," his kind voice prompted the ninja to put their weapons away and relax again.

With a prompt nod from Tsunade, the ninja introduced themselves.

"Tenten."

"Hyuuga Neji."

"Hyuuga Hinata."

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Haruno Sakura."

"Yamanaka Ino."

"Nara Shikamaru."

"Well, as you already know, my name is Albus Dumbledore. I am a wizard and the headmaster of Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. He took out his wand and after giving it a small flick, a cushy, blue chair appeared from nowhere to settle behind the wizard. If the ninja were surprised, they gave no indication of it except for Naruto whose blue eyes opened wide at the sight.

"Would you like some refreshments? This might take a while," Dumbledore didn't wait for an answer. With another flick, a table adorned with pastries and drinks appeared and a bottle of sake for Tsunade appeared as well.

"Whoa…" Ino murmured as she picked up a pastry. It was solid and delicious; hard to believe that he had conjured them up from seemingly nowhere.

"Perhaps you should give them more detail about the things that they're going to deal with," Tsunade suggested, her tone smooth and professional although her eyes gleamed happily at the sight of the sake bottle.

Dumbledore nodded. "Although I don't exactly know the being that you're going to be dealing with, I can give you a brief description of it. The students that it attacked claimed that it was a horse or a bear with green eyes. From the different animals, I gather that this might be a shape shifter that we're dealing with. That's all the information that we have been able to coax out of the three students that were able to speak; the fourth is in great shock and unable to speak."

"How were the students attacked?" Shikamaru asked.

"We do not know at the moment, but when we found them, they had expressions of utter terror on their face. They didn't seem to be moving or even breathing, but Poppy Pomfrey – the school nurse – managed to stabilize them. We don't know how long the effects last though."

The ninja exchanged looks.

_Demon…?_

"It started to attack during the last week of school," Dumbledore continued, apparently unaware of the exchange of looks.

"Wait, wouldn't you have qualified teachers of spellcasters or whatnot to get rid of this thing?" Sakura interrupted politely, "I was reading some of the scrolls in Tsunade – sensei's library and I came across your wizarding society. You have something called Aurors, do you not?"

"True, we do but the Ministry of Magic is most reluctant to part with their Aurors at the moment. Besides, I think that Tsunade – sama has already mentioned that the creature is prone to magic," Dumbledore commented mildly. Sakura didn't look embarrassed by her slip up. Instead, she looked thoughtful, a slight scrunched up expression crossing her features.

"Now, you have free roam of the school. I must warn you though, that there are enchanted staircases, pictures, suits of armour and more at Hogwarts. This is in case any intruder comes in. You aren't allowed to kill unless absolutely necessary, and if you need anything, just inform one of the teachers," Dumbledore explained.

"Dorms for you will be provided, as well as food and cleaning."

"What about training?" Neji spoke up, his white eyes unreadable.

"I will make sure that you will have adequate space to spar in," Dumbledore assured him.

"How will we be getting there?" Sasuke brought up.

Dumbledore reached into his dress – _what _was_ he wearing?_ – and pulled out…

…a boot.

"This is a Portkey," Dumbledore explained to the sceptical ninja, "It transports you to the location which has been set on it by a spell on a certain time. All of you must touch this at exactly or before 8:05 am tomorrow or you will be left behind."

Naruto picked up the scraggly, brown boot with a slightly dumbfounded expression on his face. _How strange…_

"Any questions?" Dumbledore asked, taking out his wand again and swishing it through the air. The table with the empty plate of pastries – _when did they eat it?_ – disappeared.

"Is there anything about your school or its teachers and students that we should know about?" Tenten asked.

"Ah yes, that reminds me. There is a boy named Harry Potter that goes to our school. He's wanted dead by a very famous, very powerful dark wizard named Lord Voldemort-"at this, Neji snorted very quietly at the name, "-who tried to kill Harry about 16 years ago but failed. If possible, I request that you keep a close eye on him as well. He's quite easy to spot out; he has black hair, glasses and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead."

"Does anyone have other questions to ask?" Tsunade addressed them. At the negative response, she inclined her head towards Dumbledore, who had stood up and made his chair disappear with another flick of his wand.

"Dumbledore – san, I will make sure that they will all arrive on time tomorrow," at this, Tsunade gave Naruto a warning look, "and they will all have their ANBU uniforms on, including masks."

Hinata frowned. She was jounin, not ANBU. At her expression, Tsunade addressed the Hyuuga.

"On this mission, you will act as ANBU," Hinata nodded. She was skilled enough to join ANBU; in fact, she even knew most of the ANBU techniques thanks to her friends, but she had opted to stay as a jounin. She liked the job better, and it offered more time to balance between her ninja life and as leader of the Hyuuga clan.

"If that is all, I should get going to ensure your comfort at Hogwarts," Dumbledore bowed to them. "There will be a man by the name of Rubeus Hagrid I will send to accompany you. It was a pleasure meeting you." With a pop, he was gone.

"Ok, go home, pack, and be here by 7:30 AM tomorrow. Naruto, I want you to study that entire scroll and learn at least the basics by tomorrow. Ino," Tsunade tossed the pale blonde another large scroll, "Study that and learn more English too. Hinata, stay behind so you can get some spare ANBU clothes. Everyone, here are the mission folders in case you have more questions," Tsunade tossed thick folders to everyone. With nods, everyone formed seals with their hands and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Hinata behind.

"Kurenai should be finished training those brats by now…" Tsunade muttered, glancing at the clock. She sent a chuunin to fetch Kurenai. "She'll help you fit for your ANBU clothes," Tsunade explained to Hinata, "Once you have your mask and clothes, go pack and be here at 7:30 am tomorrow." Hinata nodded.

A couple minutes later, Kurenai popped in and after some quick explanations, the red – eyed woman led her former student out to the ANBU quarters.

Tsunade took a swig of the conjured sake.

"Ahhhh……"

---

"Ready everyone?" Tsunade had her hands on her hips, her eyes calmly surveying the rather large cluster of ninja, "Tenten, did you really have to bring so many weapons?"

Tenten had brought at least two bags full of only weapons, and then a small pack with other necessities. She grinned sheepishly, although the Godaime couldn't see it because she had her ANBU mask on.

"We're going to be gone for a whole year, including a portion of our summer," the bun – haired woman pointed out, "Might as well be over prepared then under prepared."

Tsunade sighed. She could already see the faces of the teachers when they would see the odd group.

"8:03 am. Where's Naruto?" Tsunade muttered impatiently and nervously.

"HERE!" said jinchuuriki came rushing forward, two bags in tow.

"Where were you?" the Godaime snapped. Shizune had made sure that she wouldn't get another sip of sake after she had finished the conjured sake.

"Studying that goddamn huge scroll you tossed at me," Naruto retorted, holding on to his bags with one hand and stretching out to grasp the edge of the boot with the other. His ANBU mask was on his face at a rather awkward angle and Hinata reached over to fix it.

"You and Ino have studied it thoroughly, right?" Tsunade eyed the two blonds, "because I want you two to carry at least a decent conversation with the teachers without too much trouble."

"It's such a confusing language!" Naruto muttered, "All of that past tense and verb with subject agreement or something like that."

"8:04 am. Guys, don't cause too much trouble, I'll send Kakashi for a monthly report and BEHAVE!" Tsunade bellowed, although her smile contradicted her voice.

"Will do!" Sakura chirped cheerfully.

8:05 am.

Suddenly, all of the ninja were jerked off of their feet as if a hook had somehow grabbed onto their navel. They banged against each other, the fast whirl of the travel making them feel light – headed and dizzy.

They slammed back onto Earth in a matter of seconds. Ino collapsed onto Shikamaru who wasn't looking too steady himself. Naruto had fallen on his bags and was lying still, desperately trying to get the whirling scenery to slow down. Sasuke, Neji, Hinata and Tenten were the only ones standing somewhat steadily (although Hinata looked a little green). Sakura had landed flat on her back, wishing that she never would have to experience that again.

"This…sucks," Naruto groaned. He felt like he was ready to hurl.

"Travlin' by Portkey's always a little rough a' first," a deep, rough voice sounded from their right in English. Instinctively, Tenten had her katana out but sheathed it when she saw a rather large – _how did he get so big?_ – man hold his palms towards them.

"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and gamekeeper o' Hogwarts," the large man introduced himself. "You mus' be the folk tha' Dumbledore's hirin'."

"Yup," Sakura replied in English. She stood up and brushed the dirt out of her ANBU uniform.

"Up," Neji commanded, his deep baritone voice firm. Immediately, Naruto got up and Ino and Shikamaru steadied themselves.

"I'm to lead you to Hogwarts," Hagrid explained, "You folk landed just outside the school grounds. Can't Apparate or use a Portkey ter get inside." For the most part, Naruto and Ino were pretty lost on what the inhumanly large man said. His accent was so thick that you would barely hear the words come out of his mouth and they weren't so good at English in the first place…

"Well, come on," Hagrid waved his large hand enthusiastically. He started to walk inside to the grounds and everyone hurried to follow him.

"Ah, welcome," Dumbledore greeted them in Japanese. "I trust that your journey wasn't too rough?"

"That…key thingy is the last form of transportation I ever want to use," Naruto grumbled.

Dumbledore chuckled. "I have already informed the teachers of your arrival. I'll show you where your dorms are and your temporary training grounds. Then you may get used to the school. I'll lead you to your rooms first and you can get settled in," Dumbledore gestured with a hand to follow him.

A stern, tight looking woman who was standing slightly behind the old wizard the entire time inclined her head towards them before murmuring something to Dumbledore, who nodded back. She hurried off, but not before casting a brief, questioning glance at the masks on their faces.

Naruto had his fox mask on, Sasuke had a raven mask on, Sakura had a raven mask on as well, Shikamaru had a wolf mask on, Ino had a cat mask on, Hinata had chosen a mouse mask to wear during the mission, Neji had an eagle mask and so did Tenten.

They all went inside the large castle with Dumbledore in the lead. After many twists, turns, curses when random suits of armour started to attack them and shocked looks (thank god for the masks) when the pictures on the walls waved to them and called out greetings, Dumbledore and the ninja arrived at a fairly isolated place.

It was nice and cozy, with a large window filtering in natural sunlight. Chairs, tables and couches were scattered across the blue clad room with an empty fireplace to the side. Up ahead were two staircases, although none of the shinobi or kunoichi knew what lay beyond because the view of the stairs ended behind a stonewall.

"Women's dormitory to the left, men's to the right. Food will be brought to you shortly," Dumbledore said, "After you settle in, you may take a look around in the castle and get accustomed to the layout. Be on your guard for the creature. If you go on the grounds outside, careful of the lake and the forest, as there are many dangerous and magical creatures residing there."

They all nodded.

"I will be leaving you for know then," Dumbledore inclined his head towards them, his purple hat tilting down. He closed the door behind him gently on his way out.

"Well, at least they gave us a nice place to stay in," Ino commented as she took her mask off, "Come on, let's get settled in." With that, the blonde marched to the left staircase and climbed up, disappearing from sight.

"Impatient Ino – pig," Sakura sighed as she followed her best friend.

"We'll meet down here in about thirty minutes, ok?" Tenten suggested, receiving affirmative nods in return. With a little wave, the brunette hurried after the other two girls, dragging Hinata along with her.

The girls' dormitory was nice and spacious, with four - poster beds formed in a semi circle at the outer rim of the room. Small bedside tables were posed to the right of each bed and four separate small closets were to the left of each bed. Small desks and chairs were tucked neatly in the corners and small, poofy, comfy chairs were positioned neatly out of the way. The narrow window provided a nice source of light. The small fireplace was cold. A small door to the left of everything was ajar, allowing them to catch a glimpse of a white – tiled bathroom with two sinks, a toilet and shower.

"I choose this bed," Ino called immediately, jumping to the four poster bed right of the window. Sakura dumped her stuff on the bed on the other side of the window.

"I'll take this one," the pink – haired medic called, already dumping her weapons and clothes out.

"Which one do you want Hinata?" Tenten asked, "You can pick; I'm not picky."

"Then I'll take the one next to Ino – chan," Hinata decided. It was nearest to the fireplace and she got cold easily.

"Then I'll take the last bed," Tenten moved to the bed beside Sakura. She opened the first of one of her large bags and drew out several weapons, ranging from as small as packs of senbon to as large as an extra katana. Her second bag was stowed neatly underneath her bed, filled with scrolls that summon even more weapons.

Hey, she wasn't the weapon mistress for nothing.

She hurriedly stored her extra ANBU uniforms and spare clothes in the provided closet and set out the rest of everything where they belonged.

"Guys, I'm going down to see if our food's arrived," Tenten called as she made her way down the stairs, strapping her mask to the katana on her left side. Her other katana, strapped on her right side, was bare.

She was slightly surprised to see Neji and Sasuke down already, the two prodigies heatedly debating the uses of the kodachi against the katana.

"A katana is much handier in the offence part of battle," Neji pointed out, his hand straying to where his own katana was strapped.

"But if you're attacked by the enemy, a kodachi is more logical then a katana," Sasuke argued.

Tenten listened; amused at hearing the two men speak so much. She looked around and brightly spotted a tray filled with fruits and food. She picked up an apple and a tomato and hurled them towards Neji and Sasuke.

Neji, who had been training with Tenten for the past several years was accustomed to the sudden attacks and automatically caught the apple and gave her a quick nod of thanks. Sasuke caught his tomato, but with less finesse; it was more out of reflex than anything.

"Where's Shika and Naruto?" Tenten asked, glancing towards the staircases as she saw Hinata come down, crunching on an apple as she did so.

"Taking a nap, unpacking his bags of ramen," Sasuke answered. Tenten didn't even bother to ask which guy was doing which; it was obvious.

"Where's Sakura and Ino?" Neji asked, frowning as he glanced at the clock above the fireplace.

"Unpacking," Hinata answered her cousin, "I didn't know Ino had so much clothes…"

Both Tenten and Neji snorted at the same time. They were both practical and efficient; they had been for the past ten years. It almost didn't seem possible to bring unpractical and unnecessary things on a mission for them.

"You know Tenten, you have the most elastics I've ever seen," Sakura commented as she came down the stairs, adjusting parts of her ANBU clothes.

"I always bring some spares," Tenten replied, "Were you sneaking through my stuff again?"

"Nah," Sakura grinned, "Just happened to see the large pack of elastic bands when I went in the bathroom to put my stuff in."

Tenten blinked and remembered. She grinned sheepishly at her friend.

"You never know when you might need them," the brunette tossed a tomato at the medic.

Sakura caught it with one hand a hair's breadth away from her face. "Yeah, but having that many seems almost unnatural. Why not just go for ribbons? They last longer and stuff." She bit into the tomato, swallowing the juice that trickled out. She had developed an odd liking for them recently…

"I do have ribbons," Tenten replied, pointing to one of her buns while biting into her apple, "I just don't want them to snap sooner than they have to." The pearl grey ribbons were indeed wound stylishly through her buns. Neji had a ghost of a smirk on his face. It was him that gave her those ribbons on her sixteenth birthday, eight years ago.

"Guys…" Naruto came walking down the stairs, a sheepish expression on his whiskered face, "…I forgot my sewing kit."

A sewing kit was essential to an ANBU member. As odd (and uncool) as it might sound, the truth is that ANBU uniforms get shredded apart more than they get washed – and the protective material used to make them were expensive.

"I packed an extra case Naruto – kun," Hinata said, "You can have it."

"Really? Thanks Hinata – chan!" Naruto exclaimed. The Hyuuga leader went up to fetch the kit for Naruto and gave it to him when she came down. Ino was also with her.

"Where's Shikamaru?" the pale blonde asked, her cerulean eyes sweeping across the room.

"Taking a nap," Sasuke answered, finishing off his tomato. Thankfully, Ino had decided to give up on him. Sakura had toned down over the years as well.

"Well, I guess we'll just explore the castle without him," Sakura shrugged, "We can explain to him the layout later or he can go off and take a look later himself. Let him have a bit of a break," she shot Ino, who had opened her mouth to argue. "He just came back from that S – class mission before remember?"

Ino paused and then nodded reluctantly.

"Let's go," Tenten suggested, throwing away her apple core in a nearby trash bin. She tied her mask to her face and with a wave, walked out of the room. Neji shrugged and snapped on his mask as well, gliding swiftly to the door and disappearing from view. From there, everyone else put their masks on and went out, knowing to meet back at their quarters before dinner.

And upstairs, Shikamaru was sleeping quietly, dreaming about clouds.

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN:** Yahoooo, new story for you guys to chew on! I know it's pretty slow at the moment but it's just the prologue. If you're wondering how the owls got to and from each place so fast, they were actually Animaguses (did I spell that right?) and just Disapparated once they changed back to human form (it might've been too great a shock to just go as their usual, wizard –ish selves).

It's kind of hard writing Tsunade. Never realized that…

Don't worry; I'm going to be juggling this fic with my other one, 'Blind'. Check my profile for more.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: **I know this story might sound similar to Kilerkki's 'Masks and Shadows'. I'm not plagiarising her; I just simply got the inspiration from her story. If it sounds too much like hers, I'll change mine. But this is already a note too all of you so don't go running to her saying that I'm plagiarising her story…because I'm certainly NOT. Remember, this is just a story inspired by hers, nothing more.

**Notes:**

None that I can think of…

**EDIT:** I managed to contact my beta after all. Huge thanks to Denisen for beta – ing this! _:Fireworks goes off in the background:_


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary: **(HPxNaruto) Is it a new demon? One of Voldemort's creations? Whatever it is, it wants Harry dead. Magic is useless against it, so Dumbledore decides to bring in some shinobi and kunoichi to solve the problem…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

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"Who are those people?"

"I dunno, they look odd though."

"You think? Masks and silver clothes?"

"Maybe Professor Dumbledore will explain during the feast…"

"Maybe it has to do with those attacks…"

"My mom didn't want me to go back this year, but I convinced her that it shouldn't be dangerous."

"Hah, my parents were on the verge of a breakdown. 'First a basilisk, then Dementors, then dragons and to top it all off, You – Know – Who might be coming back!' It's mad in my house; I'm glad I'm going back to Hogwarts."

Tenten swept her gaze over the sea of students that were boarding the Hogwarts Express. She and Ino had volunteered to watch over the students; the rest of the ANBU/jounin were back at Hogwarts, awaiting them.

It had taken a fair amount of time to get used to the enchanted castle; there were so many crooks and crannies that Tenten had trouble remembering all of it. She still didn't know the entire castle, but even Dumbledore admitted that in all of his years at the school, he didn't know every part of it either.

They had found out that the Byakugan could see magic, much like chakra but it came in a different colour (purple) but it was inconsistent; sometimes Neji or Hinata could see it, sometimes they couldn't (which was maddening).

Their sparring ground looked remarkably similar to the ones back home, except with fewer trees. Dumbledore had mentioned that it was enchanted to suit their needs, so if they wanted more trees, there would be more and if they wanted less, then they would disappear.

They met most of the teachers, and Tenten could say that they were pretty good at their job. Some of them she didn't like; that Professor Snake or Snat of whatever was pretty mean; he kept throwing snide comments at them during the exchange. The one name Professor McGonagall was ok, but she always had that slight disapproving face on whenever one of the Konoha nin came.

But the one that was the worst was Professor Umbridge.

_That insufferable woman!_ Tenten thought savagely, her hand straying to her two katanas, her fingers tightening on the hilt in anger. Things didn't rile Tenten up; in fact the only thing that _could_ was Neji (and sometimes Lee) back at home. But this Umbridge woman was like taking Professor Snape – _is that his name?_ – and Orochimaru and mashing them in one.

And she was dressed in the most god awful clothing; honestly, with clothes that bright and pink, it was a wonder that the creature hadn't attacked her.

The beast…the one that could supposedly shape shift, it hadn't made a single peep when the shinobi had arrived – which then led to the guess that it lived in the Forbidden Forest.

Naruto thought that it was a demon. The guess was logical; some demons aren't affected by anything but chakra. But Sakura had a different thought, although she didn't share it with anyone.

"_Just in case I'm wrong. I wouldn't want to rile you guys up for nothing," Sakura assured them before going out to make a trip to the library._

A jolt brought Tenten out of her thoughts. The train had started moving already. She sighed. Time to start patrolling.

She strode down the long aisle, peeking in the compartments now and then. Tenten had offered to watch over the first half of the train, and Ino had said that she'd look over the other half of the train.

A compartment door slid open quietly behind Tenten, but she heard it anyways. She continued her walk down the aisle, pretending that she hadn't heard a thing. Sure enough, whispers and footsteps sounded down the hall.

_Three people,_ she thought. Two distinct pounding footsteps with one, lighter footed person.

_Let's go see what they're up to._

She waited a moment to be sure that they couldn't see her, then turned around and walked swiftly, yet silently down the carpeted aisle. She saw two, rather large boys and one skinny, sleekly – blond boy in front of someone's compartment. By the looks of their expression, it looked like an argument was going on between the three boys and the people in the compartment.

Tenten saw the blond boy take out a stick – _a wand_ – and immediately jumped in front of him with chakra powered legs and snatched his wrist.

"No fighting," she commanded.

Her mind instantly processed the sight in front of her and around her. Two redheads, one bushy haired girl, a slightly plump and wimpy looking boy and a very strange, odd looking girl…

Her brown eyes snapped to the right. A boy, jet black hair, wearing glasses and a lightning bolt scar.

_That must be him._

A startled and strangled sound came out of the blond boy's throat.

"What the hell?" he muttered. His voice was accented (to Tenten's ears anyways) and had a distinct, sneering snobbish tone to it.

"No fighting," Tenten repeated, "Put the wand away."

Almost grudgingly, the boy did. He stepped back, his goons flanking him. He shot a nasty look at the scarred forehead boy and sneered at Tenten, "Watch your back."

As the three boys sauntered down the hall, Tenten snorted. Arrogant jackass.

"Whoa…"

An awestruck murmur reminded Tenten that there were still people around her.

"Bloody hell, what are you?" the taller of the redheads breathed, staring at Tenten with wide eyes. The bushy haired girl smacked him gently and scolded him.

"Ron! Don't be rude," the brown – haired girl admonished.

Tenten stayed silent, cocking her head to the side. Her eyes glanced again at Harry Potter, whose expression held something like confusion, awe, wonder, and slight fright.

"I'm Hermione Granger," the girl introduced, "That's Ronald Weasley and that's his little sister Ginny Weasley." The smaller, petite girl waved shyly at the kunoichi. "That's Neville Longbottom," the slightly pudgy boy waved, "Luna Lovegood," the dreamy, slightly out – of – wack looking girl looked up from her magazine, "And that's Harry Potter."

Tenten inclined her head, "My name is not important to you right now, but I'm a bodyguard hired to protect you students from the monster that's been attacking your school." The shinobi had gone over what to tell the students if they asked questions and what to not tell.

Harry frowned. He wanted some questions answered; it bugged him when people just skirted around the answer, not really telling anything.

"Professor Dumbledore explains everything at the feast," Tenten nodded to them one more, the ribbons in her buns fluttering a bit. She stepped out and snapped the door shut, resuming her patrolling.

"Bloody hell…"

The muttered voice trailed after Tenten as she continued her patrolling. Her small smirk unfurled beneath her mask.

That was fun.

---

The Great Hall was loud with the clatter, laughter, talking and shouting of many students. Naruto felt like he was ready to faint from the noise; the Kyuubi attributed to his senses, heightening them to the max.

All talking stopped when the great, huge doors opened, revealing Minerva McGonagall carrying a three legged stool with a rather old, patch and worn wizard hat on it, a wide, noticeable sewed brim on its features. Behind the witch were many small children, all dripping from the onslaught of rain outside.

_Midgets_, Naruto thought as he glanced at them. He had grown to a towering height; the only other one that was the same height as him was Neji.

The woman put the stool down with the hat on it and stepped back. Naruto thought nothing was going to happen until the sewn rip on the brim of the hat opened and started to…_sing?_

_In times of old when I was new_

_And Hogwarts barely started_

_The founders of our noble school_

_Thought never to be parted:_

_United by a common goal,_

_They had the selfsame yearning, _

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And pass along their learning._

'_Together we will build and teach!'_

_The four good friends decided_

_And never did they dream that they_

_Might some day be divided,_

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

_So how could it have gone so wrong?_

_How could such friendships fail?_

_Why, I was there and so can tell_

_The whole sad, sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those_

_Whose ancestry is purest.'_

_Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose_

_Intelligence is surest.'_

_Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those_

_With brave deeds to their name,'_

_Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,_

_And treat them just the same.'_

_These differences caused little strife_

_When first they came to light,_

_For each of the four founders had_

_A house in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,_

_For instance, Slytherin_

_Took only pure – blood wizards_

_Of great cunning, just like him,_

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and the boldest_

_Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

_And taught them all she knew,_

_Thus the houses and their founders_

_Retained friendships firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

_For several happy years,_

_But then discord crept among us_

_Feeing on our faults and fears._

_The houses that, like pillars four,_

_Had once held up our school,_

_Now turned upon each other and,_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_

_Must meet an early end,_

_What with duelling and with fighting_

_And the clash of friend on friend_

_And at last there came a morning_

_When old Slytherin departed_

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders four_

_Were whittled down to three_

_Have the houses been united_

_As they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_

_And you all know the score:_

_I sort you into houses_

_Because that is what I'm for,_

_But this year I'll go further,_

_Listen closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfil my duty_

_And must quarter every year_

_Still I wonder whether Sorting_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumbled from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you…_

_Let the Sorting now begin._

There was a loud round of clapping followed by confused murmurs to the Sorting Hat's song.

_External, deadly foes? This hat is smarter than it looks,_ Naruto thought as he went over the last bit in his mind again. _Does it know about the demon, or could it be referring to that freaky Voldemort guy?_

The other shinobi were having similar thoughts. Naruto's gaze strayed over to the teacher's table, his eyes sweeping over Sakura's form and pausing at Hinata's.

A short, rather funny looking man had appeared soon after they had arrived at Hogwarts. Dumbledore said that Tsunade had mentioned something about political business with Hinata. The three (Hinata, Dumbledore and the funny man whose name was Cornelius Fudge) had disappeared for the entire day.

After, Hinata had told them that she was going to be part of a political exchange with the Ministry of Magic – more specifically, the Department of International Exchanges or something like that.

"_I'm killing two birds with one stone," Hinata summed it up. The phrase sounded very odd coming out of the gentle – hearted jounin, "I'm fulfilling this mission and pleasing my clan at the same time."_

And Sakura had decided to play the school nurse's assistant.

"_After all, if we're all bodyguards, everyone will panic. They'll think that the situation is so bad that they need all the protection that they can get and that would hit Hogwarts really hard," the medic said seriously as she told them the news._

And then that little professor, Professor Flitwick, had gone and suggested that they set up a program that learned self – defence. After all, if magic can't hurt this creature then surely physical attacks could at least stall the beast long enough for some run – away time?

"_Shikamaru and Naruto will be more than happy to teach the students self – defence," Neji said in English to the headmaster. Shikamaru sighed._

"_How troublesome…"_

_Naruto didn't quite get what Neji was saying and was waiting for a translation – or an explanation. _

"_You and Shikamaru are going to teach the kids self – defence," the mission leader told the jinchuuriki shortly in Japanese. "Haven't you been studying that scroll Tsunade – sama gave you?"_

"_I have, but it's still so confusing!" Naruto exclaimed, "And we're teaching brats now? I'm ANBU, not jounin!"_

"_So get adapted to the situation," Shikamaru told the blond lazily. It was a rule that was drilled into every mind of all ANBU members. _

So…he was stuck. _At least I can get some excersise…_

He was jolted out of his reverie when Dumbledore stood up on the small podium, the stool and hat being carried away. _They Sorted everyone already?_

"So begins another year. Newcomers, welcome! Everyone else, welcome back! I have some important news to share with you all but now is not the time. Tuck in!"

And with that, food instantly covered every inch of those long, wooden tables. The clatter of plates, forks, knives, spoons and the chatter of students filled the enormous hall. The smells of various foods, some unknown, instantly flooded Naruto's nose – although it wasn't unpleasant.

He shuffled, restless. It wasn't in his nature to stand around and do nothing but he instantly stilled when Neji turned his masked face towards him. Although Naruto couldn't see those infamous white eyes, he could tell the message that Neji was sending him: _straighten up. _

He gave a small sigh of relief when Dumbledore once again stepped up once everyone had finished eating. The food had been wiped magically clean from every plate, as well as the cutlery.

"As we are all digesting the wonderful feast that we have just consumed, I would like to share a few things. First – years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out – of – bounds to students. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes."

_I wonder how magic and chakra mix together,_ Naruto wondered absently.

"We have three new members this year. We are delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts." At this, a squat, ugly witch stood up and Naruto's electric blue eyes darted at the sudden movement at the back. Tenten had her hand on her katana, fingers tightening on the hilt. Naruto chuckled quietly; none of the shinobi liked Umbridge much, but Tenten was the most riled up about it.

"We are pleased to introduce Miss Sakura Haruno, who is a training to be a medi - witch and will be assisting Madam Pomfrey." Sakura stood up, smiling as she did so. Naruto caught murmurs from the students, most apparently surprised at her shocking hair colour and vibrant eyes.

"And last but not least, the Ministry of Magic has brought forth wonderful new member for us. Miss. Hinata Hyuuga is head of the Hyuuga clan in Japan and will be staying with us as part of the Ministry of Magic International Exchange." Hinata stood up, her pale white eyes attracting more whispers. A round of applause sounded again as the three women sat down again.

"As you can see, we also have some new faces with us," at this Dumbledore waved his hand over to where Tenten, Ino, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Neji were standing, "They are there for your protection against the recent attacks of an unknown creature. Be warned that this creature cannot be affected by magic; which leads to a new program that Hogwarts has set up. It will be on self – defence and your instructors will be Wolf and Fox."

They had agreed that the only names that would be revealed were Sakura's and Hinata's.

Naruto raised a hand lazily as Shikamaru did, signalling everyone who they were.

"Quidditch tryouts will begin-" Dumbledore started to continue with the announcements, but was interrupted by a _hem hem_. Naruto wasn't surprised to see Professor Umbridge stand up and begin talking. He promptly tuned her out, focusing instead on the students.

Shikamaru on the other hand, was paying a surprising amount of attention to the rather toad – like witch. He listened to her dull, boring, memorised speech, careful to decipher her cryptic simperings. He took extra note of her status at the Ministry and her reason for being there, quickly getting the big picture on why the Ministry was suddenly getting involved at Hogwarts.

When the squat witch's ramblings had ended, Dumbledore took over once again and gave a couple of announcements.

"…and finally, Eagling has a note to leave you all with," Dumbledore nodded to Tenten, who was situated at the back of the Great Hall. Everyone watched as she took three large strides before bounding over the enormous tables in one leap, landing silently beside Dumbledore a split second later; she ignored the podium.

"As you know, we have been hire to protect you," Tenten started. Even though her grammar in English had improved tremendously, she still had the occasional slip up, "We do not deal in magic, but we can stop it so don't even think about attacking us. We are here to protect every single one of you; do not take advantage of the fact. If a fight occurs, then you _must not interfere_. If you do, you will automatically be assumed an enemy and your life will cease to exist within seconds."

Her flat, blunt words had a huge impact on the students, whose murmurings were getting louder.

"If we find you disobeying our rules, you will suffer the shinobi form of punishment and there are no objections from the teachers." With that, Tenten nodded her head to them before moving to the side. Neji gave a slight nod in her direction.

"Please go back to your dormitories for a good nights rest," Dumbledore stepped up and spoke again, "You will be attending regular classes tomorrow. Good night." With that, scrapes of benches were heard and the loud chattering of students circulated the hall again.

Ino came over to Tenten. "Did you really have to show off?" the blond asked in amusement in Japanese.

"Just wanted to show them what they're dealing with," the brunette grinned beneath her mask, her amusement colouring her voice. "Who's taking night patrol again?"

"Raven, Ravenling and Fox," Ino named the codenames for Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. ANBU members that weren't leaders were usually called '---ling' under their ANBU category. "They can summon their animals to help them."

"Alright. Let's get to bed then," Tenten yawned. Her training with Neji earlier that day was catching up to her. She and Ino headed up to their rooms first, knowing that Hinata would follow soon after. Sakura had first night shift so she wouldn't be coming in for a while.

Neji and Shikamaru had disappeared promptly into their room, Naruto and Sasuke following shortly.

Sakura sighed as she lingered behind the students, watching the hustle and bustle of the mass of black. She had stuck to the shadows so no one would notice her. Briefly pausing for a moment, she popped by her room and went in.

"Sakura? Aren't you supposed to be on duty?" Tenten asked as she came out of the bathroom, hair wet and already in her pyjamas.

"Just getting more weapons and changing into my uniform," the pink haired medic responded cheerfully. She changed, not caring that Tenten was looking.

_Female anatomy is all the same anyways._

In record time, she was changed and loaded to the teeth. She waved good – bye to the amused brunette and hurried out.

She glanced at the now deserted hallway. Good. All of the students were in their common rooms or their beds. She bit her thumb, drawing blood and performed some quick seals and muttered her summoning jutsu. There was a poof and five rather large slugs appeared in front of her.

"Hey guys," Sakura murmured cheerfully to the slugs, "I need you to help me patrol the school ok? If you see any forms of suspicious activity, report to me at once."

The slugs nodded and slithered out, silent as they slipped over the floor. Sakura straightened up.

"Let's go."

---

"Mou, you've already tried your Byakugan to see the monster right?" Naruto asked Neji for the fifth time.

"Yes Naruto," Neji replied patiently, "I've tried and so has Hinata – sama and we've both seen nothing but a faint green aura where the creature has been."

Naruto sighed, obviously bored. He had been patrolling outside the grounds for a while and had bumped into Neji. Hinata had been whisked off by Dumbledore and Sakura had to stay in the hospital wing to treat her patients. Ino and Tenten were patrolling inside as was Shikamaru. Sasuke was discreetly tailing Harry Potter, keeping a close eye on him as Dumbledore had requested.

"Keep on your guard," Neji reminded the jinchuuriki as he moved away, "The creature could attack any second."

"I'm not the number two shinobi of the village for nothing," Naruto grumbled as he headed towards the lake. He leaped in the air and landed on the water, thanking Jiraiya for his teachings on how to walk on water with chakra enhanced feet. The blond ANBU strolled to the other side of the large lake, enjoying the slight exercise that he was getting.

This…was officially the most boring mission he had been assigned for a while. No action was going on; the creature was lying low for the time being, everything was nice and sunny and bright…

…and utterly boring.

_I'll have to drag someone out for a spar later,_ the ANBU thought as he headed towards the Quidditch pitch.

Naruto watched in interest as the wizards and witches mounted brooms and took off in the air. He jumped up and stood on the stands to get a better look. A person in red and black opened a large case and unclasped two coverings, letting two black balls surge upwards and start going wacky. The person also took the rather large, red ball and threw it up to one of the people of the brooms and opened a small case in the large box. Naruto only had time to see a dart of gold before it disappeared.

"What a strange game…" Naruto muttered to himself as he watched the people on brooms zig zag their way around the area. Two people had baseball bats and were smacking the black balls. There was a person near the three, small hoops down at the end. Naruto cocked his head, wondering what the point of the game was.

He was startled when one of the black balls came zooming towards him at an alarmingly rapid pace. He vaguely heard a shout of warning but paid no attention to it. Naruto simply held up a gloved hand and the Bludger hit right against his palm. Naruto closed his grip on it, wondering in a mystified way why such a normal looking object was behaving so strangely.

"I'm so sorry," a female on a broom came riding up to him, "Fred, that idiot accidentally hit it over here instead of somewhere else. You're ok right?"

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to answer. His English still wasn't the best and he only caught slight words that the girl was saying; although her accent and her past tone were muffling up the words as well.

"Good," Naruto finally answered, inwardly cringing at his horrible attempt at English. He held out the quivering ball towards the girl.

"You can hold onto a Bludger?" The girl gasped, obviously amazed by this. Naruto grew uneasy.

"Here," he held it out to the girl again, who snapped out of her amazement.

"Just toss it in the air," she told him as she flew away on her broom, going over to another female and proceeded to gossip about the jinchuuriki.

"What?" Naruto murmured to himself. Shrugging, he punted it back into the field. Unfortunately, his hit seemed a little too forceful because the odd black ball went zooming to the other side of the field, going through the middle hoop before disappearing from his sight.

"Holy…how did he do that?"

"Did you see him? He just stopped a Bludger; just like that!"

"Guys, we're practicing, not gossiping."

"Yeah, yeah Wood…"

Naruto could pick up the amazed tones of the people, but he didn't understand a word that they were saying.

He sighed.

"Guess I'll have to study that scroll a bit more…"

---

Sasuke was bored. Even more so than Naruto. He had stuck to the shadows (which was quite hard considering that daylight seemed to reach into every corner of this castle), stealthily following Harry Potter. And right now, that Harry Potter was in Divination, one of his many classes.

Sasuke snorted. The teacher was an old fraud. She read too much into that tea leaf crap. Her predictions for each student were the same: "You're all going to die a horrible death!"

Sasuke yawned behind his mask. He had situated himself on the floor underneath the classroom, using chakra to help keep him plastered to the ceiling. The thin wooden planks that separated them didn't hinder his ability to hear everything that was being said inside the classroom.

"And now, peer into your Inner Mind and tell your partner what you're Seeing…"

If Sasuke wasn't Sasuke, ice cube prodigy and third ranked highest (after Tsuande and Naruto) in the village, he would've contemplated on sleeping on his feet right then. But no, he still had a reputation to keep up with.

He heard a piercing scream above and cursed. He did an instant transportation jutsu, immediately appearing in the room above. He froze when he saw a tremendous blood red bear, its black eyes and claws glowing eerily in the sunlight. The students and teachers were back up against the wall, all had their wands drawn but their expressions were one of utter panic and fear.

Sasuke let loose three senbon as a distraction, using his speed to make his way to the bear's back. He stabbed a kunai on the broad back and froze for a second.

_This anger…_ he thought as he almost doubled over in pain. What he had felt was raw, uncontrolled, wild fury, its intensity unmatched by anything in this world. The bear just turned around and looked at the ANBU with glittering, black, beady eyes before letting out a growl.

Sasuke jumped back and gripped his right wrist, blue chakra forming and crackling until it made a solid, lightning ball. He shoved the chakra at the bear.

"_Chidori_" He yelled as released the chakra. The impact was enormous. The bear howled as the chakra made contact, the enormous body arching as the Chidori pushed its way into its body. There was a blinding light where everyone, even Sasuke, had to shield their eyes.

When the light cleared, there was nothing but an enormous hole in the ground, the wood cracked and jagged, some pieces hanging limply down. Sasuke panted; the Lightning Edge technique still took a lot out of him.

"Hurt?" the ANBU asked, straightening up and looking at the students who were wearing expressions filled with fear, awe, panic, shock and wonder.

Everyone shook their head and Sasuke nodded.

"Good."

He strode to the corner of the classroom and turned to face them. He would remain there in case the monster decided to make another round. He knew that he hadn't defeated it; although he did see that he had weakened it considerably.

The teacher, a funny woman who looked like she was always peering at you due to her oversized glasses, snapped back to her regular dreamy state although her voice still had a shaky edge to it.

"Alright, back to your tea leaves…"

The students slowly shuffled forwards, wary of the dark haired ANBU and the gigantic hole in the floor. There were whispers and darted glances at the young Uchiha.

"He just defeated it! Just like that!"

"Don't be silly Ron, a creature that powerful can't be defeated that easily…"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"Hermione said something about it and said that she was researching on it."

_Hermione?_ Sasuke thought as he glanced at the two speakers. Ah, it was Harry Potter and a red – headed boy, slightly taller than Harry and with a lot more freckles. _She sounds a little like Sakura…_

The rest of the lesson was pretty uneventful, although Sasuke kept his guard up and listened for any suspicious movement. He hadn't even heard the creature come in…and something of that bulk couldn't have been able to keep quiet while moving.

_I'll have to report to everyone and Dumbledore about this…_ Sasuke thought. He zoned out of the lesson, finding that reading tea leaves and interpreting dreams rather useless and silly.

He absently took out a kunai, twirling it around his finger slowly to occupy his restless body. Like Naruto, he was not accustomed to staying still, although he was much better at hiding it than the blond shinobi.

"Are you stalking me or something?" Harry asked after Divination had ended. He and Ron were headed to the fields outside where Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were having their first self – defence lesson courtesy of Shikamaru and Naruto.

"Hardly," Sasuke snorted as he walked in the shadows, "I'm assign to protect you."

"Protect me?"

"Yes, that what I said," the ANBU said testily, not caring about his horrible grammar. His patience was wearing thin that day.

Harry shut up, knowing that if he pushed any further the cold ninja would snap.

"Come on, let's hurry to the field," the green eyed wizard murmured to his friend.

"Yeah, but you know he can probably hear us even if you're whispering and could catch up to us in two seconds flat," Ron remarked bluntly, jerking his head towards the silent ANBU. Nonetheless, the duo hastened their pace, almost jogging to the marked off section in the large, grassy field.

Sasuke nodded to Shikamaru, who was relaxing lazily in the center and Naruto who was stretching and warming up. They both waved at him back.

"Oi, teme. Watching over him?" Naruto jerked a thumb to Harry who was talking with Ron and Hermione.

Sasuke grunted. "I've got something to tell everyone after. Who's on night shift again?"

"It's Wolf, Cat and Mouse," Naruto replied, amused by the irony. After all, wolf chases cat while cat chases mouse.

Sasuke snorted.

"Wolf," Sasuke called over to the lazy ninja, "Need help with a demonstration?"

"That would be great," the spiky – haired ANBU acknowledged, "It's too troublesome to fight him on my own."

The rather large group of wizards and witches were now clumped in groups, chatting to each other. Shikamaru sighed. Since he was the only one out of the three shinobi that knew how to speak English properly, he would have to do all the talking…how troublesome.

"Listen up," Shikamaru called in English. Although he didn't shout, his voice carried over and fell upon the group like a blanket. "I'm Wolf, the blond over there is Fox and Raven here is going to help assist in a demonstration."

The teenagers instantly fell silent and faced their instructor, forming a sort of semi – circle.

"Self – defence is not only strengthening the body, but also the mind," Shikamaru said firmly, although his posture was still lax. His right hand drifted up and brushed against the side of his porcelain mask.

"Can I have a volunteer come up please?" Shikamaru requested, waiting. No one raised their hand up. He sighed. "If no one volunteers, I will choose." And still no one raised their hand. Shikamaru shrugged. "You," he pointed to a trembling Ravenclaw, "Come up here."

The frightened Ravenclaw slowly stood up walked to the center, his small, thin face wary.

"Attack him," Shikamaru pointed to Naruto who was just standing there, as if he was listening for something. The Ravenclaw looked up at the genius in shock but quickly formed fists when Shikamaru nodded.

Naruto didn't even feel the wimpy punch that the rather small boy gave him. He looked down at the black – haired boy.

"And that," Shikamaru turned to the students, "Is how you _not_ do it. Raven, can you please demonstrate how to punch an idiot out?" Although Sasuke couldn't understand some of the sentence, he got the gist of it and smirked beneath his mask. He strode up to Naruto and the Ravenclaw hastily moved out of the way.

With no chakra whatsoever, he punched Naruto hard in the gut. The blonde went flying in the air but flipped and landed neatly on his feet.

"Teme, did you really have to punch that hard?" Naruto growled in Japanese. His gloved fingers grazed his gut; despite the hard, protective clothing, he could feel a slight bruise coming on.

Sasuke smirked underneath his mask, and although Naruto couldn't see it, he just _knew_ that the bastard was smirking.

_Tch, he always does._

"…And that's how you do it," Shikamaru told the worried/awed students. "First we'll work on training your bodies physically. Demonstration will come at the end," he answered an unspoken question.

"Take off those cloaks first," Shikamaru ordered. Everyone hastily shed their heavy, outer cloaks and deposited them near the edge of the marked off area. "Next time, come to the lesson wearing running clothes. Since you're not dressed to do such an activity, I'm going to teach you the basic of punches and kicks."

And the lesson continued, with Naruto and Sasuke being the punching/ kicking bags while Shikamaru demonstrated.

"Create some bunshins," Shikamaru told Naruto and Sasuke in Japanese, who shrugged and did some quick hand seals.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he muttered and instantly, eight more bunshins appeared. Sasuke did the same thing.

"Everyone go up to one of them and start practicing your moves. Raven, Fox and I will assist you when you need it." The students moved to the bunshins warily and most were hesitant to attack it.

"Look, your moves won't hurt them," Shikamaru told them impatiently when half of the students were still deciding whether or not they should attack. It was as if he had booted them in the butt; they all sprang to action then, practicing the punches and kicks that Shikamaru had shown them.

Sasuke walked over to where Harry was practicing and was quite amused to see the rather skinny boy looking perplexed at the bunshin.

"He didn't even use magic!" Harry muttered to Ron as he kicked the bunshin, "How do you reckon he did that?"

"Dunno," Ron muttered back, "Seems a little odd, really."

"It's not magic you idiots," Hermione hissed as she struck the bunshin's chest, "It's something else called ch-"

"That not how you do," Sasuke descended on them before the bushy – haired witch could finish her sentence. "Your thumb has be on outside else you could break it." He cringed inwardly at his obviously horrible grammar.

Hermione blushed at her mistake and quickly corrected it, striking the bunshin's chest again. Thankfully, the topic before was dropped.

After about thirty minutes, Shikamaru called a halt to the session seeing most of the students drop in exhaustion.

_Wow, even the seven – year old genin at home could do better._

"Ok, has anyone here have experience in doing martial arts or anything like that?" Shikamaru asked lazily. A Gryffindor put up her hand timidly.

"Care to demonstrate what you learned?" Shikamaru jerked his head at Sasuke, obviously meaning that she could use him as a punching bag. The girl walked semi – confidently up to the stoic ANBU and proceeded to do a flurry of kicks and punches.

To everyone's astonishment, Sasuke blocked them all with apparent ease. In fact, his lower body indicated that he was clearly bored. This girl was no challenge for him.

"Pretty good," Shikamaru told the panting girl, "Now add some power behind those moves."

The girl looked at the wolf mask with disbelieving eyes. That was as hard as she could get.

"Jeez…I have my work cut out for me…" Shikamaru sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his spiky ponytail. He quickly set the large groups in smaller clumps, assigning each group a certain excersise. One group would do push ups, the other sit ups, another practicing the punching, and the last group kicking.

"This is troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered to himself as he looked over the students. "It's almost like we're jounin looking over our genin cells." He was muttering to himself in Japanese, aware yet uncaring that odd looks were thrown to him every once a while.

Thirty minutes before class was over, Shikamaru halted everyone.

"Ok, time to stop. Everyone stretch out your muscles otherwise you'll cramp up later. Raven and Fox will do a demonstration now." Most students perked up at this, excited to see what would happen. When the lazy genius glanced at their direction, he noticed that most of them weren't really stretching.

"Stretch, or else you get detention," he commanded. Instantly everyone started stretching. Shikamaru chuckled quietly to himself.

"Ok, no ninjutsu, no genjutsu, no blood limit, no help from _him_," Shikamaru looked pointedly at Naruto, "and pretty much no chakra. Just plain taijutsu and try not to cause too much damage." He spoke in Japanese.

"Tch, that's boring," Naruto muttered, "I hope I get to do a _real_ spar later." Nonetheless, the blonde got into position. "Bring it on bastard."

Sasuke responded by giving a smirk, knowing that Naruto would know even without seeing it. He quickly launched an attack, doing a roundhouse kick to the side. Naruto instantly blocked it, launching an attack of his own.

Soon furious blurs were seen and the smooth, grassy field was slowly being filled with overturned dirt from the force of the attacks. The students watched with rapt attention whenever one of the shinobi landed an attack on the other. Shikamaru was ready to sleep; he had seen them fight more times than he could count.

"And…time," Shikamaru called out lazily in Japanese five minutes before class ended. Instantly, Naruto and Sasuke flipped to the opposite ends of the field, both sporting only a couple of bruises. Naruto's mask had gone crooked, making his face look rather funny.

"Once you train your body hard enough, you might be able to do something that can match up to that," Shikamaru turned to face the quiet group, "Those guys started training since they were around five. You guys are sixteen so your training will be shorter. Hopefully, by the end of the school year you should at least be able to hit your opponent hard enough to crack bones."

The group glanced at each other, their looks ranging from excitement to wariness.

"Now I believe it's time for lunch. You're all dismissed," Shikamaru waved his hand casually towards the castle. "And don't forget to wear normal clothes to the lesson next time."

The students walked back, retrieving their cloaks and talking in excited chatters. They threw glances at the three ANBU repeatedly. Sasuke sighed and hurried to catch up with Harry.

"I'll patrol outside. You go inside now," Shikamaru told Naruto in Japanese, walking lazily off. "Go see how Hinata's doing; last time I heard, she was ready to beat Umbridge with a bat."

Naruto chuckled at the image. Although the action didn't suit the kind jounin, it was still amusing to play over in his mind.

"I think if anyone's going to beat Umbridge to a pulp, it'd be Tenten," Naruto waved to Shikamaru before running back to the castle. He flew with his arms flying behind him, jumping up to land on one of the many windows. He peaked inside and saw the hundreds of students packed in the Great Hall, chatting away as they ate lunch. Naruto's electric blue eye saw Sasuke near Harry Potter, his posture lax yet still alert.

Naruto propped the window open and climbed in, hanging off the window sill with his two hands. His head moved as he searched for Hinata's form. Naruto saw Sasuke jerk his head over to the main table and Naruto instantly spotted Hinata. Her black/blue hair stood out as well as her traditional Hyuuga robes.

Naruto did some seals while free – falling and poofed beside Hinata who did not look the least surprised.

"Did you really have to show off like that Naruto – kun?" The gentle voice of Hinata was amused. Many of the students that were by the window had watched his transportation with wide eyes.

"Not my fault they've never seen anything like it," Naruto snorted. "How're you holding up? Shikamaru said that you were ready to beat the toad with a bat." Naruto had 'affectionately' nicknamed Umbridge 'toad'.

"No, not with a bat," Hinata murmured, "I just wanted to seal up her chakra holes." Naruto chuckled, his slightly deep voice rumbling in his chest.

"Neh, neh Hinata – chan, you've changed so much since you were a genin," Naruto looked down at Hinata with fond eyes. Since they were fairly close, Hinata's could see right through the holes in his mask and smiled beautifully back.

"So have you Naruto – kun."

Their relationship was simple, yet built on foundations of trust and affection that no one could penetrate.

If anyone could have a happily ever after, it would be them.

"Sasuke said he had something to tell us," Naruto suddenly remembered, ruining the moment. He reached over and took a piece of toast from Hinata's plate, ignoring the dirty looks from other teachers.

Hinata took the transition smoothly and asked, "Did he say what it was about?"

"No, but I have a feeling it has to do with that yajuu **(1)**," Naruto murmured, slipping the toast underneath his mask to eat. "I sensed a powerful surge of…something earlier this morning. It was raw, really raw. I felt an enormous blast…kind of like an explosion before…" Naruto paused, withdrawing the bitten piece of toast, "…it disappeared. Well, not disappeared exactly. More like… dispersed. If that even makes sense," Naruto shrugged as he finished his toast, dusting off his crumbs.

"Where are you off to after?" the blond asked, his eyes scanning the Great Hall for any suspicious movement.

"I have a meeting," Hinata sighed, poking at her food.

"Another one?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yeah," the Hyuuga leader replied, "Although I shouldn't be complaining. It's my job as leader of the Hyuuga clan and there's even more work for me since I've abolished the Branch and Main family thing."

"Neji's face was priceless when you announced it," Naruto snickered, remembering the look of utter, pure shock crossing the normally stoic face of the ANBU leader.

"Naruto – kun, don't laugh at him," Hinata chided.

Naruto didn't answer but his laughter died down as classes began. He sighed as he watched teachers and students alike get up and move out of the dining hall. Bending down swiftly, he removed the lower half of his mask and gave Hinata a small peck on the cheek.

"Got to go patrol," he grinned his fox grin at her before replacing his mask, "I'll see you later Hinata!" Naruto leaped over the teachers' table and strode out of the hall.

Hinata smiled slightly, her white eyes going soft. She stood up and left too, heading out to the conference room **(2)**.

Eerie, yellow eyes followed her movements, a growl sounding deep in its throat.

_Greed…_

---

"…and then I used my Chidori," Sasuke finished up. It was night and he was telling everyone what had happened during Divination. Sakura had summoned her slugs to take over part of Shikamaru's shift of night patrol so the genius could hear what had happened.

"And then?" Neji asked.

"There was a bright light and by the time it cleared, all that was left was a hole in the ground," Sasuke scowled. Like Harry, he didn't like having questions unanswered.

"That must've been what you felt Naruto – kun," Hinata pointed out. The blond male nodded in agreement.

"Hmmm…" Sakura hummed to herself quietly as she closed her eyes to think. She had some clues to what the creature might be, but she didn't share the knowledge in case it turned out to be false.

It was quiet as everyone contemplated on this new piece of information.

"A shape shifter," Shikamaru finally said, "I'm sure of it. Its essence must be made of something older than chakra and magic since it won't be killed easily with either."

Sakura looked up at the genius, surprised. That was as much as she had found out. Shikamaru gave the pink – haired medic a bored look that clearly said, '_I _am_ a genius.'_

"Older than magic and chakra?" Naruto scratched his head, "This is getting way to confusing for me."

"That's why you leave the brainwork to us," Shikamaru replied, rolling his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be studying that scroll Tsunade – sama gave you?"

"Taking a break," Naruto answered easily. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't take too long of a break," Sasuke muttered.

"Bastard," Naruto returned only half – heartedly.

"Should I interrogate someone for information?" Ino asked a little restlessly. She had been brought to the mission for her interrogation skills but it seemed like they were doing fine on their own.

"Perhaps later," Tenten murmured, "I've seen some people here that are definitely worth trying to interrogate. But not now."

Tenten was slouched in one of the many, comfy chairs found in their common room, cleaning a weapon. Neji leaned against the wall next to the chair, his white eyes taking in everyone in the room. Hinata had seated herself on the floor, helping herself to some of the fruit that was on the coffee table in the middle. Naruto was leaning next to the fireplace, grumpy because he didn't get a chance to eat his ramen.

Sakura was seated in another one of the comfy chairs, tired from all of the healing (and bafflements) that went on in the hospital wing. Who knew that you could create an extra head with magic? Sasuke and Shikamaru were seated on the long couch. Ino was also sitting on the floor next to Hinata.

"How-"

"Finish that sentence and you live to see tomorrow," Ino snapped. Her patience was all used up due to the squabbles she had to put out during the day and the lack of excersise.

"-tiring," Shikamaru made up hastily. Yamanaka Ino was a scary woman when she was mad. Or pissed. Even worse when she was both.

Ino chucked an orange at him anyway and muttered, "That's almost the same as 'troublesome'." Shikamaru just caught the orange with a hand and tossed it back into the fruit bowl.

"Sasuke, how's the Potter boy holding up?" Neji asked the Uchiha. Said Uchiha gave a snort.

"He does nothing but talk with his friends," Sasuke responded coolly, "although I did manage to hear the bushy – haired girl, Hermenie or something start talking about chakra. It was during the self – defence lesson," Sasuke gave a pointed look to Shikamaru, "But I stopped her before she could talk further in it."

"I wonder how much she knows," Ino murmured, her pale blue eyes narrowing slightly. "We should keep an eye on her."

"Actually, I think she kind of reminds me of Sakura," Hinata spoke up.

"Have you even met the girl? Or even seen her?" Shikamaru asked the busy clan leader.

"I'm quiet," Hinata shrugged, "People don't notice me and I get more information that way. Hermione's smart. If she gets half of the pieces, she'll have enough to already form a puzzle."

Sakura smirked slightly. That _did _sound like her.

"Well, back on topic. What are we going to do about the creature? So far, we know it shape shifts and that magic won't work against it. Chakra only seems to injure it a little and it disappears before we can do any more damage."

"First we have to know what it's after," Shikamaru pointed out firmly, "Look for the next couple of places it attacks and watch out for any signs of repetition."

"Then once we pinpoint that, we'll use it to lure out the yajuu and kill it," Naruto caught on, "But if it disappears once we attack and is only harmed slightly by chakra, what can we do to defeat it?"

"Haven't gotten that far yet," Shikamaru grumbled.

"Hang on, I've got an idea!" Sakura's jade green eyes lit up, "Magic and chakra are the very things that made this world right?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't called magic or chakra. Actually, it didn't even have a name, but it was basically split in two parts: magic and chakra. However, the magic part was only a quarter of the actual whole so chakra got a lot more power. I guess this is how the creature was affected by it," Shikamaru mused.

"Well what if we combine the two together again and see the result?" the ANBU pointed out, "We could experiment a bit."

"How would we even do that?" Tenten asked sceptically.

"It's just an idea. I haven't worked it all out yet," Sakura grinned sheepishly.

"It sounds like a good idea. Keep working on it," Neji instructed. Sakura nodded in a professional manner.

"Yes sir!" she mock saluted him and he just glared in response.

"Ok, Shikamaru go back to patrolling. My slugs are getting bored," Sakura said. Said spiky – haired man sighed as he heaved himself off the comfy couch and snapped on his porcelain mask.

"Ok, I'm off. See you guys," he tossed a slight wave over his shoulder on the way out.

"Guess we should sleep now," Ino yawned as she made her way upstairs. "Night everyone."

A pair of glowing, green eyes watched as everyone went up to their rooms, bidding quiet murmurs of good night to each other.

_Envious…_

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**AN:** Alright, as you can see, the creature _is_ a shape shifter. Not going to say any more for the time being. If you want to guess what it is, you're more than welcome to!

Whoa, I know the prologue was boring, but was it that bad that only two people reviewed?

As you know, the Sorting Hat's song is not mine. It's been derived from the book (I'm such a prick).

Thanks to my wonderful, awesome, fantabulous (don't you just love that word?) beta, Denisen for proofreading this chapter xD.

The students are all in awe of the shinobi; who wouldn't be? I would be too if they suddenly came to my school; don't worry, they get used to it after a while.

A bit of Naru/Hina for everyone :). I'm not going to include Harry Potter pairings (as I have found that a lot of people like too many different pairings) so I'm just going to stick to Naruto ones. Sorry!

I'm trying to write from everyone's point of view; hence Tenten's start off, then Naruto and a little bit of Sakura and then Sasuke and then followed by Shikamaru. I'll focus on Hinata and Ino and Sakura a bit more next chapter.

Hope you enjoy the story :).

**Notes:**

**(1) Yajuu:** monster, beast

**(2) Conference Room:** I don't know if there's actually one; just made it up ;)


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary: **(HPxNaruto) Is it a new demon? One of Voldemort's creations? Whatever it is, it wants Harry dead. Magic is useless against it, so Dumbledore decides to bring in some shinobi and kunoichi to solve the problem…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Guys, this is what I've been looking up in the library," Hermione hissed to Ron and Harry during study period.

"Harry, can you show me that Summoning Charm again?" Ron asked, his dictionary not moving in inch from where it had been ten minutes ago. "I can't seem to get it right…"

"Ron! Harry!" Hermione's fierce hiss was rewarded when the two wizards turned to face her.

"Yeah?" Ron, the oblivious one, responded.

Hermione sighed and looked upwards, as if praying for something. Then she looked back down and glared at them.

"Listen up," the bushy – haired witch murmured, "I've been researching on those guards-"

"What kind of magic do you reckon they use?" Harry asked eagerly. He had a million questions revolving around those strange (yet awesome) guards.

"They _don't_ use magic," Hermione answered exasperatedly, "That's what I've been trying to say!"

"Oops, sorry," Ron muttered, his face screwing up in concentration. "Accio dictionary!"The dictionary quivered and hovered for a few seconds before flopping dejectedly back on the floor. Ron cursed quietly. "I can't get it right!"

"You're not putting enough mind into it," Hermione muttered, keeping her voice quiet. The trio was studying in a secluded corner in the library.

"What?" Ron looked up, slightly perplexed.

"Never mind, it'd take too long to explain," Hermione sighed, "But about those guards, they use something called _chakra_."

"Chak – ra?" Harry tried saying the strange word.

"Yes, chakra. It comes from the very essence that magic came from. These guys aren't wizards though; they're ninja!" Hermione's brown eyes gleamed with triumph.

"Ninja?" Ron laughed, "Come on Hermione, you know there's no such thing."

"Well, how do you explain that then?" Hermione hissed angrily, pointing out of one of the many library windows. A group of first – year Hufflepuffs and Slytherins were all lined up in a single line, all facing Fox and Wolf. Wolf turned to Fox (he was probably speaking to him; it was hard to tell with the masks on) and after a moment, Fox clasped his hands in a seal and instantly, twenty or so copies of him appeared.

"…" Ron didn't have an answer to dignify Hermione's question.

"Exactly," Hermione smirked, leaning back. She was taking a small break, her Charmwork and Transfiguration perfect.

"So what does that have to do with the creature that's been attacking us?" Harry asked, practicing Transfiguring his cup into a mouse. So far, his cup had grown ears and eyes, which stared fiercely back at Harry as if saying, _'Jeez, you couldn't do it right could you?'_

"Well, since magi-" Hermione began but was cut off when Sasuke suddenly appeared.

"Study," the stoic ANBU said firmly, cutting Hermione off. The witch huffed before turning to her cup which she Transfigured into a mouse instantly.

Sasuke sighed quietly in relief. That had been close. His onyx eyes narrowed behind his raven mask; that had been much too close. He would have to keep an even closer eye on them.

That witch was surprisingly nosy and accurate. Sakura had mentioned that she had seen the smart bushy – haired girl in the library several times. It was almost like a second home to her. Knowledge was like water to Hermione Granger.

And that was dangerous. Knowledge wasn't always great – _or power_, Sasuke thought darkly.

He watched silently as Harry struggled to Transfigure his cup, Ron with his dictionary and Hermione who seemed to be frustrated with something in her Muggle Study book.

Sasuke leaned back against the wall, alert and wary in case the monster was nearby.

"_First we have to know what it's after," Shikamaru pointed out firmly, "Look for the next couple of places it attacks and watch out for any signs of repetition."_

Well, the monster had only attacked once so far. Nothing much could be gathered from that.

_October 30._ The time had passed by fairly quickly. Sasuke groaned. He needed to take someone out and spar off all of the restless, excess energy that he had. It was driving him insane! Well, everyone was pretty restless. Tenten and Neji had gone out a couple of times for a quick spar, but nothing serious; not enough to burn off all of the energy that they had. Naruto was as bouncy as a rabbit the day before, driving Sakura mad.

Said medic had bopped the blond on the head with her super strength, but Naruto proved Ino's shrewd prediction to be right; he really was thick skulled. Shikamaru was still as lazy as ever, but Sasuke could see his eyes darting around him in a bored manner. Ino was getting as feisty as Sakura, although thanks to her cat mask, she hid it well. Hinata was quiet, her Hyuuga mask almost nailed to her face thanks to her many meetings but Sasuke knew she was just as bored and eager to do something as the rest of them were.

"What. The. Bloody. Hell," Ron muttered between his teeth. Now his dictionary had moved _away_ from him.

"No, no, you do it like this," Hermione intercepted. She picked up her wand and giving it a small, precise flick, she said clearly, "Accio dictionary!"Instantly, the book picked off from the ground and flew neatly into Hermione's waiting hands.

"Put your will and mind into it along with the words and the action of the wand; then you should be able to do it," she told the freckle – faced redhead.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered again. Hermione sent the book zooming back to its original position before turning back to her Muggle Study book.

Sasuke watched, amused at Ron's attempts. It was obvious that he was ignoring the clever witch's advice. It reminded him of the time when Naruto had asked Sakura for tips during the tree walking exercise. It was that day when they (Team Seven) learned of Sakura's amazing chakra control and Sasuke's and Naruto's less than amazing chakra control.

Sasuke felt a small smile creep up his face. Those were the carefree times with his team, his family. He didn't regret leaving them to go to Orochimaru. After all, he had managed to defeat Itachi. The only thing he _did_ regret was how clingy and possessive Orochimaru was. But Sasuke wasn't worried; he was actually more powerful than the snake sennin now.

"Argh, I give up," Ron huffed as he sat back. The dictionary stared smugly at the redhead, still sitting in the exact same spot as it had before.

"Listen to her," Sasuke spoke, jerking his head towards Hermione. Ron looked up at him, startled.

"Blimey, I almost forgot you were there," Ron muttered. Sasuke frowned behind his raven mask. He didn't like being ignored…although he hadn't spoken or really moved for the past hour, so he guessed it was understandable.

"Listen her advice," Sasuke turned his head slightly to Hermione again. Ron blinked and looked like he was ready to argue.

"You struggle," Sasuke cut in shortly. Really, he was talking too much, "Listen."

Ron closed his mouth and stared sullenly at the dictionary. Sighing softly, he picked up his wand and concentrated, putting his mind and will into it.

"Accio dictionary!" he said clearly, flicking his wand in the exact same way Hermione had. Immediately, the heavy book picked up from the ground and slammed into the pureblood.

"Oof!" Ron caught the book but staggered backwards.

"You ok Ron?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Did you see that? I did it!" Ron crowed gleefully.

Sasuke chuckled quietly under his mask. Ron reminded him of Naruto. So destructive and so stubborn…

---

Sakura stared at the poor second – year Hufflepuff in confusion.

"How did you manage to develop gills on your side?" the ANBU asked blankly.

The Hufflepuff stared back, her face distorted by the clear bubble of water that was around her head. The gills on her neck were clearly visible.

"She ate Gillyweed my dear," Madame Pomfrey came rushing forward. "Haven't you ever seen it?"

"I can't say I have," Sakura was still staring dumbfounded at the odd sight in front of her.

"Well, you come from Japan right?" without waiting for an answer, Madame Pomfrey rushed on, "Gillyweed isn't native in Japan so it's understandable that you don't know much about it."

Sakura gritted her teeth at the slightly patronizing tone. Madame Pomfrey was nice; really, she was but she had that no nonsense manner that could really irritate someone.

Sakura watched as Madame Pomfrey tapped the bubble of water with her wand. Water parted at the mouth to leave nothing but air. Hurriedly, the nurse tipped a potion in the waiting mouth and with another tap of her wand, the bubble of water closed again.

_Whoa…_ the pink – haired medic thought as she saw the gills slowly recede. The Hufflepuff gasped and choked on water before tapping the bubble with her own wand. The bubble burst and water spilled all over the floor.

_Great…_ Sakura sighed as she looked at the wet mess. She was going to have to clean this up later…

"I'm so sorry!" The now normal girl babbled, "Here, I'll clean this up." She gave a flick with her wand and murmured something. The water started to evaporate, but then stopped halfway.

"It's ok, just get back to class," Sakura assured the girl, "I'll clean this up."

The girl still looked a tad stubborn. Sakura sighed.

"Go or I'll give you detention," Sakura told her firmly. The girl squeaked and scurried out, giving one more "Sorry!" over her shoulder on her way out.

Sakura looked at the wet mess critically. Aware of Madame Pomfrey watching, Sakura did a number of seals with her hand and murmured a water jutsu she had learned from Hinata.

The water spun up like a mini tornado and Sakura dumped it neatly in a nearby, empty bucket. She surveyed her work and nodded to herself; the floor was dry again.

She turned to face Madame Pomfrey, who had been watching with interest.

"So what else do I have to look out for?"

Madame Pomfrey rattled off a whole list.

"…boneless arms, memory loss, burns, boils, explosions, broken wrists, broken arms…"

Sakura paid extra attention to some of the more drastic sounding ones – _boneless arms?_ – and made a note to ask about them.

Sakura and Madame Pomfrey were deep in discussion about healing tactics when another student came crying in the room.

"What happened?" Madame Pomfrey swooped down and examined the arm that the boy held out. She clucked disapprovingly. "What were you doing?"

"Flying lessons," the first – year sniffed, "And I fell off my broom."

Madame Pomfrey had her wand out to heal the arm, but then more students came rushing in.

"Potion accident!"

"One of the Care of Magical Creature things bit me."

"Jinx…Defence…Dark…Arts…"

"Blimey, that's some jinx!"

"Katie got hit by a rogue Bludger here!"

Madame Pomfrey sighed. She rushed towards the crowd and called over her shoulder to Sakura, "I'll leave the ones with normal injuries to you."

Sakura blinked. _I hope that normal injuries mean the ones that I know how to heal. _

She sighed and turned back to the tearful first – year with a smile.

"Let's fix that arm now, shall we?"

---

Ino prowled along the many corridors that were located in the huge, enchanted castle. She stuck to the shadows, her senses alert and wary. When students looked at her, they would always do a double – take but by that time, Ino would have moved on.

The blonde interrogator liked to play these games and mess her victims' minds up a bit. It helped pass the time.

But, she was like a cat. She got bored easily.

_Way_ too easily.

Ino sighed. Walking up and down the halls wasn't much exercise for a kunoichi and it was getting pretty boring too. Students milling about, people teasing each other, students flying to classes, kids practicing their magic…

Granted, watching them perform their magic was as fascinating to her as chakra - empowered leaps were to the students. It was just simply different – and that alone made it interesting to watch.

So she was watching through a small window a redhead attempt to do something with a dictionary book. She saw Sasuke move into her line of vision and continued her patrolling.

"Hey," someone tapped Ino on the shoulder. On reflex, the kunoichi whirled around and jumped back, crouching in a defensive position.

"Relax," the petite girl said. Her flaming red hair was shoulder length, and she looked rather pretty, "I'm Ginny Weasley, from Gryffindor."

Ino cocked her head. Her English was still rather poor, but she had to admit, she was getting better. She caught the girl's name at least.

"Yes?" Ino asked in a heavily accented voice.

"Well, I was just wondering how you do all those neat tricks of yours," Ginny said slowly, but not patronizingly.

Ino caught the word 'you' and 'tricks'. Being the smart blonde that she was, she assumed that Ginny was talking about the chakra empowered moves.

"Chakra," Ino replied, knowing that that probably wasn't the clearest answer.

The small redhead cocked her head to the side, her face clearly confused.

"Chak-ra?" the pureblood tried the foreign word on her tongue. Ino nodded. "What's that?"

Ino cocked _her_ head. She got the gist of what the girl was saying. Still, she hesitantly tapped her chest, struggling to find the correct word.

"Energy?" Ginny offered helpfully. Ino contemplated over the word and nodded slowly.

"An – ergy," Ino tried. She shrugged to herself. Close enough.

Ginny looked thoughtful. "Alright, thanks! If you guys are going to practice or something, can I watch?" she asked hopefully, carefully hefting her heavy book bag on her slim shoulder.

Ino frowned behind her mask, "Say slow."

"When you practice, can I watch?" Ginny asked again, giving the ANBU a shortened version.

Ino nodded. She was pretty sure what the red head had asked. "Go. Class." Ginny nodded, her pretty face lighting up with a smile.

"Thanks again!" she called as she rushed to her next class. Ino nodded once before melting back into the shadows.

_Hmmm…a spar _would_ be nice. I'll go ask forehead – girl later._ Ino crept slowly along the walls, turning her head slightly to catch sounds and sights. She jumped and stuck to the wall with chakra when the shadows ended, enabling her to keep out of sight.

She jerked her head to the right, staring at the stonewall. Behind her porcelain mask, her slim eyebrows turned down into a frown. Her pale blue eyes stared hard out of her mask.

_I could've sworn I sensed something…_

She shook her head. _Maybe I'm just imagining things. _Still, she stared at the spot a moment longer before moving away.

**Hmph**, an echoey whisper sounded. It sounded miffed. **As if I'd be foolish enough to be seen.** Glittering black eyes stared after the disappearing ANBU.

The violet horse bared its teeth in menacing amusement.

---

"_Neji, are you sure that classes are over?_" Tenten murmured to her friend and sparring partner as they walked towards their sparring grounds. Currently, most of the students had trickled out of the castle and was watching them with expectant looks.

"_Do they bother you?_" Neji asked smoothly, taking long strides. He wanted a _proper_ spar this time; not a quick, simple spar that was more of a warm – up then an actual spar.

"_Not really, but still…_" Tenten glanced at them uneasily, her brown eyes shifting from underneath her mask.

"_They should move if they don't want to be impaled by your weapons_," Neji commented as they reached the grounds. Some students were bold enough to follow them, stopping a good distance away yet still in view.

Tenten didn't respond but she got into stance. She ignored the watching students and watched as Neji moved into his fighting stance. Without a signal or nod or anything, they started their spar.

Tenten ran swiftly around Neji, whipping the grass back as she skimmed lightly over the ground. As she made a complete circle around the Byakugan user, she threw senbon needles at once. The results were incoming needles coming all at once in different directions.

Neji jumped up to avoid the small, slim, sharp objects. With his Byakugan on, he noticed Tenten throwing kunais at him. Since he was up in the air with no ground to leap off from, he concentrated on his chakra and created a thin, yet strong shield. The kunais bounced harmlessly off but Neji was unprepared for the exploding tags that were clipped cleverly on the end. They blew up in his face, sending him flying backwards but with an expert flip and a land, he was off and running towards the brunette.

He engaged her in a taijutsu styled fight. Over the years of training together, taijutsu and ninjutsu as well as weapon skills were the most commonly used techniques in their spars. Tenten was a fierce and clever opponent in taijutsu; she had to be. She didn't have as much strength or stamina as Neji did.

Tenten ducked as Neji aimed a roundhouse kick to her side and swept her own feet under him. He jumped up, sending down a storm of shuriken as he did so. Tenten dodged all of them save two, which cut her arm and scratched her forearm ANBU protector. Quickly, so quickly that Neji didn't realize it, Tenten attached thin chakra strings to the shuriken and sent them hurling back towards the Hyuuga.

At the last second, Neji did some seals and murmured, "_Kawarami no jutsu_!" There was a poof and a log appeared in his place. The shuriken stabbed the log and the mess fell onto the ground.

Tenten crouched, alert. She didn't know where Neji would strike. He liked to be inconsistent to keep her on her toes. She narrowed her eyes behind her mask. Then they lit up; she had a plan.

She felt the cool, sharp edge of a kunai pressed against her throat, followed by a deep voice.

"_You lose._"

"_Not yet_," Tenten retorted. She grabbed his wrist and whirled around, her eyes meeting his through their ANBU masks.

"_Kanashibari no jutsu_!" She murmured, locking her brown orbs with his. Instantly, Neji froze up, his white eyes widening. Tenten backed away, never breaking eye contact.

"_Mikazuki no mai_!" she muttered, doing the required seals. Instantly, a copy of her appeared with a katana in hand. Unsheathing her own katana, Tenten and her clone charge straight at the still frozen Neji, katanas in the air.

"_Hah!_" Tenten crowed triumphantly. Since it was only a spar, she and her clone had stopped their attack and had both of their katanas on either side of Neji's neck, a hair's breadth away from his skin. "_I win._"

"_Really?_" Neji murmured. Tenten stood her guard and it was a good thing that she did. Something came crashing into her side, knocking her clone out with a poof and sending her flying to the other side of the field. She watched as the Neji she had put her katana at disappear in a poof.

"_Bunshin_," she muttered, disgusted that she had fallen for the trick. She saw the real Neji crouched at the spot that she had been standing a moment ago, kunai in hand. Tenten landed and faced him, katana in hand.

A moment of stillness, the rare moment in battle when everyone stops.

"_Rising Twin Dragons!"_ Tenten did her trademark move, unfurling her two large scrolls.

"_Kaiten!_" Neji shouted and immediately, a whirling mass of chakra enveloped him, leaving Tenten's weapons to bounce off harmlessly.

The bun – haired brunette saw some of the ricocheted weapons head for some plainly terrified students and swore. She tied chakra strings on the battle - axes in midair and yanked them back, making them land heavily about a meter away from the students.

Neji used this moment of hesitation to take out his own katana and head towards her, the weapon drawn in the air. Tenten unfurled one of her scrolls and bit her thumb, drawing blood. She spread it against a symbol, a tessen, a metal fan, appearing in her hands.

Neji discreetly moved his other hand to his kodachi. His hand, which held the katana, sliced at the brunette but she blocked it with the surprisingly sturdy fan. She sliced at the thin sword with the heavy metal fan and drew her own kodachi with her other hand.

His katana knocked away, Neji drew his kodachi and met Tenten at a standstill, kodachis locked. He didn't forget about her tessen though and drew out a kunai to meet it halfway.

Tenten gritted her teeth. His strength would win out in the end and they both knew it. She had to think of something fast. She jumped away, sheathing her kodachi in a smooth move and threw the tessen at Neji. She summoned chakra and did some seals with her gloved hands.

"_Katon Housenka no Jutsu_!" Balls of fire spat from Tenten's mouth. She deliberately aimed around Neji; it was only for a distraction.

"_Doton Doruki Gaeshi_!" A wall of earth shot up and formed a solid plane to cover Neji, the fire estinguishing uselessly against it. He quickly created a bunshin and murmured a jutsu, disappearing.

Tenten, using her chakra enhanced speed, appeared behind the bunshin and held a kunai to its neck.

At that precise moment, Neji's hand shot up from the ground and grabbed onto the astonished ANBU's ankle. He slammed the brunette onto the ground and broke from the ground, kneeling on her and putting a kunai to her throat.

"_I win._"

Tenten sighed.

"_Lost again._"

Neji got up and offered a hand towards the dishevelled ANBU. Tenten accepted it gracefully and took a look at their handiwork.

The ground had huge craters from large impact and some trees and grass bits were scorched from Tenten's attack. The picture was complete by the hundreds of scattered weapons (courtesy of Tenten's Rising Twin Dragons technique) and the wide - eyed students that were staring at them.

"_I forgot they were watching_," Tenten commented, forming a tiger seal. "_Kai!_" All of her weapons on the ground disappeared in a puff of smoke. Just to make sure, she unfurled one of her scrolls and was satisfied to see the kanji symbols once again written on them.

"_Hn_."

Tenten rolled her brown eyes behind her mask. She stretched a bit, wincing at some of the bigger bruises and cuts that she had earned but she felt so refreshed. That spar was something that they both had really needed.

Neji gathered up his weapons in a flash, ignoring the students that were still staring.

After ten minutes of complete silence, Tenten glanced up from her stretching.

"Did you want something?"

At her mild question, the students snapped out of their trance. Half of them started whispering and chattering to their neighbours and the other half surged forwards, babbling questions to the two ANBUs.

"How did you that?"

"That was incredible! I didn't even see you move!"

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

"How did you do some of those moves?"

And it went on and on. Tenten stared at them, half – amused, half – exasperated. She glanced at Neji and found him in a similar predicament.

"You learn at defence course with Fox and Wolf," Tenten told them, effectively answering most of their questions. She stood, drawing herself to full height.

"_I think we should go back to patrolling_," Tenten mused to Neji who only nodded in response. The swept past the students together, making sure that they all followed them back towards the safety of the castle.

"_I'll let Ino and Sakura know that they can spar later,_" Tenten murmured, _"I'll cover for Ino and I'll get that Pomfrey person to make an excuse for Sakura._" Again, only a nod was given as a response in her direction.

They parted ways, Neji patrolling outside again and Tenten disappearing inside.

_Let's find Ino…_

---

Hinata walked stiffly out of the conference room, her face a mask of indifference. She and some of the Ministry of Magic had been discussing some of the trade routes that they could establish together and although it was beneficial to her clan, she still got one hell of a massive headache after, especially when Fudge was in the meeting. The small man would always shoot looks of contempt around him, as if saying, '_This place is too dirty for the likes of me.'_

Her kimono was impractical for fighting, Hinata mused as she walked along the cool halls of Hogwarts. If the creature attacked her, she would be rather slow in the bulky robes but thankfully, the many folds of cloth provided hiding spaces for weapons.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A voice sneered from Hinata's left. Calmly, the Hyuuga turned her head to face the source and found a tall boy with sleek blond hair.

"Draco Malfoy," Hinata inclined her head to him mockingly. She had researched most of the students, particularly of the Slytherin house.

The boy was plainly startled when Hinata uttered his name, but his expression quickly smoothed out into a sneer. "You shouldn't be wandering the halls so late Ms. Huga," the last name was deliberately spoken poorly and the mock concern was shown clearly through the boy's voice.

"Is there something I should be afraid of?" Hinata asked mildly, her hand moving towards her weapons. _Thank goodness for the wide sleeves_.

"Predators," the boy growled, for once his voice was dark and menacing although Hinata was not impressed. Sakura could be scarier than this boy.

Draco Malfoy whipped out his wand and pointed it straight to Hinata, a sneer curling his lips.

"Tell me all you know about the Ministry of Magic," he commanded.

"And why should I?" Hinata asked mildly once again, as if she was discussing the weather.

"Do it or else I'll torture you for information instead," the tall boy snarled.

_He must be pretty desperate if he has to attack me for information,_ Hinata mused. Quickly, yet still slow enough that you could see the blur of cloth as her arm moved, Hinata threw a forked kunai **(1)**. It caught the wand in the middle and pinned it against the far wall, out of reach.

"You were saying?" Hinata asked again conversationally. The boy looked frightened now, at a loss of his wand.

Moving quickly, Hinata pinned the boy against the cold floor and twisted his arms behind his back. When Malfoy kicked and struggled, she held on. His actions were really quite useless against the jounin.

"I'll have to ask Professor Dumbledore if his students always attack newcomers to this school," Hinata murmured, "I'll have a little chat with your House Head too; Professor Snape was it?"

The pureblood scowled and didn't answer.

"I guess you thought I would be easy picking," Hinata mused thoughtfully. "Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeves too." She gathered some chakra and tied them tightly around Malfoy's arms and hands. She attached a thick rope between him and her in case he tried to escape. She also tied a thin string to his wand and yanked it towards her. She didn't dare touch it in case there was a collision between magic and chakra.

"Walk," she commanded, her usually gentle voice hard. She didn't take being attacked very lightly; especially a student of the school she had sworn she would protect. "We're going to pay Professor Dumbledore a little visit."

Malfoy didn't move, his pale eyes glittering angrily at her. Hinata sighed. Biting her thumb to draw blood, she muttered her summoning jutsu and a small ferret appeared.

"Fetch Professor Snape and get him to meet me in Dumbledore's office," Hinata commanded the ferret softly. With a nod, the ferret scattered.

"Walk," Hinata's voice was hard. Malfoy glared at her but grudgingly began to walk.

The trip was silent, save for the loud pattering of Malfoy's steps. Hinata's were silent and soft; the only noise coming from her was the rustle of cloth.

"Ramen," Hinata told the gargoyle. She sighed as the statue moved aside. Naruto had introduced the headmaster to the savoury noodles and now the wizard rather liked them.

"Ah, Hinata – san," Dumbledore inclined his head towards the duo as they entered his office, "And young Mr. Malfoy."

"Dumbledore – san, Snape – san," Hinata inclined her head towards the pair as well. She deposited the wand on Dumbledore's desk, far away from Malfoy and undid his chakra ropes. He immediately grasped his wrists as if she had burned them and carried them as if they were broken.

"I swear, I didn't do anything! She just attacked me!" Malfoy gasped out.

Hinata raised a slim eyebrow. "Do all of your students lie as blatantly as this one Dumbledore – san?"

"Enough," the oily – haired man on Dumbledore's right muttered.

There was a poof and Naruto appeared, complete with his fox mask. He turned to Hinata.

"_Your ferret came barrelling into me. Told me what happened so I came,"_ Naruto murmured. Hinata nodded and turned back towards the wizards.

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked gravely, his kind blue eyes gazing from Hinata to Malfoy who was pale with fear.

"I came out of the conference room," Hinata began, "and he confronted me. He demanded the information to the Ministry of Magic." She didn't like tattling on people, but this was a serious matter.

"Professor, as Head of his house, I should dictate his punishment," the oily haired man cut in smoothly, sending a dark look towards the cowering boy and an even darker look towards the two ninja. Hinata returned his stare calmly, her white eyes clashing with his black ones.

"But this is quite a serious matter," Dumbledore murmured, "Hinata – san, thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. Professor Snape and I shall decide a proper punishment for Mr. Malfoy but for now, I believe he owes you an apology."

Taking his cue, Malfoy turned sullenly at Hinata. "I'm sorry," he muttered, although it was clear he was less than sorry. Naruto stiffened at the disrespect shown towards his girlfriend and Head of the Hyuuga clan but Hinata laid a hand on his stiff arm.

"Apologies are useless if you do not mean them," Hinata said softly, although she clearly showed power. "Good night Dumbledore – san, Snape – san." With that, she swept out of the room with Naruto disappearing in the shadows after her.

"Little fool," Snape snarled softly but Dumbledore caught it.

The old wizard frowned, "Severus, enough. Our guests still deserve respect." He turned his gaze towards Malfoy, who was looking sullenly at the floor.

"Do whatever you want to me, I don't care," the spoiled boy muttered darkly.

Dumbledore remained silent. His calm blue eyes were calculating as he rested them on the pale, young boy. He picked up his wand and twirled it, as if thinking.

After moments of silence, Dumbledore finally spoke.

"One week suspension, seventy – five points deducted from your House, a month's worth of detention after your suspension and you have to catch up on all of your homework given after your suspension time."

Malfoy's head shot up. The punishment was brutal, even to the point of cruel.

"Headmaster," Snape began.

"You have been much too lenient with this boy," Dumbledore told the ex – Death Eater. "He needs to take his punishments seriously. As well as these, you will not be allowed to go outside except for lessons and you must report to me at least once a week."

Snape eyed the headmaster carefully. This man sounded much too cruel to be the kind headmaster everyone knows.

"Severus Snape," Dumbledore turned his calm gaze to the greasy – haired man. "If you treated everyone equally, this boy would not be in the predicament he is in now." But when the wizard switched his gaze back to the still shocked boy, he added thoughtfully, "Or maybe not."

---

"_You reported to Dumbledore – san about the attack right?_" Shikamaru asked Sasuke lazily.

"_Of course,_" the Uchiha plopped onto the couch, observing as the rest of the ninja trickled into the room. "_I would be a fool not to._"

Sakura groaned as she lowered herself on the couch next to Sasuke, although a respectable distance away.

"_These wizards are so destructive,_" the medic complained, "_I was half out of chakra before dinner!_" That was saying something; over the years, Sakura's chakra reserves were dramatically large, even for a kunoichi.

Tenten quirked an eyebrow, joining them in the cozy room. "_I was sparring with Neji and some battle axes almost hit them. They're quite dense as well as destructive._" The kunoichis shared exasperated looks.

Shikamaru made to say something but was interrupted by the opening of the door. Hinata stormed in calmly, her trademark Hyuuga eyes holding a certain amount of fury in them. Naruto appeared in after, closing the door and taking off his mask.

"_What happened?"_ Tenten asked.

"_Draco Malfoy,_" Naruto answered for Hinata, who had swept up the girls' dormitory without a word.

Everyone in the shinobi group knew who Draco Malfoy was, especially Tenten who first encountered him.

"_What about him?_" Neji asked as he came down the stairs. He sat neatly in one of the cushy chairs, next to Tenten and helped himself to an apple.

"_Hinata,_" Tenten answered. Being sparring partners for about ten years did more than hone battle skills; Neji and Tenten had the ability to read each other perfectly. Sometimes they could even have 'conversations' without saying a single word.

Neji nodded and a dark look settled over his face. "_That boy is nothing but trouble._"

"_Can someone please help me study my English?_" Ino stormed down, large scroll in hand. Her pyjamas were hopelessly rumpled.

"_I'll help you later Ino – pig,_" Sakura waved a hand to her impatiently, "_Did anything interesting happen?_"

"_Yeah, but we should wait till everyone gets here,_" Ino sank in another one of the cushy chairs, sighing blissfully as her tense muscles relaxed. She and Sakura had gotten to spar after dinner and Ino didn't forget her promise to Ginny (even though it was rather hard to find the small redhead).

Naruto joined them shortly, his normally cheerful, boyishly handsome face dark and slightly angry. Hinata came down soon after, in a much calmer mood but she still had a certain angered tint in her eyes.

"_What happened?_" Neji's commanding voice cut through the room.

Quickly, Hinata informed her team mates about what happened, noticing the angry haze that floated around the room.

"_Dumbledore – san said that he would deal with him,_" Naruto finished off. Hinata seemed to have finished venting off her anger and was sitting quietly, contemplatively.

Neji, although having his own mask of no – expression – whatsoever on, his eyes still betrayed the slightest hint of lividness.

"_Hinata – sama,_" Neji began but Hinata cut him off with all the authority as Head of the Hyuuga clan.

"_Stop calling me that,_" the once so – shy – she – could – hardly – speak woman muttered crossly. "_We are of equal standing – or almost in terms of Hyuuga business. In terms of shinobi, you are of higher standing. In this mission, we are all the same so don't tack on that suffix at the end. If you must, just use the –san._"

Tenten had to grab a pillow to muffle her laughing at the slight astonishment that gleamed through Neji's face. Neji in return shot a sour look at the hysterical brunette and proceeded to viciously bite his apple.

"_I'll ask Dumbledore – san about some of his students,_" Shikamaru murmured thoughtfully, "_I don't like the fact that students as young as Malfoy-_"

"_He's 16 dammit,_" Naruto muttered.

"_-are being so violent and unpredictable._"

"_Agreed,_" Sakura spoke up. "_Also, I think Ino has something to share._" All eyes turned to the blonde.

Ino frowned as she spoke. "_I'm not sure if it's anything worth sharing but when I was patrolling – it had to be sometime mid-afternoon – I…felt something. Like a passing shadow, except there was a noticeable presence_," she paused thoughtfully, recalling, "_And then I could have sworn I felt it watching me._" The interrogator shuddered.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and he leaned back, his expression thoughtful.

"_I'll dig around and see what I can find. Ino, I might need you to interrogate someone later,_" Shikamaru murmured, missing the excited gleam in the blonde's eyes.

"_Is that all?_" Sakura asked, glancing around.

"_Neh, neh, when can the rest of us spar?_" Naruto asked, expression grumpy. Since he had the Kyuubi inside him, he had more energy to burn than the rest of them.

"_Tomorrow,_" Tenten answered, standing up. She slid her mask on since she was patrolling first that night, "_I'll cover for you and Sasuke tomorrow._" Naruto only really sparred with Sasuke and occasionally Sakura or Neji.

Neji frowned, "_Tenten, we sparred today and you have night shift._" The unspoken concern was clear to Tenten, even if it wasn't to the others.

The bun – haired woman waved it off, "_It's ok. We had our fun today; they should have some time to burn off all that excess energy too._" Neji still had the look of disapprovement mingled with concern on his pale face. Tenten sighed. "_Neji, normally I would continue arguing with you but I have patrol duty. I'll get you at around 1:00 am, ok?_" With that, she silently left the room.

Neji sighed. "_Wasn't it supposed to be 12:00 am?_"

Naruto snickered, "_She's got your ass whooped._"

Neji gave him the infamous Hyuuga glare, the one that could scorch stone.

But alas, this was Naruto he was aiming at. Said boy just grinned cheekily back at Neji before pecking Hinata quickly on the cheek.

"_I'm going to bed now,_" Naruto yawned, trudging up the stairs, "_G'night._"

Ino leaned over and started discussing with Shikamaru on who they could interrogate for information. Sakura quickly joined in the conversation since she had some useful ideas.

Hinata just got up and quietly left the room to go to bed, but not before reassuring Neji that she was all right. Ever since Hinata abolished the Main Family and Branch Family system, Neji felt like he owed her more than ever before. He had promised to protect her like an older brother.

Neji left too, seeing that he should get as much sleep as possible. He turned to go upstairs and paused when a small hawk, Tenten's summoning animal, came flying in, note in claw. He quickly took the note and thanked the bird quietly, reading over the small letter quickly. The hawk perched on his shoulder, its intelligent eyes scanning the room.

"_What's that?_" Sasuke asked, coming over.

Neji looked up. "_Tenten sent him to help me during my shift._" Inwardly, he smiled. That was Tenten; always thinking of others before herself.

He turned silently, calmly stroking the magnificent brown/golden plumage of the hawk while heading up the stairs. Only hesitating slightly, the Uchiha followed, casting one look at Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru who were still in deep discussion.

---

Neji woke up abruptly at the insistent pecking of Tenten's summoned hawk. He blinked owlishly and turned to face the bird, who was flying around agitatedly. His sleep – hazed mind took a look at the clock beside his bed and frowned. It was only 12:15 am.

With a start, he realized something could be wrong.

"_Is Tenten alright?_" Neji quickly asked the bird, silently getting out of bed and got changed.

The hawk gave a sad croak and started to fly around even more agitatedly. Neji took this as a bad sign and was finished changing and loading himself with weapons in two minutes. He quickly woke Sasuke up, who was in the bed next to him and quickly explained the situation.

"_If I'm not back by 2:00 am, then send someone after me,_" Neji murmured before running out. The hawk was already in the lead, scratching at the door. Neji yanked it open and silently, swiftly followed the hawk down the many corridors.

His blood ran cold when he saw his sparring partner lying on the ground, barely conscious and bleeding heavily. He dropped to the ground beside her, feeling her pulse. It was faint.

"_Tenten!_" Neji's urgent murmur shook Tenten slightly awake. She opened her eyes wearily and saw, to her utter relief, Neji.

"_Ne…ji…_" she croaked, wincing when the large gash on her side spilled more blood out.

"_Get Sakura here immediately,_" Neji ordered the hawk who wheeled around and streaked away. "_Tenten, what happened?_"

"…_snake…_" she managed to utter before falling unconscious.

_Snake? Venom!_ Neji thought frantically as he gently touched Tenten's blood. It was thick and slightly pasty, a sign that poison had gotten into her system. _Shit!_

He was relieved to see Sakura hurrying down the hall, dragging her large medical kit with her superhuman strength. The medic gasped at seeing Tenten and practically teleported to the brunette's side.

The hawk, which had been Tenten's very first summon from way back, keened its grief as it landed beside his mistress on Neji's shoulder.

"_Look away,_" Sakura commanded. Neji hurriedly did as she said, knowing that Sakura would have to get rid of Tenten's clothing to get to the wound. "_Cast a genjutsu in case anyone comes wandering here_." It was slightly unlikely; the corridor they were in was a fairly isolated one.

Sakura ripped the outer armour away and tore the black material of Tenten's ANBU uniform, stifling a gasp when she saw the large puncture marks on the brunette's side. Quickly, Sakura murmured a poison extraction jutsu that Tsunade had taught her. Sakura bit her lip. She had only used it twice before for patients who had been mortally injured and twice it had failed.

Neji watched helplessly as Tenten arched her back and opened her mouth to give a silent scream, the venom pouring out of her in a thick, slightly clear paste. It was a gruesome sight to watch as the blood poured out after.

"_Shit, shit, shit,_" Sakura swore, "_She's losing too much blood!_" But all she could do was watch helplessly as the poison flowed out. The pink – haired ANBU could do nothing until the poison had steered clear of her system.

Neji gave a jerk when the hawk on his shoulder – _I almost forgot he was there_ – suddenly took off, a predatory screech sounding through the empty hallway. Neji cursed.

"_Get back here!_"

But the hawk did no such thing. It flew straight to the opposite wall, claws outstretched. Neji squinted and saw a darting figure – a snake. The hawk hit the wall and Neji couldn't tell if it had gotten the snake or not. However, the hawk emerged from the shadows, a bleeding and still wriggling snake hissing in its grasp. It venomous fangs were abnormally large, ready to strike the bird. Neji quickly threw a kunai at it, sending it flying straight through the green snake's head.

"_Let me see that,_" Sakura demanded. The hawk obediently dropped the now dead snake onto the floor and flew back to perch on Neji's shoulder.

"_Just as I thought_," Sakura hissed, examining the fangs of the snake, "_This snake is rather rare, the poison extremely difficult to extract. Usually the extraction process for this venom takes too much time and the victim dies. Whoever sent this snake was clearly intending to kill._"

Neji froze. "_Will she die?_"

Sakura looked up, her green eyes unreadable. "_Tenten's strong. She'll make it._" Biting her thumb and quickly summoning two slugs, Sakura told them to fetch Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore. Then she turned her attention back to Tenten, who was looking white with blood loss. The venom, still oozing out, was taking an unbearably long time.

"_Neji, come here,_" Sakura grabbed Neji's hand. "_I'm going to take some of your chakra because I'm half out already and the move I have to do is critical; I have to do it _now_ otherwise Tenten will die._" She murmured her jutsu, feeling Neji's chakra flow transfer to hers. Neji staggered, unaccustomed to the sudden loss.

Feeling much better and much more powerful than before, Sakura formed several complex and quick seals, uttering a jutsu that Neji had never heard of before. She slammed her hands onto Tenten's side, stopping just a millimeter away from her skin. Green light poured out of Sakura's hands and pooled around Tenten's body.

Neji could only watch as the poison, now a sickly purple, shoot out of Tenten's body in a powerful stream before stopping. Tenten's skin and muscles healed, leaving nothing but two huge scars where the fangs had penetrated. More must have happened underneath the skin that Neji couldn't see because Sakura kept up with the jutsu for another grueling five minutes before collapsing.

"_Poison should be gone, need to get her to the hospital wing, artery still burst but should be fine, muscles knitted back together, she'll only have a scar, thankfully no bones were touched otherwise it'll have been messier and more difficult, vital organs missed, check poison tomorrow, get to the hospital wing…_" Sakura mumbled, dropping to the ground in an exhausted heap.

Neji moved to Tenten and felt her pulse. It was steady. He breathed a slight sigh of relief and positioned both kunoichis so they were comfortable on the floor. He viewed the messy bloodstains with a frown.

"_Suiton, Suishouha_!" he murmured. A wave of water came crashing out of nowhere, beating the bloodstains mercilessly. When Neji was finished, he was satisfied to see the blood gone.

"What happened?" Madame Pomfrey gasped, hurrying forwards upon seeing them when she turned around the corner. A slug was at her heels, automatically heading towards Sakura.

"Snake attack," Neji answered shortly. "They both need to get to the hospital wing. My partner," Neji gestured at the unconscious Sakura, "managed to heal my friend here."

Madame Pomfrey whipped out her wand, conjuring floating stretchers from nowhere. Both girls were lowered onto the stretchers and Neji followed silently and Madame Pomfrey moved towards the hospital wing.

Efficiently, Madam Pomfrey lowered the two kunoichis onto soft hospital beds, flicking her wand to conjure two nasty smelling blue potions.

"You're staying here tonight to watch over them I presume?" the school matron asked the silent ANBU. Without waiting for an answer, she plowed on, "Make sure they drink these when they wake up. I have to go fetch the headmaster…"

"No need Poppy, I'm here," the door opened and Professor Dumbledore, magnificent even in his sleeping robes, burst in. His calm blue eyes swept across the room, taking in the situation in one glance.

"Neji – san, I will need you to tell me what happened," Dumbledore turned to the Hyuuga.

"I'll tell you here," Neji said firmly, moving to sit beside Tenten whose face was still pale from extreme blood loss.

"Very well."

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN: **Was Dumbledore OOC? Definitely. Bah, whatever. It just suited the situation at the time (I should think) and a headmaster, even one as kind as him, had to enforce some kind of discipline when his colleagues fail to. Hinata was pretty OOC too, but remember they're around 23 - ish; a far time from their gennin days. A lot can happen then.

I found that there were a lot of scene switching :_twitch:_. I honestly tried to keep my scenes flowing and smooth, but I don't know if I succeeded in this chapter.

Keep guessing the monster! If you've already guessed, I won't say if you got it or not ;) As a hint, that snake is not the monster but it _is_ connected to it – although distantly.

Most medical jutsus that Sakura used are made up (that's why I didn't have her say the actual jutsu; I have no knowledge of Japanese so I can't translate them).

Hinata can summon ferrets (xD), Tenten can summon hawks, Naruto can summon frogs, Sasuke can summon snakes and Sakura can summon slugs. Just to clear that up…

13 reviews for the second chapter xD What can I say? You guys rock :).

Thanks to a suggestion made by Master Sanosa, the words spoken in Japanese are written in _italics. _Otherwise, text written in normal mode (like this) is spoken in English.

And once again, special thanks to my beta, Denisen! The most patient, fantastic beta one could ask for ;)

**Notes:**

**(1) Forked kunai:** I'm not sure if there's actually a weapon like this (must ask

Tenten xD) but it looks like a large, deadly fork without the middle.

**Kawarami no jutsu:** Body Substitute Skill

**Kanashibari no jutsu:** Body Freeze Skill

**Mikazuki no mai:** Dance of the Crescent Moon

**Bunshin:** Clone/copy

**Kaiten:** Hyuuga move; ultimate defence.

**Katon Housenka no Jutsu:** Fire Element: Phoenix Fire

**Doton Doruki Gaeshi:** Earth Wall Land Flip

**Kai:** Dispel/cancel

**Suiton,Suishouha:** Water Element: Water Wave


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary: **(HPxNaruto) Is it a new demon? One of Voldemort's creations? Whatever it is, it wants Harry dead. Magic is useless against it, so Dumbledore decides to bring in some shinobi and kunoichi to solve the problem…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

---------------------------------------------------------

"_What happened?_"

Ino, Hinata and Naruto were instantly on their feet as Neji walked through the door. Shikamaru was sitting on the couch again, looking agitated and Sasuke was frowning.

"_Snake attack_."

Neji's pearl – grey eyes darted to look at the sullen Uchiha.

"_Here."_

The tall Hyuuga tossed a limp body of a snake to Sasuke who caught it with ease. The Uchiha examined it closely and gave an answer only after ten seconds of looking at it.

"_Fer – de – lance,_" Sasuke muttered, "_Highly poisonous. This one's fairly big, being about 8 feet long. The thing that puzzles me is that fer – de – lances are usually grey or brown with light strips. As you can see, this snake is solid black._" Sasuke lifted the snake's head, "_But it's definitely a fer – de – lance. It has a yellow throat._"

"_Anything else we should know, snake – master?_" Ino asked sarcastically.

"_This snake can cause human fatalities, even death in some cases,_" Sasuke looked up at Ino, his black eyes cold, "_And the unusual thing is that this type of snake is found in tropical South America and the West Indies. What it's doing here in England I cannot understand unless someone either bred it here to adapt to its environment or it's under someone's influence._"

"_Orochimaru?_" Hinata suggested. Sasuke shook his head.

"_This isn't a summon,_" Sasuke argued, "_And as far as I know, Orochimaru's too caught up with Sound plans._"

"_Voldemort?_" Hinata tried again.

"_That's a possibility,_" Shikamaru spoke up, "_He's connected to snakes isn't he? From what I've peeked at from the records and books, he has an uncannily large amount of snakes at his disposal._"

"_But why would it target Tenten?_" Naruto mused.

"_Perhaps it didn't mean to,_" Shikamaru said thoughtfully, clearly thinking the situation over, "_Maybe it was meant to target that Potter boy and got Tenten instead._"

"_Plausible,_" Sasuke agreed. "_Neji?_"

"_Already reported to the headmaster,_" Neji replied, frowning a bit at the Uchiha. He wasn't a professional for nothing.

"_How's Tenten and Sakura?_" Ino asked anxiously.

"_Tenten hasn't awakened yet and Sakura is just getting some rest,_" Neji answered shortly. He tugged his mask back on, "_We still have patrolling._"

"_I'm going to pop by the hospital wing and see how they're doing,_" Ino said, slipping her own mask own.

"_I'll go after lunch,_" Hinata offered, brushing her forearm protectors. She had no meetings or conferences today so she was free to act as Tenten's stand – in.

"_Enough chattering,_" Neji said tersely, "_Let's go._"

"_Hmph, someone's shoved a stick up his ass today,_" Ino muttered darkly but she went out anyways and started to quickly walk to the upper levels of the castle.

She quickly stuck to the walls with chakra as classes started, emitting tides of students coming and rushing in different directions.

Ino had to stifle a laugh as a Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff crashed into each other, books and papers spilling everywhere. Both sported dazed and panicked looks. People milled about, asking if they were ok or if they needed help. Shaking her head at the clumsiness of wizards, Ino swiftly leaped away, sticking onto the walls and neatly avoiding the mess that was slowly happening below her.

It took ten more minutes to reach the hospital wing, mainly because Ino was taking her time to observe her surroundings and the wizards and witches scurrying about. The blonde neatly flipped to her feet as she reached the doors of the hospital wing and pushed them open slightly.

"_Ino – pig, come in,_" Sakura's tired voice floated to the interrogator's ears. Ino pushed the door open and saw her best friend sitting up in one of the hospital beds, setting down a cup that bore signs of a rather thick and pasty potion.

"_Forehead – girl, how're you feeling?_" Ino asked, closing the door quietly behind her. Her cat mask prevented Sakura from seeing the worried eyes that her friend sported.

"_Like I fell down a mountain and got run over by a train,_" Sakura remarked frankly, running a hand through her short pink hair. "_How did everyone take the news?_"

"_Kinda better than I expected,_" Ino replied truthfully, "_Although we got sidetracked and starting discussing about the snake._"

"_What did you guys find out about it?_" Sakura asked eagerly.

Ino quickly filled the pink – haired woman on the details briefly pausing only when Madame Pomfrey came into the room to check on her patients.

"_And how's Tenten doing?_" Ino asked quietly as Madame Pomfrey bustled about.

"_Still resting,_" Sakura replied, equally as quiet, "_I'm not surprised. Usually a victim that's been put under as much strain and poison as she has won't wake up for at least a week, sometimes extending to a month. But Tenten's strong; she's been training seriously far longer than any of us. If she can't pull through, than no one can._" Sakura had one hundred percent faith put into her friend.

Ino drew back the curtain a bit to check on the brunette and saw the ANBU lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. Colour had dusted on her cheeks lightly, but she still looked rather thin and pale.

"_Pomfrey and I have been force – feeding her potions and food and water for the past couple of hours,_" Sakura explained softly, able to see Tenten's prone form from her own hospital bed.

"_Her vitals are stable and I think the poison's effectively out of her system. If Neji hadn't found her in time, she would've…_" Sakura bit her lip, not completing the sentence. Ino knew what she meant though.

"_Then we can thank 'fate' for that can't we?_" Ino replied jokingly.

Sakura chuckled weakly and gazed sadly at the prone weapons mistress.

"_I hope she wakes up soon,_" Sakura murmured sadly, "_It's a bit disconcerting watching her and not knowing if she's ever going to wake up from this coma – like state._"

Ino froze. "_So you mean she might never wake up?_"

"_Maybe,_" Sakura cautioned, "_But what she's slipped into is something close to a coma. She might never wake up from it, but let's hope that she does._"

Ino was silent, her gaze straying to the eagle mask that was lying on the table at the end of the hospital bed.

"_The curtains have been drawn to prevent the students from looking,_" Sakura explained again, "_But I tell you, some of these wizards and witches are pretty persistent._"

The blonde kept silent, casting one more look at Tenten's frail form before drawing the curtain close again.

"_Has anyone else been here to visit?_" Ino asked quietly.

"_Neji was here practically all of last night. I heard Sasuke filled in his patrol shift,_" Sakura replied.

"_Well, Hinata will come by later to check on you guys,_" Ino told the medic, "_Sometime after lunch she said. I have to go back to patrolling now or else Neji will start spazzing again._" The interrogator rolled her blue eyes.

Sakura laughed softly, imagining Neji spazzing. "_Take care pig._"

"_Will do forehead – girl,_" Ino waved to her best friend who waved back before swiftly and silently heading out of the hospital wing.

The blonde hopped back onto the walls, practicing her chakra control. Although it wasn't nearly as good as Sakura's, it was still pretty decent and the longest she had held on was three hours.

_Let's see if I can bump it up to four._

She glanced warily around her, opening her senses for anything out of the ordinary. Fortunately, all of the students had gone to their classes making the halls empty. Any sound that was made would magnify tenfold on the stone floor.

A hiss was heard on the floor and Ino instantly went on the defensive, her hands straying to her kunai pouch out of reflex. Her eyes snapped to the source and narrowed in anger when she saw two twin boys, both with flaming red hair, hold up a firecracker that was sparkling and hissing.

"Com'on George, hurry up!" one of the two identical redheads whispered.

"Hold on," was the reply as the other slid the hissing firecracker in a crack through the wall. "This'll give Umbridge a little surprise."

"Right on mate," the first one chortled, glancing fondly at the bright firecracker, "This'll give her a run for her money."

"Hey, ain't Harry and Ron and Hermione in Umbridge's class right now?"

"I dunno but if they are, they'll be glad for the interruption."

Ino quietly flipped down from the wall and silently walked up behind them.

"You two. Class?" Ino asked quietly, making the twins jump in fright.

"Blimey, you just snuck up on us!" the redhead on the right (George was it?) exclaimed.

"We didn't even hear you!" the other one sported the same expression of surprise on his face.

"Class. Go," Ino commanded. She knew she probably looked rather intimidating with all of her weapons and professional clothing.

"Righto!" George agreed hastily, scurrying away with his twin hot on his heels.

Ino regarded the sizzling firecracker. _Thirty seconds and it'll go off,_ she thought. After a moment of thinking, she devilishly attached a small exploding tag on the end.

"_A little gift from us to you Umbridge,_" Ino mock saluted the wall before bounding away to stick high on the opposite wall.

Sure enough, the firecracker and the exploding tag blew up at the same time, taking out a nice sized portion of the wall with it. Ino was having a silent laughing attack as the dust cleared and she saw a good look at Umbridge's face.

_Man, I wish I had a camera,_ Ino laughed silently, yet hysterically at Dolores Umbridge's shocked, frustrated, angered and confused toad – like face.

_This is priceless._

Sasuke, who had been inside looking after the Potter boy, saw Ino just as the blonde climbed higher on the wall to avoid getting seen. Professor Umbridge looked like she was ready to explode herself.

"You! Get the headmaster here," the toad – like witch pointed a finger commandingly at Sasuke.

_No one bosses me around._

"No."

Ino couldn't stop. Now she was having a hard time trying to keep quiet.

It looked like someone had hit the witch with a very heavy book. The bright pink sweater that she was sporting made her look all the more comical.

"I'm not under your orders," Sasuke said darkly.

The witch seemed to snap out of it and gathered herself to full height – which wasn't a very impressive move. The top of her pointed hat just reached Sasuke's shoulders.

"Well then," her tone was back to its simpering, sugary sweet tone, although it had a definite dangerous, scathing undertone, "I'll just have to report this…incident with the Ministry of Magic later. Everyone, your homework is to read chapters ten through twenty – five and give me five sheets of parchment explaining the different types of shield charms. That will be all."

There was much muttering and complaining underneath one's breath, but it was undeniable; all sported snickering looks as they passed Umbridge and the hole in the wall.

"Blimey, did you see that?"

"That was fantastic!"

"Did'ja see Umbridge's face?"

"I could die happy now!"

"Man, I wish I had a camera! That was just wicked!"

"I wonder who did it."

"Who knows, but whoever it was is a genius!"

"I bet it was Fred and George," Ron muttered to his two best friends, "Just take a look at that firecracker." Indeed, the rather large explosive, although blown into pieces, still held some markings and colour. The colours and the markings were exactly the same as the firecrackers that the two twins had been busy designing all summer.

"Yeah, we'll have to thank them later," Harry replied with a grin.

Sasuke, who was silently following behind, sent a pointed look towards Ino who caught it despite the masks in the way.

_That firecracker was too small to cause that much damage._

"_Exploding tag,_" Ino murmured loud enough for Sasuke to hear. Her amusement showed clearly in her tone of voice.

"_Hn,_" Sasuke gave his infamous one word answer. "_Good job._"

"_Why thank you,_" Ino smirked underneath her mask, giving the Uchiha an elaborate, mocking bow. "_Pop in sometime to visit Sakura and Tenten. I'm sure you'll want to know Tenten's conditions right now._"

"_Hn_."

The ANBU leader quickly stuck to the walls, much like what Ino was doing in order to follow Harry Potter and his friends without being trampled by the sea of students. He didn't have a hard time keeping an eye on the marked boy; he rather stood out in the crowd; at least to Sasuke.

"Hey, we have Potions next," Ron groaned, clutching his head. "Damn, I'm going to get a bad mark on my essay for sure!"

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad," Hermione encouraged the redhead who only gave her a half – mournful, half – annoyed look in return.

"Not everyone gets perfect marks like you do 'mione," he mumbled, gloomily shifting his bag.

"I couldn't get the potion formula right," Harry put in, frustrated. He had taken out his poorly written potions essay and was hastily re – reading it. "My book either said the essence of moondrought or the essence of loonyfought."

"Well I think that the answer would be fairly obvious," Hermione raised any eyebrow as the trio headed down the stairs that led into the dungeons.

"At least we don't have double Potions," Ron said gloomily, "That'd be awful."

"Indeed," a cold, oily voice sounded behind them. Horrified, all three stiffened and turned their heads slowly to face the speaker.

"I think fifteen points off of Gryffindor for such a rude comment," Snape said acidly. Then he swept pass them and to the front of the classroom, almost stomping in fury.

"Why's he so uptight?" Harry murmured to his friends very quietly.

"I dunno," Ron shrugged, "But I heard that it's something to do with Malfoy."

"Silence," Snape snapped, his eyes on several empty seats that still littered his classroom. "Five points off Gryffindor for being late."

_That's not fair_, Harry thought furiously. Indeed, there were more Slytherins missing than Gryffindors. But then again, when had Snape ever been fair? Harry bit back his dark thoughts and the retorts that sprang to his lips, but he still sent a scathing glare towards Snape's back.

Sasuke watched the greasy – haired potions master calmly, knowing the reason for his snappiness. He felt a slight, smug satisfaction feeling when he saw Snape accidentally sweep a flask full of an eerie, bubbling green liquid onto the stone floor. Sasuke had felt an instant disliking to the man – perhaps it was because he was associated with another snake power – hungry human (if one could even call him that).

"Turn to page three hundred and forty – seven and do the Drought of Hell's Flower. You have the entire class," Snape almost snarled, flicking out his wand with a ferocious stab making the glowing, green liquid on the ground skyrocket to the ceiling with a splat before disappearing.

There was a small whimper, not loud enough for anyone but Sasuke's carefully tuned, sensitive ears to hear. He turned to face the source and found himself glancing at Neville Longbottom's sweating, terrified face.

_Of course_, Sasuke thought, irritated. The wizard was already terrified of Snape and the subject Potions to begin with. For him, this new, explosive and dangerous version of Snape was probably ten times worse for him.

Hermione subtly shifted over until she was sitting next to the feverish looking Neville. Her murmured instructions to him out of the corner of her mouth were audible to Sasuke.

"Stir counter – clockwise seven times," Harry was muttering to himself. His eyes were on the crisp, white pages of his Potions book, flicking to look at his murky, purple potion frequently.

"It's supposed to be violet by now," Ron said, frustrated. He was slightly ahead of Harry and was looking like he was ready to kick his cauldron over. His potion had steadily turned darker and darker with each turn instead of lighter.

"Maybe you stirred clockwise by accident," Harry responded absently, stirring carefully around the cauldron the fifth time.

"Counter – clockwise is this way right?" Ron drew his finger in a circle to the right. Sasuke snorted, loud enough for the redhead to hear.

"That's clockwise," the Uchiha said in response to the scathing look that Ron gave him, bored. Sakura's scathing looks were much scarier – not that he was scared by them anyways.

Ron paled. "Shit!"

"Now add the seeds of Bloodhalf," Harry was still muttering. "I wonder where they get these names from…"

"I dunno, ask Hermione," Ron muttered glumly. He was scanning his book, probably looking for a solution to his ruined potion.

Sasuke stayed silent, his gaze sweeping over the students and the irritated teacher. Something though, made his head snap back to the Potter boy as he reached to drop some seeds into his potion.

_Shit_, he cursed as the seeds dropped from Harry's hand. Sasuke sped with chakra- enhanced legs to scoop up Harry and Ron. He dashed to the farthest end of the dungeon, grabbing everyone in his way.

Five milliseconds later, a tremendous explosion blew up in Harry's potion. A thick column of black smoke issued from the scorch mark on the ground that was once Harry and Ron's cauldrons, a sharp, pungent smell filtering around the dungeon.

"That was not the seed of Bloodhalf," Sasuke muttered darkly, audible only to Ron, Harry and Hermione, "That was essence drops of HellsFire."

Bloodhalf was the much milder version of HellsFire. Hellsfire flowers were a deep, crimson with glossy, black seeds. Unlike the Bloodhalfs seeds properties of enhancing, HellsFire was used to make killing potions.

_Good thing I went to that medical conference with Sakura and Hinata_, Sasuke thought as he surveyed the students. None seemed hurt, although two Slytherins and three Gryffindors, two which were Ron and Harry, were burned rather badly.

"You five, hospital wing," Snape's cold voice snapped through the air, "Potter and Weasley, I think fifteen points off and a month's worth of detention for not paying enough careful attention to your ingredients."

_But what's interesting is how those seeds got into Harry's ingredient pile in the first place,_ Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the Potions master, _I'll have to look into this later._

But Hermione had thought the same thing as Sasuke.

"How did seeds of HellsFire get into your Potions supply?" the bushy – haired witch hissed quietly, "They're extremely rare – one seed alone costs three Galleons! And they're practically illegal in these parts of Britain!"

"I dunno," Harry murmured back, dazed. "I thought they were seeds of Halfblood…"

Sasuke took a closer look at the still smouldering scorch marks on the ground. His sharp eyes caught the glimmer of half of a HellsFire seed, still round and glossy with its end blown off. He carefully picked it out of the ashes and tucked it in a small, nearby flask that somehow managed to escape the explosion.

_Sakura will want to look at this._

"Hurry up," Snape snapped when he saw Harry and Ron still in the dungeon, "The rest of you, work on this side of the dungeon."

"Professor…my potion…" a student fearfully spoke up, gesturing to her destroyed cauldron. Several other students spoke up as well.

"Then turn to page two hundred and ninety – six and do that potion instead. You should have enough time to at least produce a decent Cure Potion for Werewolf by the time you're done," Snape turned his dark look towards the mess of half burned tables, stools and cauldrons. He flicked his wand, the mess disappearing instantly although the scorch mark remained.

Sasuke pocketed the flask and followed silently behind Harry and Ron, who were wincing at their burns that ran across their bare arms (they had pushed their sleeves up to work) and parts of their faces.

"Blimey, look at that one," Ron exclaimed as he twisted his arm to take a better look at a rather painful looking burn on his right arm, "This one hurts like hell!"

"Then let's hurry up and get to the hospital wing," Harry urged, wincing as his sleeve brushed against a rather raw burn.

The two wizards hurried down the corridors, Sasuke on their heels. It wasn't long before the two big doors of the hospital wing came in sight.

"Finally," Ron groaned as he pushed the door open.

"More patients?" Sasuke heard someone sigh as he entered through the doors, "They never stop coming."

"_Of course not,_" Sasuke spoke up, his onyx eyes focused on the pink – haired medic, "_They are wizards after all._"

Sakura looked up from her work in bandaging a Slytherin and was surprised to see Sasuke's raven mask staring down at her.

"Raven!" Sakura exclaimed; she made sure that she wouldn't give away their identities.

Sasuke gave a curt nod to her and his eyes flickered to a hospital bed, shielded by heavy curtains. Something about it made him activate his Sharingan and he saw that the edges of the curtains were sealed with a thin layer of chakra.

"_Eagling's in there,_" Sakura explained. She had caught a glimpse of Sasuke's Sharingan eyes, "_I'll explain her situation with you in a sec._" She turned her attention to Harry and Ron, who had been ushered into hospital beds by a harried Madame Pomfrey.

"_Sakura,_" Sasuke called after her after a moment. The ANBU medic turned and gave him a questioning look. "_Here. Look at it after._" He tossed the small flask to Sakura who caught it with long practiced ease – something that Harry noticed.

"_Seed of HellsFire,_" Sakura murmured, switching her language abruptly. "_How on earth…?"_

"_Now is not the time,_" Sasuke said tersely, "_Look after the patients and we'll discuss it after_."

Professionally, Sakura nodded and pocketed the vial before turning her attention back to the burned students.

Sasuke leaned against the wall, his eyes attentive as he watched Sakura administrate some ointment to the students' burns, idly noting how nice her hair looked in the sunlight.

Startled at that sudden thought when it crossed his mind, Sasuke jerked his hand out of his kunai pouch, accidentally firing it across the room. It flew with precise speed and aim and landed on a medical chart smack in the center.

"_Raven_," Sakura turned her head to glare at Sasuke, "_Stop that._"

Sasuke didn't bother to dignify that with an answer.

The hospital door creaked open again and Sasuke had time to see one exasperated look cross Sakura's face before she turned to face the source of the noise. Hinata's blue/black hair swung out as she poked her mask - clad head in.

"_Sakura? Raven?_" Like Sakura, Hinata was attentive enough to not give away any names.

Sasuke gave a sharp nod in return as Sakura waved before jerking her head towards the shielded hospital bed. She returned to putting ointment on Harry and Ron.

Hinata closed the door carefully behind her and made her way silently to the hidden hospital bed. She noticed the chakra sealing instantly and subtly created a hand seal of her own.

"_Kai!_"

The thin layer of chakra that held the curtain stuck fast to the wall vanished and drooped limply. Hinata brushed it aside, making sure that she only opened it enough for her to enter and not let anyone see in.

Tenten was lying there, still pale and thin. Her breathing was steady, as if she was just sleeping her time away – and in a way, she was. Hinata closed the curtain to prevent prying eyes from peeking in and removed her mask.

"_Tenten, wake up soon_," Hinata whispered softly, gazing at her friend with sad eyes. It was safe to speak their actual names when they were speaking Japanese; the English - speaking students wouldn't and couldn't tell the difference anyways. Her pale white eyes traced over the long, tousled brown hair that had been released from its usual style of buns and smiled sadly. "_You'd probably get into a fit if you found out that someone let down your hair_."

"_Which is why I'll be monitoring her so we know when she'll wake up. Hopefully, I'll find out before she actually does so I can create a nice target or dummy for her weapons to puncture,_" Sakura was smiling as she pushed the curtain aside and was followed shortly by Sasuke. Madame Pomfrey had wanted to keep the five burned students for a little while longer, releasing Sasuke from his duty for the time being.

"_She's stable and the poison's out,_" Sakura explained quietly to the two ANBU, "_But she's in a come – like state; she may never wake up._"

Hinata inhaled sharply, her eyes stricken. Whatever expression Sasuke made was hidden under his raven mask.

"_But,_" Sakura continued, "_Her signs are looking positive. Her chakra level is stirring and her brain activity is still active. She responds most when Neji comes by so-"_

"_Neji – niisan came here?_" Hinata broke in, puzzled, "_When did he have time? I saw him patrolling…"_

"_That was a bunshin you saw,_" Sakura said, laughter twinkling in her eyes, "_He came here to check up on Tenten._" The medic was obviously pleased with this and had a sly smirk flit across her face for a moment.

Hinata let a small smile grow on her lips. Neji had always been a loner, preferring to train instead to socialize. The fact that he was opening up to someone was comforting and pleasing. Even more so because he was doing it to Tenten, one of Hinata's dearest friends.

"_Women,_" Sasuke snorted very, very quietly.

"_Hey!_" Predictably, Sakura had heard. "_You little-_"

"_Stop that,_" Hinata cut in with all the authority of a leader, "_Now is not the time to argue._"

"_Arrogant little bastard…_" Sakura still muttered darkly.

"_I'm taller than you_," Sasuke pointed out smugly. Sakura chose not to respond to that.

Hinata made a sharp gesture and her eyes spoke clearly. There were still students around, listening.

Sakura caught her meaning instantly. Sasuke made no gesture that he understood, although he probably did.

"_Don't you guys have patrolling to do?_" Sakura asked as she moved to check Tenten's chakra level.

"_Bunshin,_" Hinata answered. "_Besides, it's pretty quiet right now._"

"_I'm watching the Potter boy,_" Sasuke reminded Sakura.

"_And I'm stuck on hospital duty,_" the medic sighed, "_Well, it's been interesting anyways. Most people who come in have to be healed by these odd potions and charms and I can only deal with people with **normal** injuries_."

"_Interesting how?_" Hinata asked, sitting on the edge of Tenten's hospital bed.

"_Oh you know, extra limbs, missing bones, jinxes gone wrong, that kind of thing,_" Sakura replied casually, making some notes on a clipboard as she checked Tenten's chakra level. "_Hmm, it's responding well. That must mean-_"

"_Don't you have patrol duty?_"

A smooth, masculine voice penetrated the heavy drapes and Neji soon entered, wearing his eagle mask. He turned his face towards Sasuke.

"_That Potter boy is already five feet out of the hospital wing_," the warning was clear in Neji's tone. Sasuke scowled behind his mask but disappeared in an instant to catch up with Harry and Ron.

"_Bunshin_," Hinata said again, to explain why she wasn't patrolling, "_And you should be on patrol duty as well_."

"_Ino has me covered,_" Neji replied smoothly, his white eyes darting to glance at Tenten.

"_Wait, so you mean Harry and Ron have left already?_" Sakura suddenly noticed.

"_That is just what I said,_" Neji told her curtly.

"_Damn, I was supposed to check something,_" Sakura swore and flew out of the contained area, disappearing in a flurry of cloth.

Both Hyuugas were silent, yet neither found the silence uncomfortable. Hinata watched with knowing eyes as Neji moved hesitantly closer to sit by Tenten.

"_She really cares about you,_" Hinata remarked softly, her eyes still on Neji's face.

Neji froze, not used to hearing those words. Since his father died, he had literally cut himself off from his family, becoming even more distant than usual. The closest people he had was his genin cell team.

"_You need someone to balance you Neji – niisan,_" Hinata continued with a soft smile, "_Someone to bring you out a little more. You should think about it._" And then she rose gracefully, walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "_But whatever you do, make sure that you don't end up hurting her._" With that cryptic last word, she slid her mask into place and silently left the area, the curtain swishing softly behind her.

Neji stared after the limp curtain before slowly removing his mask from his face and turning his gaze back to Tenten.

"_Someone to balance me out…_"

His eyes grew soft. They were like ying and yang, the complete opposite of each other. But don't opposites attract?

He sat on a nearby chair and hesitantly reached out with his gloved hand. Slowly, he closed it over Tenten's calloused hand. His eyes never left her pale face framed by her long brown hair. He noticed distinctly how nice she looked with her hair down.

_Dammit, I don't need this now,_ Neji thought, frustrated although he didn't make any move to pull his hand away. It was all too sudden, too new for him. First the exploding, new feelings that swarmed him whenever he saw Tenten and now this frustratingly boring mission combined with a new threat that presented himself as Lord Voldemort.

"_And it's Halloween too,_" Neji suddenly realized with a start. They never celebrated those kinds of things in Konoha, but it was mentioned quite often here and most students were excited; this year, the teachers had planned something special during dinner.

_Just let things pile on top of each other,_ Neji thought shrewdly.

His thoughts turned to the night before (was it really that short of a time ago?) when Tenten was attacked and suppressed a shudder. Thank goodness for her summon – if it wasn't for it, then Neji never would've reached Tenten in time. He face hardened at the thought – that will never happen.

He gazed almost sadly at Tenten's unresponsive face. He missed seeing her laugh and smile, although he wouldn't dare admit that out loud. Just thinking of her laugh made him remember Ino's little prank on Professor Umbridge.

"_And then I attached a small exploding tag at the end – hey, don't look at me like that!" Ino said defensively when she saw Neji's eyes turn into a frown, "You know she deserved it. Anyways, you should've seen her face! If I had a camera, I would've taken fifty pictures of it. You know Tenten would've loved it."_

_That seemed to do the trick. Neji relaxed slightly, but he still glared at Ino. _

"_Regardless, Umbridge is still under our care."_

"_From the monster," Ino pointed out, "But they never said anything from us. Relax a little, loosen up. Or if you can't, you should get someone to help you." With that, she left with a wink that was visible through her mask and left swiftly, as silently as a cat._

Neji sighed. Really, did everyone seem to poke at his relationship with Tenten? It certainly seemed that way.

The rest of the afternoon passed quietly, Neji never leaving Tenten's side. He felt somewhat obliged to, knowing that the countless times that he had been hospitalized from missions – whether he needed it or not – Tenten had always been there, every single time. She never brought flowers; she knew that Neji never paid attention to them. She brought different things, once bringing in a small sparrow that she had nursed back to health after finding it half dead.

Neji almost chuckled at the memory. He had looked so wonderingly at the bird that Tenten had laughed at his expression. It was probably one of the clearest memories in his mind.

"_Neji?_" Sakura poked her head in, looking rather tired and dishevelled, "_I hate to break your time with Tenten, but Ino just popped her head in and said that she has to go grab a bite to eat – she skipped lunch, the stupid pig – and can't cover for you._"

Neji nodded and got up, a little reluctantly, but snapped his mask on all the same. He cast one final glance at Tenten's prone form before walking out, sealing the curtain behind him swiftly with chakra.

---

"_How…_"

"…_Troublesome. Jeez Shikamaru, can't you think of anything more creative?_"

Shikamaru and Naruto were teaching self – defence…again.

"_It's too troublesome_," came the lazy response.

The students had listened to him and they had all started wearing casual clothes to the self – defence lessons. Naruto had almost choked in laughter when he saw the odd looking clothing.

"And switch," Shikamaru called out lazily. The students had been divided in groups again, working with different moves. They all stopped what they were doing and wearily shuffled to the next activity.

"_Neh, neh, Shikamaru, I'm bored,_" Naruto complained, flopping on the grass and staring at the sky.

"_That's not my fault,_" Shikamaru answered shortly. He was bored and cranky as well, "_And get up. You're supposed to be helping these brats._"

"_At the rate they're going, they'll hardly hit hard enough to even scrape their opponent,_" Naruto snorted. "_Forget that, they'll probably be too slow to hit them._"

"_That's why we're **helping** them,_" Shikamaru explained impatiently. "_Now **up!**_"

Naruto stared at the darkening sky for another moment before reluctantly hopping back up.

"_So for the people who are kicking, they have to do thirty kicks with each leg and the people who are doing punching have to punch their dummy eighty times and the people who are doing **that**_," Naruto gestured to a bunch of students, "_are working on their flexibility, right?_"

"_Yup,_" Shikamaru sighed, "_And you forgot the last group which does sit ups and push ups – fifty each._"

"_Man, they complained so much about that,_" Naruto shook his head, "_Lee does so much more – like a thousand! – and he doesn't even break a sweat._"

Shikamaru chose to end their conversation when he saw a student kicking his dummy the wrong way. The ANBU sighed, almost exasperatedly, and strode over to correct her.

"_I should be getting paid for this,_" Shikamaru grumbled, forgetting for a moment that he was.

There was a loud _crack_ and Shikamaru whirled around, his hand straying to his kunai pouch. Shikamaru relaxed when he saw it was just Naruto, demonstrating how to punch properly again. Now, the students no longer looked awed at their strength (well, sometimes they were) but rather scared at their power.

Shikamaru turned his attention back to his student and after quickly correcting her mistake, began to walk around again, making sure everyone was doing ok. At a random time, he idly flicked a kunai at Naruto's head.

Naruto caught it by the handle with ridiculous ease, not even stopping his demonstration on how to kick with more force. He pocketed the kunai, but Shikamaru knew that it would make its way back to him.

Sure enough, Naruto threw the kunai, followed closely by three shuriken back towards Shikamaru who had his back turned. The spiky – haired ANBU heard them coming and sidestepped out of the way, instantly attaching chakra strings to draw them back to him.

It was just a little game that Naruto had made up with Shikamaru during one of their particularly boring times. It tested their awareness and their reflexes, although not by much. Still, it was better than just sitting idly around.

"Alright," Shikamaru called out, thirty minutes before class ended, "I want you each to pair up with someone." The students scrambled to follow his order, "And I want you to start sparring."

The students looked at each other uncertainly; they had no clue what to do.

Shikamaru sighed, making a mental note to filch some of Sakura's headache medicine.

"One of you kick your partner and the other blocks," Shikamaru made up shortly, "Try to surprise each other but try not to kill each other."

The students laughed weakly at that and started to slowly obey him. It took a few hesitant kicks and punches before they got the hang of it and started getting serious. Shikamaru looked at to the sky as to give it thanks.

"_You'd think that they'd get it by now,_" the irate ANBU grumbled grumpily.

"_Take someone out for a spar later,_" Naruto suggested, "_You sound like you need it._"

"_Yeah, I suppose I should,_" Shikamaru sighed, stretching up a hand to scratch the back of his neck, "_I've only sparred once since we got here._"

"_You spend too much of your time still watching clouds,_" Naruto rolled his eyes behind his fox mask.

"_It's relaxing,_" came the simple reply. "_Naruto, there's a pair to your left that sounds like they need help._"

Naruto glanced and sure enough, a Hufflepuff was struggling to block rapid kicks and punches from his partner. The jinchuuriki sighed and moved to intervene, showing proper blocks. He still couldn't speak much English, but his body language made it clear what he was trying to tell.

"_How did I even get roped into this?_" Shikamaru grumbled again, clearly in a foul mood. It was odd; out of all of the genin when they were young, he was probably the most patient one besides Hinata. After all, it required a great deal of patience around Ino.

"_Neh, Shikamaru. I'll create a bunshin to watch over the kids and we'll spar for a bit,_" Naruto offered, coming back to stand next to him.

Shikamaru answered immediately, "_No, these kids are our responsibility. We have to look after them._"

"_Class'll be over soon anyways,_" Naruto pointed out, "_And it's been pretty quiet. A quick spar won't kill you; in fact, I think you need it._"

"_Quiet,_" Shikamaru agreed with a frown, "_Quiet before the storm._"

"_Come on,_" Naruto wheedled. He was itching for a spar as well, "_Just ten minutes. I can even cancel out Kyuubi if you want._"

"_Naruto_," Shikamaru said sharply, "_We are still on a mission here. **Don't forget that.**_"

Naruto stiffened at the implication that he was being unprofessional. "_Did I ever say I was?_" the jinchuuriki asked coolly, "_Never mind. The offer's still open if you want._" With that, the blond swiftly walked away, leaving a frustrated and grumpy Shikamaru.

"_Damn,_" Shikamaru sighed, feeling an urge to run his hand through his hair exasperatedly. "_I think I need some time without brats hovering around me._" Thankfully, class ended mercifully shortly and Shikamaru had a small break. He used the time to head to an isolated place on one of the large, grassy hills.

Lying down, he instantly felt better. The wispy white clouds floated lazily past on the darkening sky, changing shape constantly. The pattern helped Shikamaru take his mind off things and relax, something he didn't have a chance to do very recently.

Thoughtfully, he sifted through his mind and calmed himself down. He would apologize to Naruto and take him up on his offer of a spar; goodness knows he needed it.

_For once, he's right,_ Shikamaru thought as his eyes traced a rather large cloud. _This mission is making me edgier than usual._

Suddenly, he sat up with a jolt. His muscles were taut and rigid underneath his professional clothing, and his face was troubled.

_A ripple…_

Shikamaru was sure of it. Positive. He had felt a tremor, or a ripple go underneath the ground as if a very fast, giant snake had slithered by underground. Such things didn't happen, even in the wizarding world.

_Halloween._

With a start, he realized it. Halloween was a time where one's guard was let down for the fun of the night. No one would expect an attack.

_Shit._

---

Naruto walked swiftly, yet not that gracefully back into the castle. His previous argument with Shikamaru had really riled him up, partly due to restless energy that was threatening to burst.

_All right, I'll go back later and drag him out for a spar whether he wants it or not,_ Naruto decided, sighing as he scratched the back of his head. _In fact, I'll ask Dumbledore – sempai if we can have a day off or something. _

His intuition suddenly flickered and Naruto was instantly on his guard. Something happened, and both he and Kyuubi noticed it.

**_Brat, we have someone knocking at the door,_** Kyuubi growled.

_You think I don't know that?_ Naruto retorted, yet he stayed warily alert. There was a lingering feeling of sliminess. It was the vilest and most disgusting thing Naruto had ever felt in his whole life.

**_Hurry and get to the Feast_**, Kyuubi urged, **_I have a feeling that it'll strike then._**

Before Naruto did a quick transportation jutsu, he summoned several toads with one instruction.

"_Bring everyone to the Great Hall **NOW.**_"

The frogs scurried off at rapid paces, knowing that this wasn't the time for joking around. Naruto did an instant transportation jutsu and instantly reappeared by Dumbledore's chair in the Great Hall. Most students were already there, chattering excitedly on what the teachers had planned for them. Half of the teachers were present, talking amongst each other, Dumbledore included.

"_Dumbledore – san,_" Naruto interrupted the wizard's talk with Professor McGonagall. Something in Naruto's tone made Dumbledore abruptly stop his conversation with McGonagall and look up to Naruto. "_Be on your guard. I have a feeling something bad will happen tonight._" Despite the simple words, the distinct, dark meaning was clear. Dumbledore nodded, his eyes no longer twinkling. He looked quite serious.

There was a subtle shift in the atmosphere and Naruto glanced around the Great Hall. Every ANBU – or jounin, in Hinata's case – was present except for Tenten. All were wearing the regulated uniform and hid themselves in strategic points of the huge hall. Naruto could tell that they were all tense and alert, watching for any sign of activity that was out of the normal.

The rest of the students trickled in, blissfully unaware of the impending danger. The chattering that filled the hall soon blew out as Dumbledore stood, greeting them all to the wonderful Halloween feast set ahead.

Naruto didn't listen, instead warily scanning his surroundings for anything suspicious. Kyuubi was alert too, sensing something wicked that ran far past the normal definition of evil.

The dinner went smoothly, driving Naruto half insane with impatience and wariness. He felt like he was tipping on the very edge of a very high diving board. One push either way and he'd be tumbling headfirst into water or hitting the broad plank.

Dinner ended, and the students got their surprise. Sweets and candies began raining down on them, conjured out of nowhere. Students ran gleefully, shrieking as they caught their favourite type of candy and stuffed them in their pockets. The ninja were too tense to take part in the festivities.

When all was done, the wizards and witches turned to leave by means of the great wooden doors. All were chatting loudly to their friends again, oblivious to the tense surroundings.

Then it struck.

Naruto didn't even see it at first, it was that fast. A tremendous snake, its size almost measuring up to a basilisk's, burst up from the ground, sending bits of stone and debris flying.

Utter chaos. Utter panic.

Students began to scream and try to run away, with no avail. All who tried were met by a moving wall that was the snake's body. Some were even flicked back when the tail whipped everywhere, heedless of the damage it was causing.

Naruto closed in immediately, drawing on Kyuubi's power. For once, the fox didn't argue and Naruto felt Kyuubi hold itself in check. Naruto grinned in a feral manner; that meant he could draw on as much power as he could without exceeding his limit and Kyuubi wouldn't be unleashed.

With inhuman power, Naruto slashed his unsheathed katana towards the snake's tail as a distraction. It worked for a moment; the snake swung its head briefly to bare its large, gleaming fangs at him, before swinging its head back to survey the students.

Naruto paused in his attack. His now red eyes narrowed as he accessed the situation. He examined the snake's movements closely, watching as the pale yellow eyes darted quickly over each student. The snake made no move to attack them, yet kept any student from escaping.

_It's looking for someone,_ Naruto thought and instantly got it. His crimson eyes darted to look for Sasuke's figure and found him. Flipping gracefully over to the Uchiha's side, Naruto managed to nick the top of the snake's skin. He grimaced. It was ferociously tough despite the vicious slash he had used.

"_Sasuke, it's looking for the Potter boy,_" Naruto warned him. Sasuke nodded and instantly disappeared, reappearing to subtly shield the boy in target. All the other ninja seemed to take the hint and also subtly moved in.

_A plan…_ Naruto thought swiftly at his options. Taijutsu? It'd probably only feel like a tickle to the beast. Genjustu? No, too many people. It would affect the younger minds too badly. Ninjutsu? Well, it seemed to be his last option. Hopefully it should work.

Naruto drew back an arm, swirling chakra exploding, cackling, hissing in his hand. He leaped high in the air and came slamming down on the snake's skull.

Well, almost. The snake moved slightly to the left at the last moment and Naruto slammed his Rasengan into the protected shell of its neck where it made a huge dent, yet drawing no blood. The giant, black snake hissed menacingly and curled around Naruto's body, lightning fast.

Forming seals in a rapid frenzy, Naruto managed to do a substitution jutsu just before the snake started squeezing the life out of him – literally. The real Naruto appeared next to Sakura, who was busy defending a group of students, wincing as the log cracked and exploded into splinters.

"_We need a plan,_" Naruto murmured to Sakura.

"_Do your Ōdama Rasengan_** (1)**" Sakura thought coolly, yet rapidly, "_And Sasuke – kun will do his Chidori. Aim for its head and make sure you hit. It should slam into the ground by the force and Neji should be there to do Kaiten to deflect it from any students. Get Shikamaru to shadow – bind the other students so they can defend themselves and out of the way,_" Sakura's green eyes narrowed in thought, multitasking splendidly, "_And then leave the rest to the kunoichi._" Apparently, she, Ino and Hinata had a plan ready yet unable to put to use at the moment. Naruto nodded.

He used an instant transportation jutsu to reach the other shinobi, quickly relating the plan to them. Naruto quickly created a clone and started his Ōdama Rasengan. Since this version of the Rasengan was more unstable and much more difficult to form and control, he had a bunshin do it in case.

The bunshin leaped in the air, aiming for the snake's massive, broad head. Sasuke was instantly beside him, Chidori crackling and glowing fiercely in his hand. Both hit the snake's head smack in the center at once, creating the most humongous explosion. The snake's head was protected, as the rest of its body but the force of both attacks left the snake bleeding and, as Sakura predicted, falling to the ground.

"_Kaiten!_"

The swirling blue chakra instantly enveloped Neji's form, blowing students away from him. Shikamaru caught them by using his shadow bind technique and drew them to safer areas. The snakehead collided with Neji's ultimate defence and produced a hiss/howl of pain. The Kaiten had hit the only unprotected spot of the snake – underneath its neck.

"**_NOW!_**"

Sakura's command carried clearly over the din of confusion and panic. By now, most students were huddled in the center of the snake's surrounding body, looking fearfully at the snake and hopefully, pleadingly at the ANBU and their teachers.

Hinata disappeared in a blur, reappearing almost instantly by the snake's belly. It was yet another area where the armour was weaker than the other areas. Ino appeared by the snake's upper body, aiming for the side where the tough, outer shell armour met the weaker belly armour. Sakura appeared under the snake's head where the weaker belly armour disappeared and left the exposed flesh.

"**_Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Kū no Tachi!_**" **(2)**

Sasuke's, Naruto's, Neji's and Shikamaru's eyes widened in disbelief. Where they mad? The only other person to use this technique was Orochimaru, and no one knew the exact seals it required either.

Yet three, glowing and identical swords appeared in each girl's hands. The gleaming, long sword was simple, yet it simply screamed pure power. At once, the three kunoichi thrust their swords in the snake's belly (Hinata), the snake's side (Ino) and underneath its head (Sakura).

There was a blinding light followed by the most heart – wrenching, pain filled hiss/howl. The ninja could still see clearly through the light, watching as the snake grew limp and fell with a heavy thud, clearly dead. The swords vanished, the kunoichi no longer having enough chakra to sustain them. They fell over, panting in exhaustion but in triumph.

The dust cleared and so did the light. Naruto surveyed the mess and grimaced. It would take weeks to clean and rebuild the Great Hall. The walls were pretty much non – existent and the tables, benches and doors were nothing but splinters.

It was silent. The only noise were the quick breaths being drawn in by the ninja and crackling of something falling over.

Sasuke appeared by Naruto's side and whispered, yet it was loud enough for everyone in the Great Hall to hear.

"This is a summon."

Everyone turned to look at him. If Sasuke was uncomfortable with the stares, he gave no sign of it under his mask.

"But this isn't _Manda_ **(3)**" he observed, saying the name in Japanese. He didn't know how to say it in English.

Sure enough, the snake dissolved and disappeared within five minutes, leaving no trace but its blood and the damage behind.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Orochimaru's in this too then."

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN:** Uhhh, hi:Dodges tomatoes: I'm sorry, I really am! It's been more than a month since I last updated hasn't it? Well, if you care to know, I have a list of excuses for you to go through. Main reason was because I suffered from lack of inspiration and I was glooming over the fact that the hit to review ratio was so small.

Fer – de – lances actually exist. I wasn't making anything up about them, although I might've stretched the human fatality thing a bit.

HAHA, I love the part where I got Ino to attach that exploding tag to the firecracker. I think that was the funniest part here :P. I seriously dislike Umbridge; she's a real pain in the ass. I just couldn't resist wheedling at her a bit.

Do you like my names that I made up in Potions class? xD Haha, I suck at making up names. Oh well :shrugs: at least I got the point across right?

I couldn't resist adding in a bit of Neji/Tenten. They're my favourite couple, and I was feeling rather deprived of my Neji/Tenten fics. I swear, I've read every single one including one – shots.

Shikamaru's being a grumpy ass. But hey, we all understand right? I think it would be only fair – even his patience has limits.

I particularly like the battle scene in the end. I felt it was realistic enough and it had enough action. Although feedback is greatly appreciated; I don't know how I do with battle scenes.

Again, many thanks to my beta Denisen for putting up with my spelling errors, grammatical errors and random updates :).

Comments, flames, critique, feedback, all are welcomed :)

**Notes:**

**(1) Ōdama Rasengan:** This is simply a larger and more powerful version of the Spiralling Sphere (Rasengan), but also more unstable. Naruto needs a clone to form and control the energy. (Copied from http/ en. wikipedia. org/wiki/ ListofninjutsuinNaruto28A-G29#GreatBallSpiralingSphere)

**(2)****Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Kū no Tachi:** Means 'Kusanagi Sword: Long Sword of the Heavens'. Orochimaru used this in the anime against difficult fights, such as the Third Hokage. Orochimaru is able to obtain the sword by opening his mouth, in which a snake comes out. Then the snake opens _its_ mouth and the sword comes out. The version that the kunoichi used is a modified version.

**(3) Manda:** Is Orochimaru's largest and most powerful summoned snake. He demands hundreds of human sacrifices ready for him for after his help in combat. If he doesn't receive his sacrifices, or if the person who summoned him isn't Orochimaru himself (although here in my story, it also includes Sasuke), Manda will kill the person who called for him to fight. On top of that, it is only Orochimaru's (and Sasuke's according to this story) power that he respects, not the summoner. Some of his greatest abilities include his unbelievable speed, and the fact that he is able to shed his skin as a use of a Body Replacement Technique. He has a very poor disposition, and he clearly doesn't like either Gamabunta or Katsuyu, and only savers to kill the both of them. (PARTS OF THIS HAVE BEEN EDITED. Copied from http/ en. wikipedia. org/wiki/ ListofNarutosummons#Manda)


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary: **(HPxNaruto) Is it a new demon? One of Voldemort's creations? Whatever it is, it wants Harry dead. Magic is useless against it, so Dumbledore decides to bring in some shinobi and kunoichi to solve the problem…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

---------------------------------------------------------

"_WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?_"

Naruto's voice bellowed at the kunoichi when they were safely in their own private common room.

"_That ninjutsu is forbidden!_"

"_Only the original,_" Sakura retorted, holding her ground, "_What we did was a modified version. Jeez, don't act so worked up._"

Naruto took two deep breaths while closing his eyes as he removed his mask. His handsome, tanned face was tight.

"_How did you come up with it?_" the blond asked in a much quieter, more professional tone.

"_Sakura thought of it,_" Hinata put in.

"_I was researching through some of Tsunade's really old scrolls,_" Sakura explained, "_And I came quite accidentally across this jutsu. The seals were written down but some had been rubbed or ripped away from being moved around so much so I had to improvise. It took me several tries. Remember that one time where I couldn't move for two weeks?_"

Sasuke and Naruto nodded, remembering.

"_I had perfected it then but it took such an enormous amount of chakra that I was completely unprepared for it. Stupid,_" Sakura thumped herself on the head gently as she too removed her mask.

"_But it worked out,_" Shikamaru commented, "_I'm impressed._" He was carrying an unconscious Ino in his arm. Since the interrogator's chakra reserves were lower than Sakura's or Hinata's, it had taken more of her energy to sustain the heavenly sword.

"_That was probably one of the most eventful Halloweens they've ever seen,_" Sakura snickered, as if they weren't covered in snake blood with their clothing torn in many places.

"_I think the students and teachers almost died from the sight,_" Naruto replied thoughtfully, smirking as he remembered the horrified mingled with awed looks that seemed to bug out from each student's face.

The door of the common room opened with a smart snap and closed with an identical sound. Hyuuga Neji strode in, his stride strong and sure as if he hadn't been attacked by a massive snake about an hour ago. He swiftly took his mask off and snapped on his katana sheath.

"_Clean up and then we'll talk._"

The command sent everyone to their rooms. Shikamaru quickly deposited Ino in the room she shared with Sakura, Hinata and Tenten before retreating to his own room. Clothes were pealed off and set in special washing detergent that immediately had the water turning red from the blood. Armour was taken off and polished so they shone like new again and masks were rubbed until the dark red stains disappeared to leave a smooth, white painted mask behind.

Showers were taken quickly and nightwear was quickly donned. Not long after, everyone was back in the common room looking much cleaner and more like regular people than accomplished killers.

"_So._"

Neji turned his gaze to Sasuke.

"_You said Orochimaru might be in this?_"

Sasuke nodded, "_That snake was a summon. As far as I know, Voldemort can't summon snakes, only Orochimaru and I._"

"_So they're somehow connected,_" Sakura frowned.

"_Not necessarily,_" Shikamaru mused thoughtfully. "_It could just be coincidence…_"

"_How else would you explain the fact that the snake was aiming for the cursed Potter boy?_" Sakura retorted. Obviously, she was sleep deprived and her chakra was seriously depleted. Not to mention the fact that she had work tomorrow and her body was achingly sore…

"_Hmmm,_" Shikamaru scratched his cheek in thought, "_I forgot about that._"

"_Well, what do we do about this?_" Naruto asked, his face furrowing into a frown. He was seated tiredly in one of the armchairs.

"_We need to know for certain if Voldemort and Orochimaru are connected together,_" Neji started slowly, "_If they are, this will alter our plans. Then we have to find out what they're after._"

"_Harry Potter,_" Sakura stated obviously, yawning widely behind a hand.

"_I can understand why Voldemort would be after him, but why Orochimaru?_" Hinata mused.

"_Perhaps Voldemort offered him something in return for his service,_" Naruto suggested.

"_What though, would be my question,_" Shikamaru frowned thoughtfully, his eyes rolled up to the ceiling in contemplation.

"_Figure that out later,_" Sasuke said a touch impatiently, "_We'll have to tell Dumbledore – san and take secure extra precautions around Harry Potter._"

"_We still have that odd monster to worry about too,_" Neji fingered a kunai, lightly tracing over the scratches and dents on the weapon absently.

"_So,_" Sakura held out a hand, checking off her fingers as she listed the dangers, "_First that shape shifting beast, second Voldemort and third Orochimaru._" She sighed, "_And here I thought this could almost be like a vacation._"

Sasuke snorted very quietly.

"_We know that the two snake asses are after Harry Potter,_" Naruto jumped in.

"_And we're still unsure of the shape shifter's intention_," Neji frowned. "_This is getting even more complicated. And Tenten hasn't woken up yet._"

"_So much excitement. And it isn't even Christmas yet,_" Shikamaru groaned as he popped a grape in his mouth.

"_Troublesome._"

Shikamaru, Sakura and Naruto muttered the word at the same time, earning a laugh from the pink haired medic.

"_Anything else we missed?_" Hinata asked professionally, quickly scanning the past events in her mind.

"_I think that's it,_" Sasuke confirmed.

"_Sasuke, continue guarding the Potter boy,_" Neji ordered, "_Since you know Orochimaru best, you can predict his actions better than we can. I'll go talk to Dumbledore – san tomorrow in the morning, before the breakfast feast._"

"_Security will increase tenfold,_" Shikamaru noted, "_The students and teachers will run into a panicked frenzy and then the parents will be involved. I won't be surprised if Dumbledore –san asks Tsunade – sama to send more ninja._"

"_It would seem the most logical,_" Hinata reasoned, "_After all, our chakra affects the creature more than magic and we can measure up to Orochimaru. Plus Voldemort is hardly the physical type; some chakra, some bunshin and some speed and he'll be finished._"

"_True,_" Sakura said slowly, "_But remember, together, these two are a force to be reckoned with. Orochimaru will cover Voldemort in ninja aspects and Voldemort will cover Orochimaru in magic aspects. They create a whole._"

"_So are you saying that we'll need to find our magic counterparts?_" Naruto asked, sceptical.

"_It would seem most likely,_" Sakura figured, "_But not necessary. Besides, I don't know where we'd find counterparts strong and fast enough to keep up with us._"

"_Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick…_" Hinata started to name a few.

Shikamaru shook his head, almost amusedly, "_They need to actually cooperate with us as well._"

"_We'll discuss more in the morning,_" Neji pointed out as the clock chimed one in the morning, "_For now, we need our rest. Who's on patrol duty?_"

"_Tenten was one tonight and you and Sakura are on tonight,_" Sasuke answered, getting up reluctantly.

"_I'll create some bunshins and summon some slugs to help keep watch,_" Sakura yawned, her jaw almost cracking, "_They'll do a thorough job. And if there's danger, we'll know instantly,_" she added in response from the frown on Neji's face, "_We need our rest. They'll keep watch for us tonight._"

Before anyone could object, Sakura had summoned ten of her slugs with the last of her chakra and ordered them to keep watch for the rest of the night.

"_Someone will have to create those bunshins,_" Sakura yawned once more as she made to go up the stairs that led up to the girls' room, "_G'night…_"

"_Night,_" Naruto called after her, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" Instantly, ten bunshin poofed into view. "_Go keep watch. Try not to mess anything up._"

The bunshins nodded as one and disappeared in a poof.

---

"_Is this true?_" Dumbledore asked Neji quietly during the breakfast feast, "_Am I hearing this right? That Harry Potter is the target of two very dangerous persons and a killer shape shifter is on the loose?_"

"_I'm afraid so Dumbledore – san,_" Neji bowed slightly in apology, his voice quiet yet it gave the impression of being much louder.

Dumbledore sat back, ignoring his food with a thoughtful expression on his face. His blue eyes scanned slowly over the mass of students, his gaze lingering on the marked boy for a moment longer than the rest.

"_Neji, may I request that you tell Harry that he is being specifically watched over? And could you perhaps have another person keep an eye on him as well?_" Dumbledore requested softly, his sharp mind working quickly.

"_Dumbledore – san…_" Neji paused for a moment, carefully analyzing the situation, "_As of the moment, we are short one shinobi and we are all in serious need of rest. Our chakra reserves only dip so deep. I'm afraid you might have to call back up, or let us have a day of rest._"

It was only years of Tenten wearing Neji's ego down did he admit his team's weaknesses.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment before coughing harshly in his napkin.

"_Pardon me, I seem to be getting a cold. A day of rest is it you need? I'll see to it; tomorrow, you and your teammates will get a day off. I'll be sure that you're covered._"

"_No need,_" Neji assured the wizened wizard, "_We can create bunshins to cover for us. They can act as solid, regular shinobi but once hit by a powerful force, they disappear._"

Dumbledore nodded.

"_As for the extra person,_" Neji quickly thought of the possibilities in his mind, "_Perhaps Haruno Sakura can cover him as well? She has tremendous strength and her kunoichi skills are a strong force. Plus, she says that hospital duty is draining her of her chakra._"

"_Yes, our students do tend to get a little carried away sometimes…_" Dumbledore chuckled softly, "_Alright, I'll tell Madame Pomfrey. Sakura can be switched over after tomorrow._"

"_Thank you Dumbledore – san,_" Neji bowed slightly to his employer.

"_No, it is I who should thank you for putting your lives to save ours,_" Dumbledore's eyes were kind as he gazed at Neji professional form. "_I suggest you hurry to your post. Breakfast should be over soon._"

"_Hai._"

A poof and Neji was gone.

Dumbledore sighed before hacking almost violently into his napkin again. He waved off a concerned Professor McGonagall and finished the rest of his breakfast quietly before announcing that classes started.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall ANBU uniformed shinobi give him a thumbs up before disappearing into the shadows.

Turning to go to his office, Dumbledore felt a relieved small smile creep up his face.

---

"Masssster."

"Yes Manda?"

"Nagini tellsss me that they are one number down. They have defeated my third top assssassssin sssnake but they are dangerousssly weakened."

"Very good."

"Should we strike now?"

"No. They will most likely send for more reinforcements. We will have to wear their strength down until they can hardly even move."

"And then…"

"We attack."

Both men wore eerily identical, sadistic smirks. Their snake like eyes glowed with repulsive amusement.

A pause.

"Masster."

"Hm?"

"They know about the sssummonsss."

The longhaired man grinned, ages of cunning and trickery tucked in his smirk.

"Well, that will just save the trouble of announcing ourselves."

---

"WHAT?" Harry gaped at Sasuke, whose already sour mood and thin patience turned even more strained. "I'm going to be watched like…like some sort of…_ignorant?_"

"It's for your own good," Sasuke snapped back, his English improving tremendously. "No arguing."

"I don't see any other student getting this treatment," Harry argued, ignoring Sasuke's demand, "Not even the teachers get this extra protection!"

"Do you rather die then?" Sasuke turned to face Harry. His mask, weapons, stance and apparel made him look rather intimidating. "If you feel like dying so eagerly, than I shall leave you right here." Even if Harry did want to, Sasuke would never abandon him. Leaving his charge wandering on his own was highly unprofessional.

Harry glowered, his face stubbornly sullen.

"I thought so," the Uchiha glared coldly at Harry. His opinion of the marked boy wasn't high in the first place, but after this little tantrum, whatever respect Sasuke held for Harry dropped dramatically.

"Harry, we have to hurry!" Ron and Hermione ran up from behind like some sort of planned, choreographed act, "We have Astronomy next."

"I wonder when we can do Apparition practicing," Ron mused as they headed down the long corridors. Sasuke had melted into the shadows, following their movements.

"I think next year," Hermione replied, "But I wonder where they're going to teach us. In Hogwarts: A History, no one can Apparate or Disapparate in the school grounds."

"Tut, tut, not too much unnecessary chattering in the hallways now," Professor Umbridge's sickly sweet voice sounded from the trio's side. "Run along now before you're late for class. That wouldn't be too good now would it?"

"Shut your face in a toaster," Ron mumbled under his breathe, disguising his insult with a cough.

"Would you like a cough drop Webley?" Umbridge turned to fix her beady gaze on Ron.

"Weasley," Ron corrected with a sort of grimace, "And no thank you."

"Alright. Run along now," Umbridge drew back into her classroom and snapped the large door shut.

"That woman's awful," Hermione seethed as they shot well out of range of the Defence Against the Dark Arts room.

"I think we can all agree on that one," Harry agreed, his mood still slightly sour from his conversation (more like argument) with Sasuke.

"Come on, class is going to start in two minutes," Ron urged them quickly down the hall and up a flight of stairs. They entered in a classroom filled with chairs and tables.

"Good morning class. Today, we are going to study the importance of astrology and how it connects with certain subjects, such as Divination."

The trio groaned.

---

A month passed and the mission became slow again. Everyone had their day off and felt much better after. Sakura got switched over from hospital duty to one of Harry's personal bodyguards. Tenten still hadn't woken up, much to the worry of her teammates and especially Neji.

It was December now, December the 15th.

"_I'm getting nervous,_" Ino was pacing rapidly up and down the hallway. Hinata watched her with calm eyes. Her meetings with the Minister had lessened as the holidays progressed, enabling more time for the Hyuuga to do her patrolling duties. "_I feel like something bad's gonna happen soon._"

"_Are you sure it's something bad?_" Hinata inquired softly, her senses on the alert.

"_I don't know,_" Ino replied, frustrated.

"_Sixth sense,_" Hinata commented, thinking, "_Maybe it has something to do with Orochimaru, Voldemort or Oni_." The ANBU had nicknamed the shape shifter _Oni_, which meant literally 'demon' in Japanese, "_After all, we haven't had any sign of them since Halloween and that was about two months ago._"

"_And Tenten hasn't woken up yet,_" Ino wailed, "_Sakura said to give her till New Years to call Tsunade – sama. I know Tenten's strong and everything, but she's not **invincible**._"

"_Ino,_" Hinata cut in firmly, "_Calm down._"

Ino stopped and took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"_At least it's less crowded now,_" Ino remarked more calmly after a moment. Winter break had begun and over half of the students had been sent home by worried and anxious parents.

"_Less teachers and students to watch after,_" Hinata agreed, her gaze level as she glanced around her, purely out of reflex.

Ino took another shuddering breath before forcing herself to relax her tense muscles. "_Well, Christmas is around the corner_."

Hinata, who had activated her Byakugan behind her mask, saw through her own mouse mask and Ino's cat mask to see the blonde's small smile. In Konoha, Christmas was the only big tradition that everyone really participated in.

"_Do you think there'll be anything special going on Christmas day?_" Ino mused thoughtfully as she hopped onto the wall, sticking to it with chakra - enhanced feet.

"_I don't know,_" Hinata answered patiently, "_You'll have to answer Dumbledore – san._"

A small cluster of students passed by the pair, giggling over something and only sparing a glance at the two kunoichis, one who was stuck on the wall. Apparently, their 'supernatural powers' no longer astounded the students.

"Did you hear?" one of the fourth – year students giggled as she pulled her heavy winter cloak over her thin shoulders, "They're going to join Durmstrang and Beauxbatons together for the holidays – they're arriving tomorrow!"

"OMYGOSH, are you serious?"

"Yeah," the girl held her chin up arrogantly, pleased to be the center of attention, "Professor Dumbledore thought that it would get kinda dull during the holidays and invited Durmstrang and Beauxbatons to stay with us."

"How do you know this?" one of her friends, a small, pixie – like girl with brown shoulder length hair and small glasses, inquired suspiciously.

"I overheard him talking to Professor McGonagall about it," the first girl sniffed.

"This is going to be so exciting!"

"I know, and thank goodness April's gone; she'd hog all the boys…"

The girls' voices faded as they hurried down the hall. They turned a corner and disappeared from sight, a melting trail of sprinkled snow trailing in their wake.

"_Beauxbatons? Durmstrang?_" Ino echoed amusedly, "_What odd names. Apparently, since all those parents ordered their kids home, they decided to mash the school together so the students here would have more company._"

Hinata nodded absently.

"_If they were shinobi, they'd have no problem,_" Ino snorted, reaching into her kunai pouch to play with a shuriken, "_These kids are probably, easily the most boring and laziest kids I know._"

Hinata kept nodding at the right times, not saying anything.

"_And Forehead – girl gets Sasuke – kun all to herself now,_" Ino pouted. She had given up on winning the Uchiha over, but it was fun to just lock heads with the pink haired medic once in a while, "_Hospital work can't be **that** hard…_"

Hinata felt her head go on automatic, nodding every once a while.

"_And even so…_" Ino trailed off, now noticing that the Hyuuga wasn't responding, "_…Hinata? Heeeelllloooo, anyone there?_"

The Hyuuga leader gave a vague nod before snapping back.

"_I'm sorry Ino, did you say something?_"

The blonde sighed.

"_What's on your mind?_" Ino asked curiously. It wasn't like Hinata to start zoning out and not paying attention.

"_Just a bit of this and that,_" The quiet woman answered vaguely, not really saying what she was thinking about.

Ino glanced at Hinata through her mask. The jounin was being unusually quiet.

"_Hinata,_" Ino turned to fully face her friend, "_Something's on your mind that's troubling you._" She said it not as a question, but more as a statement.

Hinata bit her lip, looking a bit worried. She was thankful that she had her mask on. "_I was just thinking…what if something goes wrong on this mission? I'm only jounin and we're down one number. Plus we've got three powerful enemies we're dealing with…_" Hinata trailed off. Obviously, the Christmas spirit hadn't gotten to her yet.

"_Look on the bright side,_" Ino suggested, "_They've got three bad guys, we have seven good guys. Nothing will go wrong on this mission; we have some of the highest elite ninja here and you **know** you're good enough to be ANBU. The hectic missions just don't fit in your schedule and plus, I don't think you'd be happy going on a killing spree every mission,_" Ino remarked thoughtfully.

"_I know that,_" Hinata bit her lip, "_And I know that chakra affects Oni more than magic does but it's so strong! Plus, once we actually DO defeat it, who's to say that Voldemort and Orochimaru will wait until we've recovered to strike?_"

"_Reinforcements,"_ Ino said firmly, "_This mission is being booted up from A – class to S – class. With three unknown enemies with one missing nin as part of the package, Tsunade is sure to send more people to help us if she can spare any._"

Hinata nodded, reaching up to tug a lock of hair nervously. She had replaced her irritating habit of poking her fingers to tugging her hair.

"_And why are you so pessimistic about the situation?_" Ino asked curiously, "_You're usually calm and optimistic about these kinds of things._"

"_Being optimistic while you're a clan leader is a luxury you can't afford. You have to be a realist and a good compromiser when dealing with so many problems, so many people and so many options,_" Hinata explained clearly and quietly.

Ino opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when three Gryffindor students, oddly familiar, came walking down the hall in rather loud voices.

"RON! Stop trying to grab that letter!"

"I'm just trying to see what it says!"

"Well, at least give Harry a chance to read it first."

"Guys, shut up! I can't concentrate with you bickering-"

"Ron, you're driving me mad-!"

"It's not like you're being the easiest person to talk to right now either!"

"GUYS, SHUT UP!"

Hinata and Ino could see Sakura tailing after the trio. The medic was stuck high on the walls in the shadows, walking along with a clearly relaxed, almost bored posture. The mask that was stuck on the ANBU's face grinned hauntingly at them.

"Did you hear that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are coming here?"

_Not this again…_ Ino thought with an inward groan.

"Oh, is Krum coming here?" the redhead's voice was casually indifferent now, a contrast to the shouting tone he had used a moment ago, almost like he didn't care – but not quite.

"I think so," the bushy haired witch blushed slightly, "He said so in his last letter to me."

The redhead let out a sort of strangled noise, thinly concealing it with a weak cough.

Harry Potter stayed silent, his gaze flickering down to his armload of books where a small, tightly rolled up letter lay.

Ino and Hinata nodded slightly to Sakura as a greeting, and the raven ANBU mask tilted back at them in response. Using military sign language, Sakura signed, _you guys better get back to patrolling._

Ino rolled her eyes behind her cat mask and pointedly turned her head the other way, blatantly ignoring Sakura. She even went as far as to put a gloved hand on her hip and bring her other hand in front of her mask, as if she was yawning.

Hinata saw Sakura reach for something in her kunai pouch and fling a weapon at the blonde, her movements blurring from the speed.

Ino just lazily tossed a kunai to counteract the attack and the weapon fell to the floor with a soft clink.

The three magic users glanced up from their argument at the noise, their face mirroring surprise upon seeing the ANBU members.

Hinata sighed. "_Now look what you guys did…_"

The trio stopped and the bushy haired witch stepped forwards hesitantly towards the pair. Hinata relaxed and tried to make her body language look more welcoming and less intimidating – a hard feat with professional clothing and weapons.

"Ummm…excuse me…" Hermione began rather timidly.

"Yes?" Hinata replied mildly. Ino caught the hint as well and relaxed.

"I was wondering…could I see your weapons?"

The request was odd and Hinata, Sakura and Ino found themselves looking at the rather nervous, yet determined witch.

"Why would you like to see them?" Hinata asked slowly. She couldn't see why a witch like Hermione Granger would like to see highly dangerous and lethal weapons. At least Tenten wasn't here; she'd have a whole truck out to show Hermione and start explaining the history and a story to boot about each one of them.

"Well, they seem more powerful than normal weapons from what I've studied," the girl explained quickly, "And I've noticed that sometimes, they're laced with a coloured…I don't know, substance?... at times. And you have such a variety of them!"

_She speaks very fast,_ Hinata thought absently as she reached into her kunai pouch slowly, debating whether or not it would be ok to show the weapons to the girl.

"_Ino, keep patrolling. Naruto, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Neji can't do all the work,_" Sakura called down, her voice slightly muffled by the mask. She seemed amused. Ino shrugged and disappeared after doing one hand seal.

"Mouse," Sakura called in English, remembering to use the code names, "Show her the weapons. Wolf and Fox will probably be teaching these guys about them later on anyways."

Hinata produced a handful of blunt shuriken, kunai and senbon.

"These are shuriken," the Hyuuga leader pointed to the blunt stars, "These are kunai," she pointed to the small knives, "And these are senbon." She pointed to the slim, blunt needles.

"What do they do?" Hermione asked eagerly, totally engrossed. Harry and Ron hung back a bit, but were watching interestedly as well.

Instead of replying verbally, Hinata took sharper kunai out and threw them with calculated aim and ease of long practice at Sakura, who caught them easily.

"Weapons are used to injure the enemy," Hinata lectured, "And can also be used as a distraction. Here, you try throwing one." The jounin handed Hermione a blunt shuriken, knowing that the shuriken's shape was similar to a Frisbee.

Hermione eyed it as if it was going to explode any moment, "But where do I throw it?"

"At me, or at her," Hinata shrugged, "This won't hurt us. You haven't the experience or training and that shuriken is blunt."

Hermione took the weapon tentatively and balanced it carefully in her hand. She seemed fascinated by it, turning it over and examining all points of the star shaped weapon. She tapped the rounded, soft edge with a finger.

"Is this pure steel?" the awe was clear in her voice.

"Some of them are," Hinata shrugged, "Some are…titanium, is it?... but most are steel. Of course, it depends on the shinobi's preference."

"Wow…" Hermione gave it an experimental toss and grinned delightedly as it fell neatly back onto her palm.

"Try throwing it at me," Hinata suggested.

"But won't I hurt you?" Hermione asked, worried. She looked slightly horrified at the idea of harming someone who was protecting the school.

"It's blunt," Hinata explained patiently again, "and you don't have the experience or training to throw it hard enough it injure me. Just try it."

Hermione bit her lip and seemed to debate whether she should or not. Eventually, temptation gave in and the witch threw it awkwardly, like a Frisbee. Nonetheless, the shuriken flew quickly – albeit a little shakily – and Hinata reached up beside her face to catch it neatly with two fingers.

"Very good for your first try," Hinata praised Hermione, who glowed with satisfaction. "Would you like to give it a try?" The clan leader turned to face Ron and Harry, who immediately accepted the invitation without a pause.

"Ravenling, you can show them," Hinata suggested, looking up at Sakura who had been watching from her point up the wall, "_I still have to keep patrolling._"

"Sure," Sakura shrugged, jumping down and landing noiselessly. Hinata nodded in thanks before walking up the wall and out of sight.

"Ok, what do you guys want to know about these?" Sakura asked, lazily spinning a kunai on her finger.

"What's that coloured substance that you guys have on your weapons sometimes? How can that bun haired girl summon weapons out of nowhere? What other kinds of weapons do you have besides these?" Hermione fired question after question, barely pausing to take a breath.

Sakura laughed, "You know, Eagling is better suited to answer your questions than I am; she definitely loves and handles weapons much better than I do." Sakura winced inwardly when she remembered Tenten's state.

Hermione's face fell a bit, thinking that Sakura wasn't going to answer but the ANBU medic quickly replied upon seeing the witch's face.

"The coloured substance? That's a little special trick that us shinobi learned," Sakura answered vaguely, not really giving the answer, "And Eagling, the bun – haired girl, summons weapons from her scrolls. We have many weapons, an endless supply." To demonstrate her point, Sakura unsheathed her katana, kodachi, shuriken, tessen, even a small nunchaku.

Ron and Harry came forward, admiring the lethal weapons with the same enthusiasm as Hermione. Sakura pulled the more dangerous weapons, like the katana, away from grip.

"These require special training and practice," she told the disappointed boys firmly, "I don't want Dumbledore – san after my head because you two accidentally beheaded yourselves with my sword."

"Why don't you use guns?" Ron asked.

"Guns…?" Sakura echoed, confused with the word.

"You mean you've never heard of them before?" Harry was insultingly amazed. At Sakura's curt shake, he explained, "They're kind of like…this shape," here, he tried to demonstrate with his hand, "and there's this trigger you press. A bullet shoots out faster than you can see and hits the target. It can cause serious injury or death."

Sakura shrugged, "These…guns…sound impractical. What if you run out of bullets? What if the enemy takes your gun away?"

"Wouldn't those questions also apply to _your_ weapons too?" Hermione inquired, holding the nunchaku precariously in one hand.

"Yes, but from what you've told me, you don't need much physical training to wield this gun," Sakura said flatly, "If a shinobi has been stripped of their weapons, we can still use taijutsu."

"Taijutsu?" Harry echoed.

"Martial arts, kung – fu, whatever you guys call them nowadays," Sakura shrugged.

"Is there anything you guys _can't_ do?" Ron asked in disbelief, swapping the kunai in his hands with the senbon in Harry's.

"That's a question for another time," Sakura's voice was slightly mischievous as she leapt to stick on the walls again, "Now don't you guys have class?" Sakura attached chakra strings to her weapons, smoothly yanking them towards her and reassembling them in their correct spots.

The trio looked at each other in horror.

"We forgot!"

---

Shikamaru was falling asleep. Literally.

It was the dinner feast and the quarter of remaining students were chattering loudly about something called 'Dumstrang' or 'Demtang' and 'Bowbaton' or something like that. From what Shikamaru had been able to hear, both were wizarding schools and they were both coming to Hogwarts soon – very soon.

But right now, the soft, peaceful atmosphere of the Great Hall and the lack of activity was slowly lulling Shikamaru to sleep. But thanks to his shinobi training, he managed to stay upright and half – alert.

All through the months, little, yet lethally poisonous snakes had crept into the castle, all aiming for Harry Potter who, for the most part, remained unaware of his predators. The snakes were all stopped by the shinobi, mostly by Sasuke since he was the snake person, before they could inflict any damage.

Shikamaru lazily held up a protected forearm to deflect the tiny senbon Neji had thrown at him. The message was clear and simple. _Be alert._

_Yeah, yeah,_ Shikamaru thought while yawning widely behind his mask. Even though he had a full day of rest and patrolling had gone slow, Shikamaru still felt tired. Perhaps it was the constant stress and wariness about the unknown enemies?

"_Wake up Shika,_" Ino's muffled voice hissed at him, her elbow subtly jabbing him in the ribs. It wasn't a surprise that Ino knew Shikamaru's habits.

The spiky haired genius gave a grunt in reply before tuning her out again.

Near the end of the meal, Shikamaru had dozed off twice, each time being woken up by a sharp jab courtesy of Ino.

"_Stop falling asleep you lazy ass,_" she hissed in annoyance each time Shikamaru felt his eyes drooping down. "_Neji will have both of our asses if you start falling asleep on the mission. Wake up NOW!_" A strong kick in the shins was all that was needed to jolt Shikamaru awake into sleepy alertness.

"_Why is Dumbledore – san keeping us here so late anyways?_" Shikamaru grumbled.

"_It might be those new schools arriving-_"

"Students and teachers," Dumbledore had stood up was speaking, "It is my great pleasure to announce the arriving of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons as of tomorrow evening. I'm sure that you will be courteous and helpful to them. They will be here for the remainder of the holidays and we will be hosting a grand party here in the Great Hall on Christmas day."

Excited squeals and murmurings circulated through the hall.

"Now, chop, chop to bed," Dumbledore commanded gently, a twinkle clearly visibly in his eye. The students got up obediently and filed rather loudly through the great doors.

Ino turned to Shikamaru, one slim eyebrow held up behind her mask in sarcasm.

"_Does that answer your question?_"

---

"And today, we have Eagle here today to help me demonstrate the different ways that charms and jutsus – did I say that right? – can be done."

The class applauded excitedly, sure that it was going to be an exciting class. Harry and Ron sat up straighter, their eyes expecting. Hermione wasn't in Charms – she had Astronomy.

Neji stepped forward silently, his sharp eagle mask glinting eerily in the bright light. He gave a small nod, not speaking.

"Now," Professor Flitwick was standing on an enourmous stack of books, but he was still shorter than Neji, "We'll first start with the fire charm."

A short flick of his wand and a shimmering glass cage appeared with a single rock inside.

"Now, observe closely everyone," Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice was comical, "**Incendia (1)**!"Instead of a jab or a swish of his wand, Professor Flitwick brought it sharply up.

Instantly, a great roaring fire burst in the cage and the rock was visible through the flickering flames. It was an indistinct shape, although clearly melting. After several minutes, Professor Flitwick murmured, "**Unda (2)**!" while bringing his wand down and water gushed from nowhere on the top to douse the fire. The rock was a sorry looking pile of mess at the bottom.

"Now class," the small wizard faced his astonished class, "Eagle here is going to show us the way that his people do spells like this in Japan!"

Neji was reluctant at first to show the ninja jutsus to the students but Hinata pointed out that he didn't even have to use the big, flashy and complicated jutsus. Simple ones were fine.

"Professor Flitwick," Neji began in his calm, deep voice, making many of the girls in the room shoot their heads up to look at the ANBU in bewildered fangirl-ism, "I will require a barrier to control my fire in."

"Of course!" the small man exclaimed before giving another flick. A glass cage, almost identical to the one that Flitwick had conjured moments before, appeared except that there was a small hinge which opened. Again, a rock was visible in it. "Is this adequate?"

"Yes, thank you," Neji replied, wondering how the glass would be able to withstand the _katon_ and why a rock, of all things, was in there.

He reached out a gloved hand to open the small - hinged panel and stood back. After a second thought, he lifted the lower part of his mask up to reveal his mouth. Forming several quick seals with one hand, all to fast to be seen, he murmured, "_Katon!_** (3)**" Instantly, Neji drew back and blew out fire from his mouth right into the cage. Neji automatically stopped when the flames filled the entire cage and quickly shut the paneled door.

The flames in Flitwick's cage had been roaring up, greedily licking up against its cage but Neji's flames had filled the entire cage, making it look like the cage was made of solid fire. It glowed fiercely against its binds. The rock had been instantly incinerated.

"_Suiton!_** (4)**"

A stream of water gushed out of his mouth again to extinguish the fire. It sizzled out instantly as the water hit it, the terrible hissing noise filling up the silent room.

When Neji was done, he replaced his mask, closed the hinged panel and stepped away to half blend in the shadows.

The room sat in shocked silence. Even Professor Flitwick was staring dumbly at the now blackened cage.

Neji sighed. No matter how long the ninja stayed here, it seemed that the faculty and the students would never get used to the flashy, yet powerfully astonishing feats that the ANBU members pulled off.

_It was the simplest form of attack, the most basic of the elements._

'_Katon_' and '**Incendia'** meant fire. '_Suiton_' and '**Unda**' meant water. Both meant the same thing and completed the same task (although in slightly differing levels) so Neji couldn't – or rather, didn't see what was so special about how he did his.

After another tense moment, Professor Flitwick seemed to snap out of it. "Ah, yes. Very, very well done Eagle. As you can see class, the intensity level and the control ability varies…" the tiny man rattled on, unaware or uncaring that half of his class wasn't listening but rather staring at Neji with mixed looks of fear mingled with awe.

Neji felt a soft tug on his hair and was suddenly aware that a small falcon had flown through the window and had landed lightly, almost unnoticed on his shoulder.

It was the same falcon that Tenten had summoned the night she was attacked.

_Does this mean…?_

Neji turned to Professor Flitwick, politely cutting into the smaller man's rambling lecture.

"Excuse me, I have something urgent to attend to," Neji bowed slightly, politely and jumped out of the window. He wasn't doing it for the sake of being flashy; it was the easiest and quickest way to the hospital wing, a place he had come to know very well.

He ran swiftly to the hospital wing, running so fast that only a small wisp of him could be seen. He reached the large doors under three seconds.

Opening the door quietly, Neji slipped in and headed straight to Tenten's shielded bed, not caring that many students had turned to stare at his quickened steps. Glancing quickly around, he saw only students. Madame Pomfrey was nowhere in sight.

Forming a tiger seal, Neji murmured, "_Kai!_" and the thin line of chakra that stuck the curtain to the wall dissolved and the fabric went limp. Shoving the curtain aside impatiently, Neji stuck his head in, mindful of the falcon, which was still perching silently on his shoulder.

The sight disappointed him. Tenten was still asleep, her breathing even and slightly shallow. There was more colour in her cheeks though, and she looked rested.

_Then who summoned the falcon…?_

"_Ah, Neji_," Sakura's calm voice was muffled from behind the curtain. She pushed it aside and stepped in.

Neji turned his head to glance at her. "_The Potter kid?_"

"_Sasuke's got him covered. He's here right now actually – got hit by a bludger or something,_" Sakura answered smoothly, yanking the curtain shut and taking off her mask, "_I have to make regular trips here to see how Tenten's doing. It's really annoying and irritating having to transport to where I **think** Sasuke is and then I find out that he's somewhere **else…**_" her voice trailed off, "_What the heck. You're probably going to reprimand me sooner or later for talking your ear off._"

"_I'll ask Tsunade – sama to send communicators,_" Neji offered patiently.

"_Hm, thanks,_" Sakura answered absently, now caught up in checking Tenten's health, "_Chakra levels are doing extremely well, her breathing's evened out…_"

Neji waited patiently for Tenten's results, leaning against the edge of the bed and occasionally stroking the sleek, smooth feathers of the quiet falcon on his shoulder.

After several moments, Sakura finally looked up.

"_Any reason why you're here?_" she asked, one eyebrow raised, "_You usually don't come until around dinnertime._"

Instead of answering, Neji motioned to the falcon on his shoulder. Sakura understood immediately.

"_As far as I know, Tenten's the only one able to summon these guys…_" the medic mused, "_So she's either woken up for a short while and was able to summon him with whatever chakra she had, or…_" Sakura trailed off, knowing that Neji knew what she meant.

_Someone else had summoned the falcon._

But that wasn't possible. Sakura had just explained, and Neji _knew_ that Tenten was the only one who could call on them so that meant…

A great, terrible hacking noise exploded from Tenten's mouth and the brunette immediately brought a hand to cover her mouth, her slim body shaking from the force. Neji was instantly by her side, holding her down and Sakura frantically tried to help her. There was movement outside, probably students straining to see what was going on inside, but the ANBU paid no attention to them. They knew Sasuke would deal with them.

After several pained moments of coughing, Tenten seemed to stop but not before having goosebumps shiver along her exposed skin, as if the air was chilly. Neji brought a gloved hand to shift her blanket further up her body so she could get the extra heat.

And slowly, as if it was some choreographed play, Tenten's eyes opened, her gaze staring straight into the ceiling. She blinked a couple of times tiredly before turning her head to face into Neji's eagle mask.

"_Neji_."

The hoarse, small whisper was unlike Tenten's usual strong, self – assured, confident tone. Her voice spoke of pain and weakness, of fear and hopelessness. Neji felt a surge of panic and anger on what she might've experience in her coma – like state.

"_I'll get Ino here later to take a look in her mind,_" Sakura suggested quietly when she saw Tenten's state.

In turn, the brunette turned to stare at the medic with panicked, haunted eyes.

"_NO!_"

The cry tore from her lips as she lurched forwards, sobbing. Neji automatically leaned over and supported her, subtly drying her running tears with his thumb and murmuring soothing words to her.

Sakura was shaken.

"_Tenten…_" the medic brought out a hand hesitantly to take hold of the brunette's hand but Tenten snatched her hand away, still crying.

"_No, no, no…_" the weapon mistress whispered, "_Go away, stop, leave me alone, go back, stop, NEJI!_" She collapsed against the Hyuuga, her body shaking. Her hands clutched at Neji's clothing, as if he was her lifeline.

"_Neji, look after her. I have to ask Sasuke about that snake…_" Sakura was more than shaken now. She looked concerned and a hint of worry and fear had flickered through her eyes. She was gone in another second, her ANBU mask whisked back onto her face.

"_Tenten…_" Neji's soothing voice was nothing more than a whisper, but she seemed to calm down slightly.

"_Neji, it was awful…_" Tenten half – whispered, half – cried, "_The images…it was terrifying…_"

Neji was in a state of fury on what Tenten might've experienced. He also felt hopeless as he saw **his** capable, strong, self – assured team mate weak and vulnerable, _crying._

"_Shhh…_" Neji always felt awkward when he comforted someone (which was usually never) but with Tenten, it seemed to come naturally. He fitted her head against his chest and rested his head against hers. He removed his mask and placed on the hospital sheets, one hand stroking Tenten's smooth hair comfortingly.

Neji didn't demand any more from Tenten. He just quietly stroked her hair and whispered soothing words to her, waiting until she calmed down. Slowly, she did. Her uncontrollable sobbing quieted to just tears running down her puffy cheeks and the huge, heaving breaths she had taken before became small hiccups. She was still shaking.

Neji didn't know how long they stayed there, but when Sakura opened the curtain again, he saw the hospital clock.

_5:27 pm_.

Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were coming at seven and all conscious ANBU members had to be present but Neji hated – no, _loathed_ the thought of leaving Tenten on her own.

"_Well._"

Neji turned slightly to look at the medic, uncaring that he was caught in a rather emotional position with Tenten. Exceptions could be made.

"_After what I've researched and what Sasuke's told me, I'm surprised Tenten hasn't gone insane._"

The Hyuuga quirked an eyebrow up at that, a little alarmed.

"_What are the effects?_"

"_Apparently, the victim, if it survives, undergoes at least a week of mental torture. You know, reliving the past and so on, making the bad things ten times more obvious and worse. But after, they are forced to live through their worst nightmare and then…_" Sakura trailed off, unsure if she should continue. Tenten didn't seem to be listening. She had closed her eyes and looked like she was sleeping against Neji's chest, but her shaking and her tears gave her away.

"_After,_" Neji decided firmly. "_Can you do anything to help her?_"

Sakura shook her head, "_I deal with physical pain. Ino's the one you want if you want something fixed up here,_" she tapped her head, "_And even then I'm not sure if she'll heal completely. If worse comes to worse, we could always call Tsunade – sama here…but you know what, I think **you'll** be the only one whom she'll accept. You saw how she jerked from my touch._"

Neji looked down at Tenten's weak, thin, frail form, and clutched her to him protectively. The falcon, which had been silent and had left Neji's shoulder to perch on the bed's headboard let out a keening screech before flying to land gently on Tenten's lap.

The brunette didn't open her eyes, but she relaxed further and slowly reached a hand out to stroke her friend. The falcon crooned softly, assured that its mistress was all right and settled down to enjoy the petting.

"_I'm going to ask Dumbledore – san to ask Tsunade – sempai for back – up,_" Sakura insisted firmly, "_We'll need more people anyways. I know you're the mission leader but you'll be caught up helping Tenten. I guess we could always transport her back to Konoha for treatment, but something tells me that you'd rather kill me before I'd do that,_" Sakura added the last part musingly, almost amusedly. Neji shot her a glare.

"_Tsunade – sempai will probably send Lee, Shino, Kiba or Chouji. Maybe even all of them. This mission has escalated beyond the description that Dumbledore – san gave us._"

Neji had to agree.

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN:** I was going to write about Durmstrang and Beauxbatons coming but I decided to leave that until the next chapter. Gives me something to write about.

Yes, I'm terribly, horrendously, sincerely, honestly (I've run out of adjectives now xD) sorry that I haven't updated sooner. I've been hit with every writer's worst nightmares: writer's block and lack of inspiration, hence the many, many, many scene changes.

ARGH, those scene changes DRIVE ME INSANE:_Goes and bangs head on a table:_ I'm sorry, I really couldn't help it. It was either that, or leave them out and I didn't want to do that. The scenes don't really relate to each other either so I had to cut them into bits x.x

The poll. Yes, the poll. Thank you so much for everyone's encouragement and support. I'm honestly glad that people like this story and I'm truly sorry if I sounded like some sort of desperate beggar (that wasn't intentional).

I hate singling people out (just 'cause it makes everyone else feel bad) but I have to. THANK YOU SO MUCH **Yarochisai**! I felt so honoured and special when you gave me that enourmous, encouraging, butt – kicking review T.T THANK YOU!

**Nocena T. Calamus**, I also thank you from the bottom of my heart. That was probably the most inspiring, eye – opening and butt – kicking review I've ever received. Both of your reviews popped into my mind whenever I felt like kicking this story into oblivion.

And of course, we can't forget about my fabulous beta can we? Please give a round of applause for **Denisen**! (I sound like such a nerd xD)

Yes, this is pretty much a filler chapter. DON'T WORRY, I have some exciting action planned for the next :).

I've decided that this story is going to focus mainly on Neji/Tenten in terms of pairings if that's ok with everyone. I'm going to mention the other pairings as well, but Neji/Tenten will be the main couple.

Comments, flames, constructive criticism, three – word reviews…all are welcome.

**Notes:**

**(1) Incendia:** Means 'fire' in Latin. I read somewhere that the Harry Potter spells were actually derived from Latin words but when I looked it up, it wasn't true. Regardless, the spells in this story are in Latin.

**(2) Unda:** Means 'water' in Latin.

**(3) Katon:** Means 'fire' in Japanese. It's one of the basic elements (eg: water, lightning, fire, etc…)

**(4) Suiton:** Means 'water' in Japanese.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary: **(HPxNaruto) Is it a new demon? One of Voldemort's creations? Whatever it is, it wants Harry dead. Magic is useless against it, so Dumbledore decides to bring in some shinobi and kunoichi to solve the problem…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

---------------------------------------------------------

Dumbledore inclined his head at Neji and spoke in a grave, yet genuinely concerned and pleased tone.

"_I'm pleased to hear that Tenten has woken up. Is she alright?_"

"_There are a few…side effects to the snake poison that was injected in her,_" Neji explained. "_She has suffered no physical damage but mentally, she has been quite traumatized. We're still trying to figure out what has happened while she was in coma._"

Dumbledore's eyes showed nothing but care and concern. He gave the impression that he was her grandfather.

"_Do you suggest that I give her time off to recover?_" he asked, leaning on his desk and connecting his fingers together so they formed a pyramid. "_Perhaps send her back to Konoha, her home, so she can have an easier time recovering?_"

"_With all due respect, Dumbledore – san,_" Neji began, his voice blunt and slightly muffled by his mask. "_Sending Tenten back wouldn't make her recovery any easier. We have discovered that I'm the only she'll accept at the moment without making a fuss and if she goes, then I go. Then you'd be two shinobi short,_" he said this all with honesty and fact.

"_Then what do you suggest I do?_" Dumbledore's voice was not accusing or angry. He sounded thoughtful, asking Neji's opinion on the matter. Since the ANBU leader seemingly knew more about Tenten's condition than Dumbledore, his choices would probably benefit everyone.

"_Ask Tsunade – sama for reinforcements. She will probably be happy to offer more assistance,_" Neji's voice was monotone, his posture straight and professional. He moved slightly and his katana, that was located on his back, moved and gave a dull, muffled clank when it hit the kodachi on his hip.

Dumbledore was silent.

"_I shall think about the situation a little more and I will inform you and your comrades when I make any choices,_" the old wizard finally decided. "_For now though, will you be here when Durmstrang and Beauxbatons comes?_"

"_I must stay with Tenten,_" Neji bowed slightly in apology.

"_Very well, very well,_" Dumbledore got up and headed towards the door of his office – although it really was too magical and fascinating to be called an office. "_Let's be off. Classes will start in four minutes._" Opening the door, Dumbledore left, leaving the small door open for Neji.

Making his way silently and quickly down, Neji spied Sakura and Shikamaru sparring outside. Both weren't making much physical attacks to each other; rather, they looked like they were exercising their ability to outwit each other using strategies and plans formulated quickly in their head, reviewing all sorts of choices and possibilities before making any attacks.

It was only an exciting match if you actually knew the pair and how they worked. The students that trickled in and out of the castle glanced at the duo, hoping for an exciting match like the ones they have seen before, only to look away, disappointed, at the lack of action.

But Neji watched, sending a Kage Bunshin of himself to start patrolling while he watched their spar. Normally, he wouldn't give it a second glance but it wasn't everyday you saw Sakura and Shikamaru, the two brains, spar against each other.

Shikamaru shifted slightly, his hands in his pocket and his gaze upwards towards the sky but Sakura was not fooled; she knew that he was thinking how to outwit her. She, herself, was in a relaxed position, just standing upright with a hand on her katana hilt.

Millions of decisions, thoughts and choices flickered in each mind. Both had to painstakingly sort and select the few that could work. Fortunately, with years of training and practice (and also talent, it seems), both had gotten exceptionally fast at it; crazily fast.

In a split second, both were off.

Shikamaru melted into the shadows, his dark, calculating eyes scanning his surroundings warily. His senses were on high alert.

Sakura had vanished, seemingly.

Sending a bunshin out in this place, the bunshin Shikamaru flitted between trees, trying to spot out Sakura and distract her out of her hiding place. It was a poor plan, but Shikamaru had something more solid up his sleeve.

Sakura seemed to know too, for she remained invisible.

Quietly manoeuvring his hand so it was underground, Shikamaru sent chakra strings and trip wires set up in a blink, the wires stretched so taut and thin that they were literally unseen. The chakra strings were routed everywhere, enabling to sense other forms of chakra and traps.

Withdrawing his hand, Shikamaru tied all of the strings together and attached them to his being.

Murmuring "_Byakugan!_", Neji saw Shikamaru's chakra string and soon after, saw Sakura's shoot out a moment later. Even though there were at least fifty strings each, none of them touched the other. It was an intricate web of glowing line, all motionless and still.

Feeling a sudden pulse in the ground, Shikamaru knew that Sakura had sent out chakra strings to locate him as well. Sinking deep into his mind, Shikamaru delved inside himself and saw the chakra lines beneath the ground with his inner eye **(1)**. Seeing Sakura's light green strings in contrast with his light blue strings, Shikamaru easily found Sakura and knew that the medic was matching him move for move; she had located him as well.

Wheels whirring busily in his mind, Shikamaru came up with a plan. He withdrew all of his strings in a snap save for one, and it was so thin and so small that Sakura missed it and cut off all of her ties as well, thinking he had done the same. She, however, laid out a trap, one so sensitive that all it would take would be a small rock or a needle to just brush it and it would be activated.

Shikamaru sighed. "_How troublesome,"_ he muttered under his breath, setting up a trap of his own. It wasn't as sensitive and it was much simpler.

Softly and so casually, so there would be no sudden movements, Shikamaru tossed a small senbon onto the middle of their training field. The small, deadly pin flashed in the sun before falling to the ground, point first, burying deep in the soft earth.

It was like a war field.

Sakura's trap was set off, the bombs deactivating with a fierce explosion and blunted, yet still harmful weapons hurtling in the direction the senbon was thrown from. A genjutsu covered the field and a second genjutsu enforced and reinforced the first.

Shikamaru was not fazed. He calmly ignored the genjutsus, even though the level the genjutsu was labelled at ANBU Torture Level and the intensity was hard to block out. The weapons were carefully dodged, as some had strings attached so they zoomed around and around. Dodging certain weapons, Shikamaru managed to get one cut the string that started his trap.

A small explosion drew attention away from the package of cloth that was thrown softly up in the sky, which unfolded as gravity pushed down on it. Shikamaru had already deducted where and when the cloth had to be unfolded, taking note of the wind and air pressure.

A dark blanket fell over their training area and Shikamaru seized the chance to use his shadow bind technique, increasing his range by tenfold thanks to the added shadow the cloth provided when it blocked out the sun.

Everything froze.

Checking the still sustained chakra string, Shikamaru located Sakura easily and when he got there, cocked a kunai to her throat.

Sakura sighed.

"_That wasn't very effective,_" Shikamaru commented on her performance.

She looked away, "_I know. There's a lot on my mind and I found it hard to fully concentrate._"

"_That was obvious by your lack of attention. I had a chakra string attached to you the whole time and you didn't notice,_" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow behind his mask. "_You also didn't think of a plan yourself and just opted in copying me. Plus, you used too many flashy moves in your trap._"

"_I know, I know,_" Sakura snapped, flicking his kunai away. "_I told you, I just wasn't focused._"

Shikamaru sighed as he looked up at the clouds. "_Then this whole spar was just wasted time for us._"

Sakura frowned, her twitching at her katana, but she made no noise of disagreement.

"_You'll be there when Durmstrang and Beauxbatons comes, right?_" Shikamaru asked as he started to walk away – his next defence lesson was coming up in five minutes.

"_Why wouldn't I be?_" Sakura asked absently, wondering if it was her time to watch the Potter boy.

The spiky haired ANBU shrugged as he continued walking.

"_Just a simple question._"

---

The students and teachers were well accustomed to the shinobi now, delighting, rather than being frightened/awed by their unordinary powers.

However, Kakashi poofing into the middle of the Great Hall was not as expected.

"_Kakashi, you're late,_" Neji said, deadpanned as the students frantically tried to move away, only to knock their neighbours over, creating a domino effect. A few students were even frightened enough to scream, while the rest mumbled to their friends.

"_Sorry,_" Kakashi apologized. "_I was lost on the road of life._"

At this, Sakura came up and smacked her old sensei on the arm. "_That excuse gets old after a while Kaka-sensei. Think of a new one._"

"_But I don't have time,_" Kakashi protested.

"_Too busy reading that perverted book of yours?_" Sakura snarled. She had an intense disliking for those little orange books.

Instead of answering, Kakashi turned to Neji. "_So, any news? I need your monthly report._"

Neji pulled Kakashi to the side and left the teachers to settle and handle the panicking students. He handed two thick scrolls to the jounin. "_Here are the reports. One is from last month, which you never came. Also, we are in need of reinforcements. See that we can get at least three, if not four ANBU or jounin to come._"

"_Too bad I have other missions,_" Kakashi accepted the scrolls thoughtfully. "_This mission sounds interesting._"

"_You wouldn't like it sensei,_" a sarcastic, yet humorous voice came from behind the duo. "_You wouldn't have any time to read that book of yours._"

Kakashi's face broke out into a smile under his mask as he turned to greet the loud blonde jinchuuriki.

"_Neh, Kaka-sensei,_" Naruto asked curiously after they had exchanged greetings. "_How do you get to here from Konoha? We had that pot key or whatever, but you don't have that…_"

"_Indeed, I don't,_" Kakashi answered, not really answering Naruto's question.

Naruto rolled his bright blue eyes, knowing that Kakashi wouldn't be able to see his expression, "_All right, all right. Keep to yourself. Staying for a while?_"

"_Maybe a little,_" Kakashi looked around, his one eye surveying the slightly chaotic hall. "_Seems peaceful enough._"

"_Kaka – sensei, the head of the table is Dumbledore – san. You can talk to him about the current situation while the rest of the students are finishing breakfast,_" Sakura suggested, coming up from behind them. The students had indeed calmed down, but were still sending curious glances at the new silver – haired stranger.

Kakashi's lone eye darted to look at the prominent figure, who seemed undisturbed by the mayhem Kakashi had caused. The old wizard was calmly finishing his lunch, leaving the shinobi to discuss their business without his knowing gaze.

Then, as if looking at Dumbledore reminded him something, Kakashi turned and asked Neji, "_Where's Hinata? The Hyuuga clan wants me to relay a message to her._"

Neji gave a curt nod to Sakura, who immediately disappeared in a blur. A moment later, the pink haired medic came back with Hinata at her side.

"_Kakashi – san?_" Hinata asked. "_You requested my presence?_"

"_Hinabi says to tell you that your meetings with the Ministry of Magic has been highly successful and that the elders are pleased, as well as the council. However, the Cloud seems to have been reportedly active near the Hyuuga compound recently. Hinabi asks what your decision regarding the Cloud is,_" Kakashi said, his posture lax despite his rather startling message.

After thinking for a moment, Hinata replied, "_Tell her to capture any that dare harm or attempt to harm the Hyuugas. Try not to kill any unless absolutely necessary and the captured can go to Ibiki. See what their motive is and what they intended to do with the Hyuugas._"

Kakashi took note and nodded. The message would be passed.

Hinata sighed, rubbing her temples underneath her mask. "_I'm getting a headache. These students make a lot of noise when they're frightened._"

"_Here,_" Sakura tossed a small pill to her which she promptly took. After several minutes, Hinata sighed.

"_Thanks Sakura,_" Hinata said as the throbbing subsided. The Hyuuga leader looked around and found that students were hurrying out of the hall, ready for afternoon lessons. Turning to Kakashi, who was still standing idly there, she offered, "_Kakashi – san, would you like to explore a bit here? You could help patrol us and you could take a break from missions in Konoha for a while._"

Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile as he noted the tone of polite authority she used subtly on him. He shrugged and agreed, strolling away in a relaxed manner, hands in his pockets and gazing at the unfamiliar walls and building structure around him.

"_And you're not allowed to read those books of yours,_" Sakura warned as she sped past him. "_If I find one of those lying around, I'm burning it in an instant._"

Kakashi waved a hand, reassuring her that he wouldn't read. She left quickly after that, heading towards near the Forbidden Forest – that was her patrolling area for the afternoon.

"_Kaka-sensei, you can visit Tenten later in the hospital wing,_" Naruto suggested as Hinata and Neji left. "_You can tell Tsunade – baachan how she's doing._"

Kakashi nodded, taking the suggestion into consideration.

"_Ah, Kakashi, is it?_" a polite, kind, slightly weary voice spoke up behind the pair. Naruto didn't turn around, already knowing who it was. He continued moving towards the grounds where he and Shikamaru were teaching the students.

"_Hm?_" the sliver – haired jounin turned halfway around and saw the same old wizard who was calmly eating standing behind him, his kind blue eyes crinkling in a smile behind his smile. He calmly radiated an aura of power and strength, wisdom and knowledge.

"Ah, Dumbledore," Kakashi greeted the headmaster.

The old wizard's smile deepened and switched back to his native language, "I'm pleased to know that you're fluently bilingual. I have to ask, are you staying for a while?"

"Shouldn't be too long," Kakashi reassured Dumbledore. "Perhaps a day or two; big missions are starting to flood us now."

"Wonderful," Dumbledore was genuinely pleased. "Would you like to help us greet Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, two other wizarding schools, here tonight and fill in for both Neji and Tenten?"

"It would be a great pleasure," Kakashi replied politely, agreeing.

"Excellent," Dumbledore inclined his head slightly towards the taller jounin. "I'll leave you to get familiar with the grounds. Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions."

Kakashi nodded and watched as the headmaster moved away with slow, unhurried steps.

_Something feels like it's going to blow._

---

"I'm bored," Ron complained, his knee bouncing up and down on the library table. Hermione hissed at him as his knee connected with the wood, which made the table shake.

"Start studying," she snapped as the table shook again and her ink almost spilled over.

The redhead sighed as he glanced at the thick tome that he had pulled out for studying and homework. The title, _Fifth Grade Non-Verbal Spells for Transfiguration_, by Josephine Hiralda **(2)**, was emblazoned boldly at the cover and seemed to stare mockingly up at him.

Harry, who was sitting beside Ron and across from Hermione, had screwed up his face in an attempt to do a non – verbal spell, but only succeeded turning his face red from lack of oxygen.

"I don't get any of this stuff," Ron complained, flipping through the large textbook without actually looking at the text inside.

"That's why you _read_ the book," Hermione said exasperatedly, busy doing her Potions homework.

Sasuke crossed his arms over his padded chest and leaned against the wall, his eyes darting from the huge bookcases of books and his charge. Although no one really knew except Sakura, Sasuke loved reading; he liked reading and learning. It was something he was good at too. He struggled to not get up and pull a book off a shelf and start reading. It would be highly unprofessional and silly of him.

But _damn,_ that book looked tempting.

Sasuke continued to calmly survey the wide variety of books, a couple he spotted were even written in Japanese. He nonchalantly stepped to the side as a jet of water shot from Harry's cup, who looked absolutely delighted.

"I finally got it!"

"Good, now practice on your control," Hermione was half amused, half pleased. Ron stole a sharp glance at his friends before going back to answering Transfiguration questions.

Sasuke quietly took a book off the shelf, written in Japanese with the title, _A History of Dangerous Monsters_. He smacked the book next to it as it start screaming upon realizing at its loss of a neighbour and ducked as the book underneath the screaming one tried to take a chunk out of him. Sasuke retreated to his 'watch out' wall. Convinced that his charges were doing alright on their own, he started to read, glancing up every now and then to check on Harry and his friends.

Skimming past the first couple of sections, Sasuke halted when he saw a picture of the Kyuubi. He was amused to see the picture of the large, nine – tailed beast stamping on the village of Konoha. Flipping past that, since he already knew what had happened, Sasuke was about to put the book away since he knew everything in there already until a small picture accompanied with a small paragraph of text caught his attention.

Thumbing back to it, Sasuke's eyes widened at his discovery.

**The picture above shows the ****_Shichishou_ (3). This beast is able to shapeshift at will into various forms and colours. Their powers vary, although they can be fatal and quite strong, proving almost impossible to defeat. The ****Nidaime Hokage**** of Konoha managed to subdue it and seal it within deep inside an unknown place. **

The text ended there before going onto another topic. Sasuke leaned back, his gaze wandering over to Harry, Hermione and Ron. The information stuck in his mind, as if it was screaming that it had a huge importance somehow.

Closing the book with a soft snap, Sasuke hesitated before going to Hermione. Subtly, he slid it under the pile of books she was planning to take out and quickly moved back to his former spot on the wall, looking as if he had been standing there and watching them all this time.

The bushy haired witch didn't notice.

"I'm taking a break," Harry sighed as he slumped against his chair, waving his wand and muttering a water spell to douse his smouldering cup. He was supposed to fill it with clear water, but the first time it had shot out of his cup like a jet and the second time it had caught on fire.

Ron was attempting the same spell, but all he was managing was a small puddle at the bottom of his cup.

Bored and frustrated, Harry glanced over at the stack of books Hermione was about to take out. He saw a flash of red, as well as a Japanese kanji symbol but Hermione had whisked it away from his sight before he could make sure that he wasn't hallucinating.

_What would Hermione be doing with a Japanese book she can't read…?_

Almost automatically, Harry's eyes darted to look at Sasuke but the guard remained as still and passive as ever. He gave no indication that he moved even a muscle; he might've been a statue.

Still, Harry stored the little bit of info for later discussions with his friends. He froze though, when Sasuke suddenly swung his head towards Harry. For the first time, the marked boy could clearly see the guard's eyes and was frightened by what he saw.

_Red eyes?_

The guard said nothing, but the message was clear. Harry was not to speak a word about the book to anyone. Knowing how the boy's mind worked, Sasuke reached into his kunai pouch nonchalantly and casually flipped up a lethally sharp kunai, the end gleaming brightly under the soft library lights. Spinning it expertly, Sasuke to play with the kunai, never breaking eye contact with Harry.

The boy inwardly gulped and knew that he had no choice; he wouldn't tell.

Satisfied, but still playing with the kunai, Sasuke broke eye contact and looked straight ahead once more. Harry looked away also, for the first time scared of his bodyguard. He didn't breathe a word about anything regarding Sasuke to his best friends.

Hermione came staggering back with her pile of books, looking slightly perplexed. "This stack seems heavier than I remember…"

Sasuke continued to calmly spin his kunai and watched as Harry Potter glance quickly from the pile to him before focusing intensely on his non-verbal spell textbook.

Glancing at the clock hanging on the wall, Sasuke realized that it was 3:47 pm; 3 more minutes before the next bell rang, signalling the end of free block. It was also when Sakura came and took over for Sasuke.

When the bell rang three minutes later, Sasuke managed to slip the book out of Hermione's pile and subtly hide it. When Sakura came, she noticed the book and gave him a questioning look which he returned with a stare that said, "I'll tell you later." Nodding in understanding, Sakura walked up the wall and followed Harry and his friends, leaving Sasuke to patrol the hallways.

_Good, I need to research this book a little more…_

Walking swiftly, silently away, Sasuke didn't notice a crimson, slightly translucent bear with pitch black claws that shined eerily in the weak sunlight materialise behind him. It stared after the departing Uchiha, its fangs bared in a menacing smirk.

---

"Hurry, hurry now," Kabuto commanded over the small amount of students. "We don't want to be late in meeting Beauxbatons and Hogwarts."

The small, yet still sufficient amount of students shuffled onto the ship, shivering and murmuring to each other. A strong wind pulled at their fur cloaks and the students hurried onto the dangerously swaying ship, the water churning strongly. The sky was dark with storm clouds, and thunder rumbled in the distance ominously.

When all the students were inside, the headmaster of Durmstrang followed after, the plank of the ship folding up after him and forming a solid wall that blended with the side of the ship.

With a groan, the large, wooden ship slowly moved forwards and down into the water, the creaking of the planks audible amidst the pounding of the rain and the howl of the wind. As the top of the ship finally disappeared under the wildly tumbling waters, a streak of lightening flashed across the sky, pointing the way to Hogwarts.

Under the waters, the current swayed rhythmically, the plants swaying along with the tide. Fishes, most of them small and unknown with various coloured scales and some even sporting vicious fangs, darted around, uncaring of the wild howl of nature that was thundering above the water. It was silent under the dark water, silent and eerily unfamiliar.

Yet Kabuto steered the ship effortlessly through the unrecognizable waters, navigating around sharks the size of two houses put together, seaweed that could stick onto anything and eat it within three hours, fish whose fangs were a poisonous, orange colour and other creatures who only made small appearances which didn't tell what or how large they were.

The students were scattered throughout the surprisingly huge ship, most of them in the warm library that had soft lighting and dozens and dozens of books which they could read if they pleased. However, reading was not first on their agenda.

"He looks so young…"

"I know, and silver hair?"

"He looks wimpy."

"But he's so much better than the last bastard of a headmaster."

"He lavished all his attention on Krum!"

"Hey, Krum's a super Quidditch player-"

"Does it look like I care?"

"Hey guys, how the hell did he end up becoming our headmaster anyways?"

"Well," an average, sullen, brown haired boy began, "Ka-"

"Shut up," another boy flared up. He had a deep dislike towards the former headmaster for favouring Viktor Krum.

The sullen boy shot the other a look that read, "Don't interrupt."

"_He_," the brown haired boy continued, adopting the air of a mysterious storyteller, "left, and we were left without a headmaster. Krum took over for the remainder of the year, but you know, with Quidditch and all, he couldn't handle it. This guy, the silver haired one, came and applied for the job. Krum said that he really knew his Defence Against the Dark Arts stuff and signed the job over to him."

Silence.

"That's it?"

"Well, yeah. Were you expecting some sort of epic tale?"

"No, but it just sounds so simple and coincidental…"

"Are you questioning our headmaster?"

"What's going on here?"

The tone of authority circled around the large room and all the boys instinctively looked up to see the calm, stern face of their current headmaster. The black cloak around him was a stark contrast against his tied back silver hair and pale skin. His glasses reflected the soft light brightly, but his black eyes were hard and unfathomable; it clearly told power and cunning.

"Nothing Professor," one of the boys spoke up politely, though his voice wavered just the slightest bit, revealing his fear.

"Indeed?" Kabuto raised a slim eyebrow in doubt. "From what I could hear up deck, it didn't sound like 'nothing'."

Some of the boys gaped at him. They were on the third floor, and upper deck was on top of the second floor which was on top of the third. Either Kabuto's hearing was hyper, hyper sensitive or they were having a screaming conversation that felt and sounded like a normal one.

Both seemed unlikely.

"Be quiet, or I'll have to toss you overboard," Kabuto commanded, his tall frame obscuring one of the dim sources of light, making him look half silhouetted. "We will be at Hogwarts in another hour, so don't get too comfortable yet." With that, he turned around and silently left the room, a smirk crossing his sharp features.

It was Orochimaru who had suggested Kabuto to take up the position as headmaster, allowing them to get closer to Hogwarts without looking too conspicuous. It also gave him the advantage of knowing how magic worked (his 'magic' was worked by his normal jutsus, disguised by a genjutsu to make it look like he had a wand and was doing magic), conspiring with Orochimaru, Voldemort, and their 'pet' in relative peace (since the school was famous for its knowledge of Dark Magic, ominous magical occurrences were normal) and refining their grand plan until even the last detail and fault was dealt with.

Taking up his regular position in his private study on the ship, Kabuto examined all the information and data he had been given, drawing up a new, fresh map with all the details and plans laid up in the appropriate spots, marking and making little notes and reminders along the way.

There was a knock and Kabuto cast a genjutsu to cover his work in three seconds, his demeanour unruffled and unsurprised.

"Enter."

The door creaked open, and in stepped Orochimaru, his yellow eyes turned upwards in a sickening smile.

"So Kabuto, are you ready?"

"I'm well prepared Orochimaru – sama," Kabuto replied, removing his genjutsu. "He is unsuspecting, and as long as your pet is within reach by the time we get there, then our plan is already set in motion."

"Excellent," Orochimaru licked his mouth with his abnormally long tongue. "I shall have my Sasuke – kun back and cut the support system of Konoha while I'm at it."

"And Voldemort?"

"I shall kill him after I'm done."

"I'm sure he's going to do the same to you after."

"Then it shall be a most memorable fight. Too bad he only meddles with magic," Orochimaru said thoughtfully, his long, dark, lank hair reflecting bits of crimson as the light flickered off of it. "Then again, I'm depriving the wizarding world of their source of terror. I shall have to dispose of him another way."

"I'll leave that in your capable hands, Orochimaru – sama," Kabuto said respectfully, while checking the clock near his door. "We are about to land at Hogwarts in exactly eight minutes."

"I shall go then, and ensure that our plan works accordingly," Orochimaru was nearly shivering in excitement. Without a seal or anything, he disappeared without a trace, leaving a grim, yet stimulated Kabuto. Yes, this evening would set the course of a change in history; they all knew that.

Eight minutes later, the ship gave a huge, shuddering lurch forwards and started its ascent upwards. Kabuto made no inclination to move from his desk, his gaze intent on their plan. Going over the details once more, he slowly got up from the desk and cast a powerful genjutsu over himself.

When Kabuto stepped out into the lighted hallways, the small, yet hash light flickered against his short cut brown hair. His glasses were hidden by the genjutsu, and his skin had a slight tanned tone to it, but the hollow cheekbones and sharp cut features were more or less the same; it still gave him the appearance of being sinisterly ominous.

The students didn't spare a glance towards his new appearance as they filed to the side of the ship, waiting for the side to fold down into a plank. Kabuto often experimented with 'spells', as they labelled it, and liked to change his appearance at random. This day wasn't going to be an exception.

The ship came to a sudden stop, the wood groaning from the journey and the planks creaking with age. Despite the perilous journey, not a trace of seaweed or ocean particles was seen on the damp, yet spotless wood. It looked as if it had been dunked into a simple, ordinary pond and resurfaced looking wet, but perfectly clean.

"Ah, welcome, welcome!"

Dumbledore's old, yet strong voice greeted Kabuto and his students as the side of the ship fell down to form a plank. Kabuto, in his strong genjutsu form, stepped down and gave the customary hug to Dumbledore, his sinisterly sharp face polite.

"Thank you for having us, Albus," Kabuto replied, his tone formal and with a slight British accent. He gave a quick glance at the stationed, hidden ANBU, knowing that they would make a note of him and his quick observation. Turning back to his host, Kabuto plastered a smile and beckoned his students to follow him.

"Wonderful. Beauxbatons is already here, waiting for us in the Great Hall as they are warming up there right now. I daresay you'd like to join us?" Dumbledore's voice was still heard over the strong wind that pulled at everyone's clothing.

Nodding, Kabuto stepped forwards to follow Dumbledore and his students trailed after him like obedient lambs. The ANBU shadowed them silently, flitting in and around the large group like flies, yet they were quicker and stealthier than the ordinary house fly.

Viktor Krum had been following at the hind end of the group, where the ANBU and Dumbledore didn't see. He stumbled slightly, falling further behind on the rest of the group. Silently, he cursed himself for being so clumsy; Kabuto had specifically told him to keep watch at the end of the group, a great honour coming from an aloof, powerful man like him.

Cursing at himself, Krum didn't notice a shadowy, vague figure materialize behind him. It cocked a head, as that much was at least seen, as if debating on something. Then it shifted its head back to a normal position, as if deciding on something. It blurred, and a more distinct shape took place. A huge, massive violet horse, even larger than the horses that pulled the Beauxbatons carriage, stood behind the still cursing Krum. Its violet coat was darkened by the night, turning it a deep purple colour with shining black hooves, mane and tail. Its eyes were still a bright violet, yet they glittered maliciously.

Striking quickly like a snake, the horse bit Krum's shoulder, its pointed teeth sinking deep into the flesh. Krum gave a jerk, his mouth opening in a silent scream, his eyes going wide as he watched his classmates and colleagues file into the warm, large Great Hall, joking and laughing to each other.

As quickly as it had struck, the violet horse drew back, its mouth stretching into a wicked grin, with its black fangs glinting. A small kanji symbol for 'pride' materialized on Krum's exposed shoulder. The cloth that had been ripped there mended itself and it seemed as if there had been no damage. However, Krum had closed his mouth and aside from the slight violet sheen in his eyes, he gave no indication that anything had gone wrong.

He walked swiftly to catch up with his classmates, his head held up proudly. The violet horse gave a sharp, whinnying laugh before disappearing with the incoming mist.

"Are you all right Krum?" Kabuto asked in mock concern, subtly going over the slight changes. He nodded inwardly, smirking. Yes, Orochimaru's pet had done a fine job.

The slight violet glint in the famous Quidditch player's eyes was clearly visible but it was gone as he lifted his head higher. "Is there a reason why I should be?" The tone was proud and stubborn.

_Perfect._

"All right, come along then," Kabuto commanded turning and swishing Krum with his black robes. He proceeded into the hall and wasn't surprised to see Krum moving swiftly ahead of him, as if telling the medic that _he_ was the best, _he _was dominant.

Allowing the satisfaction simmer in his stomach, Kabuto deliberately guided Krum and a few other students to the Ravenclaw table, which was conveniently right next to Gryffindors. Krum sat right behind Hermione, who seemed to blush when she noticed him.

When Hermione tapped Krum on the shoulder, Kabuto saw a flash of disbelief and arrogance cross his face.

_Why the hell is a Mud-blood talking to me? No one with filthy blood will touch me!_

Kabuto guessed his thoughts accurately, but the flash passed and Krum's usual sullen face returned, which brightened mockingly as he turned to greet Hermione.

_It's all going according to plan. Orochimaru – sama will be pleased. _

---

"_I have a bad feeling about this…_"

Ino's voice was tight through the ear communicators.

Shikamaru gave a start, his eyes immediately seeking the so called 'Hiratio' **(4)**, the headmaster of the all boys' school that had just entered. The man was at the head table, quietly and neatly eating his food like everyone else. He talked with the other teachers and Dumbledore when needed, but otherwise stayed silent and observing.

But when Ino's intuition went off, it was never wrong.

"_Sakura, go and do a scan check on Hiratio,_" Shikamaru quietly ordered. "_Sasuke, Kakashi. Sharingan._"

Both Kakashi and Sasuke activated their Sharingan. Kakashi noticed nothing unusual, other than a black, tainted aura around the Durmstrang headmaster. Sasuke, however, glimpsed a flash of a genjutsu being used before it disappeared from his sight.

Sasuke's eyes burned strangely when he saw the flash of genjutsu and was forced to let his eyes return to normal for fear of getting blinded momentarily. He blinked rapidly behind his mask to get rid of the white spots splashing across his vision, and was too distracted to notice the slight smirk that crossed Hiratio's slightly tanned face. **(5)**

Moments later, Sakura's voice hissed through the communicators.

"_Nothing. He doesn't exist._" **(6)**

Shikamaru felt his stomach clench in nervousness and wariness. An unknown poser. Those kinds never had a good intention. Scanning his mind for what to do, Shikamaru continued to move his head as though he was looking at all the students, but his eyes were trained on the polite, distant headmaster.

"_But he looks awfully familiar…_"

Ino's voice was guarded, as if she was sharing an idea and that she was going to look into it further. She was stuck on the high ceiling, hidden by the enchanted sky, but she could see clearly through the rolling grey clouds and bright flashed of lightning.

"_Now that you mention it, you're right,_" Naruto joined in the conversation. "_His face just reminds me of someone, but I can't place it._"

Hinata and Kakashi remained silent, choosing to watch over the rest of the students and teachers while the others discussed the mysterious headmaster.

Hinata's white eyes narrowed slightly in a frown when he saw Viktor Krum interacting with Hermione Granger with an indifferent Harry Potter and a disgruntled Ronald Weasley looking on. For a moment, the Quidditch player had angled his head slightly and glanced at Hinata, a violet flash clearly visible from his eyes. He turned his gaze back towards an unknowing Hermione, but Hinata knew that that wasn't her imagination playing tricks on her.

"_Byakugan!_"

The whisper didn't go unnoticed by her team mates, but they didn't comment on it.

Scanning Krum's chakra system, Hinata saw flashes of violet but was unable to identify what it meant. Purple 'chakra' meant magic, but this was a startlingly clear, poisonous violet. Biting her lip, she decided to keep quiet for now but made a mental note to watch out for the boy; something about him screamed dangerous.

Nothing exciting happened, or at least, nothing worth interfering with. Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru spent their time rotating with each other and Hinata and Kakashi, discussing about the Durmstrang headmaster and when Tsunade was going to bring in reinforcements. Kakashi and Hinata stayed silent, opting to look out in case of any trouble.

Dumbledore stood up.

"Another wonderful feast," the old wizard said with a crinkled smile. "I'm delighted to greet Durmstrang and Beauxbatons here with us today and hope that they will find their stay here very enjoyable. I'm pleased that you all will be able to spend Christmas together, which incidentally is in exactly a week. There are a few rules, however, that you all must respect."

The ANBU carefully tuned the headmaster out, already knowing the rules and regulations. The knowledge that they were free to break the rules, as long as they had a valid reason for doing so, also stuck in their minds. Dumbledore gave no mention of the shape – shifting beast and of the ANBU, who remained in the shadows and were well hidden the entire time.

"…and I'd like the Hogwarts students kindly share their dormitories with their fellow friends. Durmstrang will be staying with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, while Beauxbatons will be staying with Hufflepuff and Slytherin. You will treat each other with respect and courtesy, no more, no less. Madame Maxine, Professor Hiratio, I will be showing you where you are staying. Now, I bid you all a good night!" Dumbledore stepped back, a clear form of dismissal.

The students rose, a jumble of black robes, fur robes and blue, silk robes. Students chattered nervously and excitedly to each other and to their neighbours. The now large tide of students surged through the doors slowly, most of them not knowing where they were going and relying totally on helpful Hogwarts students.

Hinata, Ino, Kakashi, and Naruto went to accompany the students, sticking high on the walls and sometimes even on the dusty, cobwebbed ceilings or in the shadows. Sakura and Shikamaru stayed behind to look after the teachers while Sasuke tailed Harry Potter.

Sasuke didn't miss the irritated look that crossed his charge's face when Viktor Krum stepped in front of him, laughing with (or was it at?) Hermione, his head still held up proudly and a confident, arrogant air seemed to radiate off the famous Quidditch player.

Activating his Sharingan hesitantly – his eyes still hurt from trying to view Hiratio with his Sharingan – Sasuke glanced at Krum and saw violet invade his system. The colour was normally soothing, or at least vibrant and cheerful; this violet was a sickening, poisoning colour with a clear malicious intent in it. It wasn't normal – that was for sure.

_Hinata knew about this._

There was no doubt about it. Sasuke saw her look directly at Krum for several moments before turning away.

_Why didn't she say anything?_

Growing irritated and more than frustrated, Sasuke made a mental note to ask the Hyuuga leader why she hadn't said anything.

Walking casually on the side of the wall, Sasuke made sure to keep out of sight of the students, especially the ones that had just arrived. Keeping his gaze trained on Harry Potter, but senses alert enough to inform him about everything around him, Sasuke registered the prickling of his hair standing on end as he thought about Krum and Hiratio, his ANBU mask straining tightly against his protesting hair.

_First a new headmaster that isn't who he claims to be. And now unknown magic or chakra?_

Ino was right.

_Something is definitely off. _

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN:** Two things.

I'm terribly sorry about the late update.

I'm even more terribly sorry about the short chapter.

I know it might not seem long, but it's only (yeah, I know; _ONLY_ (hehe)) 17 pages instead of my usual 20ish. Reason being is that I wrote a little more condensely (IT'S NOT A WORD I KNOW SHUT UP) so that's why it's short. Plus, judging from my progress, this story won't have too many chapters left. I'm shocked OO I thought it'd last at least 20 chapters xD I keep overestimating myself…

BLEH.

SNOW!

Please excuse me. It's 10:05 pm, and I've gotten very little sleep in the past couple of days. Plus, I've got school and I live rather far away so I have to wake up extra early. I promised you guys you'd get a chapter, and it's a chapter you'll get.

And yes, it's actually snowing here. I'm not going (that) crazy.

I'll shut up before I scare you all off.

(This is me running purely on adrenaline. Any minute I'll fall asleep on my keyboard.)

All reviews are welcome.

(NORMAL SENTENCE!!)

This version is un – beta-ed, as my beta is having trouble opening this doc on her computer. Thanks anyways Denisen! Erm, I'm too tired and lazy to beta this anyways, so if you want, you can just copy and paste into a word doc to edit. Or you can not edit this chapter. Either works for me.

**Notes:**

**(1) Shikamaru's Inner Eye Technique:** I just thought it kinda fit him, with his smartness and shadow technique. THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. Just pretend that Shikamaru got rather jealous that Gaara had his own Inner Eye and decided to copy him.

**(2) Josephine Hiralda:** Random named made out of the blue.

**(3)****_ Shichishou_: Seven Souls.**

**(4) Hiratio:** The name Kabuto presents to hide his identity. It's an actual English name too 8D

**(5) Kakashi and Sasuke's Sharingan – the reason why one is affected and the other is not:** Sasuke's Sharingan is genuine, causing stronger power to reside in his trait. Kakashi's is 'second – hand' and doesn't work as well. If you follow the manga/anime or keep up with friends (that's what I do xD) then you'll see a lot of differences between their Sharingans.

**(6) How Sakura 'scans' a person so quickly:** SHE JUST DOES D8

I'm terribly sorry. I will probably re-write this author's note when I'm more awake and not in a goofy mood.

EDIT: Fixed several mistakes. My notes section was screwed. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE TOO MANY NOTES AND YOU'RE DEAD TIRED. DON'T DO THIS AT HOME.


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary:** HPxNaruto A simple A classed mission to Hogwarts turns into a deadly S classed one when Orochimaru and Voldemort bring their new pet into play.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

---------------------------------------------------------

"_Hinata! Why didn't you say anything?_" Ino exclaimed, waving her arms comically. They were all, including Kakashi, back in their own common room, having their meeting before Kakashi and Sasuke went out on patrol.

"_Ino,_" Naruto snapped at the other blond sharply, "_Don't harp on her._"

Hinata was grateful to have a partner like Naruto, who was always fiercely protective of her (but not stiflingly so), caring and understanding. But Ino did have a point.

"_I wasn't sure,_" Hinata murmured quietly, instantly silencing Naruto and Ino who were beginning to argue. "_I didn't want you guys working up over nothing._"

"_But you knew he was dangerous,_" Sasuke's deep baritone cut in sharply. "_I saw how you kept glancing at Krum and tensing._"

Hinata shrugged weakly, unable to give an answer back.

"_Sasuke's right,_" Shikamaru spoke up, frowning. "_Next time, tell us Hinata. Your hesitation could lead to a serious injury or death to one of us._"

Naruto frowned as well, wanting to defend his girlfriend but knowing that what Shikamaru and Sasuke said were true.

"_What about you Kakashi, Sakura, Neji?_" The only time Neji left Tenten's side was when the meetings commenced.

"_Hmmm…_" Kakashi hummed, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "**_Look underneath the underneath._**"

Silence.

Everyone contemplated the words, Team 7 remembering when Kakashi had first told them that when they were gennin and he was their sensei.

"_Look underneath the underneath…_" Neji murmured softly, turning the words over in his head. Reaching over from his position on the chair, he took an apple from the fruit bowl and half – heartedly bit into it.

"_How 'bout you Sakura?_" Naruto asked. "_Do you have any ideas?_"

The pink haired medic shook her head. "_The only thing I can think about is Hiratio. He is not who he says he is._"

"_He looks familiar,_" Sasuke agreed, black eyes narrowing in distrust. "_I don't like the feel or look of him._"

"_Do you remember who he looks like?_" Ino turned her face towards her former crush, her interrogator expression on.

Sasuke glared down at his clenched fist, not saying anything.

"_Ah Sasuke, I believe it's time to start patrolling,_" Kakashi commented leisurely, as if he hadn't seen Ino begin to launch into her interrogation mode. "_We'd better get going._" Due to heightened circumstances, patrolling went in pairs instead of singles.

Sasuke stood up without a word and walked stiffly out, not giving a glance to any of them. Kakashi gave a little wave before poofing out in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke felt a roll of emotion within him as he reached to snap his mask on.

_He looks like Kabuto. _

---

Kakashi had gone the next day, knowing that he was leaving the ANBU in a very vulnerable position, but having no choice. He assured them quietly that reinforcements and supplies would come within the next couple of days.

They were two down out of their original eight. Neji rarely left Tenten's side since her outburst and Hinata's little talk with him. It was almost suicide to go to Neji and suggest for him to move even a step outside Tenten's cubicle. Hinata, understanding of her cousin's concern, brought him a spare change of comfortable clothes and she and Sakura brought in food and water every once a while. But sometimes Neji would make a bunshin to walk around near the hospital, to check if things were all right.

Shikamaru had been awfully quiet, and Ino put it down as contemplation; and there were _many_ things to contemplate about. The mission was spiralling alarmingly out of control and it took all of Shikamaru's training and self – control from spinning into insanity.

Sasuke was still tailing the Potter boy, becoming incredibly tense for some reason. He, according to Sakura who had taken over his shift one time to give him time to train and work off all the nervous energy, was like a 'taut bowstring that would snap with one touch'. So far, only Sakura and Naruto had talked to him and come off unscathed.

Sakura was probably the most optimistic and happiest of the bunch. She, like everyone else, was anxious – for what, even she wasn't all too sure – but her nature wasn't to be broody or sullen or antsy. She put her worries till later and concentrated on the task at hand with a smile on her face.

Ino had become steadily withdrawn though. She, like Shikamaru, had a lot to think about and her instincts were screaming to be wary of Krum. Also, she was growing restless: she had been brought here to be an interrogator, not a guard, a consulter or something like that. Her mind, in short, was a hurricane of feelings and emotions.

Hinata and Naruto had managed to find more time with each other, comforting each other about the situation and their friend. Naruto was as normal as ever, besides a constant frown lurking in his bright blue eyes. Hinata, as well, was as quiet and gentle as ever but there was sadness in her posture.

Everyone was slowly cracking.

Shikamaru sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face, his mask dangling off his other hand. Once his hand had moved away, his face held red-rimmed eyes and lines that cut deep.

Shikamaru had undergone many, many, many S-class missions that required brainwork, stealth and intelligence – all that he had. His missions all required him capturing or killing S-class nin and he had gotten used to the pattern that the missing nin presented to him.

They all hid and bided their time until Shikamaru and his team showed a weak point and then they attacked. Or the nin would hold something/someone captive and draw Shikamaru in with the bait.

But the main difference the other missions and this one was that this one had an enemy that seemed to be outwitting him and his team.

Outwitting Shikamaru was something unreal. It had **never** happened before and was **_never meant to happen_**.

Shikamaru had never, ever in his entire life been outwitted by _anyone_ before. He was a freaking genius! Geniuses like him do _not_ fall short of anyone in terms of brainpower.

But he had to admit it – he was in the dark. His best hope now was to keep it together and keep trying to make ends meet. Maybe then things will finally tip in his favour, but for now, all he could do was wait and hope.

Moving, he fetched a rag dangling off a hook. The soft, yet grey and stained cloth was Shikamaru's polishing cloth. Recently, he had found himself polishing and cleaning his weapons more and more often, as he was preparing for a battle. And he wasn't the only one either. He had spotted Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Neji fingering their weapons as well.

But they were wary, very wary. And they had every reason to be so.

For the question is: what were they fighting against?

_It isn't human_, Shikamaru mused as he tucked his mask back on, _and it's not affected by magic. _Taking out a dull kunai, he began to polish it, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him with his foot. Walking down the hall, he reviewed the information over again.

_A shape shifter. That much is certain. No killings yet, only Petrified students. _

The genius frowned behind his mask when he remembered going into the hospital wing to take a look at Tenten. The Petrified students were literally frozen solid, not moving a single muscle. In fact, he wasn't even sure if they were breathing. Their young bodies were twisted in grotesque shapes.

_Chakra affects it somewhat._

In his mind, he could hear Sasuke giving him a report on what happened during Divination. Chidori had only made the creature disappear, not kill it.

_There's Tenten and the snake incident…_

Dimly, he recalled telling Ino to delve into the brunette's mind later to see if she could sort through the poison's effects.

_And then another snake attack during Halloween..._

That was fun. In a dangerous, chaotic way.

_Then there are even _more _snakes continually coming and attacking us…_

They were all small, lethal, poisonous, and heading towards just one target: Harry Potter. Sasuke had snapped at the summons to go back and die while he killed the rest off with ridiculous ease.

_There's the idea of combining chakra and magic._

That was interesting. He would have to remember to bring it up with Dumbledore later.

_That Durmstrang leader, Hiratio, was it? _

The image of Hiratio's short - cropped hair, tanned skin and sharp features rose in Shikamaru's mind. Ino's warning about him rang clearly alongside the image.

_And his student…_

Viktor Krum was someone who had to be watched very, very carefully. He hadn't done anything wrong yet, but all of the ANBUs' instincts and training kicked in, telling them that this man wasn't who he said he was.

_The same,_ Shikamaru thought wryly as he hopped through a window, depositing his now clean kunai and drawing a shuriken to clean, _goes for Hiratio. _

Sasuke had formed an instant, deep disliking of the headmaster. When asked, his reason was, "He reminds me too much of Kabuto."

Of course, none of them had any idea how accurate the Sharingan wielder was.

_Professor Umbridge and Malfoy keep butting in, making things ten times more troublesome. That Ministry of Magic is hovering too close for comfort. _

But there was nothing he could or would do. Shikamaru and his team were there to guard the school and kill the intruder, not deal with some pesky political spat. If the Ministry started to become more of a problem, one that Dumbledore couldn't swat away, then yes, Shikamaru would interfere.

Problems, problems, problems. The bigger problem was that none of the little problems seemed to be connecting all too well.

_Yes, Orochimaru and Voldemort are in this together. That would explain the snakes. Then there's that shape shifter – _Shikamaru remembered uncomfortably that the nasty creature had been awfully quiet lately – _and the depletion of our numbers. I hope Kakashi will get back soon…_

As he wandered around the grounds, Shikamaru wondered who would be picked for this goddamn, head aching mission. He prayed it would be someone with a lot of patience like Asuma, Kurenai, Shino, or Kakashi – all had experience and logic, something that could prove useful and a relief.

Frowning again, Shikamaru hissed quietly in annoyance as he remembered that he had forgotten about his extra kunai pouch. One could never be too careful nowadays.

Making the troublesome journey back, the genius spotted Sakura trailing after Harry and his friend, Hermione, and he spotted Sasuke turning his head towards the trio, the mask hiding his expression.

_If they're going to start acting gushy mushy soon, I'll have to kick them_, Shikamaru thought grumpily. He was jumping to conclusions over a single glance, but all the stress and worry had slowly torn him apart. And the couple _did _have possibilities. And he supposed he was a tad jealous as well; long had he harboured feelings for Ino, and just as she was starting to show interest in him, the mission had been brought up and sank her spirits and his hopes down.

Slapping himself mentally, Shikamaru told himself firmly, _get a hold of yourself. You are a genius and this mission will be a success and everyone will come out unscathed. _

Strangely, he felt better after giving himself that little pep talk.

Opening the door again, he went up the stairs into the men's dormitory and fetched his kunai pouch, fastening it onto his vest. It was fairly small, filled with needles (which Sakura had taught him how to use), exploding tags, and soldier and blood replenishing pills.

As he straightened up, he spotted a bright red book on Sasuke's bedside table. Curiously, as Sasuke did not usually have a book there and he had brought none from Konoha and he was hardly the type to read when he had extra time, he picked it up and flipped it's front side up. The title, _A History of Dangerous Monsters, _greeted him in Japanese, his own language. Flipping to the front page, he saw the Hogwarts scrawl written neatly in the top to indicate whom it belonged to.

_A History of Dangerous Monsters…_ In his mind, Shikamaru made the connection of '_Dangerous Monsters'_ and the shape - shifting beast. Wondering if he'd find anything on it (even though it was highly, very highly unlikely), he started to sift through the pages, pausing every once a while when he came across a rather large and colourful picture or a particular word stood out.

Near the end of the book, Shikamaru knew he had hit jackpot. There on the lower left page was small chunk of text with a picture beside it. It was the picture that had caught his sharp, brown eyes – it was of a crimson bear, one unnaturally large with thick, deadly, sharp looking claws that were pitch black. It seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it, and its eyes were turned away. Even so, Shikamaru had to hold in a shudder at the raw intensity of the anger held in its eyes. The queerest thing was that the bear was translucent, as if fading away.

This bear was exactly like the one Sasuke had fought and described to him.

Smoothly, Shikamaru read and memorized the small paragraph, taking slight surprise that a shinobi of Konohagakure had already met, heck, _fought_ with the creature they were fighting now, and the Nidaime no less! Questions flashed in Shikamaru's mind as he went over the text again and again.

_How did he defeat it? Were there other shapes that he fought? Where did he seal it? When did he seal it? What were its other forms? Were you hurt? If so, what were the effects? What technique or strategy did you use to defeat it? How do you come across it?_

So many questions left unanswered. It frustrated the ANBU, but he knew that patience would pay off. After all, he waited about three months and look what came his way!

_I'll have to take a look in the library sometime soon…_

---

Tenten's tormented eyes glanced out the window where Neji was practicing throwing weapons and then instantly drawing them back and throwing them again with chakra strings, much like what Tenten used to do. Her fingers instantly started to move on their own, mimicking the move that Neji was attempting to try to do.

She didn't try to stop her fingers. Sooner or later, she'd have to go back in action. But for now, she felt like she was lost, floating in some sort of half nightmare.

In her mind, deep inside, she knew that she was acting like a vulnerable wimp and that Neji would be disappointed and – her eyes dimmed further – slightly disgusted by her unprofessional reaction. But now, she didn't have the heart to do anything, not even move or train or think.

_Is this a dream? …a nightmare?.. _

For the most parts, the snake poison had befuddled more than her emotions and memories. Her brain was in chaos, total disorder, and she could barely think straight. Eating was too difficult, so she was fed through a tube. If she had been more aware and less affected, she would've been embarrassed.

Neji came in shortly; sweat sticking the hair to his neck and soaking his headband. He dried off with a towel as he entered her cubicle, and sat in the comfortable chair that Dumbledore himself had conjured up for him. There was silence save for his deep breathing and rustling of cloth.

Tenten slowly turned her head to face him, her usually vibrant, brown eyes dull. Neji had to refrain from flinching at the dead look.

"_Don't get Ino._"

Neji was startled. Out of all of the countless days he had spent with her, she had never brought up the subject of Ino forcing into her mind unless someone else brought it up first.

"_She will go insane. Then you will have two people to look after._"

Her voice seemed to be weighed down with a heavy burden, and Neji resisted the urge to lean over and support her fragile frame.

"_I'll get better. I'll **be** better._"

A flicker of hope sparked in Neji's eyes as he recognized the familiar fighting spirit that he admired in his teammate.

"_But for now,_" she sighed – in contentment or something else, Neji wasn't sure, "_I'll have to stick to the bed._"

"_Would you like to practice your shuriken and kunai throwing?_" Neji suggested. "_Just so you don't lose your skill and you don't get bored._"

A smile curved on Tenten's pale face.

"_I'd like that._"

So Neji spent the rest of the day setting up a target across the hospital room, casting a small genjutsu so none of the students would notice it or the kunais and shurikens sticking out of it. He watched Tenten fumble with the first couple of throws, missing the middle by centimetres. But she grew better almost instantly, running calloused hands over her weapons lovingly before throwing them with ease.

As she tested her skill with her chakra strings again, Neji grew faintly alarmed as she was testing them as students and teachers walked by. She'd throw a shuriken, senbon, or kunai as the unsuspecting wizard would walk by, attaching a chakra string to the sharp weapon and then manoeuvring it around the person and onto the target. The first time Neji had to interfere with his chakra strings so Madame Pomfrey wouldn't have a shuriken suddenly sticking out of her side.

Neji watched as Tenten became more like the kunoichi she was: powerful, confident, optimistic, and cheerful. He watched as she fingered particular kunais, the ones that held special memories to her. She threw without even looking now, knowing that her missiles would hit the centre of the target each time she threw. She moved stiffly though, probably from some of the after effects of the snake venom and from not moving for an extended period of time.

Neji wasn't surprised – although he should've been – when Tenten suddenly flicked a slim, sharp, senbon towards one of the hospital beds, the sleek needle easily slicing through her bed curtains. It landed with a vibrating thud by the window where a painful hiss was heard. A few students screamed at the sudden death of the snake, some at the appearance of it.

Neji nodded in approval to Tenten, who gave a small grin in return.

When the food came, brought by a slightly shocked Sakura who froze upon seeing Tenten so lively, Neji was satisfied to see Tenten scarf down the British food in a hurry. She had become so thin from not eating much, and was getting slightly dehydrated as well.

But when Neji left for the meeting and had put away her weapons, her eyes dimmed once again – though not as dull as they were in the morning – and her overall happiness dropped.

But that didn't keep the flicker of an idea and of hope from warming Neji's mind.

Rounding a corner, Neji was surprised to see a slightly harassed looking Shikamaru bump into him. Seeing the tense look on the usually calm, if not lazy genius, Neji's good mood was killed.

"_What happened?_"

Shikamaru didn't answer, instead suddenly, without warning, leaping up onto the high rafters of the castle. Without hesitation, Neji followed. When he was safely positioned next to his comrade on the high ceiling, he looked at the wolf mask questioningly. Without a word, Shikamaru pointed down and Neji's gaze followed.

Calmly, he took the alarming scene in. A student, a young boy by the looks of it, was being ushered in on a stretcher. The worst part was that he was Petrified in the same grotesque form as the other Petrified students. It wasn't as if their limbs had been twisted or anything – rather, they had twisted their bodies in strange positions, as if their limbs were trying to run in different directions.

Making the obvious calculation in his head, the Hyuuga genius concluded that the student had been attacked by the shape shifter, who had been unusually silent for the past couple of weeks.

_It must've been biding its time, waiting for when we were weakened or not paying attention._

Neji grew uneasy. Konoha's elite were here, and yet they couldn't stop one single enemy?

_Well technically three._

But Voldemort and Orochimaru were not the immediate problems.

_This mission is making my head spin._

It didn't make matters any better that Umbridge had taken 'getting rid of the ANBU' her personal project. Her reports, all of which Neji had read with his Byakugan (for safety purposes – you never knew who was working for who nowadays), were mostly a bunch of bullshit. They took actions that the ANBU had done to protect the students and expanded on them, making them grossly exaggerated. But the Ministry of Magic lapped it all up like dehydrated hyenas in an oasis. Dumbledore's calm protests and reasoning fell on deaf ears and Neji was forced to endure Umbridge's wide, ugly, satisfied smirk.

Shikamaru and Neji watched as a muffled direction was given to one of the wizards supporting the stretcher with his magic. Nodding once, the wizard took off at once, his robes flapping behind him comically. Shortly, he came back with Sakura in tow – how he had found her or had even recognized her with her mask and uniform on Neji would like to know.

_Perhaps it's the telltale hair._

Yeah, that was probably it.

The large, thick doors swung quietly after the party, blocking the duo's vision from their activities. Without a command or word, Neji and Shikamaru dropped down, splitting up but both having the same destination.

Under three seconds, Neji had leaped through a nearby window and sticking himself to the wall with chakra, made his way to another window, this time propped open with drapes rippling gently in the breeze, connecting to the hospital wing. He could see Shikamaru in a similar position.

"This is bad," Madame Pomfrey murmured, her slightly shaking voice reaching Neji's sensitive ears perfectly. At a sudden, yet subtle spike of chakra, he knew that Sakura had sensed the two of them.

"_Byakugan!_"

Veins rippled and bulged around his temples and near his eyes, giving him the 360 - degree vision. Colours had been turned into shades of black and white with hints of purple and blue **(1)**. Everyone had crowded around a particular bed in the wing, close to Tenten's, but Madame Pomfrey and Sakura were the closest to the victim.

Sakura was calmly flying about, trying different jutsus to wake him up. Her professional, non-harassed behaviour earned her a few nervous, fidgety glances. After several jutsus, she stood back, looking thoughtful as Madame Pomfrey took over and started a spell.

Neji saw the interest flicker in Sakura's eyes and noticed her fingers subtly begin a spell. Lightning fast, Neji had shot through the window and had grabbed her wrists, preventing her from starting the jutsu. The wizards and witches were all shocked and alarmed, knocking each other down in an attempt to get away. Madame Pomfrey gave a violent start, but continued with her spell. Neji didn't care.

"_Don't._"

Sakura looked at him, a question in her green eyes.

"_Find another time to experiment._"

Without another word, he vanished only to reappear in his previous spot. Sakura's eyes lit up in remembrance.

_These kids aren't like shinobi. Their bodies can't handle sudden change._

With a very soft, subtle disappointed sigh, the medic stood back and watched Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape do a terrible interrogation job on the student for ten seconds before the young boy fell into his frozen state.

"_Jesus, I have half the mind to find Ino and sick her on him. That was the lousiest job I've ever seen,_" Shikamaru grumbled, his voice carrying over to Neji's ears. Their communicators had been left in their pouches for emergencies **(2)**. The white – eyed man had to agree.

"_I would like to know what kind of spell that was though,_" Neji murmured, his Byakugan eyes reading the incantation that Madame Pomfrey said as she and Professor Snape tried to revive the student once more.

"_Hmmm._"

Shikamaru was busy peering through the open window and looking at the bubbling, navy blue concoction Snape was giving to the poor student again. A particularly large bubble broke open and the odour drifted up to Shikamaru's sensitive nose.

_Hm, Doemr for reviving the brain, root of Thuyrn for dulling the painful effects of Doemr, Rotsworth draught for ensuring the heart still pumps sufficient nutrients and blood to the body, stonebranch redgriwn for relaxing the muscles, Rosemary for… _**(3)**

Shikamaru sniffed again, unable to remember what Rosemary was used for and not able to identify any more of the substances.

After another useless interrogation, the witches and wizards moved away save for Madame Pomfrey who was trying to make the student as comfortable as possible, even though it probably didn't matter. Sakura was still standing to the side, her figure half hidden in the early evening shadow. Shikamaru saw her eyes dart from the potion that was held in Snape's hand to the student, her face carefully blank.

Neji got a clear view of the boy and wasn't surprised to see a bright, poisonous colour flow though his body, mingling with the magic in him. It twisted around the calming purple and seized his body, freezing him. The magic drifted aimlessly around, unsure on what to do.

An idea sparked in Neji's mind.

Coincidentally, so did in Sakura and Shikamaru.

_Rosemary to relax the tension,_ Sakura thought, unknowingly picking up where Shikamaru had left off, _Blasbalm for circulating the blood, powder of Leroyx for the senses, string of Biyox for…the magic…?_

Sakura had memorized and learned many ingredients and their uses in the medicinal potion that Madame Pomfrey used for her students. She quickly rattled the list off in her mind what the potion was probably made of – even though she was unsure about the quantities and some of the ingredients and their uses – but she had a rough idea.

_Neji and/or Shikamaru would've caught the spell,_ Sakura thought calmly, her brain working furiously, _and I know they can think of a jutsu similar to it. If I can just snitch that recipe and tinker with it…_

The scientist in her (after all, one must be a scientist to be a medic) was jumping in excitement at the chance to toy with something of her pleasure. The medic in her was busy calculating what the ingredients were, the quantities, what they did, and different formulas and outcomes of the potion. The ninja in her was deciding how to steal the recipe from Snape.

Madame Pomfrey had moved away, tending to another student, leaving Sakura alone beside the frozen boy. Making sure no one was watching, she quickly and quietly murmured a jutsu that she had learned a while back but never tried. The jutsu allowed her more or less the same abilities as the Byakugan. Her eyes flickered to light aqua, the change subtle and quick.

She saw piercing light blue twist and weave through the boy's system, tendrils making faces and grinning deviously at her, mocking at her because she couldn't do anything.

_Oh, just you wait._

The jutsu faded, as she didn't want much of her chakra drained. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her eyes flashed. Tensing, Sakura flexed her fingers. Her hackles were raised.

_I have a **very** bad feeling about this…_

---

"Harry, d'you reckon he's mad?" Ron asked his best friend in a hushed whisper as they were 'studying' in the library. Hermione was writing a letter to her parents and was so completely absorbed that she didn't give a second thought to what the duo were talking about.

"Mad?" Harry paused in his writing, his quill dripping ink onto the parchment. "More like suspicious. Hey, what's the date today?"

"The day after a student got Petrified." _I bet that sure helped a lot._

Ron sat back in a contemplative, grumpy, and confused silence. His thoughts were whirling around Krum and Hermione.

_He's not who he was the last time he was here._

_**How did you know that? Months have gone and things change.**_

_But Krum…even if things _did_ change, he wouldn't act and talk like this! Like he owned the place. _

_**How do you know?**_

_I…don't…_

_**Exactly.**_

_But still. Viktor Krum. And _Hermione_ hangs out with him. Her judgement is never off._

_**Are you sure?**_

YES! _She's my best friend besides Harry and I know her._

_**What if her judgement was blinded by something else? And Hermione isn't perfect – she makes mistakes. **_

_Yeah, but-_

Ron stopped his train of thought.

_What the hell, why is a voice like you doing in my head anyways? OUT!_

And with that, he turned his attention to his Charms book, unable to concentrate on the text and instead his thoughts kept straying to how oddly Krum had been acting recently.

He had interacted with Krum a fair bit when the Triwizard tournament had transpired, since he had gone against Harry and Ron always hung out with his best mate. And Ron could honestly see that he had counted Krum – Viktor, as a friend. He was a nice enough guy with great Quidditch talent. Sure he was rough around the edges, but who wasn't? Krum had equally accepted Ron's friendliness and had conversed with the younger wizard several times about small things like spells, flying, charms, and just life in general.

It also helped that he was friendly to all of Ron's other friends and family. Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, Seamus, Neville, the list went on. All of them got along with Krum quite well, and they genuinely seemed to enjoy his company and vice versa.

But when he came back for the Christmas break, things started to shift. It was ok when he first got here – kind of off, but Ron figured that the long journey from Durmstrang combined with the bad weather and having to look entertained before having a good rest, he was entitled to being…not Krum-ish.

And then the past day had been just downright peculiar. Krum had made no effort to interact with him at all, instead shutting himself in the room that was provided with him and talking and discussing with Hitai, Hatio, or whatever the new Durmstrang leader's name was.

The new behaviour irritated Ron more than it should have. And that further irritated him because he didn't know _why_ it irritated him more.

And unbeknownst the redhead had no idea that his best mate with the scar on his forehead was thinking the exact same thing.

A rustle of cloth and the stop of a quill scratching against the dry parchment caused both Harry's and Ron's head to turn up. They weren't surprised to see the pink haired guard, as she did sometimes take over Sasuke's shift (or better known as the 'impossibly scary emo' to the trio) but they couldn't quite absorb the scene where she was talking to Hermione, and quite animatedly at that.

Hermione stopped talking to Sakura for a moment and glanced at her two friends.

"Girl talk."

Ron went back to his book, satisfied at her explanation and not giving it a second thought, instead brooding about Krum's odd behaviour again. Harry was a little more suspicious – Sakura and Hermione really had no business together. But girl talk was girl talk, and he left it at that as he too returned to studying.

"Come on, let's discuss this elsewhere," Sakura urged the witch, her stance relaxed yet alert. Hermione eyed her slightly dubiously, but nodded and led the way to her dormitory where it was, thankfully, empty.

"So," the bushy haired witch pursed her lips as she looked at Sakura. "You have some questions?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, I do." Sakura replied pleasantly, making to sit on one of the beds. She removed her mask and stared at Hermione with her startlingly green eyes, not surprised when the younger girl looked away. "May I see your wand?"

Hermione looked up again with a start, and raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I want to take a look."

Hermione almost said no, but she remembered whom she was talking to. This person wouldn't kill themselves on something so stupid – and if she did get hurt, Hermione knew some basic medical spells to hopefully stabilize her before rushing her to get some care. But the witch hoped to never do that. With a slight pause, she tossed her wand to Sakura who, instead of catching it, attached a chakra string to it and held it in front of her.

There was a jolt, but other than that, nothing remarkable. Sakura played with the string for a few seconds before very slowly reeling it. A fizzing sensation filled the room and Sakura slowed down even more. It was less than fifteen centimetres away before Sakura felt something drastic.

The wand shot away from the medic nin, dragging the chakra string as it did so and nearly hitting Hermione in the process. It stood upright, quivering in the air as it gave out pulse – like sensations around it. Sakura could feel her chakra stirring, rising. Her own light green chakra flowed out calmly, controlled yet untamed. Hermione was stunned, watching something transpire, something that had never happened since everything in the universe was first made.

It was almost like a rule, for wizards to avoid ninja and ninja to avoid wizards. No one was ever given the reason why – it was just a gut feeling, a feeling so deeply burned into one's instinct and mind system that no one questioned it. The last time one had come in contact with the other was when Dumbledore had been travelling in the Fire country for something called a Hulox or Horcucks or something like that. The Sandaime had helped him out of a particularly tight spot, and they were steady friends, more like pen pals though than anything else. But their chakra and magic had never once touched.

But this was different.

Sakura's light green chakra crept out like tendrils, like slow moving, glowing vines. It twined around her thin chakra string and started to snake its way towards the wand, which was still giving out pulse like sensations. Hermione stared, transfixed as did Sakura. The tendrils stopped just short of the pulse – like a globe that surrounded the wand. Nothing happened, except for the air shimmering silver around the wand and the chakra glowing a calming, soothing light green. It was like something was missing, and everything was waiting for it to come.

After several moments, Sakura had a very vague idea in mind and decided to act on it.

"Hermione, take your wand."

The bushy haired witch snapped out of her trance and stared at Sakura as if she had grown three extra heads.

"Are you crazy?" Hermione demanded, her gaze sweeping to the incredible scene in front of her. "This is fragile, and I could destroy it with a single touch! Who knows what could happen to you or my wand or whatever else?"

"Because this bond requires one more element, and it's missing. My…energy," Sakura changed 'chakra' to 'energy' because she really wasn't sure if the shinobi trusted the wizards enough to give them that term and meaning, "comes from me, and I am part of this bond already, thus completing my half. Your wand requires you to fulfill it; otherwise it's nothing more than an incomplete half."

Her logic was simple and clear, yet Hermione still hesitated. Sakura understood though – the balance before her looked incredibly fragile and precious, as if one touch would destroy everything. But still, Hermione stepped closer to her wand and gripped it with her right hand.

The change was alarming.

A streak of what felt like lightning struck through both witch and kunoichi. It was _visible_ in the tendrils of energy. When Hermione had touched her wand, more silver energy laced out and joined the wand's pulse like aura. It changed into tendrils, just like Sakura's and reached out to meet it. They met halfway through the chakra line, intertwining and joining, twisting into intricate patterns.

Sakura's hair stood on end, and she found that she couldn't pull her chakra back in – it was like it was stuck. Hermione felt the exact same way.

No sound or vibration came from the intertwined silvery green bond, but Sakura could feel a different kind of energy tingle into her system, and as she looked up, she saw that Hermione had experienced the same thing.

_But aren't students not supposed to have enough magical capacity and skill to match ours? _Sakura thought as more of the cool energy flowed and mingled with her chakra. She felt a sense of fullness, as if a missing part had finally been brought to her. _What am I talking about,_ she thought wryly, _I completely forgot about people like Naruto and Sasuke. They have the hugest chakra capacity when they were gennin, larger than even some of the adults. Magical students should have the same exceptions. _

The thin twines of energy continued onward, slithering into the middle and out the other end and reaching to the other person. Light flowed through their bodies and the tendrils faded, completing their mission. The light green silvery middle split into two and floated to sink into Sakura's hand where the chakra string was attached and Hermione's wand hand.

After that was silence, save for the movement of Sakura withdrawing her chakra string. With as much dignity as she could, she plopped onto a bed (as she had stood up as her energy started to move from her) and ran a gloved hand through tousled hair.

After several moments, Hermione composed herself enough to talk.

"What was that?"

Her voice was excited, yet slightly frightened at the same time. A sense of wholeness and completion filled her, and she waved her wand idly around the room, not really thinking about what she was doing. A shower of emerald sparks shot out and swirled around, disappearing as it hit a solid object.

"That," Sakura said while thinking furiously in her mind, "was…"

She knew the truth. She knew what that whole procedure was about (she wasn't expecting it to be so dramatic though) but she didn't know if she trusted Hermione Granger enough to tell her the entire truth. Even more so because she didn't want to involve her in any unnecessary grief that could happen in the future.

"Tell you what," Sakura said lightly, drawing to a compromise. "I'll tell you later when I know more about it, alright?"

Hermione frowned. She got the feeling like she was being patronized. She opened her mouth to argue and inquire, but a piercing look from Sakura's shocking green eyes silenced her.

"Now, I have a few questions."

"Alright," Hermione replied, "But in return, I get to ask a few questions also."

"Fair enough."

The witch remained mute, sitting on a bed opposite that Sakura was sitting on.

"What are your magical capacities?"

"Capacities?" Hermione repeated, slightly startled by the question. She had never really though on it before. "Well, we don't really have a limit."

"So you can do whatever how many times you want and still be able to do more?"

"I guess," the brightest witch of the year frowned, unsure. "I'll look it up sometime. That's a really good question. I've never thought about it before."

"What do you do to…summon…this magic?" Sakura struggled for the correct terms, as she had never really studied magic herself.

"Summon?" Hermione was once again startled. "We don't really summon anything. We say the incantation and the power of the word calls forth our magic. We channel that into our wands, as it makes it easier for us to gain control of it, and let it out through the end."

"Care to give me a demo?" Sakura was curious, her eyes as bright as Hermione's.

Without speaking, Hermione waved her wand smoothly through the air in an obviously practiced motion. An object, a feather to be exact, hovered up slowly on a nearby bed-table. Hermione lowered her wand and the feather settled back down.

"You did that without speaking," Sakura noticed with her observant gaze.

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "That's voiceless magic. It's for when the place around you requires absolute silence, like…" she bit her lower lip, gaze darting to stare at Sakura's calm, pale face, "…assassinations and such."

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think?" Sakura injected lightly, bringing up the mood. "How does it work then, if you don't say the spell out loud? Won't the spell fail then?"

"No. You're basically saying the incantation in your head as you're saying it out loud. For voiceless magic, it involves the same procedure as saying the spell, just without the verbal stuff. It requires more concentration though, and it's easier to screw up."

_Like performing jutsus without hand seals,_ Sakura connected the two in her mind.

"So I'm assuming that if you don't have any limits, you don't have reserves of ch – magic?" Sakura was so used to saying 'chakra' that it had almost slipped out before she could stop.

The bushy haired witch gave her an odd look, but passed over the pause without suspicion. "I'm not quite sure. For questions like that, you'd be better off asking Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore."

"Can you try something for me?" Sakura asked suddenly. She knew that she was going to take a huge risk, asking the girl to try what she had thought, but Sakura had already made several…experiments already and all had produced satisfactory results.

"Sure."

"How good is your memory?"

Hermione's face looked a little smug. "Quite good."

"Good, then follow my hands," Sakura wasn't the least impressed by Hermione's pride.

"Wait," Hermione stopped herself, remember the earlier incident. "Tell me what you're going to do first. I don't like diving headlong into unknown things."

"Fair," Sakura shrugged. She was that way herself. "Some of my energy is mingling with yours and vice versa. If that is the case, then you should have access to it. I'm teaching you one of my…spells to see if you can use and control even just a small portion of that."

Biting her lower lip again, the witch reviewed her options and outcomes. Concluding that it probably wouldn't hurt to give it a go (and she was dying to find out what kind of spells the guards used), she nodded her consent.

Sakura twisted her hands and fingers slowly in the position for the bunshin jutsu. Correcting Hermione's fingers, she made her do the position several times until she was comfortable with it. Bunshin was a good choice – it didn't require much chakra, and it was a very basic technique.

"The words are, '_Bunshin no jutsu_'," Sakura instructed. Hermione repeated them dutifully.

"It should go like this," Sakura demonstrated. Locking her hands, she murmured, "_Bunshin no jutsu!_" A poof of smoke materialized beside her and an identical copy of Sakura stood where the smoke had been. Hermione was nearly dancing in anticipation and excitement.

Locking her hands like how Sakura had done, Hermione called out confidently, "_Bunshin no jutsu!_"

A poof went off beside her, and she jumped in surprise. As the smoke cleared, a clear and accurate copy of Hermione stood in its place. The real Hermione looked shocked and slightly tired.

"Impressive," Sakura commented softly. Many gennin on their first tries couldn't even produce a thing, let alone a perfect copy. It required absolute control of one's chakra.

_Well, she did receive my chakra and I have good chakra control,_ Sakura thought, not bragging but simply stating facts. _Combined with her natural ability with magic, I shouldn't be so surprised. _

"Well," Sakura smiled brilliantly at the witch, who had looked rather stunned. "I say you will be excellent at our arts. You have wonderful control."

Hermione still seemed too stunned to speak, and had stared at her bunshin, which poofed out a second later as she didn't have enough knowledge to know how to maintain it longer, along with Sakura's bunshin which poofed out as well.

"Now, I think I've satisfied my curiosity," Sakura announced cheerfully, cringing inwardly as she realized how much like Kakashi she had sounded. "Any questions?"

Thousands of questions were storming in Hermione's mind. Sakura could practically see steam coming out of her ears.

"What was that you just taught me? How can you guys use wand less magic? How come this energy requires control? How come I couldn't keep my…bunshin from disappearing? How come I feel slightly tired now?" The questions poured out like water from a fountain. Sakura was lost in a sea of them.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. That was the bunshin no jutsu. We use our energy and our hands act kind of like our wands. This energy is more complex and more potent than magic. You've yet to have the knowledge or skill to keep your bunshin for long periods of time. You're tired because you've never used this energy before and your body doesn't know how to handle it."

Hermione blinked, absorbing every detail and word.

"Could you teach me? Can I learn more?"

"We'll see," Sakura smiled fondly at the younger girl. "I have to ask my comrades first on some certain conditions."

"Like how you're not allowed to tell me anything or get me involved with your guard business in any way?" Hermione questioned all too innocently. Seeing the sharp look Sakura gave her, she explained, "I have eyes. I can see even when others can't."

Sakura stored this tidbit for a later day. Glancing at a clock, she realized that three hours had passed. Dinner would be halfway done and everyone would be wondering where she was – after all, she was on dinner duty that night.

Muttering some Japanese curses under her breath, Sakura gave Hermione another smile.

"I'll get back to you on teaching you. For now, grab some dinner and get some rest – you'll need it."

Sakura swept out, heading for the Great Hall as fast as she could. What news she had for Sasuke, Shikamaru, and the others!

---

"_So_."

Sakura sat calmly on one of the plush chairs, her expression blank and unchanging. Her eyes though, were bright and full of excitement.

"_After all the precautions we have told you,_" Sasuke started quietly, "_you go and attempt something like **this**?_"

"_Yes,_" Sakura answered unabashedly. She saw Hinata hold a hand up to cover her smile over her blunt and direct answer. "_You have to admit though, I **did** come up with good results._"

"_Good?_" Tenten's shaky voice emanated from the doorway. "_I say that was bloody brilliant._"

Everyone snapped their heads towards the shaking, thin, frail woman. They all started to go and help her, but Neji beat them, shooting forwards and supporting her, ignoring her protests.

"_You were leaning against the doorframe,_" Neji stated blankly, "_I'm pretty sure you're not stable enough to stand on your own. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the hospital wing._"

Tenten, used to his change of moods within two seconds flat, answered with fiery spots on her cheeks, "_I felt better. Plus I didn't want to spend another second in that god forsaken ward._"

Instantly after having said that, she was crushed against a very firm hug from Hinata, Ino, and Sakura. Neji was elbowed out of the way, and Naruto snickered at him.

"_Tenten! How are you feeling? Are you ok?_" Questions attacked the brunette, who wisely ignored them. Breaking free of their cluster, she stumbled onto the chair that was occupied by Shikamaru, but had moved chivalrously to let her sit in it. She thanked him with a tired nod of her head.

"_Sakura,_" her quiet voice instantly dissolved the other girls' questions. Said medic stepped forward. "_I need you to check my system. Something feels funny._"

"_Later,_" Neji injected firmly, iron will in his voice. "_For now, rest. Tomorrow Sakura can check you._"

Tenten looked up to glare at him, but she didn't argue. It was true; she had practically draped herself across the chair, having it support her. Never had she imagined that walking from the hospital wing to their common room would take such a huge amount of energy from her. She was grateful for Neji's presence, for it calmed her – though she'd never say that out loud.

"_Fine, pompous jerk,_" the weapon's mistress replied, but without venom in her voice. "_But I want to hear the rest of the meeting. I feel like I've been out of the loop._"

"_That's because you have,_" Sasuke spoke up, his tone annoyed. "_Getting back on the subject, Sakura I don't care how great of results you got. The fact is you ignored our orders and precautions, with only a fifty percent chance of succeeding! You could've gotten hexed, and then we would have had to explain to Madam Pomfrey why you suddenly look like a mutant. Or you could've blown the girl up! There were so many things that could've gone wrong-_"

"_I **know**,_" Sakura snarled back, her tone positively dangerous. "_And I **told** you, you freaking idiot, that I **knew** the possible outcomes and I had already **thought** of a way to counter the worse ones. I am **not** hopeless **or** helpless when it comes to things like this! How else would I have achieved the rank of top medic ANBU, strong as or stronger than Tsunade?_"

This only proved how provoked Sakura was. She _never_ brought up her status and power up.

"_You still disobeyed our rules,_" Sasuke's eyes flashed brilliant red.

"_Rules are made to be broken,_" the medic snapped back.

"_But-"_

"_Stop it, both of you,_" Hinata's clear, firm voice silenced both of them. Her tone was hardly ever firm, especially to her friends. "_You are both behaving like children._" This was not the Hinata that they had grown up with that had spoken; this was a woman who was a clan leader, one who held immense power and iron will in the palm of her hand.

"_Sasuke,_" the Hyuuga clan leader turned to him. "_Sakura was capable of looking after herself and others. She knew the consequences of her actions and made plans ahead to resolve them. She did not act without thinking._"

Sasuke was still glaring at Sakura, his body tense. _She could've seriously hurt herself…_

"…_though I'm sure Sakura appreciates your concern,_" a hint of amusement crept into Hinata's stern voice as she interpreted the look in Sasuke's eyes.

Neji couldn't help but think, _She learned that voice from Hiashi – sama. It sounds exactly like his tone._

Sasuke turned his glare to Hinata, but something in his gaze prevented her from saying more – not that she was about to anyway. Hinata wasn't the type to spill secrets, even under interrogation.

"_Sakura,_" she turned to the medic who was glaring furiously at Sasuke, green chakra that was laced with silver - – sparking from her clenched hands. "_You need to inform everyone about your decision first. That was a careless and thoughtless thing to do, even if you did get satisfactory results. What you were toying with was not a trivia thing. That was highly dangerous and the end results, if it had gone badly, would've been explosive._"

Sakura knew that was true, but she still burst out, "_I **know **that. Obviously you people cannot grasp that idea._"

"_Haruno Sakura,_" Hinata's voice was not loud or stern. Her tone had changed to one of a mother who was tending a child that had been beaten by a bully.

Those words were enough to deflate Sakura's anger and make her feel guilty.

"_Sorry,_" she mumbled, moving over to sit on one of the couches, looking straight ahead and avoiding everyone's gazes. She ran a hand through soft pink locks, sighing.

"_Back to the matter,_" Naruto broke the silence, "_Sakura has found her magical equal. I say it's time to move and find our own. There's been another attack, filling in for anyone who didn't know. We're getting clumsy._"

"_He's right,_" Shikamaru frowned. "_Much as I hate to admit it. We have to act **now**. Tomorrow, Kakashi – san should be back with reinforcements and supplies. Neji, what do you say we do since you're team captain?_"

Neji turned white eyes to the genius. "_As soon as they come, one at a time, we will take time off to look for our magical counterparts. Sakura, how did you know Hermione was your other half?_"

"_I…_" Sakura paused, thinking. "_There wasn't an instant connection or anything. But whenever I got close to her, my chakra started to…almost…hum. Like a vibration. It's kind of hard to describe, but if you have a large amount of chakra, chances are you'll need someone who has higher magical skill and talent fills up the missing part. And they don't have to be teachers – Hermione is proof of that. It's kind of like Naruto and Kakashi – Naruto is stronger, physically and chakra wise, but Kakashi had more experience and skill. Probably more tact too._"

"_Hey!_"

"_No more fighting,_" Ino snapped. "_I'm getting a headache._"

"_And besides,_" Neji rumbled, "_Tenten's asleep. It wouldn't do for her to wake up and nail you all to the wall with her weapons._"

They instantly quieted. Naruto shuddered.

"_How that girl does it, I will never know,_" the blond shook his head.

"_It's decided then,_" Shikamaru ended the conversation. It was late and they had put off patrolling for long enough. "_Naruto, Hinata. You guys best get going._"

The clan leader stood up gracefully, pulling the mask over her face. She quietly followed Naruto out of the room, casting one more look at Tenten.

"_Come on guys,_" Sakura said wearily, as if the day's events had totally drained her. "_Tomorrow's going to be a long day._"

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN:** Well. It's been a while you guys. I have to say though, the time I took was much needed and loved. I hope this chapter was a good comeback :). I have some very exciting things planned out, and hope that you guys will love them!

Thank you so much Denisen. This story is a whole ton better thanks to her xD

**Notes:**

**(1)** **Colours had been turned into shades of black and white with hints of purple and blue:** If you guys have watched some of the earlier Naruto episodes, do you remember Neji vision with his Byakugan on? Like the time he was counting the birds but missed one? I know there's a special word for it, but it escapes me.

**(2) Their communicators had been left in their pouches for emergencies:** Someone brought up a very good point with this. He/she had pointed out that with all the magical interference, wouldn't the communicators not work? My reasoning is that their communicators are made with the help of chakra, which isn't affected by the flow of magic. Instead, it accepts and uses the magic to help form better communication. Does that make sense? If it doesn't, mention it in your review and I'll try to provide a better explanation.

**(3) _Hm, Doemr for reviving the brain, root of Thuyrn for dulling the painful effects of Doemr, Rotsworth draught for ensuring the heart still pumps sufficient nutrients and blood to the body, stonebranch redgriwn for relaxing the muscles, Rosemary for… _**

**_Rosemary to relax the tension,_ Sakura thought, unknowingly picking up where Shikamaru had left off, _Blasbalm for circulating the blood, powder of Leroyx for the senses, string of Biyox for…the magic…?_: **All of these names are made up save for the Rosemary. I don't know what Rosemary is used for either.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary:** HPxNaruto A simple A classed mission to Hogwarts turns into a deadly S classed one when Orochimaru and Voldemort bring their new pet into play.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

---------------------------------------------------------

Tenten was terribly excited the next day. Sakura had checked her earlier, and said that her chakra was just a little shaky and unstable due to the rare venom, but she should be fine in a couple of days as long as she didn't use too much chakra during the time.

A full recovery! Tenten was doubly glad. Ino had put a barrier in her mind, separating her memories from the snake venom and her original memories. The blonde was puzzled, as she couldn't get rid of the horrid memories from the snakebite and had just separated, contained, and tightly locked them until she found a way to get rid of them permanently. Now, Tenten had a slight weight at the back of her mind, a reminder, but she didn't care since she didn't have access to them – nor did she want it.

She watched through the eyeholes of her mask as students trickled in for breakfast. Soon, the Great Hall was alive with students, black, maroon, and blue robes mingling together and creating a rather odd scene. But everyone seemed to be getting along fine, and there was no ruckus anywhere.

Since she had a good night's sleep and saw her friends, Tenten's energy level had shot up. It seemed as if it was combining the last couple of months' worth of energy into one day. Tenten was practically dancing in her place.

Fifteen minutes into breakfast, there was a loud poof in the front of the room. The Hogwarts students, slightly accustomed to it, only turned their heads to see who had arrived. The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students showed more surprise, accidentally knocking over their neighbours or their food – much like the Hogwarts students used to do.

"Yo."

Kakashi waved a hand to Dumbledore, his other arm hanging by his side and his hand tucked in his pocket. His posture screamed laziness.

"They're coming."

That was all the warning he gave them before more poofs appeared in front of the head table. There were four others in total, Tenten could see, along with supplies.

The smoke cleared, leaving four shinobi, fully clad in full ANBU uniform like everyone else was. Even Kakashi had donned his mask and uniform, his ANBU tattoo faded and scratched on his forearm.

Tenten recognized them, some more than others. Kurenai's tangle of dark hair stood out, even when it was held back by a hair tie. Her red eyes, calm and calculating, much like Sasuke's Sharingan, were visible for a split second when she turned her head to survey the rest of the room.

The shinobi on her right was a little harder to guess, but Tenten guessed it to be Shino. It was hard, as the bug master rarely (actually, never) wore form-fitting clothes like the ANBU uniform. His hair gave a hint, as it was still the same bushy style it was when he was younger.

The person on Kurenai's left had an insanely shiny head of hair, which immediately gave away the person. It was either Gai or Lee. Squinting, she looked at the katana, the common weapon for ANBU, and knew it was Gai. Gai was right handed, while Lee was left. Gai's katana was strapped so he could reach it easily with his right hand.

And the last person was… Tenten cocked her head, channelling chakra to her eyes. The last person didn't look familiar to her at all. Scratch that, her hair looked vaguely familiar, but nothing about her stood out in any particular way. Her rich brown hair was short, cut to frame her face (or her mask in this case). Her eyes could've been a sort of brown colour, but Tenten wasn't too sure. The tight fitting uniform accented the curves, which led Tenten to the deduction that she was female (plus the haircut had a certain femininity to it).

The mask was that of a falcon. Tenten frowned. The Falcon Team had disbanded long ago after a disastrous mission that had cost nearly all of the team members' lives. As far as she knew, there were no survivors remaining to this day. It was obvious that the other 'ANBU' (as they were all jounin dressed in ANBU uniform; it looked more professional and the clothing was easier to move in and made of better protective quality) didn't know who she was either judging from the aloof distance and the questioning glances they gave her.

_What was Tsunade – sama thinking?_

"_You will be accommodated with your comrades,_" Dumbledore was explaining to them. "_Ask one of them of the location of your new housing. Your equipment and luggage had already been transported there. If you have any questions…_" It was the same preliminary speech that Dumbledore had given them when they first arrived.

Tenten flipped down, smoothly as silk after Dumbledore finished talking to the small group. Bowing slightly to them as was their Japanese custom, she murmured, "_Please follow me. I will take you to your dormitories._" She didn't know how they'd fit though. The rooms were only large enough and held enough accommodations for their original group.

_I suppose Dumbledore – san charmed it earlier this morning to make it bigger,_ Tenten mused. _He must've gotten notice ahead of time that these people were coming._

She led them past the astonished students and out the huge doors, winding and climbing up stairs. She had to explain several times that yes, the staircases moved, no, the suits of armour were not haunted, yes, the people in the portraits moved, and no, the ghosts were real. Of course, the small group had asked and shown curiosity in a detached, polite, interested way, as most shinobi were trained to do – except Gai. Gai was still as enthusiastic as ever, perhaps more so. He more than made up for the group's polite, if boring, 'chatter'.

Tenten also had to explain emergency procedures and the situation they were in. In between her explanations, she had to answer questions from the group.

Five more people. That meant twelve people in all. They were the most powerful, the elite.

_What about Konoha? Isn't Tsunade practically stripping away its defences? And what about the higher class missions? Heck, what about the missions in general? Twelve shinobi is a lot. Twelve of the highest is sure to affect the missions and such._ Tenten pondered on the whirl of questions as she walked down the corridor to their common room.

"_Girls to the left, guys to the right_." That was all the instruction that was needed. The small group split up, Tenten heading up to the left as well. Perhaps she could catch a glimpse at the newcomer's face while she picked up a couple of spare weapons.

"_Who __**are**__ you?_" Kurenai asked directly as soon as they were behind the door. The brown haired girl turned her head slightly to view the genjutsu master. Tenten pretended to ignore them, heading towards her bed and reaching under to ruffle through one of her duffle bags.

"_I…_" the brown haired girl paused, a hand reaching up to brush against the smooth, flawless surface of her mask. "_My name is Rin._" She pulled the mask off to reveal a serene, kind face with two purple stripes, one across each cheek. Her kind cinnamon brown eyes surveyed her shocked teammates.

"_Aren't you __**dead**_" Tenten blurted out, dropping her scroll that she had taken from her bag. Kurenai was in a similar state of shock, seeing her supposed dead friend in front of her.

"_There's a whole story behind it,_" Rin shook her head, masking her face again with her porcelain falcon mask. "_I'll tell you all about it sometime when the action dies down. But for now, can you not say anything? Especially to Kakashi? Just call me Falcon._"

Kurenai and Tenten were not nosy people; they respected others' privacy. They nodded, Kurenai heading towards one of the empty beds with her stuff on it and Tenten out the door to begin patrolling.

"_Falcon? Kurenai?_" Tenten called back over her shoulder. Without waiting for an answer, she said, "_Start exploring the castle anytime. If you can see magical auras, it's a deep calming purple. The bright colours, the one that seem vicious – beware of those. We hold meetings in the common room down here,_" Tenten pointed, making sure that they could see her, "_every night._"

"_Thanks Tenten,_" Kurenai nodded.

"_Tenten,_" Rin spoke up, her voice effectively muffled by the mask, "_do we address each other by our names or by our masks?_"

"_Either is fine,_" Tenten shrugged. "_We found out that the students can't really comprehend either way._"

"_Alright, thanks._"

"_You all know English though, right?_"

Two affirmative nods.

"'_K, it's just a precaution in case we need to speak to the students. Make sure to relay all this information to the guys as well._"

"_Will do,_" Rin waved cheerfully. "_Thanks Tenten – chan!_"

Tenten waved back, disappearing in a poof.

Rin smiled sadly behind her mask. "_She's a nice girl, Tenten._"

Kurenai looked up from unpacking her bag, her gaze piercing. Her tiger ANBU mask was placed on the dresser beside her bed. "_Yes, quite hard-working and loyal. You don't find many like her._"

Rin nodded, unpacking her bag as well. She could feel Kurenai's quiet, questioning gaze, but ignored it smoothly. She didn't remove her mask, in case one of the guys came into the room.

It turned out to be a lucky move as well. The door opened and Kakashi entered, not even bothering to ask or give a warning.

"_Kakashi! Give us a signal before you come in or something,_" Rin admonished him, her voice muffled.

"_Sorry,_" he replied in a lax manner, his one uncovered eye flickering a look towards her. "_The stairs changed into a slide when I was coming up. If I didn't come in when I did, I would've fallen through a hole and landed at the bottom again._"

"_Did you come get us for any particular reason?_" Kurenai injected smoothly, stowing her empty bag under her bed. She didn't pack much, never did; like Neji and Tenten, she was accustomed to travelling light for long and hard missions.

"_Yeah,_" his gaze flickered to the genjutsu user. "_Shino, Gai, and I are going exploring. Want to come?_"

"_I'll go exploring on my own,_" Rin piped up, "_but thanks anyways._"

"_Same here,_" Kurenai added.

"_Alright,_" Kakashi shrugged. "_Hey, do you remember what Dumbledore – san said about food?_"

---

Two days after reinforcements came in, along with supplies which everyone took in delightedly, the schedule was mixed up a bit.

All would go on patrol save for two shinobi. Those two would either seek their magical counterparts or take the day off and spar, explore, whatever. It was also agreed that out of all the shinobi, only a select few would have magical counterparts. It was still a good idea to keep the two separate, seeing as the unimaginable power the combined force could make could be catastrophic.

It was agreed that Rin, Naruto, Kakashi, and Hinata would be the ones to find their partners. All were the strongest of the group, even though a heated debate rose up against Naruto and Sasuke and Hinata and Tenten. Tenten quelled her debate by pointing at out Hinata did have more power, seeing that she had the Byakugan and was formidable in her own person, and was also _clan leader_. That was more than Tenten could say for herself. Sasuke on the other hand, was slightly bitter at being left out.

The others would get one day off per week. Or at least that was the plan. It was a bit screwy, since Rin, Naruto, Kakashi, and Hinata had to try to locate a suitable person within one day – and that was with the students in classes.

Hinata waved to her comrades and friends as breakfast was signalled over. After all the students and shinobi were gone, she flipped down from the ceiling and took a seat on of the benches, drumming her fingers on the thick wooden tables, thinking.

She had to consider all the students, all the teachers. Gauge their capacities, match them to her own. But not all of Hogwarts students and teachers were there – most were gone for the holidays. It wouldn't be until early January they would be back. Sakura had struck lucky, finding her partner on the first try and _now_ at all times.

The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were out of the question. They didn't have a part of this conundrum and Hinata refused to drag them into a mess that was not their own. Fleetingly, an image of Hiratio and Viktor Krum flashed in her mind, but she dismissed the images. They were disturbing, annoying because there was something behind their faces that might pose as a danger, but that was not her top priority at the moment.

Gender and age was not important – their skill and talents were. Hinata sighed, resting her covered forehead against a hand propped up on the table. Hogwarts held an impressive amount of people – it would take ages to go through each one individually.

_First,_ Hinata thought, frowning, _I need to know what my capacities are. What I'm good at and what my limits are._ Hinata had a pretty good idea already, but she had mostly skimmed over this, keeping the vague information in mind whenever she went into battle. She only knew enough to keep herself out of trouble. Now though, she needed _statistics._

_How to do this…_ This was new. She never deliberately tried to attempt something like this. She mostly found out her limits by mistake.

_Naruto!_ Her pale eyes lit up behind her mouse mask. _He went through this with Jiraiya._ But it wasn't his day off, so he couldn't show her anything.

_But I can talk to him, get some ideas._

So she did just that, crawling all over the school, searching for him. More than once she had activated her Byakugan, but with so much magical interference, she couldn't see a thing. Since the grounds were so large, she had a hard time locating his chakra source but since it was so distinctive and strong, she recognized it the instant she was within range.

Hinata stayed a bit back, observing him. Naruto seemed busy, as he was enthusiastically (and silently she noted; it seemed like he hadn't studied the huge scroll on English Tsunade had tossed to him when the mission was first assigned) teaching a group of young teens a combo. It was very basic: a kick, punch, pivot, block and then all over again except on the opposite side. Shikamaru stood on the side, watching.

"_Yeah, yeah, like that!"_

Hinata had to stifle a laugh. It was a shame none of the students understood Japanese; they would enjoy their instructor so much more, she mused fondly.

"_Oi! Hinata – chan!_" Naruto called out to her as he recognized her chakra signature. He waved her over. "_Did you want something?_"

"_Yes, but it's ok, I can wait till you're done your task here,_" Hinata murmured quietly, watching the students through the eye – slits of her mask.

"_It's ok, Hinata,_" Shikamaru came up, clapping Naruto on the shoulder. "_I'll take over from here Naruto. Thanks._" His gaze met hers, even through their masks. He knew that whatever Hinata was here for, it was probably more important (and exciting) than teaching a bunch of moody kids.

"_Thanks Shikamaru – kun,_" Hinata's smile carried in her voice. "_Come on Naruto – kun, I have a couple of questions to ask._"

Naruto nodded and pointed to a clear open area nearby which they could talk without being overheard. As soon as they were situated comfortably there, Hinata explained her situation, her solution, and her ideas.

"_That's really good, really smart Hinata – chan,_" Naruto commented once she was done. "_But for something like this, Kakashi – sensei would help you better. Ero – sannin taught me everything; it's still kind of vague, to be honest. Kaka – sensei has more experience in it. You can probably catch him around where they practice 'Charms'. He should still be there._"

"_Alright,_" Hinata lifted her mask and his mask, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before standing up. "_Thanks Naruto – kun. Don't be too hard on the kids!_" She waved as she set off towards the east side of the castle, chuckling softly as Naruto bounded right back up and over to his students.

She rounded the corner, her senses alert. So busy that she was, looking for Kakashi, she failed to notice a sickeningly bright yellow aura whisper over her head, as fine as mist. It went as soon as it came, silently rippling over the oblivious kunoichi's head.

"_Kakashi – san! Kakashi – san!_" Hinata called out softly as she spotted the telltale silver hair. His face, adorned with a falcon's mask (_that mask again,_ Hinata observed), turned and surveyed her in her mouse mask.

"_Hinata – sama,_" Kakashi inclined his head towards her. "_Did you need me?_"

"_Yes,_" Hinata looked around. The corridor was deserted. "_Are you busy at the moment?_"

Kakashi shook his head. "_No, it's been very quiet._" He had also missed the fine yellow mist.

"_I have a request…_"

Kakashi listened intently, motioning for Hinata to keep walking with him as she explained her mission.

Kakashi's opinion of the woman beside him rose higher as she described some ideas to him. _She's quicker at insight and tactics than Naruto was and is,_ Kakashi mused, _and she has a strong grasp of what she needs to know before she moves. There's a good, solid brain in this one._

"_Well, Hinata – sama,_" Kakashi began, already having an idea of what she could do. Granted, she wasn't as powerful as say, Naruto or Sasuke or possibly Sakura (although this was a bit of a guess and stretch), so he slightly watered down some of the ideas in mind. "_Spar against someone, preferably someone more powerful than you. Your opponent can test you and try your limits without causing harm onto herself or himself. If you're not satisfied with the statistics at the end, you can come back to me or go to Kurenai or,_" Kakashi paused, acting on a suspicion, "_Falcon for further exercises._"

Hinata nodded, absorbing the advice and turning new ideas over in her mind.

"_Thank you Kakashi – san_," Hinata bowed slightly to the older man before she took off. "_I will follow your advice. Do you know where I may find Falcon – san?_"

"_By the lake, near the Forbidden Forest._"

"_Thank you very much,_" Hinata thanked him again, making her way out of the building via a nearby window.

"_Hinata – sama,_" Kakashi stopped her before she reached the window. Twisting, Hinata turned to look at the Sharingan wielder.

"_Yes?_"

"_Do you know who Falcon is?_"

Hinata could sense a great amount of contained curiosity and a hint of suspicion. Of course she knew, as her Byakugan could see through the masks, and she had heard of Rin and the tales involving her. It wasn't Hinata's place to say that Rin was back – the medic would tell Kakashi in her own time. It wasn't Hinata's business to deal with.

"_Yes._"

And without another word, she flipped through the window and out of the building, sensing Kakashi's frustration and confusion before she slipped into the outside world.

Taking quick running leaps, Hinata reached the lake within minutes, as she was taking her time. Glancing around, she spotted and sensed no chakra signature. Frowning, she activated her Byakugan, scanning the area for Rin. Since the air wasn't contained, as it was in the castle, it wasn't polluted with streams of purple magic.

"_Looking for me?_"

Hinata jumped and immediately whirled to the source of the voice, a kunai in hand. Rin held up a hand in peace.

"_Relax, I'm not going to attack you._"

"_Rin – san,_" Hinata greeted the ANBU. She was puzzled; her Byakugan hadn't picked up a chakra source anywhere, and the Byakugan could sense bunshins as well. The fact that Rin had been able to sneak up on Hinata while she had the Byakugan on was alarming. "_How did you do that?_"

"_Sneak up on you?_" Rin grinned under her mask. "_I'm assuming you had your Byakugan on. I masked my chakra signature with the air around us._"

Hinata was impressed. Few could accomplish such a feat. And to mask it against the Byakugan eyes was practically unheard of.

"_You've come to spar against me and for me to access your capabilities, right?_"

"_Hai,_" Hinata admitted, impressed once again by the woman's insight.

"_Then let's begin._"

Hinata could sense a difference between her spar against Rin and her regular spars with others. She knew that the medic was stronger, and had obviously surpassed Hinata and was her superior in every way. That didn't keep Hinata from going all out though, even though she knew that she would inevitably lose. There was also the fact that she knew nothing of Rin's fighting technique and style.

Rin calculated Hinata's speed and fighting style, subtly pushing her at her limits and stretching beyond them. Now, two minutes into the battle, Hinata was forced to use Kaiten three times. She panting heavily, sweat running freely down her face and trickling out from her mask. Her chakra stores were getting low, a feat considering that they were now three minutes into battle. Her weapons were slowly depleting as well.

It also seemed that whatever tactic Hinata decided to use, Rin would already have a counterattack set up or turn it against her. Hinata was outmanoeuvred, and she knew it and she was glad it was only a spar. She could test and push her limits without worrying that the enemy would kill her intentionally.

After five minutes, they jumped apart, Hinata landing silently on one end of the lake, panting. Her crouched form was quivering, a sign of her physical fatigue. Rin had landed standing, unruffled as she had started.

_She's powerful._

The only other one Hinata had seen as powerful and more were Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto.

"_Well,_" Rin started, walking across the lake using chakra to keep her on the surface, "_your capacities are impressive Hinata – sama._"

"_Please, no formalities,_" Hinata intervened. "_You are my comrade and superior, at least in battle. If you compare my status to your abilities, we are on equal ground._"

The smile on Rin's face matched her tone, "_Well then, I'll just call you Hinata – chan. Your ability and technique makes up for your lack in power. Though your chakra capacities are large, even by shinobi standards, your technique and moves require you to drain them faster than you can replenish them. Therefore, you make up for it in tactics and taijutsu moves, incorporating them with some new styles I think you've invented for the purpose of conserving chakra._"

She was perceptive, that was for sure.

"_You're quite strong in taijutsu and ninjutsu, genjutsu not so much,_" Rin continued thoughtfully, "_which is a bit of a surprise, since most kunoichi are adept at genjutsu. Do you want specifics on your abilities?_"

Hinata was dazed. It seemed as if Rin didn't even fight in the first place, as if she had just been standing and observing Hinata as she fought someone else.

"_No, I think I can take it from here. Thank you very much for helping me with your time off, Rin – san,_" Hinata bowed, only to be stopped by Rin.

"_Hey, you said that we're equal. No –san or bowing please,_" the older woman's tone was easy and light. "_And you're very welcome. You're an interesting sparring partner; I haven't sparred against a Hyuuga in a long while. Come back anytime to spar or talk if you want._"

"_If there's anything I can do…_"

"_Well, I'm assuming you know my identity given your use of my name. All I ask of you is to keep my identity a secret, particularly around Kakashi. If you find Neji, tell him that as well. I'll reveal myself in due time._"

"_Your secret is safe,_" Hinata assured her. She felt a strong liking for her.

"_Thanks,_" Rin smile beneath her mask, knowing that Hinata could see it with her Byakugan on. "_Just call me Falcon from now on._"

"_Alright. Rin – sa…Rin, have you found your equal yet?_"

"_Nope,_" Rin replied cheerfully. "_But I have an inkling. I'm already pretty in tune with my capabilities due to…well, I just know them well. Therefore, I have a pretty good idea who I can side with._"

"_Oh,_" Hinata was quiet. "_Well, thank you once again._"

"_No problem._"

Hinata bounded away, to one of the training grounds that Dumbledore had erected for them. It even had trees, real ones, just like the ones back home. She settled in one, her back resting on the trunk. The branches were bare of leaves, and Hinata felt slightly uneasy as she was in full view of anyone who wanted to look, the bare branches not a very good shield.

But nonetheless, she knew she thought best when in a tree, surrounded by nature's pillars. It offered her support, comfort, and wisdom.

_So, I need someone who will compensate for my lack of strength,_ Hinata mused thoughtfully. _But from what Sakura – san told me, the wizards have apparently no limit. But I can't take her word for it, seeing as she had no evidence except from a witch whose education has not been complete. I will have to question Dumbledore – san about this._

That was first priority on her mind. Skipping down to the ground, Hinata paused and remembered that she didn't know the password to Dumbledore's office. At a loss to what to do, she didn't notice the fine yellow mist pass over her once more. But at the last second, her sixth sense kicked in and she activated her Byakugan hastily, catching the faint sight of an unnatural, eerie looking yellow.

Frowning, she followed it cautiously, her sense of duty greater than her curiosity. She followed it at a fair distance, stopping whenever it did.

When the mist reached the castle, it stopped, as if contemplating on the stone barriers. Hinata watched with wary eyes.

And she was right to for just a few seconds after the mist stopped, it condensed, the translucent yellow substance forming and shaping into a solid, massive frog. It's back was facing her, yet Hinata instantly knew that it knew she was behind it. Sure enough, it's giant head, equivalent to at least a meter, if not more, turned sideways to regard her with black eyes, its orbs seeming to absorb the light rather than reflect it.

Hinata backed away, knowing that she was at a huge disadvantage. Her spar with Rin had depleted most of her chakra, and she was physically sorely fatigued. The fact that this creature, this mutation, before her could posses power that was unheard of didn't escape her mind either.

And judging from the way it was eyeing her, she had an inkling that running away wasn't an option either.

So she did the only thing she could in her situation.

In one swift movement, Hinata brought an emergency flare from her kunai holster and flung it in the air, a second later forming a seal to release the flare signal.

The paper kunai, designed that way so it could cut easily through the air as a real kunai could, exploded. Bright lavender sparks, Hinata's colour, crackled in an earth - shattering boom, attracting much attention. A single spark soared upwards beyond its brethren, exploding to produce a ball of smoke, which stayed despite the cold winter air.

Hinata readied herself grimly as the frog turned to fully face her, its enormous head cocked. She could see its mouth twist into a sadistic smile.

_Please someone come __**fast**_

---

Naruto sensed the chakra flare and immediately recognized it as Hinata's. He snapped his head to meet Shikamaru's gaze, and they both knew what to do. Naruto took off, leaving a group of bewildered students, while Shikamaru rounded the lot up.

"Alright, back to the Great Hall_**NOW**_."

The students scurried, hurrying to meet his demand. Shikamaru had never used that tone on them before, making it seem ten times more terrifying. In minutes, they had all sprinted (thanks to the rigorous training exercise by the ANBU pair, they were in better shape than they started) to the castle and had disappeared within it, following Shikamaru's order.

Sighing, Shikamaru followed them, rushing past them with his shinobi speed. He had been told the password to Dumbledore's office in advance in case a situation like this arose. Shouting to the gargoyle as soon as it was in sight, Shikamaru sped in and ran up the walls with chakra, not bothering with the slow moving stairs. He walked through the open door into an unsurprising Dumbledore.

"_Ah, is there anything wrong?_"

_No old man, I'm just here to pay you a visit, which I ran at top speed with chakra for. Of __**course**__ I have something important. _

But, being the tactful genius he was, Shikamaru didn't say that.

"_Yes. A comrade of mine sent up an emergency flare signal, and I think it's safe to say that the yajuu _**(1)**_ has reappeared once more. She sent it near,_" Shikamaru closed his eyes behind his mask, remembering, "_the '_Herbology_' unit, in front of the south side of the upper _Potions_ area._"

Dumbledore nodded.

"_The teachers shall remember the procedure we agreed on. I'll go to the Great Hall myself to supervise them. We will await further instructions from you, since it seems that your group knows what they're doing._"

Shikamaru nodded before clambering out of the window with chakra, leaping down and running to where his teammates were.

Sure enough, when he reached the scene, all shinobi were assembled in a half ring against the huge, sickeningly yellow frog. It's form, grotesque and slightly disfigured, was stock still with it's mouth still twisted in a sneer and it's eyes, black and absorbent, fixed on the group around it without care.

"_Shikamaru?_"

"_Capture it. Kill if necessary. See what jutsus can contain it and use the technique and reinforce it whenever possible._"

The more headstrong Naruto charged in first, followed quickly by Sasuke. Together, the pair worked in synchronized unison, flowing around each other and fitting their attacks to suit each other. Neji and Tenten were quick to follow, their years of partnership apparent in the ease and familiarity that they showed. The two pairs danced around each other, taking one side and then switching to the other in irregular patterns.

Sakura joined as an individual, her inhuman strength aiding in slowing down the surprisingly fast monster. For all its monstrous bulk, the frog was agile and quick, not hesitating to swipe at anything that came near it with its hand. The jutsus that came its way either bounced off harmlessly (at least to it; the shinobi were forced to quickly scatter whenever that happened) or was absorbed in the thick, sleek, yet disfigured skin.

Rin hadn't joined in the fray, opting to stay as back up. Kakashi and Kurenai were in similar positions; all were stationed at a fair distance around the moving frog and the whirlwind of shinobi, waiting and observing.

Gai had jumped in, of course, with blinding enthusiasm that outdid the sun's rays. His fantastic taijutsu kept up with the frog's movements well, but apart from slowing it down, his taijutsu did nothing to fully stop the frog.

Hinata, Ino, and Shino had stayed by Shikamaru's side, awaiting his orders. They were at a fair distance from the fight, but close enough to observe the kinds of attacks and their effects on the frog.

Hinata was there because of her Byakugan – whenever Shikamaru needed it, he employed Shino's bugs and Hinata's superior sight to check out angles that he had missed or something that caught his eye. Ino was there because she dealt with mind techniques. Although her ninjutsu and taijutsu were decent, they wouldn't be much use in the battle unless she was necessary. Plus, once Shikamaru deemed it safe, she could attempt to enter the yajuu's mind from the distance they were at without danger.

It wasn't going too well for the shinobi. Despite their high level techniques and teamwork, the frog seemed immune to their attacks.

"_More…_"

All were startled by the raspy, deep grumble that sounded from the base of the frog's throat. Still, they were highly trained and continued fighting without a beat.

"_More…_"

The guttural, earth-quaking sound rumbled up again, this time more potent and more visible.

"_**More!**_"

"_Holy Kami,_" Naruto swore under his breath as the frog smashed a hand down onto the ground, leaving a print that went at least five feet under. He formed another Rasengan in his hand, the third one so far, and thrust it at the frog's eyes – the weakness, as Naruto knew well.

The frog sensed the incoming attack and turned, the Rasengan ricocheting off the back of its head and exploding upon reaching the ground.

However, that had been Naruto's intention. Sasuke, on the other side, had formed Chidori and had thrust it towards the eyes, as told by Naruto that that was it's weak point, striking it squarely in the exposed left eye. The frog, which had been in motion, jerked to a stop by planting its limbs onto the ground, digging into the soft soil. Tenten almost smacked into it's back before Neji saw the danger and jerked her away with chakra strings.

There was a growl of pain, one that _clearly_ did not belong to a frog.

Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, Tenten, Sakura, and Gai landed around the frog once more, circling it. They crouched nervously, waiting to see what would happen.

The change was completely unexpected, but for Shikamaru, it made total sense.

Upon reading the book that he had found by Sasuke's tableside and researching about it more in the library (with minimal success), Shikamaru had begun to slowly piece the small puzzle pieces together. From his observation of the battle, more puzzle pieces joined the slowly completing picture.

So it didn't surprise him when the roar of anger sounding from the frog didn't sound like a frog at all – rather, it sounded like a bear.

An _angry_ bear.

The colossal frog, it's left eye burst and oozing with a thick, black substance, rippled and became slightly translucent. It didn't disappear completely. Instead, it's form started to squirm and change, the smooth skin bursting and developing long, thick hairs – _fur._ It's head shifted and shrunk, just a little, fitting into a longer snout and small, erect ears. The fur was blood red, the claws gleaming an eerily familiar black to Sasuke.

_It's that thing again._

Indeed, Sasuke's first encounter with the ghastly bear came back fresh in his mind as if it had happened only yesterday.

"_Stay back,_" Sasuke's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear over the still furiously growling bear. "_One swipe and you'll suffer his wrath._"

Sasuke never spoke highly of anyone, but to admit that this creature's mere swipe was lethal made the group even warier. Tenten had moved closer to Neji, in case the Hyuuga had to perform his Kaiten to deflect anything.

And as the transformation was complete, the bear snapped its head around, its gaze landing on Sasuke. With a snarling twist of its features, it attacked aggressively, paws outstretched and body leaping through the air like a dog.

Sasuke had been absolutely right into saying that the bear was dangerous. Its movement and attacks were irregular, proving difficult to guess where it might go next. It was also highly aggressive, never going on the defence. The attacks, which had proved useless against the frog, seemed even more pointless now.

_So, it has come to this,_ Shikamaru thought grimly. _I didn't think Voldemort or Orochimaru were desperate enough to resort to this. Surely they know the consequences of unleashing such a beast from its domain? But the power they must've combined to pull it off…_

Ideas clicked together in his mind, and Shikamaru knew what to do.

---

"Do you suppose they'll succeed this time Albus?"

"Ah, Minerva," Dumbledore turned his head slightly to gaze on the Transfiguration teacher. "Your tone seems to betray your doubt."

Said teacher pursed her already thin lips. "Well Albus, you know that the school year is almost halfway over…and still, that monster plagues us."

"Do you think that you would have done any better?"

Minerva McGonagall stayed silent. She knew the answer as well as the headmaster. Even if the monster _was_ affected by magic, chances of her catching and defeating it single-handedly were pretty much none. She knew that if she compared that to the shinobi's progress, the shinobi were doing exceptionally well.

"I have faith in them. They will keep the harm at bay."

Minerva looked out upon the tittering students, more than half of them from Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. The students clad in blue and maroon looked particularly confused, whispering amongst each other and nudging the Hogwarts students.

_Why were we pulled out of our Common Rooms? Why were we disrupted from our activities? Why were we dragged out of Hogsmeade and stuffed here?_

The questions were endless, and only minimal answers came from the Hogwarts students. After all, they only knew the basics and not much else.

Snape glanced at Professor Hiratio out of the corner of his eye. The thin, sharp cut profile of the newcomer was still, his gaze sweeping across the sea of students. Periodically, his eyes would dart to the large windows at the side, as if hoping to see the spectacle that was taking place

Snape didn't trust the man. There was something about the new headmaster that irked him, his instinct ringing alarm bells.

Because if the fact that opposites attract, then the fact that likes repel should be true as well.

Hiratio's cunning and slyness distinctly reminded Snape of his own position and habits. It reminded the greasy-haired man of _himself,_ and the very thought was disconcerting.

As if sensing Snape's piercing gaze, Hiratio's brown eyes snapped to meet the older man's look. A faint smirk crossed the tanned, fine cut face and Snape could clearly read the message.

_I know something you don't._

The man was taunting him. It was so painfully obvious. There was a very dangerous, very fine line they were playing on.

Then Viktor Krum came forth from the mass of students, motioning to Hiratio. The man calmly looked away from Snape, and started to talk in hushed tones with his student. Snape would've merely passed the conversation off as an explanation to current events had he not witnessed a flash of purple in Krum's eyes when the Blugerian Quidditch player shifted his head. Hiratio's calm face showed slight signs of impatience as he motioned the conversation to be over.

Krum's face grew dark, and his eyes flashed again, this time more prominently. Squaring his shoulders, he turned on his heel and stalked off, leaving a faintly annoyed and pleased Hiratio.

Snape hurriedly averted his gaze, and was grateful when Professor Flitwick struck a conversation with him. By the time Hiratio turned his gaze back upon Snape, the only sight that greeted him was the back of the Potion's master greasy head. It looked as if he had been chatting with the Charms teacher for a bit. Satisfied that the man hadn't seen any part of the recent encounter with Krum, Hiratio turned his gaze back on his students, his form unmoving.

As Snape was forced to grind out pleasant talk with the amiable Flitwick, he couldn't help by wonder what had transpired. He _knew_ that the purple flashes in Krum's eyes were irregular and unnatural; yet it had happened.

_Should I tell Dumbledore?_

Right now, in the middle of the very beginning of a war, Snape didn't know which side he was playing on.

_Oh bloody hell._

Dumbledore had seen the entire scene out of the corner of his eyes while pretending to listen to Professor Trelawny's predictions. His intelligence, though not as high as Shikamaru's, was still exceptionally bright and it didn't take too much of a genius to figure out what had transpired.

Now all he could do was wait and hope that Snape would come to the right decision.

---

"You do realize that we can't control this beast for much longer, right?"

Orochimaru sent a cool look towards his partner, his junior.

"I'm not foolish."

"Then what do you propose we do?"

Orochimaru gritted his teeth together in annoyance. The man was not very bright, or at least not up to Orochimaru's standards. Though what he lacked in intelligence he made up for in power and cunning.

"They will defeat it," Orochimaru knew. "Sooner or later, they will. Konoha has sent their elite to beat this. They have geniuses among the group. Sooner or later they'll figure out the lock and find the key. By the time they beat it however, we will have accomplished our mission."

"Sly as ever."

"Cut the flattery."

Voldemort did nothing except to regard the former with slit pupil eyes, his face betraying no sense of emotion. Orochimaru grudgingly gave him some credit; that face was as perfect as a trained shinobi on a good day. Even he had trouble reading into it.

"Our association ends when the plan is complete."

Orochimaru glanced at the wizard with cold, gold eyes. His plan to become the most powerful shinobi in the world would require testing – and what better way to do it against a high, powerful wizard? A dangerous being, but not one of his kind. Orochimaru knew that they would meet again in the future, intentional or not.

"Of course."

But, being the sly, deceitful being that he was, Orochimaru had agreed to pacify the wizard.

It would be such a delightful surprise for Voldemort if ten years later down the road, if they succeeded, Orochimaru showed up at his doorstep. It would be a social call – no, Orochimaru loved the thrill of the chase. He would take down each powerful political figure, and replace his own image on them, inspiring fear and awe.

_They were more alike than they liked to admit._

_- Because if the fact that opposites attract, then the fact that likes repel should be true as well.-_

One would kill the other in the end, because neither could exist with the other living.

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**AN:** Short chapter once again. I'm terribly sorry, but most of the action stuff will be happening next chapter. If I continued, then this chapter would be at least thirty pages long, if not more (besides, I wouldn't have anything to write about in the next chapter). So I cut it up :) To compensate, I'll try to have the next chapter out ASAP.

**EDIT:** Chapter edited by Kurau. Thanks a million :)

**Notes:**

**(1) Yajuu:** Monster, beast


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary:** [HPxNaruto A simple A classed mission to Hogwarts turns into a deadly S classed one when Orochimaru and Voldemort bring their new pet into play.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

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Ino collapsed onto the common room couch, exhausted. Her smiling, painted mask was removed and tossed carelessly onto the floor, the string dangling precariously on one of her fingers. She tossed her head back, removing her hair from its severe binds. Long, gold strands of hair tumbled down the back of the couch, brushing against the floor. It was stained with long, coarse bits of brittle black fur.

The others were in similar state: weary, tired, and annoyed.

"_So, our brilliant and calculating leader,_" Ino started sarcastically, "_how was our performance, pray tell?_"

"_Horrible_" was the blunt answer that came back her way.

"_What can you expect? We're lucky we came out as is,_" Sakura snapped, intervening. She was in the process of healing Naruto's arm, which had a large gash torn on his bicep, ripping through his ANBU mark. It was caused by some of the rubble the huge bear had created. They had all gathered to the common room where Sakura's medical supplies were readily available and where it was safest to treat their wounds.

The worst injury had been a broken leg of Rin's, caused when she had been crushed in a freak chance of the bear turning her way and swiping at the tree she was stationed in. Since the bear's irrational attack caught her off guard, the tree had toppled down with her in it, the thick, heavy trunk crushing her leg.

The other injuries were minor, varying from gashes such as Naruto's, to big, purple-green bruises. Hinata, the least injured out of all of them (save Shikamaru), had fetched her sewing kit and was repairing damages. Shikamaru would've helped her, but he wasn't the craftiest with the needle. Rin had healed her broken leg on the spot, showing that she had expert medical knowledge and chakra control that rivalled Sakura's.

The bear was dangerous, even more dangerous than the frog (oh by _far_) because its anger made its attacks irrational and hard to predict. Despite the shinobi's attempts, it had torn down part of the school wall, the stones caving in and clattering into an empty dungeon classroom.

The only reason why they came out alive was because the monster had retreated. No one knew why, save for Shikamaru.

He had seen it. The snake. It came slithering and crawling to the bear, its skin as red as the bear's fur. Twining up the bear's leg, it was unnoticeable by all except Shikamaru, who had the time and quick eye to spot it. It had slithered up to come beside the bear's ear. It had opened its mouth and hissed something. Abruptly, the bear had stopped, shocking and confusing all of the shinobi save Shikamaru who had watched the entire exchange.

The snake had vanished in an almost unnoticed poof of smoke as the same time the bear began to fade. The shinobi let it go, since they were suffering from chakra and physical exhaustion.

_A snake. That's Orochimaru's and/or Voldemort's sign. The fact that the snake had no trouble getting to the bear and communicating with it meant that the bear's connected to those two. And judging from the pieces I put together, the two must've combined their power and drawn the beast from the depths of the universe._

Shikamaru's face darkened.

_The power they must've used and had to pull it off…and to still be able to control the beast? That power is almost unheard of. And from the two forms I've seen…_

_-Sure enough, when he reached the scene, all shinobi were assembled in a half ring against the huge, sickeningly yellow frog. It's form, grotesque and slightly disfigured, was stock still with it's mouth still twisted in a sneer and it's eyes, black and absorbent, fixed on the group around it without care.-_

_-"More…"_

_All were startled by the raspy, deep grumble that sounded from the base of the frog's throat. Still, they were highly trained and continued fighting without a beat. _

"_More…"_

_The guttural, earth-quaking sound rumbled up again, this time more potent and more visible. _

"_**More!**__"-_

_-And as the transformation was complete, the bear snapped its head around, its gaze landing on Sasuke. With a snarling twist of its features, it attacked aggressively, paws outstretched and body leaping through the air like a dog.- _

_A creature of the seven sins? They drew the very essence of all that's plagued the world since the beginning of time?_

_Are they __**nuts**_

Shikamaru sighed as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He already knew the answer.

"_Shikamaru, is there something you'd like to tell us?_" Rin's voice piped up, her mask pointing at his direction. Her tone wasn't prodding or demanding, but rather concerned and curious.

At her question, everyone turned to stare at Shikamaru expectantly. Sighing at the sudden attention, the genius spoke of what he had discovered and pieced together.

"_Why did you keep that book to yourself, Sasuke?_" Kakashi asked once Shikamaru finished. "_You knew it would've been important for Shikamaru to have known about it._"

"_I was preoccupied,_" Sasuke snapped, not liking the criticism thrown his way. "_I forgot about it._"

"_That's not very professional, teme,_" Naruto teased, knowing his was pushing the Uchiha's buttons. Sure enough, Sasuke's pale, handsome face was drawn tight in annoyance.

"_Dobe._"

"_Hey-!_"

"_Naruto, he says that to you every time you call him 'teme',_" Sakura butted in crossly. "_I don't get why you act so surprised every single time._"

"_Enough,_" Neji took command. "_Now we know what we're up against. Now we've got a lead._"

"_That's right,_" Tenten was sitting on one of the chairs, her mask dangling on the armrest. Even after the hard fight, she still looked energetic. _It's from all the weeks of my little use of chakra,_ Tenten reasoned. _Since I haven't used it, it must've all just built up. _"_We know how to start strategizing now._"

"_We need something to oppose this thing,_" Hinata commented thoughtfully. "_You said it was the seven sins, right Shikamaru-kun?_"

"_Yup._"

"_Than what better way to counter it than the seven virtues?_"

Dead silence.

The problem, which had been so difficult to figure out before, was solved in the blink of an eye.

_Argh._

"_Ok, next problem_," Tenten continued. "_How do we unlock the seven virtues? Is it going to be one of us plus a wizard, or are there going to be seven of us unlocking each virtue?_"

"_Wait!_" Ino cried out. "_What are the seven virtues?_"

"_Chastity, abstinence, liberality, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility,_" was Hinata's quick reply.

"_That's a good question, Tenten,_" Shikamaru mused thoughtfully. "_It would be easier to have one of us for each virtue, since having one person unlock the gates would be a huge responsibility and feat. It would also bring a huge amount of strain and exhaustion of power, possibly draining your life force as well if you don't have enough. If you still don't have enough power, you'll probably die and I don't want any casualties on this mission. Once you start putting your power into unlocking the gates and drawing the virtue out though, you can't stop, so we'll have volunteers for this mission._"

"_Gate?_" Sakura sat up from the floor she had been stretching on. "_What gates?_"

"_Gate_," Shikamaru corrected her. "_There's a gate between the mortal life – our lives – and…well, the best description would be the supernatural. That's where things like emotions, mythical beings, gods, goddesses—the things that we think are impossible yet have existed since the very beginning of time, dwell. The seven virtues and sins are what makes us humans; those things are __**powerful**_"

"_How do you know all this?_" Ino demanded, her sky blue eyes sharp as she sat up straighter, her gaze piercing. "_You're a genius, but even geniuses have limits to their knowledge. And why a __**gate?**_"

"_I pieced it together,_" Shikamaru answered coolly. "_I think about a lot of things when I cloud watch. Besides, I just connected everything together about two hours ago when I saw that monster. And gate because it seems the most logical._"

"_I'm assuming that was greed turned into anger,_" Hinata commented thoughtfully. "_Though I don't quite get the colours and the animal forms._"

"_I don't either at the moment,_" Shikamaru admitted, "_but I'm working on it. That's not really important at the moment though._"

"_You're right,_" Tenten agreed. "_We need to know who wants to take this mission on._"

"_Keep in mind of the things I just told you_," Shikamaru warned everyone. "_You could die doing this. You have to be strong in all aspects, physically and otherwise. You __**have**__ to be ok doing this, and know that you might die in the attempt, that you might die for a bunch of foreign people that you've never known. I don't want to force anyone into this. This mission is literally a life and death mission, where the consequences could be worse than death._"

"_Worse than death?_" Naruto spoke out.

"_The gods might not like you tampering with their things,_" Shikamaru replied.

"_Any volunteers?_" Neji asked the entire room.

Rin's hand was the first in the air.

"_Falcon?_"

"_I'm sure about this,_" Rin's tone was firm and decisive, her gender still hidden by her mask and a small genjutsu. "_I have nothing to lose, and I know my capacities are up to it._"

Shikamaru stared at her for another moment, analyzing her. Rin met his gaze unflinchingly, her black painted falcon mask smiling hauntingly at him. His brown eyes stared into the eyeholes of the mask, as if deciphering something. Then he nodded. Rin was sure he had figured out who she was, and whether the nod was to her earlier volunteer or that he would keep her identity a secret was unclear.

"_Anyone else?_"

Tenten's hand was up next, followed quickly by Naruto's.

"_You two? Tenten? Naruto?_"

Tenten nodded, her face calmly determined. Naruto's tanned face mirrored hers.

"_Are you sure?_"

"_I have a chance to make a difference,_" Tenten stated evenly, "_I'm not going to slap it back into opportunity's face._" Neji frowned at her involvement, his white eyes tinted lavender growing stormy.

"_You just recovered, Tenten._"

"_I know,_" Tenten answered, "_I know my limits. Trust me on this Neji._"

He didn't say anything, only looked at her. She gave him a glance, one that spoke volumes.

"_Tenten's right,_" Naruto spoke up, drawing the attention away from the silent pair. "_I want to help, even to those whom I've never known._"

"_But how will Kyuubi cope with this? He's a demon; the virtues is definitely not something a demon would like,_" Ino spoke frankly.

Shino, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Gai, and Kurenai watched silently.

_**The bitch is right,**_ Kyuubi growled, his voice vibrating throughout Naruto's mind. _**I will not abide in such foolery.**_

_I'll figure a way somehow,_ Naruto thought back grimly. _I want to help, and you're not getting in the way._

_**Brat,**_ the Kyuubi snarled. Naruto could feel him throwing his body against the sealed bars of his mind, desperately trying to get out. Steeling his resolve, he managed to push Kyuubi's temper down. **(1)**

"_I'll manage._" Naruto's tone left no room for argument.

"_Three down,_" Shikamaru accepted both of their decisions, "_four more to go._"

Sakura silently raised her hand up. Sasuke raised his hand up as well.

Shikamaru glanced at them, judging from Sasuke's blank expression that he didn't want to reveal the reason why he was volunteering.

"_I already have a partner,_" Sakura shrugged.

Shikamaru nodded, seeing her logic.

"_Any more takers?_"

A pause.

"_I'll do it as well,_" Hinata joined in firmly.

"_Hinata – sama,_" Neji started to protest. The head of the prestigious Hyuuga clan shouldn't just throw her life away for a bunch of kids.

"_Neji,_" Hinata turned her head towards him, "_Tenten has a very good, valid point. I stand by her reason._"

Neji frowned.

"_One more spot._"

Silence.

Shikamaru stayed silent as well, letting the remaining group members think it over. He wasn't going to let out another speech about how dangerous it could be – they already knew that. They were mature enough to see it.

"_I'll do it._"

Heads turned to look at the speaker. Mouths gaped, eyes widened, and eyebrows went up incredulously.

"_Shino-kun?_" Hinata's gentle voice addressed him.

He only nodded, his sunglasses shielding his eyes, his mouth set in a calm, neutral line.

"_You all know the consequences,_" Shikamaru reminded them once again. "_Don't make me regret my acceptance of your decision. Now, next task: find your partner._"

"_I say you seven take the next while off to find your partners as soon as possible,_" Kakashi broke in, speaking for the first time. "_The rest of us will cover for you._"

Shikamaru divided the group into the people that had volunteered to the people that didn't. It was seven against six, including him. But then Sakura already had her partner. That tipped things in favour for the guards – six against seven. They could manage.

"_Hey, Shikamaru,_" Kurenai spoke up as well, "_once everyone finds their counterparts, what do they do?_"

"_Join with them like Sakura did,_" Shikamaru replied, "_and I'll figure out the rest from there._"

Not looking altogether reassured, yet looking a whole ton more confident than they felt in a long time, the group filed out, snapping masks back on and making last minute adjustments to bandages. After all, the day wasn't over yet. It was a little past dinnertime…maybe around seven?

Ino sighed miserably as she walked down the hall, too tired to walk on the walls with chakra. She just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep through the whole semester.

So far, she was feeling pretty useless. She was brought in as an interrogator, but judging from how protective Dumbledore was of his students, she wouldn't be interrogating any kids soon. Then there weren't many people she _could_ interrogate. And then the issue about the seven virtues…

Ino sighed. She wasn't particularly strong in some aspects; she knew it. She accepted it and grew around it. But still, being dismissed so easily in the common room from being one of the chosen people was stinging.

_Not like I had volunteered in the first place._

True, but she was hoping someone would come out and suggest her. Fat dream, but she couldn't help it.

Straightening up, Ino's eyes hardened behind her mask. She was a kunoichi, a top - notch interrogator. Silly dreams and hopes like that shouldn't have even existed in her mind.

Silent and as unseen as a shadow, Ino glided up the walls and walked to the Great Hall on the ceiling, jumping from the ledges and rafters that were hidden in the shadows. She reached the Great Hall in less than two minutes, slipping between the large doors when Shikamaru opened them. She darted up to the ceiling once more, scanning the crowd of students through the eye slits of her mask.

The blond spotted a small snake slithering down from one of the windows in the room and threw three senbon needles its way. While her aim wasn't perfect, it was good enough and all three landed on its target. Ino wasn't surprised to see a kunai join her little collection, and knew who threw it by the point the kunai landed. It landed in the middle of the snake's head with deadly accuracy, the kunai thrown so hard that it was half embedded in the snake's head.

_Tenten._ Ino scanned the room and spotted Tenten near her, as well as Neji. The pair was tense, as if expecting something. Looking around, Ino could see Naruto by one of the windows, Shino, Kurenai, and Gai scattered on the ceilings as she was, Hinata by another window, and Sasuke in a corner. Sakura, Kakashi, Rin, and Shikamaru were scattered on the floor, Sakura by the great, large, wooden doors, Shikamaru by Dumbledore, Rin tucked in the shadows at one end of the room, and Kakashi at the other.

Ino's gaze flickered to Shikamaru again, observing him. He was whispering to Dumbledore, probably explaining their battle with the monster and what they had deduced. Judging from Dumbledore's expression, Ino had to say that the old man was almost expecting the news he was receiving. The wizard didn't look surprised, shocked, or startled at all. He was still smiling calmly, as if he was listening to his favourite nephew tell a story.

Ino was suspicious. Dumbledore knew more than he let anyone on, and it scared her. Shikamaru was supposed to be the smartest one here, but Dumbledore was clearly toying with him – and the rest of the team.

_I don't like the feel of this…_

She made a mental note to mention her suspicions to Shikamaru, but looking at him tug an ear with a hand, she had a feeling that he already knew. He only did that when he was irritated by a problem he couldn't solve.

_Could he be plotting against us?_

That was the kunoichi side of her speaking. She had been trained to think of all the angles and to look underneath the underneath.

Ino immediately dismissed the thought. It only brought up more questions than answers, and even if it partially explained one of her earlier musings, it brought up more speculation. Plus, Dumbledore seemed too kind to them to try anything.

_Still,_ Ino thought warily, _I can't be too trusting. Last time I did that, the blasted jounin almost got away from me before I could force the information out of him…slippery bastard…_

Ino grumbled to herself, ignoring the questioning cock of Kurenai's head , who was close enough to hear her mumblings.

Ino snapped out of her grumblings when she saw a figure flip down from either the ceiling or the wall from her peripheral vision. Turning her head, she spotted Naruto in the dark shadow of the corners of the room, his figure still and tense.

Channelling a bit of chakra to her eyes to sharpen her vision, Ino zoomed in on the direction Naruto's mask was facing in. Something must've bugged him enough to leave his post.

…unfortunately, his line of vision led straight to the mass of students, thus making it impossible of what exactly caught his attention. Ino cut off her chakra that was being filtered to her eyes, aware that it was depleting her already small amount of chakra. Even though she hadn't actually fought against the shape-shifter, she had tried multiple times to invade its mind, only to be stopped by an iron wall each time. It was like sprinting headfirst into a brick wall.

_That didn't stop Shikamaru from making me try though,_ Ino thought bitterly. Now, thanks to her efforts, she was nursing a splitting headache (helped by some of Sakura's medicine and Falcon's advice) and a severely low amount of chakra.

She still had enough chakra to maintain a decent amount of balance on the ceiling beams, but she knew that she would either have to take a day off soon to recover or swallow a soldier pill and deal with the consequences later.

Naruto's odd behaviour didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group either, but they all stayed silent.

"_Shit,_" Naruto muttered very quietly to himself. He felt his chakra, his _own_ chakra (not the Kyuubi's) hum with an impatience that he had never felt before. It was like it was calling to something – or some_one_. Naruto knew that his partner was somewhere in the mass of students, but with so many packed in one place, he couldn't tell who he was looking for.

But what made him swear in the first place was Kyuubi's reaction to him bonding with a wizard and the possibility of him drawing out a virtue.

_**You insolent brat, after all I've done for you, you're going to humiliate me like this?**_ Kyuubi growled ferociously. He kept beating his body against his iron confines, snarling and lashing out, trying to cut through the battered seal. _**I will **__**not**__** tolerate this! You succeed, and I will kill you**_, he snarled, clearly meaning every word he said.

Naruto gritted his teeth. At this rate, he would have to withdraw from the mission that he had pitted himself into – and Hokages did _not_ back out of anything!

_I need a newer, stronger seal, or something that will help contain Kyuubi,_ Naruto thought. _I need something that will make this bond and summon work without affecting the dratted fox._ Great, now he was starting to talk like a British person. _Something that will act as a strong enough barrier, or confinement…_ Naruto knew that no barrier in the world would stop a virtue from affecting every part of him, but Naruto knew that he at least had to try to dull the affects.

A pure, heavenly virtue meeting with a demon would result in disaster. The two elements would invariably clash and fight, one struggling for dominance – and in this case, it would be clear who would be the winner. No tailed demon in the world would stand a chance against something that came from the very pits of existence. And since the Kyuubi was a permanence in Naruto's body, meaning that they were combined in body (not in soul or mind, though), if the virtue affected Kyuubi badly, it would hurt Naruto as well.

But Naruto was also human. His human side would welcome the virtue, would mould to fit with it.

_That would be interesting,_ Naruto mused grimly. _To see what would happen if I just released the virtue without protecting the Kyuubi. One part of me would be obliterated, and the other part would be stronger than ever. I would become something like Zetsu from the Akatsuki _**(2)**.

Still continually sifting through the crowd of students with his eyes, Naruto wondered, _Who am I going to ask for help in this? Kakashi's has knowledge of seals…so does Hinata, with her clan's curse seal…Sakura might…_ Lost in his thoughts, Naruto missed the sharp look the headmaster pointed at him.

Students were beginning to notice him and started whispering, pointing. Naruto jolted back to reality and slunk deeper in the shadows to avoid being noticed. With lightning fast speed, his sped back to his spot on the window, watching in mild amusement as the students who had pointed and whispered about him exclaim in shock when he was suddenly gone. The only reason why he had gone down in there in first place was to look at their faces; at his window spot, the best he could see was their hair and colour of cloak they were wearing.

Naruto felt the hum of his chakra and the battering force of the Kyuubi. Although the seal was old, Naruto wasn't worried; it would hold. But he would have to get something to reinforce it, just in case.

But still…Naruto's eyes swept over the crowd of students once more. He didn't get how Sakura could just _feel_ the connection between her and Hermione. It didn't make sense when she had explained it to the group, but now, experiencing it himself, he realized that Sakura's description (though not perfect) made much more sense. There wasn't really any way to describe it.

"Students, teachers and guests," Dumbledore's voice rang out, cutting and silencing all conversation. "I am quite sorry for the disturbance. Do not worry about it, you are in good hands. The culprit has been properly punished-" Naruto had a very strong urge to snort, "-and the situation has been dealt with. I ask that you stay here for a while longer while we check to make sure it is safe for you."

Slowly, the chatter resumed, this time more relaxed and carefree than the anxious whispers that had circulated before.

A black senbon landed with a soft thud next to Naruto's head. It landed in the middle of the window frame. Knowing what it meant, Naruto drew his communicator out and snapped it on, turning it on with a flick of a switch. Cackling filled his ear before a distorted voice whispered through.

"_N..ru…o…_" The static cut through the speech. "_Wh…t…ou…d…ing?_"

Naruto frowned. The static had never been that bad before. Maybe it was the fact that so much magical energy was present in the air. Too much of a good thing - or bad thing, depending on how one looked at it.

"_I sensed him, my other half,_" Naruto explained, "_I can't see the students' faces from up here._"

"_Hu..?_"

"_What's the point of these things if half the things I say can't even be heard properly?_" Naruto grumbled irritably.

"_Naru…o?_" It was getting better now. Maybe it had just been from the fact that the communicators hadn't been used for weeks.

"_I'll explain later,_" Naruto sighed. He didn't feel like being particularly patient at the moment.

"_Are y..o sur…Naru…o-_"

"_Team,_" Shikamaru's voice sounded suddenly, sending a jolt of pain through Naruto's eardrum. "_I need two of you to check out the area one more time. Kurenai and Shino, you guys go. Hinata, can you use your Byakugan against Hiratio?_" Surprisingly, Naruto heard no static when Shikamaru spoke. Movement caught his eye as Shino and Kurenai took off to investigate the scene one more time.

Upon asking, rudely interrupting Hinata's ok, he was replied with, "_I clean my earpiece regularly. Chances are dirt or stuff got stuck in it. Now be quiet_." Hastily apologizing to Hinata for interrupting her, Naruto turned his attention to Hiratio.

The sharp, hollow cheekbones looked sunken in the warmly lit hall, and the tidy, brown hair showed signs of grey.

_Grey?_

Upon closer inspection, Naruto noticed that Hiratio looked distinctly tired. Large eye bags were present, creating deep smudges of blue against his slightly tanned skin. There were wrinkles around his temples, as if he was suffering from exhaustion.

_Actually…_even his tanned looking skin was looking sallow. _What has he been up to lately?_ It wasn't like he had really anything to do. He was a guest here at Hogwarts – his students were cared for and the only time he was ever needed was when one of his students needed to be disciplined. Aside from that, Hiratio had no reason to be as drained as he looked.

_-__ Both Kakashi and Sasuke activated their Sharingan. Kakashi noticed nothing unusual, other than a black, tainted aura around the Durmstrang headmaster. Sasuke, however, glimpsed a flash of a genjutsu being used before it disappeared from his sight.- _

_Genjutsu…? But why and how would a headmaster of a magic school know a genjutsu? _Sasuke's Sharingan was never wrong, and he was hardly wrong about what he saw most of the time.

_-__"But he looks awfully familiar…"-_

"_Shikamaru?_" Hinata's voice came clearly through the earpiece. "_This man's kind of strange…_"

"_How so?_"

"_You know how magical auras are purple right?_"

"_Yes._"

"_And chakra is a white blue…_"

"…"

"_Well, Hiratio's aura is…a whitish purple. Like it's a combination of the two._"

Alarms rang in every shinobi's head. _He knows the ninja art._ And he knows magic.

_Who __**was**__ he?_

That would explain why he looked so tired despite his lack of activity. But what that _didn't _explain was what his purpose was doing here. Obviously, he was at least part ninja; his use of genjutsu backed the theory up. But what was a part wizard, part shinobi doing here?

_-__ Moments later, Sakura's voice hissed through the communicators. _

"_Nothing. He doesn't exist."-_

_And…he's not Hiratio._

_-"But he looks awfully familiar…"-_

_He looks…like…_

"_Kabuto._"

Sasuke's voice whispered through the earpiece. Naruto shuddered when he compared Kabuto's image and Hiratio's. Sasuke was right – the two looked uncommonly alike.

"_But if we run with that idea, how did he become half wizard?_" Neji put in his two cents. "_I've seen his aura before – it was pure chakra. Now it's tainted with magic._"

Shikamaru had retreated back behind the teachers' table and into a shadowy corner. Naruto saw him crouch and put his hands together, upside down and his fingers touching. _His thinking pose._

Naruto forgot who was assigned as the leader of the mission. He wasn't even sure if one was even assigned. But now, regardless of who had been put in charge in the beginning, Shikamaru had taken over and all shinobi were ready to follow his orders.

_We know that we don't have the brains to match this mission. Shikamaru will guide us._

The shinobi were silent as they waited for Shikamaru's thought.

Several minutes passed, and Shino and Kurenai were still gone. The students were beginning to quiet down as time passed slowly into night. Most of the teachers were talking to each other or the students, but some had accompanied Shino and Kurenai to help fix the damaged dungeon wall.

"_I have a theory._"

"_Share,_" Ino commanded. Noises of agreement backed her up.

"_If you accept the theory that Voldemort and Orochimaru are behind this mess-_"

"_Of course they are!_" Naruto butted in.

"_We have no real evidence, only flimsy speculations,_" Shikamaru replied sharply. "_If they're behind this with the seven sins as their shape-shifting pet, then we can assume that they have access to both shinobi arts and magical arts._"

"_Duh,_" Sakura muttered.

"_They need an underling here that can keep an eye on things,_" Shikamaru continued, ignoring Sakura, "_Kabuto is Orochimaru's most trusted minion. It was probably easy to convince Voldemort to let him be their inside eye. Each one of us has magical capacities too, just as those students have access to their chakra – both powers came from the same source. It just depends on which side you're born; that determines who teaches you what. _

"_For example, we were all born in __Konohagakure no Sato,__ Japan__. This already determined which side of our…abilities we could awaken. These students were born here, in England. That determined what they could do. Or were allowed to do – chances are, they've never even heard of chakra._"

"_No, that Hermione girl seems to know more than her peers,_" Tenten injected thoughtfully. "_I've seen her around. She's like a walking library._"

"_But one out of hundreds,_" Shikamaru argued. "_That isn't a__very high number. Anyways, I'm digressing. Orochimaru could've also urged Voldemort to teach Kabuto magic to strengthen his abilities. Kabuto is potentially more powerful than any of us now, since he now has access to both abilities born within him – and the fact that he's a powerful shinobi must be accounted for as well. I'm guessing that his magical side is equally as strong._"

Whenever Shikamaru explained things, pieces fell together like a puzzle. Naruto always felt extremely stupid afterwards.

"_But this is all speculation,_" Shikamaru reminded them.

"_Shikamaru-kun, your 'speculations' are quite usually on the mark,_" Hinata sounded amused. "_I think we can follow this lead._"

Shikamaru sighed. It wasn't really a lead – it was an idea, one that made a lot of sense, but could still be proven wrong.

"_I've never seen you guys on a high ranking mission like this before,_" Kakashi said suddenly, thoughtfully. "_You're getting faster at predicting these things. You're cooperation is as good as it gets._"

That was a little random, even for Kakashi.

"_Kaka-sensei,_" Naruto remembered about his seal problem. "_Can you help me with sealing later?_"

"_Hm? Oh, sure._"

His communicator was perfect now. Maybe it _was_ just the lack of use in the past months.

"_As interesting as this is, I just noticed a flaw in our plans,_" Falcon's muffled voice entered the stream of conversation. "_We said that the seven virtues would help defeat the seven sins, correct?_"

Noises of agreement met her question.

"_How is that going to defeat the other? And if we somehow succeed, what are we going to do about the seven virtues? Logically speaking, it's the seven sins that makes us human – the seven virtues turns us into angels. If anything, the sins should stay while the virtues are beaten out._"

"_That's true, Falcon-san,_" Hinata said thoughtfully. "_How do the seven virtues counter the seven sins? How are we going to fight this battle?_"

Questions, question, questions. It seemed that for every question answered, there were five more questions in turn.

Shikamaru closed his eyes behind his mask once again. He crouched into his thinking pose for the second time.

"_He said he'd tell us about his plan later when he had more time to think on it,_" Ino brought up.

"_Now's a good time to think,_" Tenten countered. "_We're basically doing nothing, and Kurenai and Shino haven't come back yet._"

"_Actually, what's taking them so long?_" Naruto piped up. "_The place we were fighting at shouldn't be too far from here, and the damage wasn't all too bad._"

"_They're probably fine,_" Sasuke spoke up for the first time. "_Gai just went to check on them._"

"_That would explain the lack of noise,_" Neji entered the conversation as well.

"_Shhhh…_"

They all fell silent once again as they gave Shikamaru quiet for his thinking.

Three poofs of smoke appeared in front of Dumbledore. Shino, Kurenai, and Gai appeared, standing, looking weary despite their expressions being hid behind a mask.

"_Is everything alright?_" Dumbledore asked quietly. Naruto noted that Shikamaru had looked up from his thinking position.

"_All is well,_" Kurenai answered. "_The wall is repaired, and your colleagues should be coming soon. We just spotted something a little…queer when we reached the sight and searched it. Our suspicions were false, and we decided to come and meet up with your colleagues here._"

_Translation: the monster was lingering, they checked it out. It was there until it vanished when the shinobi went to check it out. They ditched the wizards to avoid casualties and hindrances in case something __**was**__ there._

"_Hey, I just thought of something,_" Naruto unexpectedly spoke up. Kurenai's shoulder twitched from the sudden noise in her communicator and Gai and Shino were still. "_I sensed my other half in here. Since all the Hogwarts students are gathered here, can't the rest of you feel it too?_"

"_Naruto, not all of us are boundless in chakra as you are,_" Falcon sounded amused. "_We're all pretty tired, and our chakra is pretty low at the moment. Chances are we'll react better when we've had a decent night's rest._"

"_Oh…_"

"_...-n't hesitate to ask if you need anything from us,_" Dumbledore was saying.

Instead of replying verbally, the three shinobi bowed before disappearing in a quick leap. Any student or teacher watching was treated to the sudden disappearance of the shinobi. Any guest watching would exclaim and appear puzzled. _It really is amusing to watch,_ Naruto chuckled quietly to himself.

Shikamaru had immediately resumed his position after Kurenai stopped speaking. Any small talk the shinobi were making fell silent as they anxiously watched their leader and their charges.

"Guests, teachers, and students" Dumbledore started up again. Naruto saw Shikamaru's shoulder twitch from annoyance. "I ask that you return to your dorms and that you save all unnecessary trips outside till further notice. I also ask that you exercise caution when travelling alone. As it is, it is advised that you travel in groups, even to the bathroom. This is for your safety, so please abide in these rules until further notice."

The students and teachers took that as their cue to leave. Many stood up stiffly from the tables from having sat too long, chattering sleepily and quietly. The shinobi went out one by one, guarding a certain portion of the mass of people. They moved silently, tucked in the shadows.

When everyone had left, all that was left in the Great Hall were Dumbledore and Shikamaru.

"_You wanted to say something to me?_" Shikamaru was acutely aware that whatever he said could be heard by his comrades.

"_Just remember,_" Dumbledore murmured, his blue eyes twinkling. "_Change is not necessarily a bad thing._" Leaving Shikamaru to figure the cryptic sentence, he swept out.

_Great,_ Shikamaru groaned to himself, _one more thing to worry and mull over. _

He sighed before heading out as well, closing the Great Hall doors with a soft bang.

_How troublesome…_

Ino's thoughts mirrored his.

_We just keep pushing him and pushing him,_ Ino thought a bit angrily, _we still have…almost six months to solve this. What's all the rush? Shikamaru's only human like the rest of us. How __**troublesome.**_

Pausing, she breathed quietly into her communicator.

"_Sakura, can you cover for me? I'm going to go check on Shikamaru._"

"_I'm on it._"

Ino moved back and let Sakura cover her spot. Nodding a quick note of thanks, Ino sped back to the Great Hall, pausing outside the doors where she saw her target.

Her heart wrenched. He looked so tired and so _stressed._ This was Shikamaru, the lazy, _troublesome_ ass that she had put up with all her life – literally. But in all those years, she had never seen him look as panicked as he did now.

"_Shikamaru?_" Ino switched her communicator off. Seeing her flick the switch, Shikamaru also flicked his off, but there was a mechanical feeling to his movements.

"_Yeah?_" He sounded distracted.

"_Come on, you're lagging._" Her tone was concerned, but not overly so. The blond knew from past experience that if she overdid it, he would throw up walls and push her away.

_Ironically similar to what Sasuke or Neji would do,_ Ino thought as they walked down the halls in silence. _And he said he would never become like them._ She allowed herself a small chuckle.

After a moment, she spoke. "_Shikamaru?_" She sounded so hesitant and unsure.

"_Yeah?_" He seemed to recall having this conversation a little while ago…

"_You're..._" For some reason, she couldn't say anything. Finally, she just stopped and faced him.

Shikamaru paused a step ahead, confused as to why Ino was hesitating. _Ino __**never**__ hesitates. She __**never**__ lets anyone or anything stop her._

He turned, his head cocked in a question since she couldn't see his face.

Shikamaru almost choked. His best friend and secret crush had just swept him up in a hug, clinging onto him like a lifeline.

"_Don't overdo it,_" she murmured. "_I know we're pushing you, but don't overdo it. I… it's not good for your health,_" she finished a bit lamely.

Nonetheless, Shikamaru couldn't help but feel a bit touched. Ino was sensitive, but she mostly covered it with her bossiness and fake bravado. Most times, she was rude, loud, and brash, and it fooled everyone around her most of the time – but not him. He had known her for too long to fall for those tricks.

Returning the hug with a gentle squeeze of his own, he felt a sincere grin tug at his lips behind his mask.

"_Don't worry,_" Shikamaru joked, lightening the situation. "_Even if I overdo it, I have you to whack me back into shape._"

"_Sheesh!_" Ino pulled away from the embrace to smack him on the head.

"_Ow!_"

"_Tell a guy she cares and the most she gets is this,_" Ino sniffed good - naturedly. "_See if I ever kiss you goodnight._"

"_No, you haven't,_" Shikamaru pointed out, starting to walk ahead.

"_Would you like one then?_" Ino asked flirtatiously, jogging a little to catch up.

Shikamaru almost froze in his walking.

_Shit…_

"_Shikamaru? Shikamaaaaru?!?_" Ino trotted up in front of the suddenly frozen shinobi. She waved a hand in front of his mask, knowing he would see through the eyeholes. "_Helllooo? I was kidding…_"

"_Oh,_" he said almost flatly, and continued walking, sidestepping around her.

From the shadows, unnoticed by both the Konoha shinobi, two figures lurked.

"_Damn, he almost fell for that one,_" the first figure muttered unhappily. The shock of pink hair gave away who it was.

"_Shut up Sakura,_" the second figure hissed. "_They might hear us!_"

"_Are you kidding, Tenten?_" the first figure retorted. "_They switched off their communicators so they can't hear us, and we don't have our communicators on either, so no one else can hear us either. They're low in chakra, probably suffering a bit in exhaustion. Chances are they can't hear us, or at least not very well._"

"_You're forgetting that Shikamaru didn't do any fighting,_" Tenten replied wryly. "_His chakra is still almost at full level. Hey wait, are you a bunshin?_"

"_Yeah,_" the first figure replied quietly, speeding ahead on the ceiling to catch up with the pair. "_You?_"

"_Yeah._"

"_I can understand why I'm here,_" Sakura bunshin paused. "_But why are you? You've always seemed calm and rational. It doesn't suit your character to be stalking these two, doing matchmaking._"

"_Well,_" Tenten bunshin shrugged, running silently alongside Sakura, "_it just seems like we've all been on edge. These two have been playing around each other for so long, so…_"

"_Having fun at someone else's expense?_" Sakura bunshin noted shrewdly.

"_Why not?_" Tenten bunshin shrugged again. "_You know Ino would've done the same thing in my – or rather, our shoes. And I kind of consider this payback for the time Ino forced make – up on me._"

"_True, true…Wait, she forced make – up on you? When?_"

"_Pass. I'm not answering this._"

A moment of silence as the two kunoichi examined their friends.

"_Look, he's being difficult,_" Tenten bunshin sighed, half amused, half exasperated. "_Damn male…_"

"_This is the one time I've seen Ino act so flustered around a guy,_" Sakura bunshin chuckled quietly. "_Look at her!_"

The pair at the bottom had stopped again, arguing about something. Ino's body was tense, a sign that she was angry or annoyed. Shikamaru had his shoulders slightly hunched, a sign that he was defending himself.

"_No wonder Shikamaru hasn't been able to snag her yet,_" Sakura bunshin sighed. "_Ino's so hard to communicate with when she's in her pig mode._"

Tenten bunshin had to stifle a choke of laughter.

"…_Shikamaru, I'm just trying to help!_" Ino said, frustrated. "_I don't get what I did or said to rile you up like this!_"

A pause.

"_Forget it,_" Shikamaru muttered, walking on, still tense. "_I'm just kind of uptight over this mission._"

"_Hmph,_" Ino fell silent, childishly giving him the cold shoulder, yet keeping pace with him.

"_I just want to hit that girl sometimes,_" Sakura bunshin growled. "_How often do you meet a guy like Shikamaru?_"

"_You mean lazy as hell yet smarter than everyone in Konoha combined?_"

"_No!__I mean handsome, kind, sweet, caring, yeah, smart, and considerate. You don't meet a guy like that everyday._"

"_But it seems like that's not the kind of guy __**you**__ fall for._"

"_Hey, watch it. I could say the same for you._"

"_We're already halfway over the denial part,_" Tenten bunshin retorted. "_I can't say the same thing about you._"

"_Yeah,_" Sakura bunshin sighed after a moment. "_I can't either. I don't know if we'll __**ever**__ be over the denial part._"

"_Here's a bet then,_" Tenten bunshin stopped, hanging upside down on the ceiling, supported only be chakra. "_Wow, these soldier pills rock. Anyways, I bet if these two down there,_" she gestured to the stonily silent pair, "_get together by…February, let's say, then you have to make a move on Sasuke if he doesn't on you._"

"_And if they don't?_"

"_You decide. It's a bet, after all._"

"_Then you have to make a move on Neji,_" Sakura bunshin suggest simply. "_At least some of us should have fun._"

"_Right, that's why we're stalking our friends and making bets about our love lives._"

"_You got it_," Sakura bunshin said cheerfully. "_Crap, we're losing them._"

They both ran to catch up with the still silent pair.

"_Shh…_"

It wasn't long before they reached their own quarters, bunshin and all.

"_Shikamaru?_"

"_Hm?_"

They paused outside of the door leading to their living arrangements.

Ino hesitated, then pushed her mask up, simultaneously pushing Shikamaru's mask up as well. She planted a kiss on his cheek, grinning shyly at his shocked expression before letting their masks slide down again.

"_I wasn't really joking,_" the blond explained mischievously before darting through the door and out of sight.

"_Ah, Ino…_" The genius followed soon after, a ridiculous grin and a cheesy blush spreading across his features. Shikamaru was suddenly _very_ glad for his mask.

The two bunshin watched in stunned silence.

"_I never knew she had it in her,_" Tenten bunshin remarked. "_I sense that some pink-haired medic is going to lose this bet,_" the bunshin sang.

Sakura bunshin scowled behind her mask.

"_Yeah, yeah, we'll see._"

The two bunshin disappeared as one in a poof of smoke, their memories joining with their original creators.

Ino burst into the girls' dormitory, practically quivering. She yanked her mask off and threw it onto her bed, almost dancing over to the empty bathroom.

"_Something happened, Ino-pig?_" Sakura asked, feigning innocence. Kurenai, Falcon, Gai, and Kakashi had still yet to come since they brought up the rear in guarding the students.

"_Yeah, I kissed Shikamaru,_" the blond announced, a grin stretching wildly across her pale face. "_Only on the cheek though._"

"_I never knew you had an interest in him,_" Hinata observed, propping herself on her bed, supporting her head with her elbows and hands. "_These beds are odd. I'm not used to sleeping so far up the ground…_**(3)**"

"_It's comfortable though,_" Tenten observed, bouncing a little on the soft mattress. "_My futon at home isn't nearly as nice as this._"

"_Yeah, me neither,_" Ino called from the bathroom. "_I'm answering Hinata's question. But yeah, outside the door…the moment was just calling for it. It was so cliché, but I loved it._" A dreamy sigh floated from the bathroom and curled around the occupants in the room.

"_Ugh, Ino-pig!_" Sakura groaned. "_Don't get all mushy sappy on us._"

"_You would've gone all sappy at the moment if you'd been there too you gigantic forehead girl,_" Ino snapped. "_Besides, I don't see you getting cozy with your man yet._"

"_Not you too,_" Sakura groaned again. "_Tenten was getting after me about that as well._"

Hinata levelled them both an odd look, for she had been with the two the entire time in the room and they hadn't discussed any such thing. But she stayed silent, opting to stay out of the two's scheming.

Their conversation was cut off as the girls' dormitory door flew open, admitting Falcon and Kurenai.

"_Bed,_" Kurenai commanded immediately. "_Your chakra needs replenishing. No more gossiping._"

Obediently, all four girls clambered into bed (if they weren't already) and pulled the covers over themselves, closing their eyes.

"_I didn't know you had such a powerful influence over them,_" Rin chuckled behind her mask, pitching her voice low enough so that only Kurenai could hear her.

"_I don't,_" Kurenai was amused. "_Hinata's a clan leader, for all that she was my student. Ino, Sakura, and Tenten were never my students. Ino's hardheaded enough to ignore any teacher's order, and Sakura and Tenten are too independent to let someone order them around on a trivial topic like bedtime. I set a sleep genjutsu here earlier to activate at a later use._"

"_Smart,_" Rin commented.

"_Come on, we'd better get to sleep soon too. I don't know about you, but I'm dead tired._"

"_Aren't we all. It's been one hell of a day…_"

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**_EDIT I:_** Took out the optional review question because no one seems to want to answer it. And GEEZ! You guys are sure stingy with your reviews, aren't you? Over 150 watch this story and only 7 bothered to review. LURKERS THE LOT OF YOU D8  
**_EDIT II:_** Thank you Kurau for editing!

**AN:** LONG WAIT. I'm so sorry, but I think it's kind of worth it. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Now you know what the monster is!…although seriously, with all my hints, it should've been obvious enough to be screaming in your faces.

And look, look! Pairing interaction, more specifically, SHIKA/INO! You don't know how hard it is for me to write that pairing. There's something about Ino that I find extremely difficult to write about…

And one thing that I am supremely proud of: NO SCENE CHANGE!!!!…this is an absolute first for me (drabbles and one shots do not count). Seriously. And I don't think I half-assed it either. Drop a note, tell me what you thought of this chapter!

**Notes:**

**(1) Why Kyuubi was acting so violently as opposed to his cooperative manner in chapter 4:** A demon is a demon. It wouldn't want to cooperate with a holy being if it was sane. Kyuubi is an extraordinarily powerful demon, so he has his pride to uphold. Even though he's trapped, he still wouldn't want to disgrace or dishonour himself, and letting something even more powerful kill him in a single shot would be shameful. Kyuubi's pride is as big as they come.

**(2) Zetsu from the Akatsuki:** I'm not sure if Naruto's run into him yet in the manga or anime. If he hasn't then let's say here that he (Naruto) encountered him (Zetsu) when his team came to finish the Akatsuki organization off. And my comparison to Zetsu is kind of obscure (comparing this bit:_ One part of me would be obliterated, and the other part would stronger than ever_ to Zetsu's split personality).

**(3) "_These beds are odd. I'm not used to sleeping so far up the ground…_":** (**_EDITED_**) The idea of the shinobi sleeping in futons seem to fit in more in my head. I know that in certain places, the anime/mange show beds (eg: Sakura's room, the hospital) but I see some of the shinobi as more traditional (eg: Hinata). Dumbledore doesn't know too much about their culture, so he just gave them futons, which he knows that Japanese people sleep in. If they wanted beds, they would've spoken up.


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary:** [HPxNaruto A simple A classed mission to Hogwarts turns into a deadly S classed one when Orochimaru and Voldemort bring their new pet into play.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

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"_Sasuke,_" Sakura appeared out of thin air next to the masked Uchiha, "_I have some news for you._"

Sasuke had stationed himself on a ledge overhanging on the window that belonged to the room Harry was in. He had been playing with his kunais and shuriken and chakra wires before Sakura had appeared. Snow blanketed thickly around them, still falling fast from the grey sky. It was bitterly cold with wind, but the shinobi braved through it with just their ANBU uniform and thick, warm capes.

"_What?_"

"_Well, remember that incident a while ago where you gave me a seed of Hellsfire?_"

Sasuke paused, racking his memory. Then he remembered.

"_Sakura, that was __**two**__ months ago._" (A/N: If you've totally forgotten, it's in chapter 4)

"_I know that,_" Sakura snapped a little too harshly. "_Jeez, it seems like whenever I have something __**good**__ to tell you, you have to bite back at me._"

Sasuke didn't apologize, but he realized the truth in her words.

"_But come to think of it, we've only been here for five months, four of which we were actually working as guards,_" Sakura murmured thoughtfully to herself. "_It seems like a year already. I'm __**so**__ asking for a pay raise when I get back…_"

"_Sakura._"

"_Right. Well, it took me a while to research all of the properties of the Hellsfire seed, but, it can be used for killing potions, instant poisoning after consumption, exploding bombs if tampered with correctly, and liquid fire. I still have to look into the last one; it sounds kind of sketchy. Its one redeeming quality is that it's a vital ingredient for healing broken bones._"

"_A lot of things heal broken bones._"

"_I meant bones that have snapped completely in half. You know, one bone becomes two pieces sort of thing._"

"_Hn._"

"_If that Potter boy bought it himself, it's possible that he only heard about the seed's healing properties and not its destructive ones. But that seems highly unlikely; the only way it can be obtained here, seemingly, is if one goes to the black market to purchase it, and these seeds are used here for poisoning or assassination attempts, it seems. Well, not so much assassination attempts. Plus, a seed alone here costs three galleons._" Both shinobi were comfortable enough with the wizarding society to understand the currency that they used.

"_So how did he obtain it?_" _Clink, clink, clink._ He continued playing with the kunai, weaving between snowflakes with chakra wires.

"_I was thinking about that,_" Sakura replied thoughtfully. "_I have only a handful of names, and they all seem unlikely. There's Snape, since he seems to hate Harry so much, but the greaseball doesn't look like he has a brave bone in him. There's Malfoy, but he's too inexperienced and too young to obtain such a thing. There's the more obvious enemy, Voldemort, but infiltrating the seed into Harry's potion supply and expecting him to use it so he could be blown up while we're watching him is a __**very**__ flimsy plan. Other than that, I'm kind of stuck._"

"_How about that Umbridge woman?_"

Sakura scowled darkly behind her mask.

"_That foul creature,_" she seethed. "_She's a coward through and through. She wouldn't have the guts to do that. Besides, what would her motive be for killing Harry? What would she gain?_"

"_The Ministry of Magic wants to silence Harry Potter's claim that Voldemort has risen again,_" Sasuke told her, watching his senbon fly after his kunai. _Clink._ "_If Umbridge is a representative of the MoM, then I assume the rest of the Ministry would be like that too. And if they are, then there's no telling how far they'll go to silence a child._"

"_But still, it seems so extreme._" Sakura was understandably doubtful.

"_So is the Ministry these days, apparently,_" Sasuke pointed out. "_The head, Fudge Cornelius, likes his comfy position. He doesn't want anything to jeopardize it._"

"_How do you know so much?_" Sakura wondered.

"_Hinata told me her observations after I told her about the Potions incident,_" Sasuke informed her.

"_If you had it all figured out already, then why'd you send me to do all the work again?_" Sakura noticed, suddenly a bit peeved.

"_Because it __**does**__ seem far-fetched, and I wanted to see if someone else would come to the same conclusions as I did._"

"_Well, I didn't._"

"_Hn._"

"_Don't give me that look. I'm not stupid._"

"_I didn't say you were,_" Sasuke replied smoothly, throwing a kunai out into the open, "_and I have a mask on. You can't tell what my face looks like._"

"_Yeah, but I know you too well,_" Sakura rolled her eyes. "_That moment called for a look from you that said, 'Gee, she's so stupid'._"

"_This doesn't answer how Potter got the seeds._"

"_Hello? Umbridge?_"

"_We can't prove it,_" Sasuke snapped, throwing a shuriken just a little too hard. It flew out of reach, landing in a snowdrift, and he tried futilely to retrieve it with a chakra wire. "_You owe me a shuriken. Even though the woman seems like the most logical choice, we could still be wrong._"

"_Seems like that for everything we've thought of, and I'm not just talking about this particular thing,_" Sakura muttered. "_And I refuse to give you a shuriken that__** you**__ lost._"

"_I didn't lose it._"

"_Whatever,_" Sakura fumed. Honestly, only Sasuke could get her riled up this fast. "_What are we going to do about the seeds?_"

"_I've checked his ingredients,_" Sasuke answered calmly, ignoring her pissed off tone. He continued throwing kunais and shuriken, making patterns in the air and snow. "_It was just one time. We can probably just write this off as an accident, but if it happens again, then we'll have to investigate further._"

"_So, one month of research was for __**nothing**_" Sakura yelled.

"_Hn._" Smart, smart man. He kept his mouth shut.

"_I can't believe you,_" Sakura hissed. "_Next time you want me to do something, make sure it's worth my time._" With that she took off but not before aiming a well-aimed kick towards a place on him where it would hurt most if kicked/punched. Swiftly, Sasuke dodged the kick, aiming a kunai at her hand.

Sakura dodged that easily, glaring at him as she landed a safe distance away.

"_Did you want to spar? You could've just asked._"

"_Spar with me._" Translation: the great Uchiha does not _ask_. He commands.

"_No, I'm not sparring with you,_" Sakura fumed. "_You should learn that the world does __**not **__revolve around you._" With that last sweet parting, she took off back towards the Herbology section of Hogwarts, as that was where she was supposed to guard.

"_Hn,_" was Sasuke's original reply. He threw one last senbon up into the air, the metal blending with the falling snow, before the wind picked up and knocked it away out of sight.

Sakura was still fuming as she stormed her way back to her guarding spot. She spotted her bunshin before it poofed out of existence. Still muttering angrily to herself, she stomped around the greenhouses, throwing kunais at various objects and retrieving them by yanking back on a previously attached chakra string viciously. After several minutes, she calmed down.

"_Someone's riled up._" Kakashi poofed into view.

"_You're a bunshin._"

"_Yes, yes. It's getting boring where I'm at._"

"_Why are you guys still here? Tenten's up and running and all… Oh wait, right, the seven virtue crap._"

"_My, my, Sasuke must've said something __**very**__ nasty._"

"_How do you know it was Sasuke?_" Sakura retorted. Even though she had calmed down enough to stop throwing various pointy objects, she was still angry enough to spew insults.

"_Who else can get you this angry?_"

That was true. Naruto only got her annoyed, and everyone else was perfectly polite to her. Sasuke was a shining exception.

"_Bastard, bastard, bastard,_" Sakura muttered. "_I don't know __**why**__ I'm so hung over him. He's so…UGH!_" Sakura turned and continued patrolling, knowing that the bunshin would follow.

Sure enough, it did. "_Well, if you want love advice from me, I would only suggest one thing._"

"_Shut it, Kaka-sensei,_" Sakura all but snarled. "_If I see those vile orange books, I will burn them from where I stand._"

"_Alright, alright,_" Kakashi bunshin hastened to get back to her good graces. He didn't mention that since he was a bunshin, he couldn't technically give the books to her anyways. And even if he could, he wouldn't. He knew Sakura would act on her threat. "_Anyways, I have a question._"

"_Talk,_" Sakura sighed, looking suddenly deflated. "_Ugh, I really need more sleep and food. That six hours wasn't enough and I'm still feeling drained…_"

"_Why are the other two schools assembled here? Usually they don't do this kind of thing, right?_" Kakashi observed.

"_You're right,_" Sakura agreed. "_I don't know for certain, but I think it's because since most of the school's population went back home for the holidays, it practically paints a target on the school. You know, few students, few teachers, easy prey to knock down. My guess is that they combined the school for more security, especially since Voldemort and Orochimaru came up with this crazy project of theirs._"

"_Ah,_" Kakashi bunshin looked thoughtful behind his dog mask. "_Good deduction._"

"_Why couldn't __**you**__ come up with this?_" Sakura demanded. "_I know you would've eventually come up with the same thing._"

"_I wanted to see if someone else would come to the same conclusions as I did._"

Sakura suddenly stopped, her right eye twitching.

_-"Because it __**does**__ seem far-fetched, and I wanted to see if someone else would come to the same conclusions as I did."-_

"_Stupid, stupid, stupid Uchiha,_" Sakura growled, right back on her angry spree.

Kakashi bunshin sighed. "_I'm off._" He poofed out of view.

"_No, wait!_" Sakura whirled around to face to nonexistent bunshin. "_Dammit, I wanted to ask how Naruto's sealing went._"

She considered going to her communicator but immediately discarded the idea. Chances of Naruto having it on were next to nothing and she was too far to send the black senbon signal.

She continued patrolling for another two hours. During those two hours, she muttered curses onto Sasuke, wondered about Naruto's sealing, and hoped that everyone who was supposed to find a partner found one.

"_Sakura-san?_"

"_Hm?_" Sakura turned to see Shino. He looked slightly uncomfortable. Sakura understood why – the ANBU uniform was tight fitting, something that probably didn't suit the Aburame well. "_Oh, Shino-kun. Did you need something?_"

"_I have a question about bonding._"

"'_K._"

"_What colour did your chakra turn?_"

"_My chakra?_" Sakura looked at her hands and willed some healing chakra through them. Her hands glowed a silvery green. "_Does this help?_"

"_What colour was it before?_"

"_This, except without this silvery stuff._"

"_Ah. I see. Thank you._"

"_Did you find him? Or her?_" Sakura asked, curious. There would only really be one reason why Shino would ask that.

"_Yes, I have,_" Shino answered shortly, quietly.

"_Who?_"

"_You might not know her. She's… a little odd._"

"_Huh, well, still. Who is it?_" Sakura prodded.

"_Her name is Luna Lovegood._"

"Luna Lovegood?!?_" _Sakura murmured in surprise. So surprised she was that she spoke the name in English. "_Isn't she the blond in Harry's grade that's always reading that magazine upside down?_"

"_She's quite intelligent,_" Shino answered a little tensely, "_and her magical skills are quite powerful._"

"_Ah,_" Sakura backed off. "_What colour is your chakra now?_"

Instead of answering verbally, he lifted a hand and willed chakra through it. His hand glowed a deep blue colour with a silvery sheen.

"_I wonder if magic just shows itself as silver,_" Sakura mused. _Something to keep in mind,_ she thought to herself. "_Do you know anyone else who's bonded yet?_"

"_No._"

"_You're quite fast,_" Sakura chatted. "_We only decided on this thing yesterday and you've already found someone. Did you bond with her properly?_"

"_Of course,_" Shino's patient tone was steady. "_Otherwise I wouldn't have the chakra colour I do now._"

"_Oh,_" Sakura cringed slightly. She stopped talking.

"_Thank you, that was all I needed to know,_" Shino ended off courteously. He leaped away, leaving Sakura.

"_It's like walking on eggshells whenever I talk to him,_" Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "_Ah, well._"

After a while, she switched places with Sasuke so he could find his magical equal. But during the time she was patrolling on her own, she had killed three snakes, two of which had been summons.

_Why do they keep sending these things?_ Sakura thought after she killed the third one. _We always kill them before they even reach the castle. _Sighing, she tossed the corpse into the forest nearby. _Who knows what goes on in their little snakey brains…_

She stopped and went over her last thought.

_Snakey brains? Now I definitely know I need more sleep and nutrition._

Still, she had to snort in laughter at that. _Heh, snakey brains…it suits them so well…_

When Sakura swapped places with Sasuke, she glanced at a nearby clock in the classroom.

_Almost time to eat…Thank goodness…those rice balls weren't very filling…_ She refused to pop another soldier pill. Being a medic, she knew the dangers of taking too many of them at a time. Still, she was tempted.

"This is great," Ron sighed. "No classes, good food, lots of snow, good food, New Years in two days, good food…"

"You are a pig, Ronald Weasley," Hermione teased. "But it _is_ nice, although I could do without the carolling in the hallways…"

"At least the ghosts are into the spirit of things, but you'd think they realize that Christmas already passed," Harry added in cheerfully as they walked down the hall to the Great Hall. Sakura shadowed them on the wall.

"It was a great Christmas," Ron remarked. "Thanks for the marble chess set again, Harry."

"No problem mate. Tell your mom thanks for the food and the sweater."

Sakura was then reminded of the thoughtful gift Hermione had nervously given her. Since the time they bonded, the two didn't interact too much together so Sakura was surprised when the bushy-haired witch gave her something. She had inscribed a thank you note for guarding them (complete with Ron's and Harry's signature and a small note from both). The gift turned out to be a necklace of a simple flower, imitation silver with a few crystal rhinestones.

It was the thought that counted, and Sakura felt sorry that she didn't have anything to give in return. Since the shinobi didn't celebrate Christianity, they didn't celebrate Christmas. No gifts were exchanged, no holiday party held. They went on with their job as usual.

Hermione had also given Sakura a card to give to Sasuke. Evidently, since the male shinobi hardly spoke to them, it gave an intimidating impression. Sasuke had only taken the card without an expression, but Naruto had informed her that he had seen the card by Sasuke's bed on his nightstand.

"Hey, look at that!" Ron pointed at the empty knight suits as they rounded a corner. "Guess the house elves decided to decorate them a bit!"

The usual gleaming metal was covered with New Year streamers and confetti, complete with party hats and bow ties. The knights moved stiffly, weighed down by the decorations.

Sakura had to stifle a laugh back. Konoha didn't celebrate things like New Years and Christmas and Halloween, so the decorations that were put up during the occasions by the wizards looked like a riot to her.

The trio went down a series of hallways and down two staircases before they reached the Great Hall doors. They laughed at the knights, skilfully avoided the ghost carollers, and greeted the portraits. Sakura watched them silently from above, almost collapsing in thanks as the huge wooden doors came in view.

_So…hungry…_

Usually the shinobi grabbed their food from their common room, but when they didn't have time, they snitched food from the kitchen or from the tables in the Great Hall during mealtimes. It was sort of an unspoken rule, though, that no one could see them take the food from the table. Sakura wasn't quite sure why; it was just one of the things that seemed wrong.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron settled themselves on the end of the Gryffindor table, chattering and laughing with their friends as they loaded their plates.

_I've never seen most of these foods,_ Sakura thought, sniffing the air subtly behind her mask, _but it smells so good!_

"It's kinda odd, eh? This snow?" Seamus mumbled through a mouth full of food.

"Yeah, we've never had the snowfall come so late," Hermione noticed. "It's always come around the end of November, but it got here just a couple days before Christmas."

"'Mione," Ron started. Sakura was amazed at his coherency since his mouth was so full of food that it looked difficult to even chew. "'ou 'eadin' 'oo muh in'o thin'." In the process of mumbling out his sentence, he successfully spat food on three people. "Oops, sorry Harry, Seamus, Lavender," Ron hastily apologized as soon as he finished chewing and swallowing. The latter gave him a disgusted look before turning to chat with her friend.

"Ron, you prat," Hermione muttered in disgust. "You have no table manners whatsoever." Sakura couldn't help but agree.

"I said, you're reading too much into things," Ron repeated himself clearly, ignoring Hermione's previous comment.

"Am not," she bit back childishly. She paused, her fork in midair, before sighing, "Oh, bugger it all. Sorry Ron, I'm kind of distracted at the moment."

Sakura listened to the chatter while contemplating on how she could swipe the food without them noticing. Normally it wouldn't be such a problem – after all, she _had_ stolen several items from underneath the enemies' noses (literally sometimes) without them noticing. However, due to the amount of students crammed at the table, she had to revaluate her strategy.

Right when she had formulated a (crude) plan (not that she'd admit it was crude), Sakura leaned her head a little to the right to avoid the incoming black senbon. She raised an eyebrow behind her mask as it collided into the stone wall, leaving a shrill pinging noise that went unnoticed by the students.

_Since when did Naruto use senbons?_ The sharp little needles required precise control and a finesse to manage that Naruto lacked. However, the senbon was obviously his by the end, which had been engraved with a tiny head of a fox.

Subtly drawing out her communicator and slipping it into her ear and behind her mask, she switched it on.

"_Naruto?_"

"_Sakura-chan!_" Naruto's cheerful voice greeted her back.

"_Where are you?_" Sakura had scanned the room and only saw Gai from the ceiling. The jounin masked in ANBU clothing glanced at her, giving her a thumbs up. Sakura smiled behind her mask, reminded of Lee, before deducing that Naruto was nowhere in the room.

"_I'm…_" Naruto paused. "_Crap, it's that place where…you know, all the students go…_"

"_Naruto,_" Sakura deadpanned, "_we've been here for at least four…no, five months, and you still don't know every part of the building? Didn't you once claim to have the best memory of the entire Rookie Nine?_"

"_No, no! I know this place, it's the…_Trangufiraton _place…?_" Naruto sounded very hesitant, screwing up the English word in the process.

"Transfiguration, _Naruto, _Transfiguration," Sakura sighed. "_How'd you send the senbon to me then?_"

"_Bunshin._"

It was times like this that reminded Sakura how powerful Naruto really was. He had enough chakra to throw around for things as trivial as sending bunshins to throw one senbon.

"_Did you need something?_"

"_Yeah. You know my sealing problem?_" Sakura was surprised. She thought he had cleaned up the problem earlier.

"_I asked Kaka-sensei about sealing earlier, and he directed me to Hinata, who directed me to you. Please tell me you know something about seals for the Kyuubi._"

Sakura laughed quietly. "_I might, but you'll have to contact me later. I'll need to dig some stuff up and tinker around a little._"

"_Ok._" A pause. "_Tinker? Since when do you use that word?_"

"_Since we got this job. There's also 'rubbish', 'prat', 'bugger', 'snog', 'shag'…_"

"_What? Rubbish? As in garbage? Prat sounds like…Sasuke, actually. Bugger. Like Shino? You know, bugs'n'all…Snog sounds like some sort of drink and shag sounds like…uh…a hairstyle. A really weird one._"

Sakura laughed again, this time a little louder. She idly reached in her kunai pouch, drawing a kunai out and swinging it around her finger by the ring. She surveyed the table in front of her, deciding which food she would swipe first.

"_So, how come you're at the _Transfiguration_ hall instead of here, in the Great Hall? You're searching for your magical counterpart, and all the students are here…_"

"_I came from talking with Hinata,_"

Sakura waited.

"_Naruto, I heard that comma._"

"…_and catching up a bit with her,_" Naruto completed, grumbling. "_How can you tell?_"

"_My secret,_" Sakura replied. "_Oh yeah, Hinata's having a bit of trouble with the Ministry of Magic, right?_"

"_The bastards are giving her a hard time,_" Naruto growled. "_Someone from the Department of International Exchange or some crap like that found out about the curse seals they used and declared some shit excuse. Barbaric customs, I think it was. I think they're just trying to find a way to make her life hard since she's working for Dumbledore-san._"

"_Politics,_" Sakura snorted. She waited until all the students were focused on their plates or each other before she flashed her kunai out, quicker than a blink of an eye, snagging a sandwich. Quickly with her other hand, she looped a thin piece of wire around the sandwich so it wouldn't fall apart on the journey to her. Jerking the hand that had the wire connected to the kunai, she drew the sandwich towards her – all in a blink of an eye.

Hermione reached for a sandwich on the platter, noticing the sudden disappearance of the sandwich beside the one she was going to get. A slightly confused expression flitted across her face, since she had seen no one take it, before her eyes darted to Sakura's form, understanding replacing her expression. Sakura put a finger to her mask, a sign to keep quiet, before she lifted her mask to consume her food.

"_They spoil everything rotten,_" Sakura mumbled through her food, almost dying in bliss as her empty stomach filled. "_Politics makes the world go 'round through._"

"_Unfortunately,_" Naruto muttered. There was a pause as Sakura ate her food before Naruto spoke again. "_Hey, Sakura-chan?_"

"_Mmm?_"

"_Do you think…Sa-chan, you know that Tsunade-baa-chan is going to make me Hokage three months after we get back, right?_"

"_How can I not?_" Sakura grumbled. "_I've been working non-stop for the inauguration and hospital duties and whatnot._"

"_Well…you know Hiashi's still alive, right?_" Sakura suddenly knew where this was going.

"_Yes…_"

"_Do you…do you think he'll be ok if I ask Hinata to marry me after I become Hokage?_"

Silence.

Sakura finished her sandwich, contemplating on several answers. She withdrew her hand from under her mask and went back to twirling her kunai.

"_Naruto,_" Sakura started slowly, "_has Hinata ever told you anything about Hiashi?_"

"_Not really. I don't press her for anything like that…_" He knew how her past was painful in regards to her being the heiress to the prestigious clan. He also knew that he could forgo the blessing, but that would cause disruptions in the clan and disgruntled clan members.

"_He's dying._"

Naruto didn't quite know how to respond to that.

"_He's old, Naruto, and his years as a shinobi has shortened his life span. The Byakugan causes strain as well. He only has about a year left, if even that._"

"_So…_"

"_Go, Naruto. Don't wait any later that your Hokage inauguration to propose. And as much as Hinata's grown, I don't suggest doing it in public – she might faint._"

Naruto chuckled, thankful for the lighter topic. "_Remember how that used to freak me out when I was younger? I thought I knocked her out somehow._"

"_You __**did**_" Sakura pointed out. "_Although, I guess it really wasn't your fault in a way._"

They talked with each other a bit more, keeping each other company. They chatted about things from training to the mysterious member of their team. Sakura sighed regretfully when lunch was signalled over.

"_Gotta go, Naruto._"

"_Ok. I'll talk to you later about the sealing stuff, ok?_"

"_No problem. One question: what seal do you have for the Kyuubi right now? The one the Yondaime gave you._"

"_Eight point seal._"

"_Eight points! That's so powerful,_" Sakura groaned, flipping up to the wall as the students began to pour out of the room, "_and Kyuubi's powerful enough to weaken it?_"

"_Apparently,_" Naruto muttered dryly.

Sakura switched her communicator off, tucking the earpieces and mouthpiece into her vest pocket before following her charges. She crawled along the walls like a spider, cursing as her heavy winter cape dragged her off balance.

_Seals,_ Sakura thought as she travelled, _to cover up the eight points. I can't do anything less, as that won't have any effect and will therefore be useless, and I can't do a nine point seal as that will throw the even seal that he has on off balance. _

She groaned as the trio headed down the cluster of moving staircases. Since Sakura never figured out which staircase went where at what time, she always had to be careful when climbing the walls in case a staircase suddenly swung towards her.

_A ten point seal! Those things are unheard of! And if Kaka-sensei doesn't know any…_

She cursed very colourfully in her mind. _I don't even have the proper scrolls to look them up! How am I supposed to help Naruto?_ She could probably pass him off to someone else, but there _was_ no one else. And Sakura knew how much he wanted this, for reasons she couldn't understand. Since Naruto was like a little brother to her, she felt obliged to help him.

_Ten point seal…_ She thought as hard as she could about where she could research about them as Harry, Ron and Hermione headed out of the castle and out into the snow. They trudged through the falling snow and howling wind to a nearby hut. Sakura had no difficulties with the cold (she was suddenly very glad for her cape) but hated the snow. It hindered her and slowed her quite a bit.

The four moved reached the hut and Sakura appeared in a flash to stand behind the trio. She had passed the hut many times in her patrol duties and seen Hagrid many times as well, knowing that he was harmless – or at least, didn't intend harm to anyone or anything. However, his version of 'harmless' was different from hers so she was wary of what he might be hiding in his hut.

"Hagrid!" Hermione shrieked over the wind, pounding on the thick wooden door. "It's us! Open up!"

The door creaked open and the gigantic, bushy haired man peered out. The first thing he noticed was Sakura, with her black painted raven mask and swirling, thick black cape. It looked ominous, particularly since she was standing rigidly behind Hermione, Harry, and Ron.

"Blimey! Come in, come in. It's cold out there."

"No, really?" Sakura heard Ron mutter as they entered the warm hut.

The three stamped their feet in a practiced manner on the mat before settling themselves onto the huge table in the middle of the two-room hut. Sakura merely brushed past them and positioned herself against the wall that had the least amount of stuff crowding on it. She ducked to avoid hanging objects, many which were rather dubious looking.

Hagrid set three enormous mugs of a murky sort of liquid in front of the students and a plate of cauldron cakes in the center of the table. He hesitated before turning to Sakura.

"Tea? Cake?"

Amused, Sakura shook her head once. Hagrid shrugged before pouring himself a mug of tea and sitting down.

"So, what brings you here?"

"We just wanted to see you," Harry replied. "We haven't seen in you ages."

"Yeah, well, wi' classes and those attacks, I'm not surprised tha' you lot are busy."

"Hagrid, have you seen Viktor Krum around lately?" Hermione injected rather suddenly.

Ron snorted and muttered very quietly, "You can't even keep track of your _boyfriend…_"

Hermione turned pink (from embarrassment or anger, Sakura couldn't tell) and shot Ron a truly venomous glare, but remained silent.

"Krum? Come t' think o' it, he came here a little while ago."

"What?" Hermione pounced on the news. "What happened?"

"Is somethin' the matter, Hermione?" Hagrid asked, puzzled. Indeed, the bushy haired witch looked rather frazzled.

"No, no, nothing," Hermione covered herself hastily. "But did he say something?"

"Well, no, tha' was the odd thing," Hagrid mumbled, biting into a cauldron cake. Harry winced as a large crack was heard; Hagrid's cauldron cakes were harder than rocks. "He jus' came and sorta looked around. I'm tellin' you Hermione, there's somethin' _very_ odd wi' tha' boy."

"Odd?" Harry was next to pounce. "How?"

"Well," Hagrid leaned back on his chair, thoughtful. "He had a sorta…purple gleam in his eyes." Sakura's gaze immediately snapped to Hagrid, without once moving her body. "He sorta had his head up, like he was darn proud o' something."

_Proud?_ Sakura's eyes widened. _Shit shit shit shit shit…._

"Then he asked where _you_ lot was," Hagrid continued, "an' I told him somewhere in th' castle. I haven' seen you in a while."

_Krum's looking for Harry? Pride…aw, fuck it all,_ Sakura swore eloquently in her head, her expression screwing up magnificently behind her mask. Suddenly, this mission seemed a million times harder. _Can this boy not stay out of trouble or something?_

"Then?" Ron prodded.

"Well, then he left o' course," Hagrid exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing. "What woulda he done otherwise?"

The trio exchanged looks before Hermione spoke up again.

"Hagrid, if he comes back looking for Harry, just tell him that you don't know," Hermione said seriously.

"Is somethin' the matter?"

"Well, we don't think so," Hermione replied a tad reluctantly, "but strange things have been happening."

"Like?"

"Well, he's been acting kind of…well, proud," Hermione summed it up a bit lamely. "He makes the younger years work for him, and looks down at everyone who's not a pureblood."

"Wait, didn't he fancy you?" Ron cut in.

"Sure, but that was when he was normal." Sakura had to give the girl credits for not blushing at Ron's observation. "Now, he's sort of…wonkers."

"Well put," Ron agreed wholeheartedly.

"In any case, we're just being careful," Hermione assured Hagrid.

"If I may interrupt," Sakura cut in. "The storm's growing. We better head back to the castle."

"Blimey, you're right," Hagrid glanced out of his small window. It was dark, despite it being perhaps around mid or late afternoon, with a whirlwind of white.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron left their untouched mugs to shrug on their heavy cloaks and jackets. Sakura was already ready.

"I'm not sure if you're goin' to make it through this," Hagrid mumbled.

Sakura opened the door, took one look, and knew that she was going to have to transport the students in another way to the castle.

She quickly debated whether she should teach the technique to Hermione, but immediately decided against it. It was too advanced.

"Grab onto my cape," Sakura commanded as she went through a series of seals. Startled, the three did as they were told. They didn't even have time to say good-bye before they blinked out of sight.

They immediately reappeared on one of the moving staircases in the 'moving staircase room', as Sakura called it. The Golden Trio lurched, letting go of her cape to grip the railing as the stairs moved from underneath them. Ron let out a yelp as his foot sunk in one of the enchanted steps. Sakura just sighed. She could never really get her location-setting spot on in her mission places. She had meant to transport them into the Great Hall, but managed to go three stories and four rooms over instead.

_Oh well. So long as it's not in a dungeon or something…_

Harry grabbed one of Ron's while Hermione grasped the other. Together, they pulled the redhead out of his sticky situation. With a pop, his foot slid out of the enchanted stair and onto solid ground.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron shrugged their heavy cloaks off since they were back in the warm castle and proceeded up a couple flight of stairs, heading towards their common room.

_I can't use any other seal than a numbered point seal because it will disrupt his chakra system,_ Sakura thought as she spider crawled along the walls to avoid clusters of students. _And I can't use a lesser point seal because that will just defeat the point. And I can't use an odd numbered point seal because that will tip Naruto's seal off balance. __**Why**__ can't life __**ever**__ be simple?_ She bemoaned her fate all through the long walk back to the Gryffindor dormitory.

Just before the chattering trio could make it through the portrait hole, Sakura felt a flash of an ominous aura. Acting on instinct, she drew a kunai out and glanced around. She recoiled when she saw Krum's unmistakable figure round a corner, heading straight towards her and her charges. Hissing a curse under her breath, Sakura shoved the trio inside the common room and darted after them, closing the portrait firmly shut behind her.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Ron groaned as he stiffly moved to sit up. He had been at the bottom of the doggy pile due to the domino effect.

Sakura didn't answer, instead pressing her ear against the back of the portrait.

There were faint, echoing footsteps getting nearer towards the portrait hole. Sakura tensed as they stopped.

She nearly shrieked and jumped when a polite knock sounded against the thick canvas. Only her years as a shinobi and her training help maintain her calm, professional demeanour.

"Who's that?" Harry asked, puzzled as he stood up.

"Open the portrait and find out," Ron rolled his eyes.

"No, don't!" Hermione quickly contradicted. Being the bright witch, she had linked Sakura's tense actions with the knocks. "Shut up you guys!"

At Hermione's tone, the two boys quieted and watched Sakura.

The knocking stopped, but Sakura didn't relax. She waited for the footsteps to resume, and when they did, she let out a quiet breath. Her tense muscles were slightly cramped as she straightened up. Looking at the expectant threesome for a moment, she jumped up and blended into the shadows, disappearing from view.

"You know, it's kinda neat having her around," Ron remarked upon Sakura's apparent disappearance. "She's like a killer shadow."

"Killer shadow, Ron," Hermione pointed out. "Killer, meaning she could kill even you, and shadow, meaning that she is still here and can still hear you, you prat."

"Oh yeah," Ron's face lighted in realisation before glancing at the shadowed ceiling with a slightly fearful look. "Uh, I didn't really mean to sound like a prat."

"And yet you do it so brilliantly," Hermione muttered, moving in front of the fireplace. A couple of third years giggled loudly in the corner, sharing a private joke. Sakura just grinned a bit behind her mask. At that moment, Ronald Weasley reminded her of Naruto more than ever before.

Harry just watched the interaction with a sort of amused/exasperated look. He moved to sit on the chair near the fireplace, eyes catching the unfinished wizard's chess game on the table.

"Ron, fancy a match?"

"Nothing else to do," Ron shrugged, moving to join his friends. The next couple of hours resulted in Ron losing to Harry, Ron swearing in surprise, Hermione smacking the redhead over with a four inch textbook for the usage of inappropriate language, and Sakura laughing quietly above them.

---

Most people didn't give Kurenai enough credit. She was a silent, thoughtful, calculating kind of woman, one of the few of her kind. She was like a shadow: undetected, quiet, yet always there.

These traits came very favourably to her, especially since she was a kunoichi. Kurenai heard a great deal of things that would, otherwise, pass by silently. She was used to being unnoticed, unheard.

So it shocked her when Viktor Krum suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked upwards, his gaze focused high on the walls and on her.

Kurenai stopped cold. His eye, deep brown with a flash of violet, was chilly and piercing, as if it could cut through anything. _No genjutsu could rival that_, Kurenai thought, _not even Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan._ The stare was the most menacing, coldly amused, taunting look that Kurenai had ever experienced.

_It's like he's regarding me like some sort of... pawn,_ Kurenai thought a little fearfully as Krum continued to look at her with the same icily neutral look. Then a small smirk snaked its way on his face before he turned to continue walking down the hall, head held a little higher, his strides a little longer and definite.

Kurenai was still frozen, her gaze following Krum's tall form. Her breath came out shallowly, breathing much too fast for someone who was just staying still. Fear clouded her mind.

Still, in true shinobi fashion, she darted up higher against the wall and even set a genjutsu on herself to conceal her form. She shadowed Viktor Krum, just like Shikamaru instructed her to. Her heart was still pounding irregularly, and she broke into a cold sweat whenever Krum casually swivelled his head.

It was like he was _playing_ with her.

Kurenai was a calm, collected woman. She had _never_ panicked, never broken down under or over anything. But Krum's look had chilled her right to the bone and even deeper. It was something that would haunt her for weeks.

Kurenai stilled her shaky movements and moved on, shoving her fear deep within her mind and letting a calm, unruffled demeanour take over. She knew it wouldn't last long, but it was a wall she could keep putting up no matter how many times it was knocked down.

The red-eyed woman was hyper aware of the dangerous ground she was treading. Shikamaru had laid it all out to her beforehand:

_-"Krum, I have no clue how at the moment, currently has one of the sin's streak manifested in him," Shikamaru stated flatly to Kurenai. The two were in their common room, the last to leave, as Shikamaru assigned Kurenai a special project. "I want you to tail him. Find out how he became that way and who's pulling his strings. Normally I would send Ino for this but I find she lacks the same tracking and stealth finesse that you have."_

_If Kurenai wasn't the aloof woman that she was, she would've thanked Shikamaru for the compliment. _

"_Anything else I should know about Viktor Krum?"_

"_He's very dangerous right now. You saw Anger and Greed. This will be no less of an opponent. This situation will be sticky to deal with because the actual essence of what we want to defeat is trapped within an innocent student. We can't go about trying to kill the boy, because that won't guarantee the destruction of it. Plus it's against Dumbledore's orders. The best thing to do if he decides to act out of line is to contain him without harming him."-_

Shikamaru had called it a sticky situation. Kurenai would've called it a cornered play.

And Kurenai _hated_ cornered plays. She was, by no means, a dumbass, but she wasn't a brilliant strategist like Shikamaru either.

As Krum rounded a corner, Kurenai was suddenly struck by the feeling of a cat-and-mouse game. Except, who was she: the cat or the mouse?

_-"Another thing you should look out for is Umbridge," Shikamaru noted. "The woman is foul enough for me to cast some suspicion on her. The Ministry she works for has gone crazy. We don't know what they're capable of, so they're a good target to have in mind. Malfoy is also someone to consider."_

"_The young blonde boy?" Kurenai asked, surprised._

"_Don't look too surprised," Shikamaru muttered darkly. "He attacked Hinata for information on the Ministry of Magic. I researched a bit on him and his father is an active Death Eater, a follower of Voldemort. Young Malfoy might be following in his father's footsteps."_

"_Noted."-_

_The Ministry of Magic and Malfoy,_ Kurenai thought to herself. Malfoy seemed like a pretty good candidate. He had stopped to chat with Krum a little while ago, and while Kurenai could only catch flashes of their conversation, she was willing to bet that it didn't have anything to do with school, which would be their common ground.

Umbridge, while a plausible suspect, didn't seem to fit the bill in Kurenai's opinion. The witch was undermining, yes, but she didn't seem like the type to go into extremes. Plus, her motive wouldn't make sense.

A hash cackling sound jerked Kurenai from her thoughts and she glanced down in time to see Peeves, the local poltergeist, swoop down in front of Krum and a gaggle of seventh year girls from Hufflepuff.

"WHEHEEE! Krum, Krum, you dirty little bum, you never have any fun, and you're always on the run!" Peeves sang as he dive bombed towards the girls, water balloons visible in his arms. To his credit, Kurenai noted that they were a festive red and green colour.

The girls shrieked as ice-cold water rained down on them, gasping at the sudden change of temperature. Shivering, they fled from the scene but not before tossing a nasty look towards the cackling ghost. Krum seemed entirely indifferent about it.

That is, until Peeves turned his attention to him.

"KRUMSIE!" the ghost shrieked, swooping down, blowing raspberries. Krum scowled and ducked, obviously forgetting that the ghost would just pass through him. "Tsk, tsk, you naughty boy! Playing with something that isn't yours."

Kurenai perked up. Peeves was a mischievous spirit, almost bordering on cruel, but he had left the shinobi alone. Because of that fact, the shinobi hardly ever encountered the poltergeist since he would spin the opposite way as soon as he caught sight of them. However, since Kurenai was at the topmost ceiling in the shadows cloaked with a genjutsu, Peeves couldn't see her.

"**Silencio**," Krum hissed, his wand pointed to the soaring ghost. Peeves nimbly dodged the spell.

"You silly boy, you should know better!" Peeves cackled. "Don't think I didn't seeeeee you the night you arrived!"

Kurenai's eyes darted to Krum. Sure enough, a brief flash of panic and anger coursed through his face. She knew she would hit jackpot if Peeves kept talking.

"That fancy symbol for Pride sure suits you, eh?"

Kurenai hit the treasure load.

Krum looked torn. He didn't know if he should lash out or just ignore the ghost. He compromised by taking a swing at Peeves once again as he made to leave. Peeves dodged the spell once more, zooming the opposite direction after he made a parting comment.

"Don't think Peevesie isn't watching you!" With a last raspberry and a cackle, Peeves left Krum to fume silently alone.

Kurenai was torn between staying with Krum and chasing after Peeves. She sighed, staying where she was. She could go and catch Peeves later.

_Pride…that would certainly explain his behaviour._

Krum straightened up, eyes flashing violet, nostrils flaring in anger before he turned his heel to walk stiffly towards the Slytherin common room where part of the Durmstrang students were stationed. Kurenai shadowed him, her fear partially replaced by triumph and patience.

However, her fear was back tenfold when Krum stopped outside the portrait and turned his gaze directly onto her, his brown/violet eyes as piercing as before.

_No,_ Kurenai felt her breath catch, _I'm covered with a genjutsu and no one can see me in these shadows. Only a trained shinobi would detect my presence and he's no more than a wizard._

Catching the purple flash, Kurenai added in her mind, _one that's apparently possessed. I don't know what he's capable of now._

And that thought chilled her.

"You," Viktor Krum spoke confidently, "are getting on my nerves. But, I will reward you for your efforts. Come down here."

Kurenai hesitated. She was in a very, very, very tight spot. If she refused, there's no telling what she might miss. If she did go down, she could be landing in a trap, one that she might not be able to fight her way out of without harming him.

"I don't harm a lady," Krum flashed an insincere smile up, but he meant those words.

After a few moments, Kurenai cautiously went down, dispelling her genjutsu since she deemed it worthless. After all, he had managed to see through it. She crawled down the wall, stopping at the opposite side, tilting her painted cat mask to face him.

Without a word except a smirk, Krum turned around so his back was towards her. He pushed his cloak and shirt off one shoulder, exposing tanned, muscled features distorted by a small, sickeningly violet kanji symbol for pride.

"They know I'm showing it to you," Krum continued smirking. He covered his shoulder up after a moment. Then, without another word, he uttered the password and slipped into the Slytherin common room, leaving Kurenai to her thoughts.

Knowing that she couldn't follow Krum now, she slowly made her way back to the common room for the shinobi. It was fairly early still, about an hour from dinner, but Kurenai knew that she had finished her business. She would find Shikamaru and report what she had learned to him.

_I'll have to talk to Peeves as well,_ she thought as she skimmed down the halls. She reached the common room in minutes, as she had been taking her time and she still wasn't very familiar with the school grounds.

She popped into the common room and glanced at the map on the wall. It was a map of the entire school, enchanted to show the positions of every shinobi.

Shikamaru's dot, shaped so it formed the same pattern as his wolf mask, was trailing around one of the school courtyards. It wouldn't take long to reach there. Swiftly, Kurenai exited, but not before grabbing a dumpling from the ever full plate of food on the common room table.

True enough, she saw Shikamaru's leaning figure as she rounded a bend, chewing the savoury dumpling behind her green painted cat mask **(1)**. She walked silently up beside him, looking out of the enourmous window (it could pass off as a door, honestly) that he was gazing out of.

There was a great deal of students frolicking in the snow without a care in the world. Their laughter rang out like chimes and Kurenai watched the crowd separate into two, snowballs flying between them. Soon, it became an all-for-oneself snowball war and there were people shrieking, ducking, cheating, laughing, running, and generally having a good time.

"_What I wouldn't give to be one of them,_" Kurenai heard Shikamaru whisper very softly. So softly, that she was sure she wasn't meant to hear it.

"_I have news._" The scene was heart-warming, and she knew that Shikamaru was relaxed by the sight of it. Her pearl of news would be a bittersweet needle of reality.

He nodded almost reluctantly, allowing her to continue. His black painted wolf mask smiled hauntingly onto the cheery scene.

"_Orochimaru's definitely partially behind this._" Quickly, Kurenai outlined all that she had learned. "_Krum showing the symbol was proof enough. It was almost like Orochimaru shouting from the rooftops._"

Shikamaru nodded. Although she couldn't see it, his expression was greatly relieved.

"_Sometimes, we don't have evidence to act on,_" he commented. "_Thankfully, this isn't one of those times. It's much easier to plan when you have a solid foundation that you know you can rely on._"

"_Any luck on the bonding?_"

Sighing, Shikamaru shook his head. He straightened up from the pillar he had been leaning against.

"_Nowadays, my brain's in a frenzy,_" Shikamaru admitted. "_This isn't the kind of mission that I'm usually pitted in. I'm forced to think in ways that I've never thought of before and I'm forced to add in new rooks and pawns every step of the way in the game._"

Kurenai wasn't totally sure what he meant, but she understood the gist of it.

"_Eight Petrified students. That's eight too many._"

Kurenai was at a loss.

"_Right, none of us really explained what that was._" Shikamaru summed up the case of the Petrified students. "_Sakura said that she had been close to cracking a cure, but since she's been busy with guarding and all, I doubt she has had time to conduct further experiments._"

"_What if I switched posts with her?_" Kurenai suggested. "_I don't have anything important to do, like finding my magical equal, and I can't help with finding a cure. It's just guarding that Potter boy, right? I think I can handle it._"

Shikamaru was silent for a moment, imagining the switch-around in his head.

"_You know, that works. I'll bring it up in the meeting today in the Common Room and you guys will switch tomorrow._" It was becoming increasingly dangerous and agitating for them to have their meetings, since it required everyone to be present, leaving the school in a momentary state of vulnerability.

Naruto had suggested having bunshins stand in as their original creators guarded. It was an excellent idea.

"_Kurenai, has Hinata told you anything about her current position with the Ministry of Magic?_"

"_She has told me bits and pieces,_" Kurenai offered up the information willingly. "_She has informed me that the Ministry of Magic is being difficult with her all because she is helping Dumbledore-san out._"

"_There's more, isn't there?_"

"_If Hinata doesn't secure a good-standing connection with the right officials in the Ministry, her hopes of gaining their support will be crushed. The Department of International Magical Cooperation had created an entirely new branch to their system that studies into the shinobi world a little closer._"

"_That's a problem,_" Shikamaru frowned behind his mask. "_Our worlds are better kept apart._"

"_True enough,_" Kurenai replied calmly. "_But this Department has resources and connections that the Hyuuga would love to be acquainted with. Hinata wishes to – for lack of better word – exploit the Department of their knowledge. If she can't get their support and uphold a good standing with them, her pride as a Hyuuga spokesperson – a Hyuuga __**head**__ for that matter, will be crushed and the Hyuuga clan will suffer a blow to their pride and dignity as well._"

"_It means that much to her?_"

"_Her obligations to her clan are her life._"

"_I will see what I can do to help her. After all, she carries, perhaps, the most difficult burden out of all of us here. Politics are something that should be handled carefully._"

They watched the students give up on their snowball war, bending over as they caught their breath before someone exclaimed, "Hey, let's build a huge snowman!"

All fatigue gone, the students cheered and scrambled to work on their newest masterpiece.

"_They're very united,_" Shikamaru noted. Scarves of red, gold, black, yellow, blue, bronze, and a glimpse of silver and green fluttered everywhere. Here, in the courtyard surrounded by friends and snow, Houses and backgrounds didn't matter. It was a sanctuary of illusions.

"_Why aren't they using magic?_" Kurenai asked curiously.

"_The same reason why you walk down the street instead of jutsu-ing to your destination. The journey is what counts._"

Kurenai turned from the happy scene to gaze onto Shikamaru. The younger shinobi sounded and seemed much older and wiser than her.

"_But whatever,_" Shikamaru hastily covered himself up. "_I just hope these skies clear so I can look at the clouds._"

It was a cloudy grey, promise of more snow to come.

"_Slim chance,_" Kurenai replied a bit amusedly.

"_Ah, but I can hope, can't I?_" Shikamaru mused as he abruptly spun on his heel, his back to Kurenai and the snowy winter scene. He stalked down the hall, his winter cape flapping behind him.

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN:** Wow, I finished this chapter up really quickly. So reward my work with your comments? You guys were lurking in the last chapter :(. It didn't make me very happy.

If you've noticed, I used this: 'blah-blah' more instead of 'blah – blah'. I found that 'blah-blah' works well with things like suffixes and stuff like that but 'blah – blah' works better with something like a transition. Get what I'm saying? It's ok if you don't. I just think it makes it smoother if I use the two different hyphens.

Happy one year anniversary _Crossfire!_ I have officially been working on this story for one year now :)

A week ago, I uploaded this chapter. You guys probably got the alert, but not the chapter. Sorry! I did upload it but five seconds later I decided I wanted to totally re-write a scene so I deleted it. Here it is, the newer version, beta-ed, and ready for your reading (and reviewing!) pleasure :)

Thanks _NSKruger_ for the help! Your beta-ing makes a big difference :)

**Notes:**

**(1) True enough, she saw Shikamaru's leaning figure as she rounded a bend, chewing the savoury dumpling behind her green painted cat mask: **Just a little tidbit, the masks go like this:

Naruto: red fox mask  
Sasuke: black raven mask  
Sakura: purple raven mask  
Shikamaru: black wolf mask  
Ino: purple cat mask  
Hinata: green mouse mask  
Neji: black eagle mask  
Tenten: red eagle mask  
Rin: green falcon mask  
Kurenai: green cat mask  
Shino: green wolf mask  
Gai: green eagle mask  
Kakashi: green fox mask

And the colours on the masks go like this:

Green: equivalent to gennin in ANBU terms  
Blue: equivalent to chuunin in ANBU terms  
Red: equivalent to jounin in ANBU terms  
Black: ANBU captains  
Purple: specialized persons (medics and interrogators. They only receive this colour when their skill matches the red masks and/or above.)

Hinata, Rin, Kurenai, Shino, Gai, and Kakashi have green masks because they technically aren't ANBU. They get the pretty rookie masks 8D

Just an extra note, this is my version. Meaning I made it up. This is probably not the same version as Kishimoto's.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary:** [HPxNaruto A simple A classed mission to Hogwarts turns into a deadly S classed one when Orochimaru and Voldemort bring their new pet into play.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

---------------------------------------------------------

Five days after New Years, Dumbledore sat back in his chair calmly as Shikamaru stepped into his office, uninvited and unannounced.

"_Ah, Shikamaru, what do I owe for the pleasure of this visit?_"

"_I came to ask you something,_" Shikamaru answered a bit curtly. He stopped short of Dumbledore's desk, sitting in the chair that was conjured for him. He seemed to totally disregard the numerous magical objects in Dumbledore's office, as well as the many moving portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses. Dumbledore had to give him points for dedication to the job; every other person that had set a foot in the office had taken a second to stare at the many wonders in the office.

"_Ask away,_" Dumbledore said kindly.

"_Magic._" In that one word, Dumbledore could hear a thousand questions scrambling to be heard.

He held up a hand before Shikamaru could continue, silencing the younger man.

"_Magic,_" Dumbledore started, "_is a very complex system._"

"_My mind can process complex things._"

"_Of which I am quite sure,_" Dumbledore replied. "_You are, undoubtedly, a genius._"

Shikamaru said nothing in reply, but Dumbledore could sense his growing irritation.

"_Magic has been with all of us since the beginning of time. It helped shaped the world and the universe and the things beyond that. Everybody can do magic, but this depends on where you are born and how much of it you inherited from the initial source – which is to say, your parents or from the very essence itself. You could say that your fate was predetermined at birth._" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at Shikamaru. The genius shifted a bit uncomfortably, remembering when Neji had been a gennin.

"_Magic, as you are probably sure, is not the only thing that was here in the beginning. Your magic – chakra, excuse me, was a larger part of the equation._"

"_I guessed that._"

"_My compliments to you. It took me a great deal of years and research to conclude this._"

"_I had a lot of time to think,_" was Shikamaru's slightly shrewd answer.

"_Was there something in particular you wished to know then, since you are so knowledgeable in the subject?_" Dumbledore questioned, his blue eyes calm.

"_I do not claim to have any more knowledge than you do,_" Shikamaru retorted sharply. "_What are magic's capacities?_"

"_Magic, if used right, is limitless,_" Dumbledore replied. "_However, one two wizards have achieved this. But when wizards and witches first find their magic, it's only in accidental flashes. Here, in the earlier grades, they learn spells and incantations and ways to control their magic. You have probably seen some of the younger years practicing their magic. They fumble, and often cannot get it unless they are guided by a professor._"

Shikamaru sighed a little impatiently. It seemed irrelevant, what Dumbledore was talking about.

"_There is the first hint on the boundary of magic: the mind. The mind controls how the user handles magic. I'm sure you would be quite adept at magic, Shikamaru._"

Slightly thrown off at the sudden compliment, Shikamaru could only blink a little confusedly.

"_You have an extensive way of thinking. After all, you reached the same conclusion as I did about magic's existence in a matter of months while I had taken years. After the first couple of years, the magical training regimen gets more difficult. The students are led to think in different and new ways, ways that stretch their mind._"

Shikamaru slowly nodded, absorbing the information.

"_The final step to their magical education is non-verbal spells. This truly shows the set capacities of magic within a student, for everybody is different and so are their limits. I believe the same occurrences happen to you as well. Non-verbal spells truly require the user to think and concentrate and remember. This is where students fumble the most._"

"_So you are basically saying that the limits of magic depend on the user and how broad their minds are, how smart they are,_" Shikamaru summed it up bluntly.

"_Excellent summary,_" Dumbledore replied, "_but I'm afraid that knowledge has little to do with one's limits. It wouldn't matter if you were the most brilliant scholar in the world who believed in one thing only, and only that one thing. No, a better description would be how logical, clever, and mature they are._"

"_Mature?_"

"_With maturity comes experience, and with experience comes wisdom, something that great deals of wizards are thankful for when they are in a tight situation. Also, __**will**__ is an important factor. Many people disregard this powerful force, but it does make up an essential part._"

Shikamaru was silent and still for a moment.

"_It is much like our chakra and how we learn to shape it,_" he commented quietly. "_In fact, the principle is the very same except our energy sources come from different places. Chakra circulates our body while magic is powered by the mind._"

"_Magic is also part of the being's very soul, but this does little to dictate the user's power over it._"

Dumbledore regarded the strategist over his half moon spectacles.

"_If I may ask, how is everything going?_"

"_You are our employer, you have every right to ask how your commission is going,_" Shikamaru replied instantly.

"_Ah, yes, but there are times when things are better left unsaid,_" Dumbledore said enigmatically.

"_You have seen the new Petrified student that was brought in the hospital wing three days ago,_" Shikamaru pointed out. "_Sakura is working on an antidote and she is fairly certain that she is close to procuring one. It is only a matter of time. I have a theory that the _bakemono_ – the monster,_" Shikamaru translated, "_causes this. I'm thinking that it has the same effect as a basilisk, though not on quite as extreme level._"

"_What an interesting theory,_" Dumbledore mused, stroking his phoenix. Fawkes crooned and regarded Shikamaru with intelligent black eyes. Shikamaru found himself glancing at the magnificent bird more than once. "_May I point out a helpful fact?_"

"_Be my guest._"

"_I'm assuming you are familiar with our social system._"

"_About purebloods and muggle-borns? I understand it._" The headmaster quirked a smile at how Shikamaru phrased his sentence.

"_You understand it, but you don't approve._"

"_My opinion doesn't matter on this topic. Carry on with your earlier train of thought._"

"_All of the students that were attacked were muggle-borns. I'm sure this will help add another piece to the puzzle._"

Shikamaru almost gaped. It certainly explained a great deal and he inwardly hit himself for not thinking of it sooner.

"_Is that all? Any sign of the Seven Sins?_"

"_No,_" Shikamaru sighed. "_It likes to attack at the most inopportune moment and we've been vigilant about our watch._"

"_And Krum?_"

Shikamaru stayed in Dumbledore's office for another hour, discussing with the headmaster on the past events and the future.

"_That man,_" Shikamaru grumbled when he stepped of the spiralling staircase, "_will walk through a maze to give you an answer you could've found on a straight line._"

The genius rounded a corner heading towards the Great Hall when he nearly bumped into Neji.

"_Shikamaru,_" the Hyuuga greeted him. "_Sasuke says to come see him at the Great Hall as soon as possible. He looks…distressed._" Neji looked amused when he said so.

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow behind his mask. "_Did he say why?_"

"_No._"

"_Arrogant brat,_" Shikamaru sighed. "_After all these years, he still thinks he can order us around._"

"_Speak for yourself,_" Neji replied a bit loftily.

"_Oh right, you have the same issue,_" Shikamaru retorted humorously.

"_I do not,_" Neji defended himself. But then he relented. "_Sort of._"

"_That's better than flat-out denial,_" Shikamaru chuckled, making his way to the Great Hall. "_See you later Neji._" The Hyuuga inclined his head as a good-bye and proceeded in the opposite direction.

"_I have to hand it to Tenten,_" Shikamaru commented softly to himself as he neared the huge doors. "_She did quite a miracle on him._"

Opening the large doors easily even though they looked like they weighed at least fifty pounds each, Shikamaru spotted Sasuke sitting on one of the tables, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

Shikamaru glanced up and was glad to see the enchanted ceiling take the form of light clouds.

"_Interesting how we can't see past it when we're on the ground but we can see easily through it when we're on the ceiling,_" Shikamaru gave an off-handed comment. "_What did you want Sasuke?_" Despite Naruto's attempts at explaining Sasuke's redemption period, Shikamaru still felt wary and stiff towards the Uchiha. After all, he had been on the retrieval mission and had not forgotten a single moment of it.

"_I found my magical partner._"

Shikamaru sighed and cursed Sasuke's apparent love for theatrics.

"_And?_"

"_I refuse to do this mission._"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. His opinion on Sasuke wasn't particularly high, but this just lowered it quite a ways.

"_You took on the job. You're sticking through with it._"

"_Whatever happened to that speech you gave?_" Sasuke demanded. He turned his gaze from the ceiling to Shikamaru, his raven mask staring into Shikamaru's wolf mask.

"_What's your reason?_" Shikamaru evaded the question. "_You're no coward but this is seriously starting to question my thoughts._"

Shikamaru could almost _feel_ Sasuke's glare.

"_My partner is incompetent._"

_Good, then at least I know you guys suit each other,_ Shikamaru thought bitingly.

"_Who is it?_"

Sasuke _glared._ Shikamaru really could feel it this time.

"_I can't read your mind Uchiha. Now tell me, I have other things to think on,_" Shikamaru snapped. His irritation made him switch to using Sasuke's last name instead of his first.

"_Snape Severus._"

"_Severus Snape,_" Shikamaru automatically corrected. Then his mind caught up. "_Wait, __**Snape**__ the Potions Master?_"

"_No, Santa Claus,_" Sasuke snapped. "_**Yes**__, that Snape._"

"_He is __**more**__ than competent, Uchiha,_" Shikamaru snapped back. _He's probably __**too**__ competent for you. Brat._ He was surprised though. That man was the last person who seemed to fit the job, or so Shikamaru thought.

"_I refuse to work with him._"

It was Shikamaru's turn to scowl. "_Uchiha. You are acting like a child; no, you are acting like an amateur gennin. Whatever happened to your sense of professionalism?_"

"_You try working with the man._"

"_I can't wait to see what virtue you guys make together,_" Shikamaru muttered. "_I'll laugh so hard that it'll be heard back in Japan if it's humility, liberality, or abstinence._"

"_I will not work with him._"

"_Do that and I will personally speak to Tsunade-sama about demoting you back to chuunin,_" Shikamaru all but snarled quietly. "_I'm going. And if I hear about this utterly pointless topic again, I will send you straight back to Konoha for a well publicised humiliated welcome. Now grow up, mature, and start acting your age and rank._" And with that, he turned on his heel and stormed out, his winter cape flapping out behind him.

Shikamaru was lazy for a reason. Things that required effort were simply too troublesome for him. Threats and lost tempers didn't become him, but when he was prodded, Shikamaru could _explode_.

---

"_What about the Mandrakes?_" Hinata asked quietly as she observed Sakura sift through research notes and experimentation papers. She pushed her mask aside so her face was visible.

"_Madam Pomfrey already tried it and it doesn't have any affect on the students. Of course, a basilisk's stare and a sin's stare are very different,_" Sakura noted wryly. Her mask had been tossed carelessly onto the floor. Both the kunoichi were in a spacious room that was connected to their common room. To Sakura's delight, the castle shifted itself to suit their needs.

"_How do you know it's a sin that's causing this?_" Hinata asked curiously. She had been barely keeping up during rounds due to the fact that she was trying to smooth things over with the Ministry. It wasn't an easy task.

"_It's logical, isn't it? Hagrid has all of the magical creatures under check; no basilisk exists here anymore, the sins are rampant, they affect magic users while magic can't affect them, and according to McGonagall-san, the Petrified students managed to tell her that their magic had no affect on their attacker before falling back into their state,_" Sakura rattled, pulling a cauldron close to her and adding a few ingredients. The thick, dark green liquid spluttered before turning into a watery yellow.

"_This Potions business looks quite complicated,_" Hinata observed as Sakura stirred the concoction, looking at her notes before adding something else.

"_It's actually quite a lot of fun,_" the medic replied cheerfully. She sat back, letting her potion simmer. "_Unfortunately, I keep getting the formula wrong somewhere. I know I'm close, but I can't seem to figure out where I'm going wrong…_"

"_Can I see your notes?_" Hinata asked. Obligingly, Sakura handed the thick notebook over.

Hinata flipped through them swiftly, absorbing the information quickly.

"_Why aren't we affected by sins then?_" Hinata commented idly as she paused on a page. "_We've encountered it right up close but none of us has fallen into a Petrified state._"

"_I'm guessing it's because we have our chakra to protect us. Remember what Shikamaru said about the chakra to magic ratio in the beginning of time? The sins affect magical users because they're, in a sense, weaker than us. Of course, the sins still affect us but it doesn't seem to do too much damage,_" Sakura noted thoughtfully.

"_But what about you?_" Hinata persisted, flipping near the end of Sakura's notes. "_You're bounded to a magical user. Magic now flows in your veins, I can see it._"

"_I haven't looked at the creature directly in the eyes,_" Sakura admitted. "_That's probably what's sparing me._"

"_You should tell everyone else about this. It wouldn't do if we encountered the monster again and they get paralyzed._"

Hinata flipped to the end, scanning down the list of ingredients and their properties.

"_Try combining the gnarled root with the Loxy berry juice here,_" Hinata bent down to show Sakura. "_That should help counter the harsh effects of the peppermint sprig._"

"_Why didn't I think of that before?_" Sakura cursed, hurriedly writing down the new formula and trying it out in another cauldron.

Within half an hour, Sakura stared at the bubbling, light blue liquid.

"_You know Hinata?_" Sakura murmured. "_You're a genius. Seriously._"

The Hyuuga only smiled modestly in response. She watched as Sakura carefully scooped some of the potion up into a small glass vial, capping it securely when it was full. She set it in her test tube rack, next to other experiments that she had yet to test on.

"_I'll bring this batch up soon,_" Sakura said to herself. "_Madam Pomfrey won't be too glad to see me, but I guess that can't be helped._"

"_Is she getting irked at your experiments?_"

"_Something like that,_" Sakura responded a bit humorously. She set the partially full cauldrons to the side, encasing it in a magical cupboard that kept them in their state, be it simmering, vaporizing or otherwise, for however long the user wanted to preserve it. Then she donned her mask and carefully picked up her test tube rack.

"_Any luck on Naruto-kun's seal?_"

"_Nothing,_" Sakura replied glumly as they trucked out of the common room. Hinata had pushed her mask back on. "_Kakashi's managed to get me some scrolls when he goes back to report to Tsunade-sama, but I'm stuck at a dead end. And this sucks because I know how much Naruto wants this._"

"_He loves helping others,_" Hinata murmured, smiling fondly. "_It's one of his biggest strengths._"

"_It could very well be his weakness too,_" Sakura replied grimly.

"_Have you asked Falcon about it?_" Hinata asked. "_She might be able to help somehow._"

"_Yeah, that's a possibility,_" Sakura said thoughtfully. After a minute, she spoke again, "_Who is Falcon anyways? She makes me kind of nervous. I mean, we've never even seen her before this mission and she seems pretty knowledgeable and powerful. I don't really quite trust her._"

"_She must have her reasons for keeping to herself,_" Hinata replied without giving Rin's identity away.

"_Yeah, but remember the last time someone did that? He almost assassinated Tsunade-sama,_" Sakura pointed out wryly as they climbed a set of stairs. They turned left and walked down a huge hallway, ignoring the greetings that the portraits called out to them. "_Whose bright idea was it to let him in without a proper check anyways?_"

"_I think it was Lee-san._"

"_Lee,_" Sakura sighed. "_That idiot. I __**told**__ him_-"

"You're back?" Madam Pomfrey's dry voice cut through their conversation as they pushed past the infirmary doors. "You'll poison their systems with all of these potions."

"Not a chance," Sakura responded cheerfully. "You know as well as I do that if these don't work, they just run through the system and come out harmlessly through the other end."

"Yes, well," Madam Pomfrey turned around and flicked her wand over a student with a nasty case of boils. The boils swelled then receded, leaving normal looking skin and a relieved student. "Don't go duelling again. Gracious, you children are so violent these days…"

"I'll just be over here testing these, Madam."

"Go ahead," the woman sighed. "If I hadn't worked with you before, I would be extremely nervous about this. As it is, call me if you get some results."

"Will do," Sakura replied. Hinata watched as Sakura dropped onto a seat next to a Petrified student. The medic carefully set her test tube rack on the table by the bed and uncorked the first test tube.

Hinata watched as potion after potion was administered to the student. Sakura diligently recorded the responses (or lack thereof) down in her notebook before proceeding with the next potion.

When the light blue potion was trickled down the throat, Hinata watched in morbid fascination as the student jerked. The girl's previously rigid body and terrified expression gave a start before moving naturally on its own.

"MADAM POMFREY!" Sakura bellowed. In an instant, the Healer was at her side.

"Alert Dumbledore," the woman called to the portrait near the front. The frumpy looking man nodded once before moving out of his portrait, leaving a handsome looking chair and a book behind.

The student sat bolt upright, panting, as if she had just woken up from a nightmare. Her brown eyes were wide with fear.

"Kent? Miranda Kent?" Madam Pomfrey gently soothed the girl, but the student seemed to not notice. She continued heaving, clutching her sheets till her knuckles turned white, wrinkling the cotton.

"Poppy?" Dumbledore swept in, followed by Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw **(1)**.

Everyone froze when the girl turned her head towards them, her expression haunted, face pale white, and her brown hair hanging limply around her face.

"Begin the end…"

_It's like a bad horror movie_, Hinata thought dimly. The girl's voice was creepily hoarse, nothing more than a whisper.

"You know what that means," the girl gestured to Dumbledore before falling back onto her bed. She shuddered and closed her eyes, seeming to fall asleep.

Sakura scratched her head in thought.

"Well, at least I know the potion works," she commented thoughtfully in the silence. Pomfrey looked ashen while Flitwick looked positively red in the face.

"_Sa-chan!_" a masculine, yet boyish voice sang out. "_Are you here…?_" Naruto poked his head in and blinked behind his mask at the scene. "_I'll come back later._" He popped back out, but his interruption broke the still scene.

"Administer the rest of the potion to the rest of the students," Dumbledore commanded gravely. "Filius **(2)**, please find Wolf for me. Tell him to come to my office." The short professor blinked owlishly at Dumbledore for a moment, confused, before his expression cleared in remembrance.

"Right on it," he squeaked before leaving the ward.

Hinata watched in confusion as each of the students produced the same reaction as Miranda Kent when administered the potion.

_Begin the end._

Talk about your enigmatic conundrums.

"_Dumbledore-san?_" Hinata reverted back to her native tongue as she turned to Dumbledore. If 'begin the end' was tied with their mission, then it had to stay strictly between the shinobi's employer and employees. "_The students say you know what this means. Would you care to enlighten us of this?_"

"_Yes, I think we would all like to know about this,_" Sakura came up beside Hinata, now finished with her task. All the Petrified students were now supposedly sleeping, and Sakura had promised Madam Pomfrey to brew up more of the potion in case more Petrified students were brought in. "_Any information that would help us regarding the mission is to be told to us, Dumbledore-san._"

"_This situation never occurred to me,_" Dumbledore replied mildly. "_As it is, perhaps we should discuss this in my office._"

"_Will it take long?_" Hinata asked.

"_Depends on your questions._"

The two kunoichi looked at each other, relaying a silent conversation. Dumbledore watched in silence and Pomfrey watched in confusion.

"Ah, Poppy, it is best you tend to the other students," Dumbledore reminded her kindly. She hurried to another student's side, casting a wondering glance at them.

"_Tell us what it means,_" Sakura said. "_If we have many questions, then we will accompany you to your office._"

If Dumbledore found it odd that they didn't want to go to his office, then he gave no sign of it. He beckoned them out the door and into the hallway.

He waved his wand, casting a silencing charm around them, before turning to the waiting pair.

"_Begin the end,_" Dumbledore started. "_Those were the very first magical words that were spoken._"

"_Begin the end?_" Sakura injected, confused. "_The end of what?_"

"_Many things, Miss Haruno,_" Dumbledore replied enigmatically.

"_I'm assuming the 'Begin the end' were the first words of power?_" Hinata hazarded a guess. Sakura glanced at her.

"_Very perceptive,_" Dumbledore inclined his head to her.

"_Words of power,_" Sakura repeated, nonplussed.

"_Perhaps we should move this discussion? I have a feeling it might take a while._"

"_Agreed,_" Hinata put in her vote, her voice assertive. Her decision would obviously overrule Sakura's, regardless of what it would be.

Sighing, the pink haired medic just trailed after them, wondering how she got shoved to the back and when Hinata had actually grown up. She still saw her as a shy, insecure girl at times.

_A powerful figure._ That was what Hinata was. The phrase, 'words of power' flowed off of her so smoothly. Sakura wasn't really surprised. It fit Hinata.

As the trio stepped onto the moving staircase they led to Dumbledore's office, Sakura was suddenly struck with a thought.

_-"Filius, please find Wolf for me. Tell him to come to my office."-_

_Wolf obviously meant Shikamaru. Dumbledore was expecting us to go with him to his office because he had sent the short wizard to summon Shika to his office. How far ahead does this man think? _

When the staircase stopped moving, Sakura blinked rather owlishly at the many owls assembled in the office.

"_My apologies,_" Dumbledore said heavily. "_Many parents are extremely worried about their children's safety, and owl-post is how we communicate._"

Of course. Right. That made sense.

He walked across the room and up the steps onto the high platform that his desk was located. Passing by the wood table, he flicked his wand and three extra chairs were conjured. He gestured to them as he took his seat behind his desk. Hinata strode forwards to take her seat, her gaze focused. Sakura knew, though, that she probably had her Byakugan activated to view the objects in the room, and Sakura couldn't blame her.

It was hard to not get distracted by the many wonders in the room. The portraits were a bore, but the many small trinkets that performed a multitude of tasks fascinated her. But Sakura hurried to her seat, casting a glance around the room as she did so.

"_Continue where we left off please,_" Hinata said as soon as she was seated.

"_Certainly. But, perhaps you might want to wait for your comrade?_"

"_Unnecessary. I am here._" Shikamaru's clipped tone came from the door, and his wolf mask greeted the trio's sight. "_May I ask why I'm here again?_" Though his tone was bordering on rude, his gaze was curious as he noted that both Hinata and Sakura were there. Instantly, he thought, _did they do something wrong?_

"_Peace, Shikamaru,_" Dumbledore soothed the younger man. Shikamaru ignored him and strode over to the third empty chair, his posture softening as he saw Fawkes perched by the desk and his chair. The phoenix crooned companionably.

Quickly, Sakura and Hinata filled out what had happened, and Shikamaru's face was contemplative beneath his mask.

"_Words of power…Begin the end…_"

"_Do you have an answer to this riddle?_" Hinata asked Dumbledore.

"**Suscipio terminus (3)**," was all that Dumbledore gave. But even as he said it, a shiver crawled up Sakura's spine and she _felt_ the ancient power whirling around her. It wasn't like wind's power: whipping and swirling; it was like an ocean current: strong, subtle, and powerful.

"_I think,_" Dumbledore said gently after a few moments, looking at Sakura, "_that you might find that incantation useful. Now, if you will excuse me…_" He got up and swept out of the office, leaving two befuddled shinobi and one enlightened one.

"_Well,_" Shikamaru stood up abruptly, his face tight behind his mask, "_that was a waste of my time._"

"_Shikamaru-kun!_" Hinata stood up as well. "_He is our employer. He deserves respect for that much at least._"

"_Not when we're playing with our very souls here,_" Shikamaru retorted. "_If this all crashes, we could end up worse than dead._"

"_Every mission has its dangers, Shikamaru,_" Hinata pointed out softly. "_Ino won't get caught in the crossfire. That's why she's not in this mission._"

Stiffening, Shikamaru stared at her rigidly before turning and storming out.

"_Sakura?_" Hinata spoke after a moment. "_Are you alright?_"

"_I have to find Hermione,_" Sakura muttered wildly, throwing herself out of her chair and tearing out of the room.

Hinata sighed.

"_What has become of us?_"

---

"_Kabuto._"

Orochimaru appeared in Kabuto's office in a whirl of wind, facing Kabuto's desk. The brown haired, slightly tanned headmaster glanced up from his work and stood to greet his master.

"_Orochimaru-sama._"

"_Voldemort sends you his greetings._" Orochimaru tossed a thick envelope onto the desk. "_Durmstrang is in ruins. You will have to ask Dumbledore to extend his hospitality for the rest of the year. The rest of the information is in there. Study it carefully and know it by heart._"

"_Yes, Orochimaru-sama._" Failure was not an option for this mission, and lack of knowledge could lead to a disaster. Kabuto knew the dangers.

"_Update._"

"_The Konoha nin know I am capable of performing the ninja arts and magic,_" Kabuto supplied instantly. "_They are suspicious, and I have a feeling that they know who I am. They know about Krum, figured out about our pet, figured a way to defeat it, and are working on that as we speak. Naruto-kun's seal poses as a problem. Reinforcements have come: they are Hatake, Yuuhi, Aburame, Gai, and an unknown shinobi._"

"_Unknown._"

"_She or he has yet to take off his or her mask. The voice has been muffled by a jutsu, and there are no visible curves on the body. I would venture a guess towards a female, but it could also be a feminine male._"

It was only years of Kabuto's loyalty and flawless work that allowed him to speak as freely as he did now. If it were anyone else, Orochimaru would've taught them a painful lesson to remind them of where they stood.

"_That must be Rin, Kakashi's old team-mate,_" Orochimaru guessed thoughtfully. "_Why Tsunade even let her live after that fiasco is a mystery…She was always a soft-hearted fool, much like Jiraiya._" His voice held contempt and scorn.

Kabuto remained silent. He had no clue who Rin really was or what she had done. However, he would know soon enough; it was, in his nature, to gather and pry and poke.

"_There has been a slight change in plans._"

Kabuto waited.

"_I want the Kyuubi boy as well as Sasuke-kun. Do not let him engage in the Final Battle. Sabotage all attempts._"

"_Yes, Orochimaru-sama._"

---

The coming week bore fruit. Tenten and Rin had managed to secure their magical equals, and both were surprised by their partners.

"_I've never even really met the girl,_" Tenten admitted when she was trudging through the snow with Neji to the vast lake that surrounded Hogwarts. It was frozen solid, and students had delighted in peering down to watch the resident squid move around. The squid, likewise, delighted in squirting its ink up against the surface so the clear ice was stained black.

"_How did you find her?_"

"_It was really by chance,_" Tenten shrugged, fingering with the edge of a scroll tucked by her side. "_I was walking past the girl's washroom on the third floor and she walked out, and then… Sakura was right. There's this connection that's there. It's really weird to explain though._"

"_Then don't,_" Neji replied. His winter cape swished behind him, and Tenten noted that there wasn't even any wind. "_You might botch the description up._"

"_Hey!_" Tenten yelped back playfully. She slapped his arm, which he took like a man.

"_I hope you're saving your energy for the spar,_" Neji said wryly.

"_Please, you know my strengths better than I do,_" Tenten rolled her eyes behind her red painted eagle mask. "_I only fight like that when I have half my bones broken and when I'm sick with some sort of poison._"

"_Half?_"

"_Well,_ _yeah. If I had all my bones broken I wouldn't even be able to move._"

"_True enough._"

There was a pause of comfortable silence.

"_Wait, what were we talking about again?_"

"_Your magical equal and how you found her,_" Neji replied promptly.

"_Oh right._" Tenten tilted her head up to look at the light grey sky. "_Did I ever tell you her name?_"

"_I don't believe so. All I know is that she's in Ravenclaw._"

"_She's Asian, just like us, you know,_" Tenten said conversationally. They were nearing the lake now, and she could see the glittering surface. "_But she's Chinese, I think. Or at least, not Japanese._"

"_What's her name?_"

"_Cho Chang,_" Tenten said. They were at the edge of the lake now, and she cautiously put a foot on the surface. She yelped as her balance gave way and she slid forwards, her arms pin-wheeling in the air before she landed ungracefully on her back onto the snow.

Neji stepped onto the ice as though it was just another part of the ground they had been previously walking on. He glanced at the clear, thick ice, apparently in thought, before he pushed off the surface with one foot. Soon, he was gliding gracefully around.

"_Show-off,_" Tenten grumbled, picking herself off from the ground. She tried again with the same result. Bruised, she sat in the snow and watched Neji glide around, wishing she could do the same. "_How the hell do you do that?_" she asked half-heartedly.

"_It's the same principle as walking on water,_" Neji shrugged. "_But it's just on a different element._"

"_Thanks, tells me a bunch,_" Tenten muttered back sarcastically. But she tried a third time, this time willing more chakra upwards than she normally did for water, and was surprised to find herself walking quite solidly on the slippery surface.

"_Are we going to spar sometime soon?_" Neji asked a tad impatiently. His activated Byakugan caught the magical signatures of several students, a large mixture of the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons bunch, but only a few Durmstrang. A redheaded Hogwarts student giggled when Tenten tried to skate around as Neji was doing, only to fall painfully on her rear end.

"_I'll do this another time,_" the brunette grumbled as she picked herself back up.

They started their sparring, enjoying the challenge that their environment provided. Even though Neji appeared to be at ease on the ice, it was clear that he was not the master of ice-work.

"_So,_" Tenten started up conversationally again as they clashed together, katana forced upon katana. "_Cho Chang. Do you know much about her?_"

"_Only that she's quite a bright witch,_" Neji admitted. "_But then again, I suppose the same could be said of all the Ravenclaws._" He aimed a chakra-laced hand towards an opening at her side. She barely dodged and aimed a kick at his legs. She connected, and he went sprawling onto the ice, much to the amusement of the onlookers, but he recovered quickly and aimed a blunted kunai at her face.

Tenten spoke again when they were ten minutes into their spar. "_My chakra's a funky colour now. Sakura never told us anything about this strange silver stuff,_" Tenten commented casually as she jumped out of the way of Neji's Kaiten. The normally controlled spinning dome accelerated and flew by like a tornado. "_I love sparring on ice,_" the female ANBU decided with a grin, and watched as the Kaiten spun wildly, chipping ice off the surface of the lake.

Neji grumbled a curse as his Kaiten slowly died down, barely dodging Tenten's arsenal of weapons. She had become trickier and better at when she attacked him after his Kaiten dispersed.

_She's dangerous with her weapons,_ Neji thought distantly as he dodged and moved and attacked. Weapons whirled around him, jerking past him again and again as they were manoeuvred by thin, strong, flexible wires. Weapons that were embedded in the ice were planted with their pointy, sharp side up – a clear recipe for disaster. But Tenten danced around them easily; her weapons would never hurt their mistress.

"_Do you know who Falcon's magical partner is?_" Tenten asked curiously as they clashed again and again. Their spar, while the same every single time, always had different variations and manoeuvres, making an otherwise routine and boring spar interesting and exciting, for both the combatants and the onlookers. "_I hear whisperings, but that's about it._"

"_Not really,_" Neji admitted. "_But one of those many redheads has been hanging off of her recently._"

"_Great,_" Tenten groaned as she flipped backwards. "_Just what we need. Another hero to join our cause._"

"_You say it like it's a bad thing,_" Neji commented mildly.

"_It is,_" Tenten grumbled. "_All of this action and 'adventure', as they put it, would go to their heads. They're hardly experienced at this sort of thing-_"

"_And we are?_" Neji cut in.

"_No, we're not,_" Tenten amended smoothly, "_but we definitely have a taste of this kind of thing. Or at least something slightly similar. They're only kids, Neji. There's no telling what they might do, or how they might respond to pressure like this._"

"_If you ever become a mother, you'd have a heart attack every time your child would go on a mission,_" Neji predicted.

"_Oh?_" Tenten laughed. "_Let's find out._" The words slipped out before she even had time to think of them. Not that having a conversation in the middle of a spar was something that one encouraged, for it took focus off winning over your opponent, but sometimes, it was like getting drunk, except without the hangovers: blunt, open, and honest.

"'_Let's'?_" Neji caught onto the word as he moved his katana through practiced stances, clashing against Tenten's smaller, yet quicker kunai. "_That's quite forward, even for you._"

"_Hey, I figure, we're halfway through the denial part, and I'm hardly the patient type,_" she covered herself up. _And it's not even February yet. I'm rushing ahead on the bet – dammit Sakura!_

Neji stayed silent for the rest of the spar. It was usually his way of dealing with handling things like this: withdraw and think before acting. Tenten hated his silences, or at least, of this kind. But it gave her a chance to concentrate while she moved around on the ice.

"You know, I'd never get tired of this," Ginny Weasley confided to Luna Lovegood as they watched the two shinobi spar. "I love watching them."

"You can't really see them," Luna pointed out dreamily. "They're like Snaglums. They move too fast to really see them." Ginny knew better than to ask what Snaglums were.

The pair didn't notice the sharp cold air or the trio that approached behind them.

"Hey guys," Hermione piped up. Ginny nearly jumped a foot in the air, her focus clearly solely on the sparring duo, while Luna just calmly turned her head to smile vaguely.

"Hello," the blonde replied back a bit airily.

"It's been nearly an hour," Ron muttered, looking at Neji and Tenten. The two were still going strong. "You'd think they'd stop or something."

"Ron, you've seen them before. You've _timed_ them before. They didn't stop after the first six hours-"

"Yeah, but they're _human_. No person could go that long."

"They can if they've had the training," Hermione retorted haughtily. Of course she would know. Sakura had been training with her in secret since they had bonded, and Hermione's physical endurance and skill had jumped in great leaps and bounds. Their recent connection had really helped Hermione, and Sakura as well.

_-"Ok, let's try this."_

_Sakura stood at one end of the Room of Requirement while Hermione nervously, yet excitedly stood at the other. The large, spacious, empty room was about the size of a classroom. _

"_Ready?" Sakura had discarded her raven mask. There was no need with Hermione. _

"_Ready as I'll ever be," the girl replied, trying to sound confident but failing. _

"_We have all the time in the world," Sakura said gently. "If you want, we can wait."_

"_No, no! Let's do it now. I really want to see what happens," Hermione said eagerly. _

_Sakura gave her a dubious look. Hermione felt a shiver crawl down her spine as the medic's intense green eyes focused on hers. _

"_On three."_

_Silvery green chakra poured out of Sakura's hand. It grew and thinned, leaving a solid looking wand – or at least, something that looked like a wand. _

"_Two."_

_Hermione took a deep breath and raised her wand as Sakura raised her chakra wand. _

"_Three."_

"_**Suscipio terminus**__." _

_They spoke in unison. Sakura watched as gold coloured magic shot out of Hermione's wand, winding in patterns in the air that _felt_ ancient – like ancient symbols or some sort. Sakura's chakra wand shot gold coloured chakra, twisting and turning in the air. _

_Sakura felt quite odd. She could feel a part of her draining away, like she usually felt when she used her chakra for medical or combat techniques, but at the same time, it was as if something had connected and filled up inside of her. _

_The two twisting tendrils of gold connected, and the connected threads gleamed bright with added power. Sakura felt empowered, lightened. _

_Then a strange thing happened. Sakura had fully expected the connected power to either burst into white light, blinding her and Hermione, before disappearing, or to just simply fade away. Nothing prepared her for what was coming. _

_The connected gold lines shifted, the ends which were connected to Hermione's wand and Sakura's chakra wand broke off, yet neither could move their bodies. Whether that was by their own will or something else's was not clear. The gold changed and gleamed a brilliant white, but it wasn't blinding. It was like fresh fallen snow, except purer, _whiter.

_The white lines moved again, shifting and breaking and connecting. Before long, a gleaming white horse stood between the witch and the kunoichi. _

**Diligence.**

_The word repeated itself over and over again, connecting, shaping and clumping so it had formed the horse. _

_The magnificent animal turned to look at each Hermione and Sakura in the eye, its gold eyes gleaming with intelligence. After a moment, it bowed to both before fading and disappearing.-_

The whole experience had been too incredible for words. Both Sakura and Hermione never spoke of it, but it was always there in their minds. The white horse gleamed from Hermione's memory with clear accuracy, and she thought shrewdly how the virtue suited her.

_A zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work. Decisive work ethic. Budgeting one's time; monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness._ **(4)**

Yup, that was Hermione.

Distantly, she wondered what her Patronus' form would be.

"Training or no," Harry broke in through her thoughts, "eight hours straight is a pretty long time to be duelling like that."

"You would think so," Ginny muttered. "But last time I saw them duel like this, after eight hours, it still wasn't enough for the guy with the black eagle mask."

"How can you tell what they are?" Ron injected. "The masks, I mean. They look so bloody confusing."

"Ron," Hermione groaned, "you are utterly hopeless." But she could kind of see his point. The way the masks were painted was disturbingly confusing.

"I hear that some people are coming back after Christmas break," Luna said in a spacey tone. "The attacks are frightening them."

"Well, yeah," Ron said. "Remember in year two? The Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk? Everyone thought that the Petrifying stuff would stop after that. And then this great beast pops up-"

"You'd think they'd put a little more trust in Dumbledore," Hermione interrupted reprovingly. "It's safest here at Hogwarts. Surely anyone could see that?"

"Apparently not clear enough," Harry replied, his gaze focused on the spar. Neji had just succeeded in closing a couple of Tenten's tenketsus before she drove a kunai into his arm. "They're quite messy about that, aren't they?" Anyone who had wanted to go skating on that part of the lake would have to change their plans. The once smooth, glassy surface was riddled with pointy weapons and deep chipped marks.

"They're quite good at what they do though," Luna commented dreamily.

"They have to be, don't they?" Ginny pointed out. "The best. That's what I heard Dumbledore say."

"They're brutal," Seamus entered the conversation, coming up beside them with Dean. "The lessons they give us? I've never ran or done so many push-ups and sit-ups at once."

"At least you'll be able to run very quickly or defend yourself if you find yourself against that monster," Hermione retorted.

"Blimey, could you imagine going against whatever's Petrifying the muggle-borns?" Dean shook his head. "I'd be scared out of my pants."

"Well, you dealt with it pretty well in second year," Ginny pointed out. Unbeknownst to them, Neji and Tenten had slowed down their spar and had subtly moved closer to hear them.

"Yeah, but that's 'cause I wasn't the one being attacked," Dean shuddered. "I'm surprised I wasn't. I'm muggle-born."

"So? I'm pure-blood but Riddle still picked on me."

"You were an easy target," Ron mumbled. "No offence."

"Since you said it, I'll disregard it."

"I don't know if I should be insulted or relieved."

"Be relieved," Harry advised his red-haired friend. "Remember her Bat Bogey Hex."

"Right."

"I'm surprised you talk about that kind of thing openly, Ginny," Hermione said. "I mean…"

"Well, I have to face with my problems sometime, right? I can't just shove them in the back of my mind and hope they'll disappear," Ginny responded reasonably.

"But it's _You-Know-Who_ you're talking about," Seamus said in a shaky voice.

"But the diary wasn't You-Know-Who. It was Tom Riddle."

"Who turned into You-Know-Who."

"Honestly, Seamus," Ginny sighed exasperatedly. "You could turn into this necromancer when you grow up, but remember, you would've started out like you are now: a clueless bloke."

"Hey!"

"She's right," Hermione cut in, amused. "But Tom Riddle was just as evil as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and just as cunning. Using a diary to posses you and then releasing the basilisk to hunt down Muggle-borns? That's pretty sneaky."

"Pretty clever," Luna inserted in a breathy, spacey tone. "But first," the blonde turned towards Tenten and Neji, who looked like they were sparring, but were really eavesdropping, "did you want to know more? This might benefit your mission more than your duel right now."

Unabashed, the pair dropped their act and walked over, Tenten collecting her weapons with a scroll as she walked along, and joined the group. The rest of the spectators watching moaned in disappointment before dispersing, but not before giving Harry's group a bit of an odd look.

"What's this about a _monster?_" Tenten asked, switching to Japanese halfway through.

"Sorry, I'm not sure if we caught that," Harry said tactfully.

"The basilisk," Neji covered her up. "Tell us more what happened three years ago."

There was a great deal of shuffling and glancing around before Ginny sighed and took the lead.

"You know how this school started?"

The shinobi shook their heads.

"Four founders. One of the founders, Salazar Slytherin, had left a basilisk in a secret chamber when he left. He had left because he only wanted to admit purebloods into the school, but Godric Gryffindor refused to let that happen. Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw backed Gryffindor up. The basilisk would do the bidding of Salazar's heir. Tom Riddle left a diary here and I came into possession of it." Ginny's voice had become strangely hollow and monotone. Harry shot a worried glance at her.

Silence fell over the group, and it was clear that Ginny was struggling. Seamus and Dean looked a little confused, and Tenten could see why: Ginny had always seemed so happy and carefree, like that dark chapter of her life had never happened. But now, seeing her struggle emotionally was like a slap of reality.

"Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort," Luna took over, her dreamy tone still casual. Several members of the group flinched at the name. "The diary possessed her and forced her to do things that she couldn't remember."

"She could speak to the basilisk," Hermione put in helpfully. "And the basilisk would Petrify the students."

"How come none of you are dead?" Neji asked bluntly.

A little taken aback, it was Harry that spoke. "No one looked at it directly in the eye. It was through an object – or ghost," he added thoughtfully.

"Harry eventually defeated it with Godric Gryffindor's sword," Dean put in a little eagerly. "And he destroyed the diary with one of the basilisk's fangs."

Tenten noted that Ginny had looked down, her hair sweeping in front of her like a protective curtain. Ron had put a comforting hand on her shoulder, while Hermione gripped her arm gently. Harry looked a little uncertain, eyes darting to look worriedly at the youngest Weasley.

"_How come Dumbledore-san never told us this?_" Neji spoke to Tenten a little harshly. "_This is important._"

"_Don't ask me,_" the brunette muttered back. "_I'm not the one who supplies the mission with information. Ask Shikamaru, he'll probably know._"

"_You know,_" Neji said slowly, looking at Ginny through his mask. "_I think that's Falcon's partner._"

Not surprised at the sudden change of topic, but surprised by the sudden realization, Tenten's eyes widened behind her mask.

"_What? She's fourteen!_"

"_What does age have to do with anything at this point?_" Neji grumbled. He activated his Byakugan and noted that flickers of green, a deep forest colour, were visible through the strands of silver magic in Ginny's aura. "_Yes, it's her._" His gaze flickered to Hermione and he frowned. Instead of a coloured chakra weaving through the silver magic in her aura, it was a solid light silvery green, like Sakura's.

"_I don't like this,_" Tenten grumbled, ignoring the slightly irritated and confused shuffle the group gave. "_She's so young. And look at her! She's fragile._"

"_Everyone deals with pain differently,_" Neji said evenly. "_She will mature and learn from the experience._"

As Tenten made to argue about it more, Neji held a hand up.

"_This is not our problem,_" he said firmly. "_Falcon will deal with it accordingly._" Pushed down, but not defeated, Tenten fell silent.

"Thank you," she said to the group, her tone a little bit curt. "The help is much appreciated."

"_Tom Riddle is Voldemort?_" Neji repeated Luna's earlier comment as they headed back towards the castle. "_And he was the diary, who was also Slytherin's heir, who commanded Weasley to attack Muggle-borns-_"

"_They never said Muggle-borns,_" Tenten interrupted. "_Only that they were students._"

"_This is Voldemort,_" Neji pointed out. "_What do you think his goal was for the past who know how many years?_" Tenten yielded.

"_And now he and Orochimaru have another monster that also Petrifies students? But not in the same way…_" the Hyuuga mumbled to himself.

"_Potter defeated it with a sword and a fang,_" Tenten added. "_Powerful weapons, laden with magic and poison. Perhaps that gives us another lead?_"

"_For what?_" Neji countered. "_We already have magic in the equation. Poison's not going to do much for us. But what I'm really worried about is how we're going to get rid of the virtues once we're done with them. I don't want you to be saddled with a fifteen year old kid for the rest of our life, no matter what the benefits are._"

"_Aren't you sweet,_" Tenten bantered back playfully, "_but all will go well. Remember, we have Shikamaru and Dumbledore-san to fall back on._"

"_That's what worries me also,_" Neji muttered quietly. "_Have you noticed how tense the two act around each other? That's a sure recipe for disaster, and you know how much Shikamaru respects employers like Dumbledore-san. Something's up._"

"_Ask about it tonight in private,_" Tenten suggested. "_Remember how Sakura hid the fact that if the bonded people look at the monster in the eye, they'll be Petrified? Withholding info like that could seriously harm our mission. Better get what's itching Shikamaru in the open._"

They had rounded onto one of their sparring grounds, but they trumped through it without a thought to it. Tenten smiled and kicked her feet up, watching the snow fly everywhere and laughed in exhilaration as she took a tumble through the powder. Neji watched with a smile playing on his lips, feeling blessed that he found an amazing woman to be his partner, sparring or otherwise.

And he be damned if he let something happen to her.

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN:** I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but it'll have to do. I finished this rather hastily because I'm going on a nine day vacation to London and Paris (!) and I'd hate to make you guys wait that much longer for an update. So reward my hard work?

**EDIT:** Thanks so much _NSKruger_!! My atrocious mistakes are now corrected thanks to you!

**Notes:**

**(1) "Poppy?" Dumbledore swept in, followed by Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw:** Hey, I didn't know Professor Flitwick was head of Ravenclaw. Just a little tidbit I found; no, I didn't make this up. It's true.

**(2)** **"Filius, please find Wolf for me. Tell him to come to my office.":** Same sort of deal; Filius is Flitwick's first name.

**(3) Suscipio terminus:** Begin the end. In badly translated Latin. Oh well!

**(4)**_** A zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work. Decisive work ethic. Budgeting one's time; monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness**_ Taken from http//en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Sevenvirtues.

What random foot notes D:


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary:** HPxNaruto A simple A classed mission to Hogwarts turns into a deadly S classed one when Orochimaru and Voldemort bring their new pet into play.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

---------------------------------------------------------

"_What the hell happened?_"

Shikamaru's voice, normally lax and bored, was terrifying in its anger.

"_**What have you done?**_"

"_Nothing that wasn't unnecessary,_" was Tenten's equally stiff and cold reply. "_It had to be done._"

"_**YOU FOOL!**_" Shikamaru exploded. "_Do you have any idea what kind of seal that was?_"

"_Can you stop talking about me as if I wasn't here?_" Naruto's annoyed voice piqued up from his spot on the armchair. He was dressed in loose, comfortable boxers and in a tight top. The clothing was ideal if he had to suddenly leap out of bed to do fighting without having time to put his gear on. The black boxers embroidered with the little green frog was Hinata's gift to him after she had accidentally torn his old ones with her enthusiasm.

"_You!_" Shikamaru turned on him. "_Naruto, you're to become next Hokage! Do you know how this decision might've affected it?_"

Shikamaru froze suddenly. Tenten had thrown chakra strings around his form and was now controlling him like a puppet. She closed one of her outstretched hands and Shikamaru's mouth clamped shut.

"_Diagnose him,_" Neji commanded Sakura.

"_Really, all this fuss,_" Sakura muttered, but she went to do as she was told.

"_Hm, chakra depletion, dehydration, exhaustion, stress, and…have you been smoking again?_" Sakura exclaimed. Without waiting for him to answer (he couldn't anyways), she rummaged through his vest pockets (he was on duty that night) and unearthed a pack of cigarettes and another half-finished one.

"_What have I told you about these regarding your health?_" Sakura snarled. "_I'm confiscating these. Sasuke, can you make sure Shikamaru doesn't have any more of these?_"

A nod was all she got in response. Good enough.

"_Stress?_" Ino echoed. "_Even after you told us about the Dumbledore thing?_"

The group didn't regard Dumbledore's use for them as severe as Shikamaru had. They didn't see why he was so worked up over it.

"_It's our life, our skills that we willingly offer towards the mission,_" Shino had pointed out. "_There will always be a possibility of death or something worse – remember the Yondaime? – on every mission._"

"_Just because this mission deals with a different sort of…energy than ours doesn't make it more dangerous,_" Falcon had added.

Ino understood why Shikamaru was so stressed out, even though she didn't share the feeling. He worried about the supernatural, and since the supernatural was an unknown subject to them, there was no telling on how they would react to humans playing with them.

She knew Shikamaru's mind was more willing to adapt to larger and more complex ideas and solutions and questions, which was why he worried and stressed a lot more than her and the others. They had an average brain with average functioning; Shikamaru didn't.

"_I'll take Shikamaru's place for night duty,_" Neji volunteered.

"_Good,_" Sakura nodded. "_What__**you**__ need-_" here she poked Shikamaru on the chest, "-_is beauty sleep. A lot of it. I'll create a clone tomorrow to act in your stead. You're taking an extra day off tomorrow. Strict bed rest, a little bit of exercise maybe if you're good. Don't argue with me, I'm the medic on the team._"

Shikamaru glared at Sakura but couldn't object – the chakra strings were still attached to him after all. Tenten manoeuvred him to Naruto's chair and gestured for Naruto to get off. He obliged and Tenten plopped Shikamaru onto the cushy chair.

"_So, where were we?_" Sakura asked.

"_Naruto,_" Tenten replied promptly.

"_Actually, I'm pretty curious about this myself,_" Kakashi spoke up.

"_MY RIVAL!_" Gai interrupted. "_I have yet to challenge-_"

"_Not on this mission, Gai-sensei,_" Tenten sighed. Gai continued to shout challenges while the rest ignored him.

"_My hip rival,_" Gai moaned, "_you will not best me! I shall emerge victorious!_"

"_What happened?_" Kakashi asked Naruto and Tenten, ignoring Gai, who bemoaned his lack of attention.

"_Well…_"

---

"_Tenten! Tenten!_" Naruto was a blur as he bounded towards her, snow flying everywhere. "_Guess what, guess what?_"

"_You need a weapon? You need help in target practice? Chakra strings?_" Tenten guessed.

Naruto pouted. "_No. What does that have to do with anything?_"

"_Because what other reason would you be seeking me out?_" Tenten wondered. "_We're friends, but we're on a mission._"

"_Well, it just happens that you're closest and most sympathetic. Hinata's negotiating something with that bastard,_" Naruto referred to the Minister of Magic, "_so I can't share the good news with her._"

"_Sympathy?_" Tenten gestured for him to keep walking alongside her. They were patrolling after all. "_Why would you need sympathy?_"

"_Well, I made a deal with the devil, so to speak,_" Naruto grinned a little nervously.

Tenten almost froze. "_What did you do?_"

"_Well, you know _MalfoyDraco Malfoy"

"_This doesn't sound good already,_" Tenten muttered. "_Wasn't he the one that attacked Hinata? Isn't he the one who's supposedly a Death Eater? Isn't he the one who wanted inside information against the Ministry of Magic? And doesn't he worship Voldemort?_"

"_You don't paint him in a very flattering picture,_" Naruto sighed. "_Yes, he attacked Hinata. No, he's not a Death Eater; his father is. Yes, he wanted information against the Ministry of Magic but that was for his father. And he does not worship that pathetic excuse of a human,_" Naruto wrinkled his nose. "_You really shouldn't speak so ill of my bond-partner._"

This time, Tenten really did freeze. Her right foot was stretched out in front of her, ready to be planted in the unmarked snow.

"_Before you say anything,_" Naruto hurried, "_I have good news. He has a solution to my seal problem._"

Tenten turned her masked face slowly to stare at him, her foot still extended.

"_Magic, was his solution. That kid is really bright. He deserves a little more credit,_" Naruto argued. "_He knows a spell powerful enough to nullify any bad effects Kyuubi might have. It's like drugging someone before doing an operation._"

"_How did he take to the bonding?_" Tenten resumed walking, her tone neutral.

"_Um, not well at first,_" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "_It took me about a week to convince him that this was the best option. After that roadblock, it was smooth sailing._"

"_You're sure picking up a lot of the phrases even though you supposedly don't understand the language,_" Tenten scrutinized the blond through the eyeholes of her mask.

Naruto just waved the comment away, humming happily to himself.

"_So what virtue did you get?_"

"_Liberality, or generosity,_" Naruto replied. "_It's kinda funny. It doesn't suit _Draco_ at all when you get a first impression of him. This guy has a lot of qualities though, good ones. You just have to be the right person in the right situation with the right kind of persuasion._"

"_He's a _Slytherin_ to the bone, it sounds,_" Tenten noted wryly. "_Well, I guess I can't really-_"

She stopped abruptly, spotting a poisonous snake.

"_How the hell? It's winter! Cold! Snow!_" Tenten was getting tired of killing snakes right and left. Were they meant as an annoyance? If so, they worked spectacularly. "_Snakes do not survive in this weather! _Who the hell sent you"

Naruto jerked up, staring at Tenten. Was that…?

The snake drew itself upright, its tongue flickering out.

"My master has no name. He goes by Shape-Shifter, and servant of Grand Master."

Tenten stared at the snake. Was she finally losing it? Did she really just hear the snake talk to her?

"Are you talking to me?" Tenten asked dubiously.

The snake gave her a look that would've been interpreted as 'Are you serious?'. It nodded its head.

"Well," Tenten murmured. True to her shinobi training, she didn't lose her calm or her rational thinking. "Where was the one who sent you?"

"In the stone cave, the one that feels like power."

"What did he look like?"

Tenten knelt on the ground, seemingly forgetting about Naruto, who watched the entire exchange with a confused expression on his face. The snake drew itself taller so it could see eye-to-eye with her.

"I cannot say."

"_Pity,_" Tenten murmured, reaching up to scratch underneath one her buns. Her pinky finger made a subtly slicing motion on the top of her ear.

Naruto's katana stuck out of the middle of the snake's body a second later, the handle gripped firmly by a gloved hand. The snake fell to the ground, dead.

"_Well, that was interesting,_" Tenten muttered, standing up and brushing the excess snow off her gear and clothing. "_We should report this tonight._"

"_We?_" Naruto asked.

"_Yeah,_" Tenten gave him an odd look. "_We._"

"_I didn't understand a word of that conversation. You did though._"

"_What? How could you not understand it?_"

"_You spoke snake._"

---

"_I can see why Shikamaru's so upset about your decision,_" Ino informed the other blond when the tale was finished. "Draco Malfoy_ may not be a Death Eater, but he has grown in up that environment and has only known that way of life. He also sorted into _Slytherin_ for a reason. We have no reason to trust him._"

"_Then what am I supposed to do? Ignore him? I only have one magical equal, and it's him,_" Naruto retorted.

"_But to just accept his offer blindly without thinking of the consequences?_" Ino shot back. "_This kid knows Dark Magic! That could kill you and the rest of us! It could, I don't know, cause a huge chain reaction!_"

"_With magic, we'll never know. I just took a chance, and it turned out for the better. Kyuubi's now sedated and as harmless as a leaf. The bonding happened with no ill effects. We have to give this kid a chance,_" Naruto argued. "_Have you ever considered that he regrets being born into the life he has? He's kind like me when I was younger, except instead of hiding it with smiles, he hides it with arrogance._" Naruto's voice had steadily climbed, till he was almost shouting. "_He has so much to give but no one to give it to!_"

Naruto was standing up now, his body tense, his eyes flashing dark blue. He glared and then sat down slowly again, his piercing gaze meeting each occupant in the room. Hinata, who was seated beside him, rested a hand on his arm, her grip reassuring and gentle.

"_We've allowed ourselves to be swayed by the set prejudices here,_" Falcon finally said quietly. "_We should be better than that. We shouldn't judge based on the stories we hear._"

"_It's time to stop fumbling on this mission and time to start acting like the top members of ANBU we say we are_," Neji put his own two cents in.

"_We're a team_," Gai spoke up. "_Let's put our teamwork to use._"

There was a solemn silence before Hinata punctured it with a question.

"_Tenten, you can speak to snakes?_"

The weapon mistress nodded, her expression pensive and a bit confused.

"_I've never, ever been able to talk to snakes before. I can't understand how I'd gain the ability just now,_" she muttered, almost to herself.

"_The snake venom,_" Sakura spoke up. "_That snake that bit you? Maybe it's an after-effect._"

"_Uchiha,_" Neji grumbled. "_You're the snake expert._"

Sasuke's dark eyes glared at the other prodigy before speaking, "_Most likely. Snake venom injected in a civilian results in death because they don't have enough chakra to burn it out of their system. But since Tenten was also exposed to magic, instead of the venom burning out of her system, there might have been a mutation somewhere resulting in her ability to speak snake._"

"_You sure thought this out thoroughly, didn't you?_" Ino peered at Sasuke, her blue eyes unreadable.

"_It's only common sense,_" Sasuke replied coolly.

"_At any rate,_" Hinata's calm, firm voice broke through the impending argument, "_this could prove useful. I heard whispers that one of the students can speak snake too. They call it _Parsletongue_here._"

"Parsletongue?" Tenten tried the word out. "_That's what I can do?_"

"_Sasuke can too,_" Kurenai commented, coming in from the front door. She had gone to check on a disturbance that one of Shikamaru's clones had reported. "_But you learned your ability, didn't you, Sasuke?_"

She received an affirmative grunt.

"_Well, if we can track the student who can speak _Parsletongue" Kakashi said cheerfully, "_we'll be an unstoppable force! It'll be like a double-whammy!_"

Everyone stared at him.

"_It was a challenge,_" the silver-haired nin shrugged while pointing a finger at the weeping Gai.

"_3924 to 3900! I shall not lose!_" wailed Gai.

"_How did he manage to train you two properly?_" Ino asked Neji and Tenten in disbelief.

They wisely stayed silent, shaking their heads at their sensei's ridiculous habits.

"_We'll keep an eye out for this student,_" Shino said. "_He or she would help our mission greatly._"

"_So! To recap,_" Sakura sat up straighter from her spot on the floor, "_Tenten bonded with Cho Chang and got chastity. Sasuke, you got Severus Snape-_" the Uchiha sported a dark look, "_-and got abstinence._" Sakura abruptly stopped when Shikamaru gave a rather unattractive snort. Tenten withdrew her chakra strings.

_-"I can't wait to see what virtue you guys make together," Shikamaru muttered. "I'll laugh so hard that it'll be heard back in Japan if it's humility, liberality, or abstinence."-_

Evidently, Sasuke remembered that moment as well since he turned a dull shade of red.

Sakura wisely ignored their exchange and continued, "_Naruto and Mal - Draco Malfoy got liberality. Hermione and I received diligence. Shino and Luna Lovegood got patience. Falcon and Ginny received humility. And Hinata hasn't found anyone yet._"

"_That's mostly my fault,_" the white-eyed woman admitted. "_I've been so busy trying to juggle the Ministry of Magic dealings with patrolling on top of everything else that I'm usually too preoccupied to open my senses for my magical partner._"

"_Politics shouldn't be involved in a mission,_" Shikamaru noted, frowning.

"_Can't you do anything to… I don't know, separate the two matters?_" Ino added.

"_I won't get another chance like this to explore this kind of option,_" Hinata shook her head. "_Actually, I could use some advice. It's a better idea, a more idealistic idea, to leave the two worlds apart. But the government could offer so many opportunities and resources. Which would be the better option? This could be a great chance for both my clan and Konoha, but there's no telling how stable the union might be in the future._"

"_Politics,_" Falcon groaned. "_If that's all, I'll start on patrol right now._" The masked shinobi left the room swiftly, clearly not interested in the topic.

"_What a mysterious stranger,_" Gai commented. "_I wonder where she came from._"

"_Well,_" Kurenai broke in, expertly diverting the topic away from Falcon, "_my advice, Hinata, is to leave the two worlds separate. We're doing fine on our own, and like you said, there's no telling how stable this world is. Look at Voldemort._"

"_We had Orochimaru,_" Ino pointed out.

"_Can you imagine two of him?_" Neji argued. "_That's what will happen if the two worlds joined._"

"_But Hinata's right, think of all of the opportunities this community could offer,_" Sakura argued right back. "_It would promote unity and it might just save us from wars later down the road._"

"_How do we know that they won't just turn around and backstab us in the back when we're not looking?_" Sasuke demanded.

"_It works on the same level. How do they know they can trust us?_" Kakashi threw back at him.

"_They can't,_" Shino said flatly. "_That's why it's better for the two worlds to stay separate._"

Hinata listened to the heated debate, confusion and doubt flickering in her eyes.

"_If I choose to cancel my deal with the Ministry, how would I do that diplomatically? They created a__ branch devoted to working with people like us. Technically, I'm their first 'client', so to speak._"

"_Dumbledore has a large influence,_" Kurenai commented. "_He may be able to persuade the Ministry to forget about us._"

"_They're corrupted,_" Neji said coldly. "_The only way that they would shake their hold off us - after all, we have resources that they would love to get their grubby hands on as well - is if they're replaced by someone with a fresher mind. This would mean uprooting their government._"

"_We didn't take on the mission for this,_" Sakura snapped.

"_Our main objective is to kill the sins,_" Tenten said rationally. "_Do that, and Dumbledore can probably take care of the Ministry. The sins' defeat, also Voldemort's and Orochimaru's defeat, would make the Ministry look like a bunch of sissies. The public will be angry that the Ministry lied to them, hiding the sins' attacks from them. Without the public's support, which pretty makes up the base of a good government, they'll crumble. That could be a perfect time for someone new to seize control._"

"_Remember, with Orochimaru, Voldemort, and the sins, comes Krum with Pride, Kabuto/Hiratio, and those damn annoying snakes,_" Ino wrinkled her finely shaped nose.

"_This mission is so troublesome,_" Shikamaru moaned. "_Why didn't I listen to my mom and become a jounin instructor?_"

"_And miss this fun?_" Naruto piped cheerfully. "_Com'on Shikamaru! Show some spirit!_"

"_Bed rest!_" Sakura yelled, pointing a finger at the genius. "_Now, actually, would be a good time for you to start. And we should wrap this meeting up; we shouldn't let Falcon patrol on her own._

"_Yeah,_" Kakashi agreed, standing up. He made to slip his mask on, but paused. "_Do you know who she is?_"

"_Not a clue,_" Sakura admitted. "_She's up so early and up so late that I swear she doesn't sleep._"

"_Ah,_" Kakashi said lightly. "_I see. Well, good night!_"

Kakashi swiftly exited, followed by Neji, who was taking Shikamaru's place. Everyone else but Naruto and Hinata filtered up to their room.

Hinata stared at the short coffee table in front of her idly, tracing a pattern on the gleaming wood. She propped her head against her other hand, supported by her leg.

"_Hey, you alright?_" Naruto asked, sitting next to her. He snaked an arm around her slim figure, drawing her close.

"_This whole mission has me frazzled,_" Hinata admitted. She thought quietly for a while before abruptly asking, "_When are we telling the others that we're getting married?_"

"_I thought that that topic was forbidden during missions,_" Naruto teased gently, kissing her temple.

"_I need something light to get my mind off this stress,_" Hinata sighed, leaning her head against Naruto's shoulder.

"_Well,_" Naruto paused. "_When we succeed on our mission, we'll give a grand announcement._"

Hinata smiled. He had said _when_, not _if_.

_He's always so positive, so cheerful,_ Hinata thought. _He always sees the best in everyone._ She often wondered how she managed to land herself such an amazing guy.

"_We'll shock 'em,_" Naruto chuckled gleefully. "_They'll think it's a prank._" His eyes twinkled with such mischievousness that Hinata felt herself smiling, grinning broadly as well. She began laughing; Naruto's laugh was contagious.

It didn't matter what obstacles Hinata had to overcome. With Naruto at her side, she would, could do anything.

---

Christmas and New Years passed without a hitch, and students trickled back into Hogwarts, rested from the holidays and eager (note the sarcasm) for classes to begin.

"So how was everyone's Christmas?" Hermione asked during breakfast, helping herself to some scrambled eggs.

"We played Quidditch," Ginny grinned. "My team beat Ron's eighteen times out of twenty."

"Fluke," Ron insisted, heaping his plate full of food. "Besides, if Harry hadn't been ogling-"

"We would've won more if you weren't so busy complaining about the weather," Harry cut him off, his face slightly red. Ginny glanced at him curiously before popping a piece of bacon into her mouth.

"Death Eaters got my cousins' place before New Years," Seamus muttered, poking his eggs around his plate. Quiet descended their part of their table.

"Are…are they ok?" Neville asked a bit timidly.

Seamus shook his head. "Dead. All of them."

Everyone was sober. Voldemort had been so quiet lately that they had foolishly hoped he had left them. Evidently, the Death Eaters decided to give them a sharp reminder that while Voldemort was quiet, _they_ weren't.

"I'm sorry, Seamus," Luna said gently, reaching over to pat his shoulder.

"Muggleborns, the lot of them," Seamus sighed, shaking his head. "Those death-eating filthy bastards…"

"Death Eaters attacked a family a street over from where I live," Dean added. "Dead, too. They had three kids, one of them about to go to Hogwarts."

"Did you hear?" Lavender Brown, Hogwarts current latest source of gossip, leaned over and whispered to the others, "Millicent and her family have moved to Switzerland. Except her father and her brother; they've just vanished but rumour is that You-Know-Who tortured and killed them. Rumour also has it that they turned traitor."

"That's disgusting news to spread around, Lavender," Hermione muttered. "And over breakfast too."

"That's what you were discussing, wasn't it?" Parvati joined in. "Besides, over a count of 150 Muggles are dead over in northern Britain. It seems like there was a massacre."

Harry abruptly stood up and snatched his book-bag, shoving his way out of the mess hall and disappearing behind the great wooden entrance doors to the Great Hall. A silent shadow, barely noticeable, followed the wizard out, green cat mask visible for a split second.

"Oh dear," Hermione bit her lip before standing up as well. "I forgot…"

"Leave him," Ginny advised the older girl. "He needs time to think and you know that he'll just snap at you if you try to talk to him."

"Ginny's right," Ron said a bit sadly. "Even I know not to bother Harry when he's in a mood."

"But he has to know that _it's not his fault!_" Hermione protested.

"He knows that," Luna's dreamy voice cut through the growing argument. "But one's imagination is more powerful than one's sense of rationality."

"Harry will come to terms with it," Ginny asserted. "He's strong, and he's not stupid."

---

"OW!"

The great, famous wizard child, Harry Potter, had run into a wall.

"Dammit," said wizard muttered, rubbing his forehead and glaring at the offensive wall.

"You should really watch where you're going," a soft, firm, female voice commented. Harry winced at being caught and silently cursed himself before turning around to face his witness.

Hinata's green mouse mask stared back at him amusedly.

Harry gaped at her and looked around for his guard. Kurenai was no where in sight.

"Wha-?" was Harry's intelligent question. It wasn't time for his change of guards yet, and even if it was, he wouldn't have gotten Hinata – or Mouse, as he knew her as. What was going on?

A pounding headache made itself known in Harry's temple, and he was struck by the sudden urge to skip the day's classes and just lie down. Actually, what he wanted to do very desperately was to escape, like he had that Christmas break with the Weasleys. Leave the world's trouble for someone else, someone with more experience and someone who was older. Not for a moody, frustrated sixteen-year old.

Hinata regarded him carefully for a moment before beckoning him over to an empty classroom.

"Harry Potter," she enunciated carefully. "Well, come over here."

Harry knew an authority's voice when he heard it. He obeyed. Hinata shut the door when he entered in the classroom.

Harry grew nervous. This was just a little too strange and out of the ordinary for his liking, never mind that he had faced down Voldemort, a basilisk, and a gigantic spider among others with little fear.

"Would you mind magicking this room so no one can hear us?" Hinata asked him.

Harry held his wand tightly. Even though these gaurds were here for the benefit of the school, it didn't banish his feeling of growing apprehension.

"There're spells and wards to protect against eavesdroppers," Harry told her.

"Oh, good," Hinata smiled behind her mask and took a seat in one of the wooden chairs that accompanied the desks in the room. "Take a seat. I have to explain something to you and it might take a while."

"But…my classes…"

"I have it covered," Hinata assured him. Harry took a seat. "You know why my colleagues and I are here."

Harry nodded, his green eyes focused on her.

"We have found a solution to defeating the monster, Voldemort, and Orochimaru."

Harry jerked up in his seat, surprised for two reasons. One, she had said Voldemort's name without fear, and two, she had mentioned a way of defeating him and…this…Orochimaru guy?

"What do the two have to do with the monster?" Harry asked.

"They're the ones that summoned it to this plane of existence," Hinata answered, as if she was stating a fact about the weather.

Harry instantly deciphered her words. Summoned meant that Voldemort and Oro-guy was in this together, and plane of existence meant that…

"Are you saying that the monster that's been attacking us is an immortal?"

"Imm…no, not quite. It's…a higher being, so to speak," Hinata struggled to explain. "_Goodness, Shikamaru's better at explaining this than I am. I can barely understand the concept as it is…_"

Harry stared at the mumbling ANBU in confusion and slight concern.

"Well, this...monster is the seven sins," Hinata told him rather bluntly. "It comes from the Beginning, when all there was was chakra and magic."

"Chakra… the kind of magic you guys have, right?"

"Precisely," Hinata nodded her head. "To defeat the sins, we have to subdue it with the very essence it was created from: meaning chakra and magic."

Suddenly, Harry had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"I form the chakra half. I need a magical equal to create a whole. Our goal is to not destroy the sins – that would mean destroying humanity – but to send it back where it came from and seal the place so no one else can summon it."

"How does this defeat Voldemort and Orochiru? What does this have to do with me?" Harry asked curiously.

"Voldemort and _Orochimaru,_" Hinata pronounced the name properly, "have not only summoned the sins, but they opened the gates of the unknown in the process. That will have drained them of most of their energy. By the time we're done, they should be so drained that they're drawing on their life force. Once you start relying on your life force, nothing will save you. In short, you'll die a long, slow, painful death. **(1)**"

Harry nodded slowly in understanding.

"And you are my magical equal," Hinata finished simply. "Together, we create a virtue. Some of my colleagues have already found theirs. You will get a chance to meet them later." Hinata was silent, observing how Harry was taking the information in.

Harry was absolutely still for a moment before jumping to his feet, his face mutinous.

"No!" he shouted. "Find someone else to save the world! I'm only sixteen! I'm not even out of school yet!"

Hinata listened to his outburst calmly, patiently. Her gaze through the mask never left his face.

"It's, it's one thing battling Voldemort, but it's another thing battling against a, a monster that could send my very soul to hell!" It was obvious that Harry's imagination was starting to run wild. "It's not fair!!"

Harry's last words rang in the empty classroom. He was struck immediately how childish he must've sounded, but set his jaw mulishly and glared.

Hinata sighed, and stood up from her seat. She was only an inch taller than the tall sixteen-year old wizard.

"I'm going to show you something," Hinata said quietly. "Don't struggle."

Harry didn't even have time to ask her what she was doing before Hinata threw both of them in a genjutsu.

---

_Slam._

Harry looked around wildly. Where was he? Where was Mouse?

The place he was in was damp, cold, dark, and cramped. It felt like a prison cell.

A figure moved in the corner, and Harry whirled around. His eyes widened and he backed up, but the more he backed up, the closer the image was to him.

Ginny Weasley was slumped down on the wall, her beautiful red hair in tatters and covered in blood. She was more a skeleton than a human, and Harry could see that one eyeball had been ripped out of its socket.

He resisted the strong urge to hurl.

Suddenly, the prison door swung through him. It felt almost like a Penseive.

"Get up, bitch," an unfamiliar male voice grunted. Ginny stirred and struggled to get up. "Hurry up!"

A whip cracked and Ginny howled in pain. Fresh blood dripped through the grey prison garb she was wearing. She hurriedly got up and dragged herself out of the cell. Harry could see iron balls weighing her down. He unconsciously clenched his fist so hard that his fingernails left deep impressions on his palm.

He followed the pair, resolutely keeping his eye on the unknown male. He could see Ginny's struggling form out of the corner of his eye but refused to look out of fear and anguish.

Harry could hear moans and cries from the cells on either side of him as they walked. Distantly, he could make out Ron's voice, calling out to a dead Hermione, Neville, half-insane, and Colin Creevey, begging someone to kill him.

"This is what it comes to," a voice whispered around Harry. It was Hinata's voice. "This is what the future could be, Harry Potter."

The genjutsu didn't stop. Harry stopped outside the door that swung shut behind Ginny and the Death Eater. He could technically go in, since it was like a Penseive, but he couldn't. Wouldn't.

Screams pierced through the dead air, obviously Ginny's.

_She's being tortured,_ Harry thought grimly. _That's how she became the way she is now…_Harry stopped, frozen. _No. She became that way because I was too foolish and too selfish to make a decision that could've saved her._

Harry looked around. No one else stirred from the screams, except the ones that were half-mad or mad themselves. It was clear that torture was something that the prisoners endured every day on a regular basis.

"Stop it," Harry whispered, horrified and disgusted with himself. "Stop it, I'll do it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

---

The genjutsu was cancelled and Harry found himself seated on the cold stone floor of the empty classroom, trembling. He rested his face against his hands and drew a shuddering breath, breathing in the clean, slightly musky air. He could still see the bloodstains, smell the scent of blood and rot, and feel the palpable sense of hopelessness and despair.

"You are not a coward, Harry," Hinata said gently once Harry had some semblance of control. "You are not altogether selfish. But you are only human."

"You could've just told me the consequences, instead of showing me," Harry closed his eyes, shivering.

"Would you have listened? Some things are better imprinted when they're seen and experienced, not told."

Harry shakily drew himself up into a chair.

"I'm offering you a chance," Hinata said, folding her hands neatly in her lap. She was seated.

Harry didn't even hesitate. "I'll do it."

Hinata nodded, smiling behind her mask. "Then I think we should start right away."

She stood up and gestured for him to do the same. He did so slowly, still reeling from the genjutsu.

Hinata was instructing him on what to do when Harry was struck that he had never seen her face.

"Do you have to wear that mask all the time?" Harry asked. Hinata paused in the middle of her instructing. "Don't you ever take it off?"

"I suppose I should for this," Hinata sighed. She reached up and traced the edge of her mask, dispelling the chakra that kept it glued to her face **(2)**. The mask fell neatly onto her palm and she set it down on a nearby desk. Hinata had to blink several times to adjust to the sudden brightness.

"Your eyes," Harry commented with surprise, "they're white! Are you blind?" Harry had never seen such a gentle looking face before, but somehow, he knew that she held power and command in her hand like a sceptre.

"No, it's part of my magic," Hinata answered a bit evasively before picking up on her instruction again.

Moments later, Harry's magic, a deep, royal purple **(3)**, combined with Hinata's silver chakra to form one word, repeated over and over again so it formed a shape.

_Kindness._

The grey eagle, words shimmering on its form, flew around the room and landed on a nearby bar, regarding the stunned pair with one great, golden eye. It gave a regal nod with its head before fading and disappearing.

"Kindness…" Hinata murmured as she savoured the full, filled feeling she had. She felt stronger, more confident. "It suits us, doesn't it?"

Harry could only lower his eyes to the floor in shame. He remembered his first reaction to her preposition.

"Remember, Harry," Hinata walked over and placed her two gloved hands on Harry's shoulders, her white eyes kind. "You made this decision out of compassion, not out of guilt or fear."

Harry nodded. He was suddenly filled with a sense of relief that Hinata was his partner, and not someone like Sasuke. He wished that, if he ever had an older sister, it would be someone like her.

"Spend the rest of your day in your room," Hinata suggested, retrieving her mask and sealing it onto her face again. "Rest up. You will probably be called upon tomorrow."

Harry nodded, suddenly exhausted, and nearly stumbled out of the classroom. On his way to the Gryffindor tower, he passed a clock and was surprised to find that it was already 3:15 pm.

"Potter!" a commanding, dangerously honey-sweet voice rang out in the empty hallway. "How come you aren't in class, hm?" A fat toad-like figure waddled into view and Harry was greeted by Professor Umbridge's flat, squashed, smug face.

"I wasn't feeling well…" Harry said politely, hiding his dislike for her behind a tightly controlled mask.

"Let's see your slip then, Potter," Umbridge extended a hand, adorned in ugly rings, expectantly.

"I…"

"Potter!" Another voice of authority sounded out, this time strict, prim, and female. Harry was never happier to see Professor McGonagall. "There you are. Come, the Headmaster wants to see you."

Umbridge looked distinctly put out, her ugly face pulled in a pout. "I was asking Potter here something."

"I'm sure," McGonagall's voice suggested that she didn't quite believe her. "Come, Potter. You may finish talking to her later."

Harry noted that Umbridge turned a rather unattractive shade of red from the obvious lack of respect that McGonagall had shown to her. Harry quickly followed his Head of House before Umbridge could think of some devious way to make him stay.

"Well, hurry back to the dormitory," Professor McGonagall said once they had walked down a few corridors. Harry looked at her, confused.

"Didn't Professor Dumbledore want to see me?"

"I needed an excuse," a hint of a smile played on the stern woman's face. "A reliable source told me that you needed some help."

Harry looked around, confused, before spotting Kurenai's shadowy form on the ceiling above him. He gave his own shadow of a smile before thanking the witch and walking hurriedly to the Gryffindor common room. It was pretty empty except for three students, all from seventh year who had spares.

Harry closed the door to his dormitory room and took a deep breath.

_Sins…Voldemort…virtues…defeat…failure?..._Thoughts flew around Harry's mind like a whirlwind. He walked forwards, almost in a trance-like state, and sat down on his bed, his figure slouched, his eyes staring at the grey sky beyond the window across him.

_Who else was chosen?_ The question rang commandingly in his mind.

His mind immediately thought of Ron and Hermione. After all, they were the 'Golden Trio'. They were all in this together, right?

…but something told him that maybe that wasn't always the case. But then, who?

After several minutes of aimlessly going through people in his head, Harry gave up. Guessing would just give him a headache.

He flopped backwards onto his bed and stared the smooth ceiling. A dull hum vibrated in his skull, and his fingers itched with the sudden urge to call chakra out. Never mind the fact that he had no idea that chakra was completely different from magic, and that he had had absolutely no training in it whatsoever (he just received the power about an hour ago for heaven's sake).

Harry thought about the genjutsu. He was, by no means, a weak wizard. In fact, he was one of the most powerful in his entire grade (perhaps not the brightest though; that was Hermione) but seeing Ginny the way she was portrayed…Harry felt absolutely weak and useless.

Harry wondered about the shinobi. Their display of power was fantastic, almost ethereal, yes, but compared to some of the magic Voldemort and Dumbledore had wielded, they were on equal ground.

The scarred boy grinned. Hermione could probably give one of them a run for their money. Heck, if Harry put a little more effort in his studies, he could probably cause some damage as well.

Who else could give the gaurds a fair match?

Ginny, probably. Harry's mouth twisted in a wry smile. Her bat-bogey hexes – heck, her hexes in general was something to be feared. Neville had potential, if he ever gained enough self-confidence. The Weasley twins were _definitely_ a force to be reckoned with. Malfoy had considerable power, if only because of his knowledge of Dark Arts. Susan Bones knew pretty intricate magic, from what he had seen in his Transfiguration classes with her.

The list went on. Harry was amazed at how many people there were that could wield powerful magic.

He grinned, a little darkly.

Voldemort stood no chance against them.

---

"_They're all together now?_"

"_Yes, Orochimaru-sama._"

"_Excellent. I can already feel Sasuke's power coming back to me…_"

"_About Krum…_"

"_You know the plan for him._"

"_I fear he's fighting valiantly against the sin. He's starting to regain control…_"

"_Redo the process._"

"_I can't. Another bite will overpower him and he'll die. He's already our strongest candidate._"

A hiss was heard and grunt of pain.

"_I give you too much freedom, Kabuto. Remember, without me, you would be dead._"

"_Yes…Orochimaru-sama…_"

"_Speed the plan. I want Sasuke before the school year ends._"

"_As you wish, Orochimaru-sama._"

"_Ah… how my nerves tingle with excitement…this battle will be my finest creation. It will be the battle of a lifetime._"

---------------------------------------------------------

**AN:**Well. When was the last time I update? August? Oops… Hehe, well, I totally, and utterly blame school. It's zapped all my energy and creative juices.

Anyways, I'm pretty pleased with this chapter. Lots of switching scenes everywhere, but it's pretty smooth this time (and everything's relevant! YES!).

BTW, if anyone has a deviantArt account, talk to me (starlight15). It gets pretty lonely time to time.

Hope you all enjoyed the little NaruHina I snuck in there ;) I'm shipping them quite enthusiastically now. Anyone know any good stories out there about them? (If you squint, I had some GinnyHarry in there too xD).

And, HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! I meant to get this out before Christmas, but I couldn't in time so New Years if my next victim (: Best of luck to everyone in 2008!!!

**Notes:**

**(1)****"Voldemort and **_**Orochimaru,**_**" Hinata pronounced the name properly, "have not only summoned the sins, but they opened the gates of the unknown in the process. That will have drained them of most of their energy. By the time we're done, they should be so drained that they're drawing on their life force. Once you start relying on your life force, nothing will save you. In short, you'll die a long, slow, painful death.:** Why hasn't Voldemort/Orochimaru noticed this yet? Well, they're getting a little too power-hungry to pay attention to nonsense like that. Plus, in their mind, their power is more than enough to withstand the strain. However, they're overestimating themselves.

**(2)****She reached up and traced the edge of her mask, dispelling the chakra that kept it glued to her face:** I know in previous chapters, I said that they used strings. Well, actually, they can use either. Chakra is more effective, but it wastes it.

**(3)****Harry's magic, a deep, royal purple…:** Originally, I made Harry's magic a deep green but that seemed so cliché. I gave that colour to Ginny instead (I thought it suited her) and gave Harry royal purple. Kind of a joke or play on his situation: he's the prince in shining armour that'll ride by and save the kingdom from danger!


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary:** HPxNaruto First it started out with just Orochimaru and Voldemort. Then add in their personal pet: the Seven Sins. Toss in a wizarding war and what do you get? Chaos.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

**Notes:** This story is totally ignoring the fifth year plot of Harry Potter. Yes, Sasuke has gone to Orochimaru, but he has returned and his punishment has been fulfilled and lifted. Itachi is dead, but Orochimaru isn't.

Talking in _italics_ is spoken in Japanese.

Talking in **bold** is spoken in spells.

--

_Tsunade-san,_

_Tsunade, I must confess that I have not been entirely honest with you. My first letter to you was something of an appetizer; I had hoped that wizarding politics would not force my hand to do this. Forgive me, I am speaking in riddles. _

_The creature that terrorizes Hogwarts was indeed my first priority and problem that I presented to you. Now, however, I must tell you that which will affect the mission of the shinobi you have graciously sent me. _

_I do not assume you know wizarding politics. _Voldemort_, the Dark Wizard who allied with your Dark Shinobi, Orochimaru, wreaks havoc upon Britain as he has done so for many years; 21 to be exact. His followers are known as Death Eaters and are willing and supportive to his cause, which is to say, to wipe out wizards and witches with non-magical ancestors. He wants a pure wizarding society, with no taint of _Muggles.

_He has shown no mercy as to show how far he will go to achieve his goal. He embraced Dark Magic, tortured _Muggles_ and wizards and witches alike, and killed more than I would have imagined any human possible. _

Voldemort_ is not a stupid man. Far from it. He plays the political game well, and is a master at manipulating people not only through fear, but through persuasion, power, temptation, and lies. He has gained control of the media this way, of which I'm sure you will understand how disastrous and catastrophic the situation became. He has also burrowed his way to the top of the Ministry of Magic. Our Minister is now dead and Voldemort's puppet stands in his place. He now controls not only the media, but our government. _

_That is not all. He has attacked several well known, well guarded and secured, populated areas: Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, to name a few. They are equivalent to… or rather, similar to your smaller Hidden Villages. I can't tell you what a blow it did to the public's morale. They are frightened, with nowhere and no one to turn to. Our _Auror_ (wizard equivalent to shinobi) count is down drastically by fifty percent trying to be everywhere at once. _

_The Light side has created its own army of defense: The Order of the Phoenix. The Order of the Phoenix aims to defeat _Voldemort_ and spare as many people as possible. We do not care about a wizard's bloodline. We care that _Voldemort_ does and has forced his views on other people. We have been trying everything to stop him, but our numbers have depleted as well. We are also growing divided; fear drives many of us now. _

_For sixteen, almost seventeen years now, he has targeted Harry Potter, the bane of his existence – or so he has made it to be. But forgive me; that is a tale to be told another time. There are far too many other pressing details to sort out. _

_Hogwarts is another one of _Voldemort's_ targets. It was his old home, as schools are to those who learn and thrive under their roof, and the one place he has not touched. Yet. Hogwart's defenses are impressive, and even _Voldemort_ will need time, skill, and power to break them, more time than he is willing to give. He sent the seven-sinned demon to break down the inner sanctums and in hopes of weakening me. Be careful of this demon: we are made half of sins ourselves. It affects all those who come into close proximity very dangerously. _

_There is only one conclusion in this: time is drawing near for _Voldemort _to act. Harry and Hogwarts are his targets. He will stop at nothing at capturing both. He will have an army of wizards, witches, _Dementors_ (a creature which feeds on fear and terror after drawing away happiness from a person), trolls, _Inferni_ (animated corpses), and other horrors unknown._

_You are a strategist. No doubt you know there are countless battle tactics that can be deducted. But whatever happens, Hogwarts must stand free in the end. _

_This is beyond what I had originally asked of you. If you do not wish to involve yourselves in our war, then I respect that. It's a wise choice. You will still receive the amount we previously agreed on, and you are welcome to call in a favour should you need it. _

_Your friend, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Tsunade looked up from the letter.

"_Aw, fuck._"

--

_Team #19485,_

_Here's the deal. There's a wizarding war raging on outside of Hogwarts. Dumbledore-san has managed to keep Hogwarts mostly out of it until now. Now, Voldemort and Orochimaru have a strong handhold and upper hand on the wizarding society. Their next target is Hogwarts and Harry Potter._

_Confer and decide. Respond ASAP._

_Tsunade_

_Godaime_

Hinata blinked as she processed the blunt, precise, short note.

"_As our superior, shouldn't she decide this?_" Hinata asked confusedly. Under regular circumstances, Tsunade would've – but these were hardly ordinary times.

"_Yes,_" Shino was the one who replied, his normally passive face pulled into a frown. "_But I think that she's decided the situation fell under Code Red-Alpha._"

"_Code Red-Alpha?"_ Sakura repeated, wide-eyed. She stopped tossing the apple she had been about to eat, almost letting the fruit slip through her fingers in the process.

"_Isn't that the plan when the situation gets so out of hand or… unique that the team as a whole act independently from their superior's orders?_" Falcon asked from her position by the stair leading to their dormitories.

"_Yes,_" Gai nodded gravely, serious for once. "_In this case, Dumbledore-san is technically our boss but Tsunade-sama all but said that he would leave matters in her hands._"

"_Which were then dumped on us,_" Naruto groaned. He had an arm slung around Hinata on the couch and grinned slightly when she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"_So, thoughts anyone?_" Tenten asked after the room went silent.

"_We don't have to rush on our decision,_" Shikamaru muttered from his end of the room. He was lying on the couch, an arm over his eyes. "_We should take this day to think about it. When we have our meeting tonight, we should decide then._"

"_Good plan!_" Gai beamed. "_That is most excellent!_" Everybody groaned at Gai's antics but Neji and Tenten, long-time students of Gai, saw how his eyes creased at the edges in worry.

"_We should get going now,_" Kurenai suggested dryly. "_Else the students will get into all kinds of mischief._"

"_Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, Tenten, Shino, Falcon, remember that you have that special training with your partners today. You have all day; try to cram in as much as possible,_" Neji instructed.

"_It should be easier, since you guys have a shared bond with your partners,_" Shikamaru added. "_I would say have fun, but I think I'll just say good luck._"

"_I don't even want to know how some of them will react when they see they'll be working side by side,_" Sakura groaned.

"_Like I said,_" Shikamaru's dry voice was addressed to her as he got up from the couch, "_good luck._"

--

"Yeaaahhhh, happy birthday Luna!"

"LUNA!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"

"Hey Luna! Happy birthday! You're turning sixteen, right?"

"Haha, happy sweet sixteen on the sixteenth of January!"

"What?! Bollocks, I put the wrong age on her card then…"

Shino was a bit perplexed at the riot down at the Gryffindor table's end. Students swarmed around his bond-partner, patting her, wishing her happy birthday, and giving her presents. He had no idea that she was rather popular.

_Borrowed popularity,_ Shino thought, with no malice. He had noticed that Luna was rather peculiar, peculiar enough to isolate her from what was considered normal. No doubt people were being nice to her because she was a close friend to the famous Harry Potter.

Still, Shino made a mental note to wish her happy birthday. He had grown rather fond of her and her quirky ways over the last couple of weeks. They had met up several times, practicing chakra and magic control. They were far form mastering their techniques, but they had come a long way since they bonded.

"_Oi, Shino,_" Sasuke had crept gracefully over to where Shino was positioned: directly overtop the Gryffindor table on the ceiling. "_Could you attach one of your listening bugs to Kabuto?_"

"_So we've determined that it's him?_" Shino asked quietly.

"_Basically,_" Sasuke replied. "_Were you here for Kakashi's debriefing?_"

"_If I recall correctly, I was assisting _Professor McGonagall _in disposing of some of the snake corpses._" It was rather disquieting. At least ten snakes found its way to different shinobi over the course of a week.

"_Kakashi never told us when or how he did it, but he brought back proof that it was Kabuto._"

"_And?_" Shino asked, patient as a stone.

"_He brought back some hair from a comb found in Kabuto's bathroom. He infiltrated his quarters when there was a staff meeting. Sakura ran some DNA tests and confirmed that it was Kabuto._"

"_And Kabuto was careless enough to overlook a detail like that?_" Shino asked bluntly.

"_There were strong protective spells and traps around his quarters, and even in his quarters, Kakashi had said,_" Sasuke told him, unperturbed by his abruptness. "_Both the magical traps and our kind of traps. Sakura had to perform emergency chakra infusion to burn out the poison and Dark magic in Kakashi's system._"

"_Ah, I see then,_" Shino murmured."_Unfortunately, Hinata asked me to keep tabs on him already, so there are already listening bugs on him and around his office._"

"_How did your bugs get in?_"

"_The wards were set to repel only human trespassers apparently." _

Sasuke shrugged and moved away.

He watched as the Cho, Snape, Draco, Hermione, Luna, Harry, and Ginny made excuses to their friends, claiming that they didn't feel well or forgot something in their dormitory. Or in Snape's case, just get up and leave the staff's table.

All took different routes and different times getting out of the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore had sent out notes of instructions the night before to each individual, telling them how and when to get to the Room of Requirement. This was to prevent any of them from finding out who else was chosen as bond-partners. Shino could only imagine the chaos if Harry and Snape found out that they were working side by side, or Draco and Hermione.

As each person drifted out, the corresponding shinobi partner left also. Shino shadowed Luna as she waved good-bye to her well-wishers and left the Great Hall, taking numerous short-cuts to reach the Room of Requirement.

Shino caught the look that Kabuto/Hiratio gave them as they snuck out. Shino resisted the urge to glare at the other man when he turned his foul gaze unto Luna.

Now, it must be understood that Shino had no romantic feelings regarding the queer, blonde-haired witch. Rather, he felt like an older brother to a sister he never knew he had.

Idly, he wondered if this was a product of the bond, or if it would've occurred naturally on its own.

He also wondered about the new dilemma that Tsunade had placed before them. But immediately, Shino had a gut feeling: he must stay. He didn't know if it was because he was already too deeply connected to the whole scheme, or if it was because he wanted to make sure Luna would stay safe. What he did know was this: if he left, there would be a whole, a gap in a circle that _had to stay complete._

A sense of dread grew in the bottom of his stomach as he watched Luna approach the Room of Requirement door. He leapt down from the ceiling to land silently beside her.

"Ah, there you are," Luna greeted him with a queer smile. "I was beginning to wonder if I was wrong on the reason why I'm here."

_She's good,_ Shino thought as she opened the door. _She would've made a good kunoichi had she the chance._

The door creaked open and the pair stepped inside.

Shino didn't know what to expect when he stepped into the room. He certainly didn't expect to see Dumbledore seated at the head of a very large, circular table. But while Dumbledore looked like a part of the circle, Shino hesitated; the old wizard looked just _wrong_ sitting there. Like the odd man out.

Even Luna hesitated when she stepped in. But she straightened her shoulders. Shino strode towards the right of Dumbledore with her, sitting in the chairs that had the word 'Patience' carved simply into them. They sat, and waited.

Pair by pair, the others trickled in. Tenten and Cho Chang came in soon after Shino and Luna had sat down. The Asian pair sat down on the left of Dumbledore. Falcon and Ginny strode in confidently seconds after, taking their seats two down from Tenten and Cho. Naruto and Draco came in a few moments later, Naruto looking relaxed and assured, Draco looking apprehensive. They took their seats next to Shino and Luna.

Sakura and Hermione came in five minutes later. Both sat down next to Naruto and Draco, much to Draco's displeasure. Naruto saw the disgust flash across Draco's face before it disappeared, and clamped a warning hand on his shoulder. Draco's face tightened, but didn't say or do anything.

Hinata and Harry entered smoothly. They paused at the door, taking in the intimidating scene, but sat calmly beside Falcon and Ginny.

They had hardly sat down when the doors opened yet again. Sasuke and Snape strode in, neither looking friendly nor excited. In fact, Sasuke's face could be accurately compared to thunderclouds. Snape didn't look too happy either, but when he saw Dumbledore, he relaxed.

Harry, on the other hand, almost leapt out of seat when he saw his least-favourite teacher sit down next to him. Hinata curled a strong hand around the younger wizard's arm, anchoring him to his seat. Her fingers squeezed in a silent reminder to behave.

Draco looked blown back as well when he saw Snape, but he didn't make a move to do anything. Everyone else stirred a bit uneasily, but accepted Snape's inclusion to the group.

"Welcome," Dumbledore spoke when they were all seated and quiet. "You all know why you're here. I will not detain you from precious training hours, but remember: you are fighting towards the same goal. Now is not the time let petty disagreements and family feuds divide you." His unnerving gaze misted over them, settling on Harry and Draco. "Train hard; we do not have much time."

There was a contemplative silence for a couple moments before Dumbledore stood. As he stood, the unmarked chair on which he sat on disappeared. The table seemingly shrank, until the space which had been occupied by Dumbledore's chair disappeared.

"As you can see, I'm not a part of the circle," Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled in good humour. "You make the circle that _cannot be divided._"

Shino resisted the shudder that threatened to erupt from hearing his own thoughts echoed back at him.

Dumbledore gave them all a smile, one that showed his trust and faith in them.

"Good luck."

Silence reigned when Dumbledore left. The wizards looked uneasily at each other, and the shinobi looked uneasily at their counterparts.

"Can you take your masks off?" Hermione blurted out, pressured by the silence and the intimidating atmosphere. "I-I mean…" she turned a bright red as everyone stared at her.

"No, it's a good idea," Sakura backed her partner up. The pink haired medic was the first one to untie her mask and set it gently on the table. Her gaze darted around the table, taking in everyone's reactions.

Tenten followed suit. Her eyes darted towards Falcon. She knew Falcon's true identity, and had guessed and put together reasons why she never took her mask off. Would she now?

She didn't.

"I'm afraid I'll have to keep my mask on for this," Falcon murmured.

Tenten felt a rush of irritation. Rin wasn't the only one with something to hide.

Naruto moaned.

"I have speak English for this?" he fumbled over the unfamiliar language.

"Yes," Sasuke replied mercilessly, pulling his mask off. "Shouldn't you have been studying that scroll?"

"Not as much as he should," Hinata already had her mask off. Her gaze was affectionate as she looked at her fiancé.

Shino had switched his mask for his sunglasses, making the transition so fast that no one save Luna saw.

The mood in the room was considerable lighter due to the shinobis' bantering.

"Let's get started then," Sakura chirped. But no one made any move to get up. No one really knew what to do.

"So…" Ginny said slowly, hesitantly. "What do we do?"

"To tell the truth, I don't really know," Sakura confessed.

"I have an idea," Hinata spoke up. "We should have one shinobi and one wizard duel each other. Then we can see how our techniques oppose and meld together."

"That aren't partners," Luna added, her dreamy voice effortlessly floating over the occupants.

"She could almost be a kunoichi," Falcon commented. Shino hid a smile.

"Who's up?"

"I will," Snape muttered, standing up in a swish of robes.

After a moment's silence, Falcon got up as well.

"We need room to duel," Snape snapped. That drew frowns and glares, but the remaining shinobi and wizards got up from the table and settled themselves on one side of the room. The table and chairs disappeared, leaving a smooth, wide duelling area.

Snape made no move except to ready his wand. Falcon shifted into ready position. They stood still for a couple of seconds.

"Conjunctivitis!" Snape said precisely, striking quickly. Rin rolled out of the way, but Snape allowed her no time to recover. "Imperius!"

"_Kanashibari no jutsu!_" Falcon leapt neatly over the curse, sticking onto the wall. Her hands flashed over the seals.

"Difffindo!" the spell knocked Falcon out of her concentration, but her ninjutsu partially succeeded. Snape's legs were frozen, minimizing his movements. He hissed in annoyance. Falcon flipped down from the wall, coming straight onto him with taijutsu and weapons.

She threw three shuriken, shadowed by five kunai. She had more ready in case Snape wasn't able to block them.

He bent sideways, surprisingly flexible. "Reducto!" Falcon was forced to leap out of the way. "Reducto!" Again and again, Snape fired the same curse at her, forcing her away from his form and buying himself time. Snape concentrated on the jutsu freezing his lower limbs and _pushed._ Something cracked, and he found himself able to move again, but his manoeuvre had cost him time and energy. He was forced to go on the defensive.

"_Doton,Doryuudan!_" Falcon's gloved hands slapped the ground. The Room of Requirement shifted to meet her demands. The smooth, wooden floor became compact dirt. Hermione squinted, surprised to actually see the chakra flow from Rin's hands into the ground. Seconds later, a mud dragon roared out of the ground.

Snape wavered: "Diffindo!" The spell split the dragon in half, leaving it to crumble onto the ground. "Duro!"

Falcon dodged the flying spell; it hit the clock on the wall, which instantly turned to stone.

"_Katon, Karyuu Endan!_" she yelled, her hands hovering in front of her in the sign of the tiger. She drew a deep breath and breathed out a fire dragon, which roared towards Snape.

"Aguamenti!" A wave of water doused the dragon before it roasted the wizard. This time, Falcon was ready.

"_Kirigakure no Jutsu!_" Immediately, a thick, heavy mist coated the area, effectively blinding the wizard. He cursed under his breath. "_Kanashibari no jutsu!_"

Snape felt something hit his mind. Grimly, he shoved it back and strengthened the shield around his mind. If the Dark Lord couldn't penetrate it, then there was no way this silly chit of a shinobi would. Sure enough, he felt her try a second time, this time more persistently and demandingly. They locked into a brief struggle for his mind before he broke free.

"Crucio!" He pointed to his left, where he thought he had heard the rustle of cloth. He knew he hit as he heard her drop to the ground with a thump. No sound came, which impressed him; the curse attacked the person's nerves, turning their functions against themselves. It was highly painful and more often than not drove the person to insanity.

The mist disappeared and Snape just caught a glimpse of the writhing body on the ground before it disappeared with a pop, leaving just a log behind. Acting utterly on instinct, he whirled around in a flurry of robes, his wand aimed straight unto an oncoming Falcon.

"Impedimenta!" The spell caught her by surprised and she found herself tripping her own feet and stumbling when she tried to get up. She fished a kunai out of her holster and threw it towards Snape's wand. It made contact and the wand was knocked out of his hand, skidding towards a corner of the room.

Both parties were breathing heavily and in bad positions. Falcon felt herself moving in slow motion and Snape found himself in no position to fetch his wand, lest he wanted his back turned towards her, leaving her a clear, open target.

"_Shintenshin no Jutsu!_" Falcon's steady, clear gaze locked with Snape's.

"_I thought that was Ino's signature move!_" Sakura hissed to Sasuke, who was seated next to her. "_How did she learn that?_"

Sasuke didn't answer, but he wondered the same thing. How many more things was this woman hiding?

Falcon felt her spirit and mind float over towards Snape. She breached the first defenses easily and was met with a very unpleasant surprise.

_"OUT,"_ yelled a great and terrible voice. Wincing, she retreated, finding herself back securely in her own body. She swayed, exhausted from all the chakra she had spent. Snape seized his chance and lunged for his wand. He was cut off when Falcon appeared before him in a burst of movement, her kunai pressed against his throat.

Gritting his teeth, Snape _willed_ his wand to come to him. The burst of magic that exploded from his fingertips drew his wand into his hand, the grip fitting perfectly with his palm. A split second later, he had it aimed and pointed towards Falcons throat.

It was a tie. A very close one, at that. Both remained there for a moment before backing off, respect clear in each other's eyes.

"That was incredible!" Hermione was the first to speak, her brown eyes shining. "I didn't think that we would be evenly matched with you guys, but…"

"Quiet," Snape snapped, feeling a headache grow. He badly needed a chair to sit in and some Butterbeer. Both appeared a split second later, as for Falcon. She also collapsed in the chair gratefully, but eyed the Butterbeer with a little more suspicion.

"It's good," Ginny reassured her as she stood up to walk towards her partner."It'll restore you a bit. Almost like a power-drink, but better." Warily, Falcon took a sip and found that it warmed her pleasantly and relaxed her tense muscles.

"It look like both you was holding back," Naruto commented as he joined them. Sakura cringed and covered her face when she heard his mangled English.

"I didn't see a need to tap into that… side of me," Falcon admitted, referring to her newfound power from the bond, when she saw that Snape wasn't going to speak. "And even if I wanted to, I couldn't _feel_ it. It was like it was hovering just outside my reach."

"It showed, in your fighting," Shino commented.

"Maybe you can only tap into that when you're fighting alongside your partner?" Hinata suggested, trying to examine the situation logically.

"That would make the most sense," Tenten agreed. "But what surprised me most was, well, how _easily_ Snape seemed to block most of Falcon's attacks, even though they were mostly all _ninjutsu_. I thought only those trained in our… arts could break them like that."

"Not necessarily," Hermione disagreed thoughtfully. She had one finger tapping against her chin, as if considering something. "Our spells are pretty clear and straightforward, like Reducto. Just a straight beam of magic, easily avoidable for people like you – or ninjas, I should say, I suppose. But your form of attack is pretty to deflect as well. The elemental… spells?... you used are fairly easy to negate. After all, it's pretty basic: water beats fire, fire beats earth, etc… And with the mind attacks, well, Professor Snape is very proficient in Occlumency, which is a high form of mind defense."

"That would explain why I couldn't get into his mind," Falcon said thoughtfully. "I've never had so much trouble before."

_Before?_ Sasuke thought. _She's done the Yamanaka bloodline technique before?_

"But you not stand a chance if we use… _taijutsu!_" Naruto brightened at this, not even noticing how everyone cringed at his terrible English.

"Taijutsu is physical attacks," Shino clarified for the witches and wizards. "Theoretically, what Naruto says is true. If we ever had to go one and one against each other using just fists, we would undoubtedly win."

"I think Harry would be a good match for you guys," Ginny argued hotly. "He's had Quidditch training. That's improved his instincts and strength." Then she turned a shade of pink as said wizard turned to look at her.

"Very well," Hinata sighed. "You play Quidditch as well, don't you, Ginny?"

The redhead appeared startled, and a little regretful that she brought up the subject.

"Yes," she admitted reluctantly.

"Go one on one with me, then," Hinata beckoned a hand. "Surely all that Quidditch training would've honed your strength and skill just as much as Harry's."

Harry recognized the look in Hinata's eyes. It was the look that said that she was going to teach a lesson to someone the hard way, but he knew it was inevitably also the right way. Sometimes the hardest lessons, the bitterest medicines the swallow were the ones best for you.

"Alright," Ginny agreed. "Do I get my wand?"

"Why not?" Hinata shrugged gracefully. Everyone else cleared the floor, giving them room. Snape and Falcon took their Butterbeers with them, their chairs disappearing in a poof of smoke.

"Would you like the first move?" Hinata asked graciously.

Now Ginny was starting to get pissed. "Doesn't matter." She drew her wand out.

Hinata didn't answer. She stood there, her moon-white eyes staring intently into Ginny's clear brown ones. Then she disappeared.

Ginny's grip on her wand tightened, and she was aware of the very slight movement of air behind her before she was able to react. Unfortunately, she was too slow and got dumped on her back as Hinata swept her feet from under her.

Ginny rolled to her side and hovered in a crouch, staying on the defensive. Hinata leapt straight at her, her arm drawn back in a punch. Ginny evaded the punch, barely, swiftly bringing up her wand for the tiny second Hinata was exposed.

"Petrificus Totalis," she hissed, but was too slow. Of course. Cursing, Ginny rolled to her left, acting purely on instinct as Hinata swung a roundhouse kick her way. The Hyuuga followed the move up with swooping down and plucking the wand out of Ginny's hands.

Ginny was more than pissed now. She was embarrassed, and then angry at Hinata for humiliating her so. She attempted to redeem herself by throwing herself onto offense, rolling up onto her knees and then driving a fist straight towards Hinata's face.

Hinata was a little startled at the sudden switch in tactics, but recovered quickly. Her left hand came up to catch the fist. Her right hand caught Ginny's other arm, twisting it behind her back.

"Yield," Hinata's voice was soft, yet firm.

Ginny blushed a deep red, ashamed at being beat so thoroughly and so damn _fast_. "I give."

"Definitely _not_ on par with us," Sasuke muttered as Hinata and Ginny walked over to join them on the floor. Hinata was moving at probably two-thirds the speed she normally would've in a regular shinobi battle.

"You have enough instincts and unpredictability to save your necks," Falcon added bluntly. "In terms of battle plans, I think it would be best for us subdue it physically first before we attack together."

"You probably think we're a bunch of weaklings," Cho sighed. Snape made a sound suspiciously like a snort.

"In terms of physical strength, yes, you would most certainly be overpowered by us. But everywhere else we're actually pretty evenly matched. It doesn't really seem that way though, doesn't it?" Sakura asked.

"It might be just the look of you," Luna put her two cents in. "You're older and you look a lot more intimidating than a clutch of schoolchildren – and Professor Snape, of course," she added graciously. "And we've seen the extent of your skills. For us, who are still learning about magic, it's frightening to see you and your mastered skills."

"Not as frightening as hearing you sound as smart as Shikamaru," Tenten murmured under her breath.

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Sakura said firmly. "We're human, you're human. We might have different essences running through us, but we're still made essentially of the same stuff. We're even."

Sasuke's face looked like he was deciding whether he should contradict her last statement. Eerily enough, Snape's face mirrored Sasuke's.

"You have abilities beyond our own too," Sakura continued on her thread. "You can speak to snakes-"

"But that's just Harry," Hermione pointed out. "It's actually very rare among us."

"Tenten and I can speak it as well," Sasuke added.

"But Tenten got hers as a side-effect and you learned it," Sakura argued. "You weren't born with it. Oh hey! Weren't we trying to figure out who the Parsletongue user was?"

"Well, congrats," Tenten told her dryly. "You found out-" Whatever else she was going to say was drowned out by the sudden, incessant banging on the front door.

They all exchanged perplexed and slightly wary looks. Sakura got up to answer it.

She opened the door and was nearly knocked off her feet when Krum staggered in, seemingly drunk. Hinata automatically activated her Byakugan, and Sasuke's Sharingan flipped on.

"Viktor!" Hermione cried, rushing to help her friend stand properly. Sakura swiftly closed the door, barring Krum's only escape and even going as far as standing in front of it.

"Don't!" Krum cried. Hermione stopped in her tracks. "Don't touch me…" Then he doubled over, as if he was going to retch. Instead, he groaned and clutched his head, panting heavily.

"Viktor?" Hermione hedged hesitantly forward. "Are you alright?"

"No, no, no…" he mumbled. Almost unconsciously, his hand crept up to rub his shoulder.

Sakura recognized that motion. It was the same move Sasuke did whenever his curse seal was bothering him.

A glint of purple shone in Krum's eyes as he straightened up, seemingly haven gotten his bearings.

"Ah, I'm very sorry," he apologized. "Hermione, could you help me with something?"

Before Hermione, or anyone else for that matter, could answer, Sakura materialized directly behind Krum and knocked him out, catching his limp body as he crumpled towards the ground.

"What was that for?" Hermione cried.

Sakura gestured towards Hinata. The Hyuuga walked towards them. It was only then did Hermione notice the Byakugan. She stared, fascinated.

"This is my bloodline technique," Hinata explained. "It enables me to see chakra and magic. What I saw in him," she pointed at Krum's motionless body, "was magic that we've seen associated with the seven sins beast. I don't know how it got in there or how he managed to isolate within himself for that long, but it's there. And it's particularly potent within this area." She unbuttoned Krum's cloak undid the first few buttons of his school blouse. She pushed it aside to reveal Krum's shoulder. Stamped onto his skin was the kanji for 'pride'.

Silence reigned the room.

"Well that certainly explains more than it doesn't," Tenten sighed.

"What are we do with he?" Naruto asked. Sakura sighed in annoyance.

"After this, you're going to spend all of your free time studying from that scroll," she ordered him. Naruto scowled at her, pouting.

"Dumbledore should be informed immediately," Shino said. "And perhaps Hiratio? Or maybe not. This would give Kabuto and Orochimaru an advantage, knowing that their plan didn't work."

The witches and wizards weren't the only ones staring at him.

"What plan? And how is Krum afflicted with those two?" Falcon queried.

From his vest, Shino pulled out a sheet of paper.

"I was planning to reveal my bugs' findings to you later tonight, but perhaps it's better if we all knew about this sooner rather than later." The paper was unfolded on the floor and everyone crowded around it, momentarily abandoning Krum's body.

On the paper was a plan of Kabuto's office.

"Wait, wait," Draco spoke for the first time. "Who the heck is Kabuto and how is he simultaneously Hiratio? And how's he connected with Orochimaru?"

"And where did the bugs come from?" Harry added. "For that matter, what's the deal with your eyes?" He pointed at Sasuke's Sharingan activated eyes.

"Hiratio is really Kabuto in disguise, isn't it?" Luna commented in her usual dreamy voice. "He's a ninja, and he used the art of concealing to hide his true identity. And I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say he's also Orochimaru's henchman, isn't he?"

"Correct," Shino answered her. She was as bright and as perceptive as Sakura, but just a little more unorthodox in her ways. "And the bugs are part of my clan. We struck a deal with them. We feed them our chakra and allow them to be sheltered in our bodies while in return, they become our soldiers."

"They live _in_ you?" Cho repeated incredulously."And if they feed on your chakra, doesn't it… well, kill you?"

"They don't have full reign over us," Shino informed her. "We keep our colonies tightly under control."

"Oh," the Chinese/British girl mulled it over in her head. "What about him then?" She gestured at Sasuke.

"It's my bloodline limit too," Sasuke answered her shortly. "I can copy ninjutsu moves just by looking at the hand seals and it gives me heightened sight and perception, thereby allowing me to 'see' the future."

"Or predict it well enough, anyways," Sakura added.

"Continue with what you were saying before," Snape prodded Shino.

"Right here," Shino pointed to a part on Kabuto's desk, "is where my bugs found some files on Krum. All that was said on it in terms of his current state was 'successfully infected but waning'. I would assume that meant he was infected by the sins, or at least one of them, but its power over him is waning. My bugs also found traces of Orochimaru's chakra around here," he pointed to a spot between the desk and the door. "It was fresh too, only about a day or so old."

"You but said plan," Naruto spoke up. "What you mean?"

Shino pointed to the spot of the files again. "I had said 'successfully infected but waning'. There was a date beside it too: Dec 18. I'm assuming that was when he was injected, or bitten, or infected in some way. We already know how infectious the sins influence is. I'm guessing that their plan was to get Krum to spread the sin's influence throughout the student population, crippling us inside out. We were assigned to protect the students, but what would – what _could_ we do if the students were the ones attacking us? And when Voldemort leads his siege onto Hogwarts, what could we do if he had not only the sins by his side, and Orochimaru to boot, but the students of Hogwarts themselves?"

"Don't tell me," Tenten spoke up, epiphany dawning in her eyes. "Those snakes…"

"Infected, most likely," Shino nodded.

"How do we know how many he's infected though?" Sasuke asked, frowning. "We didn't know about this before. We've never kept tabs on the students."

"There were a couple of cases, but they're quarantined in the Hospital Wing," Hinata assured him. "_Neji-nii-san_(1) and I noticed odd flashes of dark magic in their systems and immediately had them removed. I think it's safe to say that Krum battled with the magic enough for him to keep a large amount of control, at least in regard of him spreading the influence around."

"How can you guys just deduct this on the spot?" Ginny asked curiously. "I was stumped at first."

"Practice," Tenten replied, her smile curling up wryly. "And we're specifically trained for this kind of thing. Plus most of this is common sense and logic. And we know our enemies pretty well, well enough to deduct their actions fairly accurately. Hopefully, anyways."

"You see _Shikamaru_ do this," Naruto gestured to the paper excitedly. "He's genius. 200 plus IQ."

"Really?" Hermione asked a little dubiously, a little awed.

"He's smart, that's all you really need to know," Snape said curtly.

"Now that we have that all sorted out, what are we going to do about him?" Falcon jerked a thumb towards Krum's prone body. Everyone was quiet as they mulled over possibilities in their mind.

"We could send him to the hospital wing-"

"Send up to Dumbledore-"

"Keep him here-"

"How about," Ginny suggested, "We find some sort of thing to keep him under control and keep him here? He has one of the sin's influence running through him. He should be able to help us fight the sins pretty well then, shouldn't he? We could learn a lot from him."

"See?" Tenten said, "Common sense. I like it."

There was general agreement, but Snape scowled. "He's a dangerous being and could be attacked here. We should bring him to Dumbledore."

"So he could get attacked?" Sakura pointed out. "Dumbledore's a key player in this game. Wouldn't want to have him checkmated so early on."

"Does it mean more guard duty with him?" Naruto asked with a sigh.

"Maybe," Falcon admitted. "We should probably ask Dumbledore for help on this. And probably _Shikamaru_ too."

Shino folded up the paper and tucked it back into his vest. Just as everyone was straightening up, a knock was heard on the door once again. Sakura answered it, surprised to see Kakashi there.

"_Kaka-sensei-_"

"Attack, Potions classroom, second floor dungeon, subdued but need immediate back-up. Two students injured, cause undetermined." Sakura looked back at the group behind her.

"Well?" she asked them with a tired smile. "Ready to try out our shiny new skills?"

"Not really," Tenten was the one who answered, "but hell, let's go. You never know what might happen."

--

AN: Out of the fire, into the frying pan. That's kind of what I feel like, writing and trying to incorporate so many characters and plots at once.

I really, really, really suck don't I? I keep promising to get chapters up on breaks/vacation (spring break, anyone?) but the promised chapter never shows up. Reasons (because if it were me, I know I would like to know the reason(s) why a chapter shows up more than half a year later… wow, jeez, I really am sorry.): school (I know, I know, lame but entirely true), lack of interest, laziness, procrastination. I can't even blame it on writer's block this time.

You can kind of tell I'm losing a little bit of steam with this story. The chapters aren't as long as they're used to… but to make up for that a little, I rolled the plotline along a lot and finally got around to bond stuff. And I changed where the story is heading, just a little bit. Just to keep things a little more realistic.

I'm really, really, really sorry. I know I hate it when authors don't update stories I like for a long time, and I hate being a hypocrite. But unfortunately, that's how it worked out.

I'll try to at least get the next chapter out by the end of the year. Really. I'll really, really, really try.

Chapter totally unbeta-d by _anyone_. My beta disappeared and my beta-ing skills have also taken a break. It seems to be always on a break… So there's bound to be a lot of mistakes. I wrote half of this chapter in one sitting at twelve in the morning. My brain's not functioning right right now. Also, this site's formatting screwed with this chapter a LOT. I had to manually go through the solid chunk of text and seperate everything. So sorry if some things don't make sense because of that.

So… was this worth the wait? Please tell me in a review! :D

**Notes:**

**(1) "_Neji-nii-san _and I noticed odd flashes of dark magic in their system…:** The reason why I put the names in italics (or vice versa, in the case of Dumbledore's letter to Tsunade) is because their names are in Japanese/English and are meant to be read and spoken in Japanese/English.


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Naruto, Adventure, Drama