Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story that you recognize as someone else's.
Chapter One
'I need sake for this,' Tsunade thought as she read the letter addressed to her. She contemplated on whether or not she should approve of the mission and send out a team to bodyguard Harry Potter. She sighed and turned to the only person in the room aside from herself.
"Namiashi, get Hatake and his team here immediately. Tell Umino he should be in this room also, as soon as possible, unless he wants to face my wrath. I don't know where Hatake-brat is, so you'll just have to track him yourself, but Umino should be teaching right now."
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
"You are dismissed."
--
Namiashi Raidou considered all the places Hatake Kakashi and his team would be. One of the logical areas would be the training grounds. Another would be at the bridge. There was even a small chance that Kakashi hadn't even arrived to train his students; Naruto would have probably shouted his head off by now. It was also possible for the four of them to be patrolling the outskirts of Konoha. Ever since the dangers of Akatsuki were growing, the Hokage had all able ninjas keep watch out for the S-class nins.
Raidou went to each area one after the other, and discovered each spot was empty. His frustration grew, and decided to first go tell Iruka that the Godaime Hokage wanted to see him. He headed towards the Academy, and entered Iruka's classroom unannounced, startling the Academy students.
"Umino Iruka, you are requested in the presence of the Hokage, immediately," Raidou suddenly stated with an air of urgency.
"Oohh, sensei, busted! What did you do? Rob the Hokage of her sake?" someone interjected, looking quite cheerful at the joke he made.
Iruka turned red at the sudden rudeness of one of his students. "Konohamaru! I want you to write me a one-page essay on why you shouldn't disrespect your elders! I want it on my desk by tomorrow!"
"Aaww. You have to be kidding me. I'm going to be the next Hokage! You can't do this to me!"
"I can and I will!"
"Iruka-sensei…," Raidou warned him. Iruka read in between the non-existent lines that this meeting was a matter of importance.
"Hai. Class dismissed. I still want that essay Konohamaru!" Iruka said, reminding him of his punishment. "Okay, I need to organize my classroom, but I'll be ready in a few minutes."
The jounin sighed, "Just hurry and head towards the Hokage tower when you're done." He then exited out of Iruka's classroom with a poof.
--
'Arghhh. Where in the world can Team 7 be? Is it really that hard to find them? With a loudmouth ninja as a member of their team, I should have heard them by now, at least.'
Raidou mused at his inability to find said team, and wondered if he was getting old. He flitted down one of the more populated streets of Konoha, careful in not bumping into anyone, hoping to find Team 7 as quickly as possible. "Tsunade-sama must be getting angry right now. Thank Kami I'm not in her pathway," the scarred ninja said out-loud.
--
In the Hokage Tower, Tsunade sneezed as Iruka entered her room. "Sneezing in the summer, Tsunade-sama? Somebody must be talking about you. Anyways, you need to see me?"
"Yes, yes. We just need to wait for Team 7 to arrive. Then I can begin the debriefing," the Hokage answered swiftly. "I just wonder what's taking them so long."
--
He finally spotted Kakashi and his team dining out at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. He groaned inwardly, mentally smacking himself on the forehead for not thinking of the ramen bar as a possibility of where they could be.
Raidou approached them and made himself known with a small cough. The 'slurping of ramen' ninjas turned to face him. "Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, you are required to be in the presence of the Hokage. Please report to the Hokage Tower immediately."
Naruto brightened up immediately, brooding about the fact that Kakashi was later than usual today. "Hooray! A mission! A chance to prove to Sakura-chan that I am better than teme and she will fall in love with me," shouted Naruto with 'youthfulness' as Gai would say, if he were here.
"Dobe, don't talk like I'm not here," the Uchiha said, annoyed at Naruto's sudden rant, though not unusual.
The ramen-loving ninja gasped and started to shake Kakashi, "HE SPEAKS! Quick, sensei! Check if it really is Sasuke!"
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, retreating back to his original character.
"NA-RU-TO! Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that!" Sakura slammed her fist into Naruto's head.
Kakashi sighed. Today was not a good day for him. He accidently misplaced his beloved book, Icha Icha Violence. Him! The great Sharingan Kakashi! The shouts and noises his team made, or at least Sakura and Naruto, irritated the jounin-sensei when they accused him of being late, and to top it all off, here was Namiashi saying that they were going on a mission. It must have been an important one, though, since a jounin delivered the message orally, instead of a messenger hawk.
"Quiet you two, we need to get going." Kakashi stood up, paid the old man for the ramen, and acknowledged Raidou for the message. He jumped onto the roofs of the stores to ensure speed in his travel towards the tower, leaving his team behind.
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei, wait up!" Sakura shouted in mid-punch, and Naruto sighed in relief.
--
To pass the time, Iruka and Tsunade talked about the progress of his students, and which of them he thought were ready to graduate. "Well, Konohamaru does get on people's nerves, but he is developing into a skilled ninja. He looks up to Naruto, although I wish he never taught Konohamaru Sexy-no-jutsu."
"Yes, don't we all," Tsunade agreed.
At that moment, Kakashi and his team entered the room. Spotting his former sensei, Naruto shouted with glee, and hugged Iruka, surprising him. Sakura said hello, and Sasuke grunted his infamous Uchiha grunt.
Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "Are we interrupting something, Tsunade-sama?"
"No," Tsunade shook her head in emphasis, "Iruka-sensei and I were just waiting for you. I should demote Namiashi back to genin, making us sit here like this."
"Huh?" The masked ninja said dumbly. Why would a lowly chunnin be here? Shouldn't he be teaching those Academy brats?
"And I thought you were supposed to be a genius. You," Tsunade said exasperatedly and pointed at Kakashi, "and your team is being assigned to a year long, S-class mission, AND, Iruka-sensei will be joining you. THAT is why he is here."
"Tsunade-sama!" Iruka yelped in surprise, since he didn't know what this meeting was about. "I haven't been on a mission in ages! I'll only be a hindrance on this mission, especially since it's S-classed."
"Nonsense Iruka. I know what you are capable of. Anyways, there will be children at the place you all are heading to, so you are the only logical person to send, in case something happens to them."
"Yeah, Iruka-sensei! I bet when we get there, you'll kick ass!"
"NARUTO! What have I told you about language?"
"Sorry…but still!"
Kakashi asked, "So, what's the mission?"
"Well, just recently, I was sent a letter from one Albus Dumbledore, hiring us in order to protect a certain boy, Harry Potter. Apparently, he plays an important part in their war, and must not be killed. We cannot refuse this mission, since they are willing to pay a hefty amount for our services."
'You'll probably be using this money to pay off your debts,' Kakashi thought, but sadly, he actually said it out loud. He quickly dodged the kunai headed towards nether regions. How she managed that angle from her desk, he didn't know, but that was probably why she was one of the Legendary Sannin.
"This Harry Potter," Tsunade continued, "will be going to school at a place called Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school of magic where wizards and witches go to, to hone their magical abilities. That is where the most part of your mission will take place. But first, you need to get on the train to Hogwarts. Here are your tickets." The Hokage handed out a ticket to each person. "Do not lose these! They are irreplaceable, and don't be late for the train ride." She directed this piece of advice to Kakashi.
"Me? Late? How could you accuse me of such a thing, Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked in mock disbelief.
"Because I can, that's why, and you usually are late. Anyways, it's a good thing that this mission came now. Ever since the attacks of Akatsuki on Naruto have increased, this will give us an opportunity to hide him for the time being. Do you all accept this mission?"
Iruka snorted. "It isn't like you're giving us much choice, Tsunade-sama. I accept."
Four more variations of 'I accept' reached Tsunade's ears, and she rubbed her hands in eagerness.
"Okay! Here is the scroll of this mission, containing all the details. Pack all the things you need for this assignment, but keep it light. Meet back here in one hour. Iruka-sensei, I will have Shikamaru sub for you in your time of absence."
"Hai," said Iruka, and they all left the room.
--
"Ramen or no ramen? Ramen or no ramen? Hmm. Oh well! I can carry it all anyways."
--
When the hour passed, the five ninjas found themselves back in Tsunade's office, waiting for their instructions. Tsunade raised her eyebrows at Naruto, eyeing his provisions pack. "I thought I told you to pack light."
"Oh, no worries baa-chan. I can carry it all. I couldn't survive on a year long mission without ramen."
"It's your burden. I don't think anyone wants to carry it for you," said the medic-nin.
"I got it," Naruto retaliated.
"Hatake Kakashi, you shall be team leader. Who do you choose as your second-in-command?" continued the Sannin, getting on with business.
"Umino Iruka." Well, no surprises there, almost everyone thought. Except for Iruka, who was still in a daze ever since hearing about this mission. Kakashi and Iruka were enemies ever since the Chunnin Exams. Also, he wasn't cut out for this type of thing. He was a teacher for goodness! Barely scraped by the Chunnin Exams, and had no special abilities.
"Let's get started." Tsunade then pulled out a long red feather. "This phoenix feather is a portkey, which shall transport you all to your destination, although even I'm not sure where it is."
"What's a phoenix?" inquired Sakura.
"Apparently it's a giant, magical bird of some sort. I'm not sure. Anyways, the portkey will activate in a few minutes, so I need you all to surround it and place a hand on the feather. A warning before you go. Do not fail this mission. It is extremely critical that we get the money. We need it to pay off the expenses of rebuilding Konoha."
"Hai," everyone said in unison.
The few minutes passed by slowly, anticipating where they would be headed. Naruto was shaking in his non-existent boots with excitement.
Tsunade kept her eyes on the time, and counted down.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three,"
"Two,"
"One!"
And the five ninjas got sucked into the feather, leaving the Godaime Hokage alone in her office. "Good luck."
--
"Oof!" Naruto cried out in pain as both Sasuke and Sakura landed on top of him. They landed in the center of a living room, surrounded by surprised wizards and witches. Kakashi and Iruka, even though this being the first time they ever used a portkey, landed with grace and on their feet.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" someone in the room shouted, and a spell was directed to the five of them.
Author's Note: Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Has anyone noticed the excessive usage of exclamation points I used? Especially with Iruka?