The Hand of Friendship
Summary: Minato and his two students are assigned a mission to play professor and students at Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. However, danger lurks around every corner, and who is there to trust? No pairings.
Disclaimer: I do not own the fantastical world of Harry Potter or Naruto. They are the rights of J. K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto. The only thing I own in this story is Bridgette and the storyline plot.
Author's Note: I'm trying to keep the characters as similar to their actual selves as possible, and also to portray a believable Triwizard in which-*spoilers*-happened. It'll be a very long story ranging over many chapters but if you like this plotline, do stick with me. Also, before you start reading the story, I'd like to say that there is an OC in the story, and she's one of the main characters, but please do not do the stereotypical thing and assume that just because she is an OC with a weird name, she'll be a Mary Sue. Stereotypes are stereotypes, and not everyone you think is a stereotype is indeed one.
Chapter One: The Three-Man Team
Sarutobi glanced down the letter he had just received, his eyes widening with surprise. The Hokage read the letter three times over before standing up and beginning to pace his office, staring out at the village. He could see the north gate from his position-it was a very small dot at the far end of the village-but a wave of sadness washed over him as he remembered how the Iwa shinobi had tried to destroy that gate. Fifty shinobi-mostly chuunins-had died to protect the border of the village from infiltration.
Sarutobi forced back the sadness with a burst of determination and glanced down at the letter again.
How could he have forgotten his long-time friend and ally? Of course, the recently-ended Third Great Shinobi World War had taken up much of his attention, but still he should not have forgotten that an entire world lay hidden out there, so near and yet so far. And now his friend had requested for his help, and from the tone of the letter, it was an urgent matter. He had promised good payment-Sarutobi knew the village needed the money desperately-but after the war and its casualties, there were few shinobi to spare. And yet...
The Hokage sighed heavily, his mind wandering to the debate two days ago. The Uchiha clan was still quarreling over the Sharingan eye that Obito Uchiha had given his teammate, Kakashi Hatake, during the course of the war, and the heated debate did not look as though it was going to end anytime soon. Best to get the poor boy away from this mess...
Sarutobi finally stopped pacing, and let some of his chakra flare slightly. One of the two ANBU guarding him outside burst into the office, anticipating an attack. The cat-masked assasin lowered his weapon when he saw that his Hokage was safe.
Sarutobi regarded the ANBU thoughtfully for the span of a heartbeat. Then he made his decision.
"Get me Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi."
Minato grinned at the silver-haired, fourteen-year-old boy walking sedately next to him towards the Hokage's office. Sarutobi had summoned them to his office, probably for another mission. The war had ended, but the casualties still remained. Konoha was still struggling to recover from the wars that it waged with the other Great Nations, though it was faring much better than Iwagakure, that was for certain. Kakashi, walking quietly next to his sensei, had emerged from the war a survivor and an infamous name in bingo books, though at the cost of his best friend.
Minato sighed to himself as he recalled the argument from two days ago. Ever since finding out about the eye Obito had given Kakashi as both a congratulatory and last gift, the Uchiha clan had been in uproar, thinking that their bloodline was in danger of being leaked out. Their leader Fugaku had even tried to demand for the eye to be removed, though that would leave Kakashi blind in one eye for life. Sandaime had turned the demand down, but Kakashi was still shaken inwardly by the fierce argument. Minato suspected that - if Sandaime could convince the clan to calm down - Kakashi would never be able to do what boys normally do and take girls out for dates, for fear that he might be capable of passing on the bloodline to a non-Uchiha...
Upon entering the Hokage's office, Minato saw Sandaime look up from a scroll he was poring over. Minato's sapphire eyes roamed to the room's other occupant: a girl of Kakashi's age with shoulder-length dark red hair and bright hazel eyes, wearing the standard ANBU uniform with a dangling wolf mask in her hand—Minato's adoptive daughter Bridgette, though she insisted on calling him sensei. She was another of those that came out of the war a famous name, but more by merit of being the daughter of the Yellow Flash than anything else.
"Sensei! Kakashi!" Bridgette greeted, unusually cheerful.
Minato smiled, "Didn't know you're coming along for the ride, Bridgette."
Kakashi frowned slightly, "Wolf, you should wear your ANBU mask all the time when you are on duty, you know. It is standard protocol."
"Oh, the old man assigned me today. Apparently your mission needs someone of the Hokage's personal recommendation or something like that, and only ANBU fit that category. And since I'm just a young, inexperienced ANBU who'd probably jeopardize any high-level assasination mission the old man hands out to me, he went ahead and decided to give me a mission on diplomacy instead." Bridgette answered Minato's question first. "And Kakashi, as the student of Minato-sensei, you know very well that I don't wear my mask around the old man, or you guys, for that matter."
Kakashi just rolled his visible eye in response. Bridgette could be alarmingly informal with the Hokage when she felt like it, and he always punished her lightly (if at all) for her defiance of protocol. Kakashi knew it had something to do with her past and how she ended up as Minato-sensei's adoptive daughter, but that seemed to be classified information that sensei had forbidden him from seeking.
Sandaime very pointedly ignored the comment on his age and nodded towards the both of them, then turned professional. "I assume you know why you're here?"
All three shrugged, and Minato shook his head slightly.
"Well then," Sandaime's hand swept over the scroll, "This may sound a little strange and is certainly hard to believe, but I order that you keep your questions to yourself until I am finished." He waited for all three to nod.
Sandaime looked at the scroll again, saying, "My good friend Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of a faraway school outside of the shinobi lands called Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school of magic. Um, I believe that this 'magic' is similar to our chakra, except that they channel their powers through sticks that are called 'wands'. This year, the school will be hosting what they call a Triwizard Tournament—which is rather like the chunin exams—and have invited two other foreign schools to participate. Albus is worried that a certain notorious wizard calling himself the Dark Lord would interfere with the tournament, as the Dark Lord aims to murder a certain student in the school for reasons unknown. He has requested for spies at Hogwarts…Minato, you will be acting as a teacher, while the two of you," he indicated Kakashi and Bridgette, "will be playing students. However, this is not just a spying mission. You are representing Konoha there to strengthen bonds between our two worlds—it is as much a friendship mission as a spying one. And," Sarutobi paused, "because the mission is highly diplomatic, I need to send an ANBU along with you two, which is why Bridgette is tagging along. It won't do for Albus to think that I'm not giving him some of the best. There is the pride of the village at stake. Understood?"
There was a short, disbelieving silence, before-
"It does sound unbelievable, but I will accept the oddity of it for now. And Hokage-sama, I do not know of any subjects they teach." Minato put forth, masking his confusion flawlessly.
Sandaime glanced at the scroll, "Ah yes. Albus will be opening a new course when school begins, some self-defense course which you will be in charge of." He grinned, wrinkling his old face even more. "Albus says you're allowed to teach the fourth years and above, and that you can give them the basics of shinobi work. It sounds fun."
Minato shrugged.
"Any other questions?"
"How and when will we leave, Hokage-sama?" was Bridgette's question.
"Hmm…the three of you will catch the Hogwarts Express—which is a kind of transport device called a train—at King's Cross station on the first of September. As it is late August now, I suggest you start packing." He paused, "King's Cross is located outside of the shinobi lands, but Albus has given me a seal a long time ago with which you can travel easily between the two worlds. The seal is located at the border of Fire Country, however, so you might need to do a bit of traveling. The structure of the seal is rather like your Flying Thunder God, Minato. I am sure that you will be able to work out how to use this seal efficiently with the instructions given." His eyes twinkled at Minato, who shrugged, accepting that others would work out the way he created his infamous Hiraishin technique.
The three of them nodded their consent.
Kakashi asked the next question, "How long will the mission take?"
"The details will be on your mission scroll, but I'd say...a year." Sandaime grew solemn as he saw their wide, dismayed eyes. "I understand that it is an extended mission that few rarely take, but Albus is paying well and Konoha needs the money desperately. We have been sorely drained after the war, and I cannot risk an invasion from other countries until we are back on our feet. You understand?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Also, Albus invited the both of you to participate in the Triwizard, if so you wish." Sandaime looked at Bridgette and Kakashi.
The two of them exchanged glances with their sensei, then looked at Sandaime blankly. "What is this Triwizard specifically, old man?" Bridgette asked.
Again bypassing the comment of his age, Sandaime replied, "It is a competition between foreign wizardry schools held once every century. Each school..." he glanced down at the scroll, "...will select a 'champion' and the 'champion' is required to go through three tests of their abilities that will span across the year. The winning 'champion' earns his or her school's pride and a thousand yen in their currency. The Triwizard has not been held for a very long time, so there is a lot of excitement now. Also, there is an age restriction this time, and it is only open to students at or above the age of seventeen, but Albus stated that he can make an exception in your case. It is not compulsory for you to participate, but you might find the year rather boring otherwise."
"I think the both of them are capable enough." Minato spoke, grinning at his two students. "After all, Kakashi is a Jounin and Bridgette an ANBU. It shouldn't be too tough."
"We'll do it, then." Kakashi said, and Bridgette nodded her agreement.
"Good." Sandaime inclined his head in acknowledgement, then continued, "I - through Albus - will be supplying you with some spellbooks to cover the basics of their...academic training program. They'll be interesting, and you'd best read them up if you want to understand their culture better."
The three shrugged again.
"Very well. That is all." He paused, "Bridgette, I want you to stay back for awhile. Minato, Kakashi...you are dismissed."
Sandaime looked down at his scroll again as the two bowed and exited the office, before turning to the ANBU, who finally let her worry show. "Hokage-sama, what if...what if I somehow meet him?"
"It'll be alright, Bridgette. There's little chance of running into him there. It had been so many years, and you never met him face-to-face. Now, I want you to go and see Mitarashi Anko and tell her this..."
"It sounds like a fun mission." Bridgette announced, poofing into existence as Minato and Kakashi were exiting the Hokage building. She had put her wolf mask back on, and her voice was muffled by the porcelain mask.
"Perhaps so, but don't forget that it's a spying one as well as a diplomatic mission." Kakashi warned.
"Course not. I'm not one of the youngest ANBU for nothing, Kakashi." Bridgette rebuffed.
"I believe Lynx - who is also in your department - is younger than you by about a year, and Cat of the assasination department is six months younger. By the way, you got in with a lot of luck, you know?" Kakashi said suddenly. "After all, many of the elite shinobi died in the war," his voice wavered minutely before he regained his composure, "and you had recommendation from Hokage-sama and Minato-sensei. It's almost like a free ticket in. They needed shinobi of higher rank, so they started to pull all the Chunin and Jounin up into Special and ANBU ranks. You were only a Jounin last year, like me."
"...it's not entirely false, Kakashi, but if I didn't have skill, I couldn't have got in either." Her tone was more subdued now. "I know my temparament is not exactly qualified for ANBU, but the old man assured me that despite my occasional impulsiveness, he wants me in ANBU. He says I won't be doing a lot of work on the battlefield itself, so it's okay."
"Then what will you be doing?" Kakashi asked, curious despite himself.
"I'll be learning how to do professional torture and interrogation techniques, since that's my strongest point and the old man wants me to focus on it." Bridgette replied in a quieter voice as they passed a shinobi team, the Genin staring unabashedly at her wolf mask and uniform. Their sensei sent them a stern glance. "Ibiki-senpai will be teaching the new recruits: me, Lynx, Dog, Mouse and Dragon. Most of the interrogation is conducted here in Konoha, so I won't be taking many of the actual field missions ANBU usually get."
She paused, before continuing. "But I will admit that if it was not for the war, it would have been a lot harder to get into ANBU. I probably wouldn't have got in at all until I turn seventeen, at least. I know taijutsu and strategy-wise, I'm still quite weak. Kakashi, why not you try? Your abilities are more all-rounded than mine."
"I don't want to, unless the Hokage requests it of me. You know ANBU only take the hardest and most highly-paid of missions. What if I die on one of them?"
"Death is part and parcel of being a shinobi. You once told me that."
"But Rin..."
"That's quite enough, both of you." Minato interrupted, forcing away the sombre mood.
"I...I won't be able to see Rin for a year." Kakashi said suddenly, unexpectedly, in a very quiet voice.
Minato and Bridgette looked at him, realizing that too. Kakashi and Rin had been going out for almost a year, despite the wars that ravaged the country. "You'll be able to write to her, don't worry." Bridgette said confidently.
Kakashi's response was to grimace. "It's different from actually seeing her."
Minato broke the sudden tension and sadness with a chuckle, messing their hair. Both scowled and Bridgette shook out her shoulder-length hair again. "It's a week to the first of September," he smiled, "I'll treat you guys to lunch. Kakashi, you can invite Rin too. Meet at Ichiraku's later!" He raised a hand in farewell, then vanished in a poof of smoke.
Alright, first chapter published. What do you think? Bridgette may come off as odd sometimes, but soon you'll understand why. And Kakashi's a bit quiet here too (hints at KakaRin) but I'll be doing some chapters in his POV soon, hopefully. He won't be moping about Rin forever.
I do appreciate reviews, but if you can't give me any, it's alright too.