Chapter One:
A small figure body-flickered from rooftop to rooftop, his feet slipping against the slick tiles. Shouts echoed in the distance, following him and getting closer. Rain pounded against his small frame as he frantically ran. Thunder roared, seeming to join in with the angry voices. The young boy glanced back fearfully; it was only the villagers right now, but if a shinobi decided to take part in this annual ritual- he would be screwed. Naruto didn't know why the village hated him. And he didn't know why the villagers would chase him down and beat him every year on the same day. All he knew was that no one stopped it- and that hurt more than the beatings.
Naruto ran to the side of the building, stepping onto the ledge he jumped to the next, only to be yanked backward and thrown to the ground. He cried out as his skin tore against the tiling. Sitting himself up, Naruto squinted at the tall shadow before him. It was a man with dark clothing and an animal, porcelain mask. The silence was thick between them, until Naruto broke the spell.
"What do you want from me?" he asked, his voice cracking from the emotion of unshed tears. Lightning flashed and highlighted the man's body, his mask coming alive. The man snarled from beneath his mask and with one hand grabbed Naruto by the hair, lifting him. Naruto cried out and tried to hit the ANBU, "Leave me alone!" he yelled.
Naruto knew what was going to happen- this man would beat him until he was one with the rooftop. Everyone living in this building will probably move out, as they wouldn't want a Naruto roof. He would be left for dead, no hospital would take him in- they never do this day. Always this one day, Naruto thought bitterly, I hate it.
By now the bloodlusting villagers were extremely close, only two buildings away. The darkly dressed man walked towards the edge of the roof facing the walkway, Naruto kicked and struggled as he did. The ANBU ninja brought Naruto close to his face and met the child's bright angry eyes.
"This is for my sister you demon," he growled at him.
"But I didn't do anything to your sister!" Naruto cried and kicked his feet, "I don't even know who she is! I don't even know you!" The man hung Naruto over the edge of the building, Naruto glanced down at the dirt road and back at the ANBU with panicked eyes.
"Happy Birthday Naruto," the ANBU spat before letting go of the child's sweaty blonde locks.
"Today we will be covering something new and- in my opinion- fantastically fascinating!" Professor Flitwick grinned enthusiastically at the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and the mix of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students. George leaned towards his brother,
"Fascinating means good, yes?" He said with an amused tone.
Fred turned to him with a mischievous glint in his eye, "Yes, but fantastically fascinating means better."
George nodded his head, "Of course, of course- how could I forget." The brothers smiled at each other, thinking of all the possibilities this "fantastically fascinating" new thing could be.
"If you two are done, I would like to continue now," Flitwick raised a brow at the mischievous brothers at the back of the class, who grinned back with no shame. "Now," Professor Flitwick started- taking tedious steps down his book staircase, "this is a very risky spell, children, so please pay close attention." Fred nudged his twin and wagged an eyebrow, the two chuckled earning a glare from some of the "stuck-ups" around them.
"Risky, he said," Fred spoke nonchalant like- brown eyes alight with mischief.
"Risky means fun, Fred," George said, with an equal amount of mischief.
"That it does, my brother, that it does," Fred responded and they both turned to the professor, barely containing their excitement.
"We will be doing a summoning spell," Flitwick spoke as he walked in the middle of the room, "This spell will allow you to summon any magical creature- with summoning access mind you- and strike up a contract with said animal to be used for future purposes. Those purposes..." The professor's voice was tuned out by the two boys. The twins eyes widened, if they could find the right creature, they could do so much more fun things.
"Just imagine," George whispered, "a little animal capable of reaching the best and most hidden spots-"
Fred leaned closer to his twin, "to set up the most wondrous pranks," he finished. With a very smug attitude, the two brothers leaned back in their chairs and rested their feet on the table in front of them, hands behind their heads.
Lee Jordan turned from his seat in front of the twins and eyed them, "you two always know how to turn a spell into mayhem," then with a grin, he continued, "can't wait to see it!" The twins chuckled at their friend.
"Now then, I want you all to practice the hand motion for the spell, remember what I told you about the loopedy part- most don't get it right the first few times," Flitwick's voice traveled to the back and the three boys eyes widened, shooting towards the professor in the aisle. Two hands shot into the air gaining the professor's attention. With a sigh, he looked at the twins, "yes boys?" he asked.
"Well," Fred started, taking his feet off the desk and standing up.
"It would seem," George continued mimicking his brother's stance. Lee laughed shamelessly, his hair bouncing as he did so.
"Yes yes, go on," Flitwick waved his hands at the boys, his robes fluttering in response.
"That we may," Fred placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and a hand on his chest.
"Only may," George raised a hand in mock defense, orange brows raised.
"Have not heard some," Fred was holding back a grin.
"Only some!" George flamboyantly threw out his other hand.
"Of what you said," they finished together, smiling innocently.
Flitwick coughed out a laugh and rubbed his face with a sigh, after six years of having the two troublemakers as students, he was used to these kinds of dramatic displays.
"I said that, I will hand out a list at the end of class of animals you can choose from- though there is a book of more animals, but a lot are dangerous and it is in the restricted section of the library- for homework you are to choose an animal and write a four-paragraph essay on the reason behind choosing it," Flitwick said walking back towards his pedestal. "Each animal has its own materials needed for summoning, I will pass those out tomorrow, but the materials are listed with the animals. Right now though, you will be practicing the wand movements for the spell. Ask one of the other students to show you the motions." Flitwick said and started to mess with some of the many books around him, showing that he was done conversing.
The twins sat down and put their heads together, simultaneously motioning for Lee to join them. Grinning, Lee jumped out of his seat and granny-ran over to the twins. "So," Lee started, enthusiasm clear in his voice, "will this be apart of the plan?"
Fred nodded, "So far we haven't been able to beat that stupid age barrier on the goblet," he sighed, annoyed that they were being bested.
"What we need to do is find the best magical creature to get past the restrictions," George said looking at Fred and Lee Jordan.
"Do you think an old creature would work?" Lee asked. The twins looked at each other and then back at Lee.
"Dunno," they said in unision.
Naruto was falling, the air wrapping around his body. His arms flapped around him and his legs kicked ferociously. His blonde hair fluttered around his head and his eyes moved from one place to another- searching for something to stop his fall. His hands grabbed at nothingness. The buildings around him were getting taller as he fell. Heads turned to watch as a child plummeted to the earth, but looked away knowing who it was. And for such a small body, it made such a loud crunch when he hit the ground.
The pain was incredible in how fast it overwhelmed his senses. He couldn't see, couldn't hear (only a silent ringing), couldn't think. Naruto just laid there, in the rain and mud. The soft droplets bringing him comfort and slowly brought him out of his daze. He looked up at the rooftops, the man was still there- the mask standing out against the shadowed scenery. Then the ANBU flickered away, leaving Naruto alone. But not for long, Naruto thought as angry voices filled his senses.
Naruto rolled off his back and placed his hands firmly on the ground. He curled his knees forward and pushed upwards with his shaky arms. Pain shot up and down his back and he cried out, something was definitely wrong there. Dragging his legs up he planted his feet and stood, only to fall back to the ground in pain. Tears pooled into his eyes and he sniffled.
"There he is!" an angry feminine voice shouted and the sound of footsteps let Naruto know how close they were. But that didn't matter, because the pain of their blunt weapons and the bottom of their shoes let him know that there was no escape.
Hermione has had an unsettling feeling all day. She doesn't know why, but it felt as though something was looming above her, not dangerous like she has faced the past three years in Hogwarts. More like extremely troublesome and mischievous. She's been glancing over her shoulder all day and peeking around corners, trying to be very quiet. She thought that by lunch she would be fine, but the feeling only grew. And it became more intense as she headed towards the common room.
She tiptoed up to the Fat Lady painting and whispered the password, causing the Fat Lady to raise a brow- but let her in nonetheless. With a sigh, Hermione walked towards one of the couches near the fire and sat. Suddenly there was a burst of orange hair, and she was cornered by two identical boys prone to pranks and trouble. With a sigh, Hermione overcame her original shock as she looked at the twins. They were standing with their hands on their hips and staring down at her, brown eyes alight with amusement.
"Hello there Mione," George grinned, tilting his head to the right.
"George! You must use her proper title- Queen Mione," Fred said, whacking his brother's shoulder.
George nodded, absently scratching his chest, "Oh! How could I forget, yes." They both dropped to one knee and bowed.
"Queen Mione, ruler of all the intelligent ones and knower of all the knowledge," They said with flare. Hermione had to hide her smile.
Shuffling in her seat she adopted a bored expression.
"What do you two want?" she deadpanned. The twins shot to their feet with the speed of a niffler getting caught stealing galleons.
"Well.." Fred said, but Hermione lifted a hand interrupting him.
"It better not be another prank." The twins looked horrified.
"Why my Queen!" Fred placed a hand on his heart
"You wouldn't be-" George continued the rest of his sentence while placing a hand on his forehead and leaning back.
"Accusing us of such pesky and ungentlemanlike things!" Hermione rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her bushy locks.
There were other people in the common room, but most were used to the twins by now. Those who weren't were mainly the first years and the students from the other magic schools. This year was the Triwizard Tournament, and Hermione didn't know whether to be happy about it or concerned. The past year's something horrible (although a bit fun, but she wouldn't tell that to anyone) has happened, Harry being the center of it all. And she just knew that something bad will happen this year, but at least for now the attention is off Harry. Other good news is that the twins have been more focused on getting accepted into the tournament rather than pranks.
"Just get on with it," Hermione said, doing well in not laughing at their antics. Fred and George released their poses and grinned.
Going straight to the point George crossed his arms, "We need your help with a spell… A class spell mind you- no pranks or gimmicks!"
Fred leaned towards his brother some and whispered not-so-quietly, "There might be some gimmicks."
George nodded and said back, "Yes, well, only some." Turning back to Hermione, who sat in the love seat with a non-impressed expression, they smiled.
"And we need a book," Fred said, bluntly.
Hermione raised a dark brow and said with a confused tone, "A book? Just go to the library yourself."
George shook his head, "You see, the book we need is in the restricted section," He said and Fred continued, "And we know that you are all buddy-buddy with the librarian-"
"Or have a pass to get a book from some teacher-"
"Out of those two possibilities-"
"And more we don't care to list-"
"You just have to have some way into getting the book we need," The two finished together.
"For class of course," Fred coughed out after a pause. Hermione tilted her head, her brown eyes thoughtful.
"But why would you need me if this is for class? Wouldn't Professor Flitwick have given you a pass?" she asked.
The twins glanced at each other before squatting down beside the plush love-seat. "Well…" George droned off, "We may not have permission… yet." Hermione stood up at that.
"I'm not going to help you if you're not allowed to do it!" She shouted stubbornly. She then proceeded to walk out of the common room in search of her two best friends- lunch had started only a few minutes ago, so they still should be there.
"Don't you even want to know what the spell is or what it does?" The twins called after her.
Hermione paused. For as long as she lived she has always been the curious type; she just couldn't stay away from it, if there was a question- she wanted to know the answer. And this was how the twins always got her: Don't you want to see what happens? So you aren't curious about our Polyjuice theory? Do you not think it will work? Aren't you adventurous?
They know my weakness, Hermione thought dejectedly.
He could barely walk, move, or breathe. It all hurt. He really shouldn't have to deal with this. A seven-year-old should not have to live alone. A seven-year-old should not be beaten. A seven-year-old shouldn't have to live the way Naruto does. But this is his life, this is what fate dealt him, and deal with it he shall.
Naruto limped painfully and slowly. He couldn't body-flicker, so he moved at a slugs pace back to his apartment. The rain had stopped, and the sky had cleared to reveal a bright sunny day.
Naruto's bare feet squished against the still muddy road. His clothes were soaked, with blood and water. His tan shorts were now a murky brown. His t-shirt had been torn off, but at least he still had the green undershirt; it's long sleeves discolored from a multitude of liquids.
But, despite all this, Naruto was proud. He was proud because he hadn't shed a single tear. They threatened and gathered, but he didn't let one droplet out. He didn't cry out in pain, he didn't scream in anguish. He didn't give the villagers the satisfaction of seeing him weak. Although he was sure, that if he heard one more insult, if he got one more surprise, one more thing to scare him- he would most definitely cry… And once that dam burst- he didn't think it would ever close again.
He knew that he needed to get home because the day wasn't over yet, and he needed to treat these wounds. And he could not face another scary act again as he was. Maybe they will let me be? He thought, but quickly dismissed it, They never do when it's my birthday. Most of the time people just ignore him and only acknowledge him if they absolutely have to. But when it's his birthday, they just come after him and everything he owns. Everything he is. But one day he will prove to them, prove to them all that he is strong. He will become the best Shinobi ever! I will become the Hokage, then they will have no choice but to respect me! Naruto threw his fist into the air with a determined expression but instantly regretted his decision as pain rippled down his body.
"Believe it," Naruto said softly, his voice rough from holding in the cries.
"I can't believe she actually listened to us," George said as he and his brother walked from dinner back to the Gryffindor Common room. Hermione had worked fast and diligently, after their proposition (getting the book and joining them with the learning the spell) she was all too willing.
"Please George, you know she can't turn down one of our ideas," Fred chuckled, "She really can be a bit easy to manipulate dontcha think?"
George looked at his brother, brows furrowed, "I wouldn't really say manipulate is the best word."
Fred glanced at his brother, "Of course… just… very excited… with-" George, glad his brother agreed with him, finished his thought process, "With the unknown."
Fred nodded, "She is friends with our brother, that's as unknown as it can get." The two chuckled.
The book was worn around the corners and the cover was a rich velvet color with shiny black lettering; The Summoning of Creatures and Those Available by Miranda Goshawk and Newton Scamander. The chapters were thick and many, promising mystery. There were many pages in different languages and the twins had to use a translation spell to read most of it. A spell they learned from another book Hermione sneaked out for them. Seems as though other countries have more powerful creatures than the English speaking ones.
While in Charms class, the twins and Lee had split up the magical beasts on the list and went looking for the best one to fit their needs. They met up before lunch and found that none of the animals would be old enough to slip their name in. Or smart enough to accomplish the task, or dumb enough to listen to them, or human enough (if the goblet rejected animals), just not what they wanted. So the book was needed; thus Hermione was needed. She had given them the book before their last class- which gave them time to find the best creature; or rather a demon.
During dinner, they had gathered the materials needed for the summon: fox fur, nine tails of any predatory animal, a toads toe, pork broth, blood of the summoner, and many different kinds of leaves. Lee had gone down to the kitchens to get the pork broth. George went to their secret storage place in the dungeons and got the fox fur, toad toes, and nine different tails (they have a lot of random ingredients). Fred sneaked into the forbidden forest to get the leaves, many of which were poisonous. The three boys had told Hermione the plan before going off to their designated places- leaving a very confused Ron and Harry.
After joking with a ghost and complimenting the Fat Lady, they were in the common room once more. Ingredients in hand they marched towards the table in the far left of the room. Lee was already there with his portion and Hermione was walking down the girl's staircase, heading towards them with an emotion-filled expression.
"So, are we just doing this here?" Hermione asked, glancing around at the other students lounging about.
"It's ok to be nervous," George said.
"What?" Hermione asked, her face flushing.
"But remember that nervousness and excitement are twins," Fred said, winking at her. Lee laughed.
Hermione bit her lip and looked at the three boys.
"It'll be fine Hermione, Fred and George do this all the time… Although this a rather open place to experiment," Lee said, leaning over the table some and looking up at the twins.
"That was my idea, though, I didn't know this was experimenting. I thought this was for your class?" A feminine voice made the group turn around.
"Alicia Spinnet! The best Chaser Gryffindor has ever seen!" Lee Jordan grinned and walked towards her opening his arms for a hug, Alicia grinned and hugged him back.
"Shouldn't you keep the flattery for Angelina," She said raising a suggestive brow at him.
"Please, that crush has happened and gone," Lee blushed, making it clear that he in fact still did have a crush.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Not to be rude, but why are you here?"
Fred slung his arm around Alicia's shoulders and said with a grin, "Alicia did this spell last year, so she should know all the stuff we don't." Alicia nodded her head with Fred and clapped her hands.
"Well, let's get to it then," she said, forgetting that the twins ignored her question.
"So pretty much you follow the instructions for making the potion, then find a flat surface and pour the potion in whatever symbol needed for the summoning," Alicia said pointing at the now opened book. The page they were looking at was very old. It was torn at the corners and had odd dark splotches on it; like whoever did this spell last didn't have the best experience. Lee and Hermione started to slice and dice the leaves; following the directions to the T. While they made the potion, Alicia helped the twins with relatively perfecting the wand movements and pronunciation. Eventually, the potion had reached its prime. It was a deep red color, with black bubbles forming but never popping.
"Ah man, what's that smell?" a rowdy voice shouted from the entrance. George looked up to see his brother and the famed Harry Potter enter.
"Just having some fun, oh brother mine!" Fred shouted from behind him. Ron and Harry walked towards them, curiosity clear on their faces.
"Mione, did the boys get you wrapped up in their mischief again?" Harry asked, leaning over to look at the finished concoction with Ron. Ron reached out with a finger and went to touch the odd potion.
"Don't touch that!" Hermione smacked his hand away and Ron sulked.
"It smells very odd," Ron started thoughtfully, "Almost... Almost like, um," He waved his hand around testing for the right word.
"Oriental?" Hermione suggested and Ron blinked.
"I don't even know what that word means, but it sounds right so why not," Ron said with a nod.
Fred leaned over and grabbed the pot, "Now for the fun to begin!" Lee and George jogged ahead of Fred and pushed some of the furniture out of the way.
"Wait, isn't a teacher supposed to be here for the spell?" Harry asked worriedly, he glanced back and forth between the boys and Hermione.
"It should be fine, this is for classwork," Alicia said, not noticing a guilty Hermione to her left.
With a piece of chalk, George sketched out the symbol for the summoning. The symbol had a spiral in the middle and odd foreign lettering around it. As George drew out the shape, Fred poured the mixture. Some of the students still out in the common room gathered to watch- curious. It had taken a while so there wasn't much of a crowd.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Fred?" George asked his brother quietly.
Fred looked at him, "Can't go back now, can we? Anyways, you were better with the casting than me so you should do it." George nodded, but still felt uneasy. They don't normally do experiments in such an open uncontrolled environment. He has never done this spell before and, while he was fine with himself getting hurt, he didn't want anyone else to over his own stupidity.
George pulled out his wand and looked down at the odd bubbling, but never popping, symbol. With the knife used for slicing and dicing, he sliced his hand and gripped the wand tightly. The blood started running down the dark, wooden stick; pooling and dripping at the tip. It was new, it was foreign, and he was scared. But Fred was right- no stopping now. Ron and Harry glanced at each other and watched as George moved his wand with sharp gestures.
"(1)Watashi wa shōkan, nain o kitsune!" George shouted, fear and excitement pulling at his very being.
As George finished the incantation, the symbol on the ground began to bubble profusely, loud pops resounding throughout the common room. Steam began to rise and a red light started to shine from the mixture. George stepped back some.
"I don't think it's supposed to do that!" Shouted Alicia, covering her mouth as the steam grew denser. Ron grabbed Hermione and positioned her behind him.
A deep, throaty laugh filled the common room, seeming to cancel out any other sound.
"Someone! Go get McGonagall!" Lee shouted and Harry, always being the first to act, ran out of the room in search of the Gryffindor head.
The room started to shake some as the laugh grew louder and more powerful, "(2)Hiretsuna ningen wa watashi o shōkan suru koto o aete!" George turned towards his brother, but could not see past the suffocating fog.
"(3)Moshi watashi ga kono awarena fune ni tojikome rarete inakattara, watashi wa anata zen'in o koroshimasu!" The demonic voice shouted once more, causing dust to fall from the ceiling. The demons laughter slowly began to distort, sounding like an animalistic child, and then fade away.
"(4)Nani ga okotte imasu ka?" a young, boyish voice shouted.
The fog began to dissipate, and what stood in the middle of the odd swirly symbol was not what anyone was expecting.
Translations:
Watashi wa shōkan, nain o kitsune!- I summon thee, Nine-tailed fox!
Hiretsuna ningen wa watashi o shōkan suru koto o aete!- A puny human dares to summon me!
Moshi watashi ga kono awarena fune ni tojikome rarete inakattara, watashi wa anata zen'in o koroshimasu!- If I wasn't trapped inside this pathetic vessel, then I would kill you all!
Nani ga okotte imasu ka?- What's going on?
