Red Turn Blue
Chapter One- Hogwarts
"But baa-chan!" A fifteen year old Naruto exclaimed, he was stood in the Hokage's office in his trade-mark black and orange clothes, bright yellow hair spiky, as per usual he was getting a new mission, however, he didn't like the one he'd been given this time. "Why do I have to go to this Wartyhog by myself? Why can't Sakura or Sasuke come too?" The blond Hokage slammed a fist down onto the table, making the sake in her glass splash everywhere; grumbling, she poured herself a new one.
"For the love of Kami Naruto! It's Hogwarts! And you have to go by yourself because its a solo mission!" Shizune had been stood at the side for some time but saw it as a good time to cut in.
"Naruto, think of it as a reconnaissance mission, you find out as much as you can about Hogwarts and the people there then report back to us." Naruto looked confused.
"Reconnaissance mission? Isn't that what Kakashi-sensei went on last month?" He asked, putting both hands behind his head. Shizune smiled.
"Yes; normally we only send really experience Jounin on these missions," She knew exactly what buttons to press, "But, we think you're capable of doing this one Naruto." A broad grin stretched across the ninjas face.
"Yeah! Believe it!" He yelled, punching the air.
"Quiet Naruto!" Tsunade shouted, rubbing her forehead; she could feel a headache coming on and Naruto wasn't helping. "Go gather anything you defiantly need and meet back here in twenty minutes. And remember, under NO circumstances are you to tell ANYONE where you're going." Naruto nodded and poofed away.
Naruto was standing in his kitchen when Sasuke appeared, he looked annoyed about something. "Eh! Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, darting to his friends side.
"Me, Sakura and Sai have to go on a mission to Hidden Sand; so we'll be leaving you for a while." He replied in a dull, monotonous voice. "Well, I need to go and meet the others, see in a few weeks, Naruto." He poofed away, leaving Naruto shell-shocked. It had just hit him that, if he couldn't tell the others where he was going, they might think he was in danger and try to find him. And if Sasuke got that down when he had to leave Naruto for just a few weeks then how would he react when he found out that Naruto would be gone for nearly a year?! The blond ninja didn't want to think about that, he and Sasuke had become unbelievably close friends, they were practically brothers! But he had to do this! It was reconnaissance mission! They were important to the entire village!
Grabbing his stuff and poofing to the Hokage's tower before he could change his mind about leaving, Naruto sighed. He would really miss Sasuke-kun, and Sakura-chan hell, he would even miss Sai-kun! Tsunade and Shizune were waiting when he walked in, they were stood by a large fireplace that he'd never seen before with a bag of green dust; within the fireplace was a roaring green fire and Naruto furrowed his brow, why did they want a fire in here? And why on earth did they want a green one? Has Lee or Gai been in here?! He thought wildly, wondering if he would suddenly get pounced on by one of the bushy-brows.
"Naruto!" Tsunade snapped, bringing him back to reality. "Are you ready to go?"
"Hai!" He yelled, punching the air, then letting it fall slowly back down as his smile faltered. "Eh, Baa-chan, how am I going to get there?" He asked, Tsunade looked at the fire and Naruto burst out laughing. "You think I'm going to walk into a fire?!" He shouted, hooting with laughter still. Tsunade wasn't laughing.
"Yes, Naruto, now come on." She led him to the fire and gave him a hand full of the powder. "When you step into the fire you need to say very clearly 'Hogwarts', got it?" She asked, he nodded.
"Step into the fire and say 'Hogwarts'." He repeated, she smiled.
"Well done, Naruto. Now, when you get there you'll be met by a tall man with a long beard called Professor Dumbledore; he's the headmaster of Hogwarts and he'll explain everything you need to know. But he doesn't know you're there for a reconnaissance mission, he thinks you're there to learn deeper understanding of chakra, but he'll call it magic." She tried to explain everything thoroughly but not to overload him with information.
"Magic, not chakra. Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster. Not reconnaissance, understanding magic." He rolled off, smiling as he got them all.
"Right then, off you go." He stepped into the fire, they licked around him but didn't burn like he'd expected. "Good luck Naruto." Tsunade whispered.
He took a final look at the Hokage's office, a final look at Shizune and Tsunade before throwing the powder down with a shout of 'Hogwarts'. The fireplace spun and he saw rooms fly past, the feeling was slightly nauseating but he kept his sickness in check. As he wondered when he was going to get out the fireplace threw him out, he landed on the floor, covered in soot and coughing.
Picking himself up, Naruto found himself to be in a small, not cramped, but cosy office. There was a wooden desk with a plush comfy looking chair opposite a tall chair he guessed was the headmasters, in the cupboard behind this tall chair were a collection of large, silver, spindly things playing soft tunes quietly. In the opposite corner was a strange looking table with a deep dish on, it had swirling blue liquid in, but from the way it shone with silver light, it was clearly not water. Lining the walls were bookcases, only broke by the fireplace and a few cupboards. Perched on top of one of these cupboards was a beautiful orange and red bird, it chirped at him and he smiled,watching it stretch its wings and blink at him through shiny black eyes. Someone cleared their throat and his eyes spun to the door, stood there was a tall man in long light blue robes, his silver-white beard nearly reached his waist and he observed Naruto with glittering eyes over half-moon spectacles.
"You must be Naruto Uzumaki." He said, walking over to the desk and seating himself in the headmasters chair, so this was Professor Dumbledore. The Professor offered him the seat and Naruto bowed before taking it, putting his bag down next to the table. "As you might know, my name is Albus Dumbledore and I am headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Tea?" He asked suddenly, gesturing with one hand to the cups set on a silver tray, Naruto smiled.
"Yes please Dumbledore-san." He replied and was surprised to find that he was speaking English; now that he thought about it, Dumbledore must have been speaking English too; noticing his shocked expression the headmaster smiled, pouring the tea.
"There is a spell cast on Hogwarts so that all the students speak the same language, as soon as you arrived you immediately were able to understand and speak the most common language. You can still speak Japanese if you wish to." Naruto nodded and took a sip of the tea, looking thoughtful. "Has your Hokage gone into detail about what you will be doing while you are here?"
"No, she assured me that you would explain." Naruto replied, trying to absorb as much information as he could, Dumbledore already knew about the Hokage, had Tsunade told him that? Or did he already know? And if he did then how did he know?
"Then explain I shall. You already use one type of magic, although, I believe you call it something different."
"Yes, chakra."
"Ah. You use chakra which is not very different from magic, the main difference being with our type of magic we do not require hand signs, we use a wand to channel the spell. A spell is a jutsu to you." Dumbledore answered in reply to the unasked question on Naruto's face.
"Oh."
"This year you will study subjects such as Charms, Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts; our subjects are not as dangerous as things you will have studied in the past as we do not teach our students things they will need in wars, mainly because we do not have the same amount of wars and battles as you do. But also because if there was a war, students your age would not take part in them, they would wait until they were much older so they have the right amount of experience." Naruto nodded, he'd been told before that these places didn't train their younger people to fight; personally he thought it was insane, but he was a guest here so he shouldn't complain.
"You will begin classes in two days, that should give you some time to learn a few spells and get settled in. The other students will also arrive in two days so you will begin classes with them." He paused, refilling their tea cups. "There is a room already prepared for you, you will be sorted into your house with the first years but will join classes with the fifth years when you officially start. Now, I'm sure you want to get settled in and sorted. Hagrid will show you to your room and tomorrow you'll be travelling to Diagon Alley to get your wand. This years books are already in your room."
Naruto stood up and bowed, grabbing his bag before walking to the door, when he opened it he found himself face to face with the tallest and biggest man he'd ever seen. Guessing this was Hagrid he bowed. The big man seemed taken aback but smiled all the same.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Hagrid." The man said as they walked down the corridors, Naruto following.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He smiled at Hagrid, the man may look very scary but he seemed nice enough. They had arrived at a wooden door with a painting of three monks playing chess on.
"Now, this will be your room, when you want to go in just say the password which is 'Blueberry Pie'." Hagrid smiled, "Dumbledore chose it."
"Blueberry pie?" Naruto repeated and jumped in surprise when the painting swung aside to reveal a small passage to a room. "Cool."
"Yeah, well, I'll leave you to it. See you tomorrow." Hagrid waved as he walked off down the corridor.
There was a roaring golden fire already burning in the hearth when he entered, set in front of the fire was a long red velvet sofa, the cushions had been fluffed up; ready for his arrival. In front of the sofa was a small table with a tray of hot tea and scones on, smiling to himself Naruto took a scone before looking around the rest of the room. There was a small bookcase running along one wall with a desk in front of it, on the desk at intervals were candle holders and the candles in them were also already lit. He glanced at the wide windows for the first time and saw that it was getting very dark outside, strange, it had been early morning in Konoha when he'd left. Shrugging he turned back to the rest of the room, there were two other doors leading off the main room, opening one he found it to be a bathroom and shower room with a huge bath, grinning he closed that door so that it couldn't tempt him. The next door was his bedroom, the bed was a huge four poster with red and black silk hangings, there were candles all around this room too, a wide window at the far end of the room looked out over the lake and Naruto smiled as he saw the sun setting, casting its glow over the waters surface.
The next morning, Naruto woke earlier than normal; he had been restless all night, something about this place didn't seem quite right. When he sat up in bed, yawning, he caught sight of a silver tray on his bed side table, it was set with toast and tea, as well as egg, bacon and sausage and also coffee. Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto attacked the tray, gobbling down the food even though it was burning hot.
After finally heaving himself out of bed, Naruto wondered what to wear for the trip to Diagon Alley, Shizune-chan had warned him not to wear his orange outfit in public as it might draw attention to him; so instead, he dug through his bag until he found something that she had packed for him; a white button up shirt, dark trousers and a 'Sasuke-blue' jacket. Slipping his ninja-sandals on he was about to put the weapons pouch on his leg when he remembered what Baa-chan had said about being inconspicuous, so instead he fastened it around his waist like a belt-bag and set off, making sure his headband was secured he walked out his bedroom where he was greeted by Hagrid.
"Ah!" He said, grinning broadly, "You're already up!" Naruto nodded with a small smile. "Well then, lets go." He walked over to the fireplace and took a hand full of green powder from the jar on the mantle piece. "Now, let me explain how this works; you-"
"Walk into the fire, throw down the powder and say where you want to go, yes?" He finished, smiling, Hagrid looked flabbergasted.
"Eh, yeah, that's the idea." He shook his head slightly and handed Naruto the powder. "You'll need to say, 'Diagon Alley', got that?" Naruto nodded and stepped forward.
"DIAGON ALLEY!" In a flash of green he was gone and Hagrid followed. "Whoa!" Naruto fell forward out the fireplace into a grubby looking pub; no one even looked round as he stood up, brushing himself off and grumbling. Then Hagrid arrived, laughing as Naruto tried to get all the soot off his clothes.
"Well, Naruto, welcome to the Leaky Cauldron." The room was filled with strange looking people in different colour robes, Naruto even spotted someone in a bright pink robe and wondered whether Sakura would like some of those. "This way," He led Naruto out to the back of the pub, waving to the barman as he passed and assuring him he would be in for a drink later. Naruto gaped as Hagrid tapped the bricks of the wall, muttering something, suddenly, they began to shift apart, making a wide arch. The scene before him made Naruto gape even more. There were hundreds of people hurrying down the streets past brightly coloured shops advertising many different things; in the window of one shop, lots of teenagers were ogling over what looked like a broom, Naruto stifled a laugh; these wizards sure got excited by little things. "Now then, Gringotts first, then we'll get your wand."
"Eh? Gringotts?" He asked in confusion.
"Wizarding bank run by goblins." Naruto stopped dead in his tracks.
"Goblins?!" A few people walking past turned to glance at him before carrying on their way. Hagrid nodded beaming.
"They're not exactly the friendliest of beasts but they're very clever." Hagrid explained as they carried on, towards a large white marble building. "Your," He paused for a moment, "Father, made an account here in case you ever ended up in this world." Naruto's eyes went wide.
"M..My father?" He asked, Hagrid nodded.
"Yes, didn't you know that?" He shook his head dumbly. "Oh, well you do now; we're here anyway." They had reached the steps of the bank and walked through the double doors flanked by two short, strange creatures, they looked old and were going bald, their ears were long and pointed but not gracefully like an elf's, more sharp and wonky. Naruto didn't pay attention to what Hagrid was saying to the Goblin behind the counter, he looked round in fascination. There were people talking to the goblins which were all seated behind high counters, some were exchanging money or getting stones weighed. Naruto saw the goblin to his right weighing a diamond the size of a fist and gasped under his breath. It wasn't until Hagrid nudged him in the shoulder that Naruto noticed it was time to go; Hagrid was holding a bag of gold coins out to him.
"That was lucky, we didn't even have to go underground, they've been expecting you." While Hagrid rambled on, Naruto looked at the coins with a curious expression, he'd been taught about these by baa-chan but he didn't expect them to be so big.
They turned into a small cramped store with a name Naruto couldn't even say above it. After a few minutes of waiting around a small, grey haired and balding man came out the shelves. He began to take measurements of Naruto after asking what hand was his wand hand, guessing it meant his writing hand he held out his right arm. Muttering to himself, the man disappeared behind the shelves to return a moment later with a box; he took out a long red wood wand and handed it to Naruto who stared between the man and the wand.
"Well give it a wave." Naruto looked bemused but did as he said anyway; a plant pot exploded. With a small yelp he put the wand back and the man got another one for him. Without being told to this time, Naruto waved the wand; it exploded. "No, definitely not. Try this one." When he took the wand, Naruto got a buzzing feeling in his fingers and when he waved it red and gold sparks shot out the end, causing him to jump. "Perfect." The man exclaimed and Hagrid handed over the money for the wand.
"Right then, sorted." Hagrid said as they walked back up towards the Leakey Cauldron. "Unless of course you want to stay for a while to have a look through the shops? I'll wait in the pub if you want to wander round." Naruto was thoughtful for a moment then nodded; with a small smile, Hagrid handed him the money bag and left the blond ninja with the free reign.
"YATTA!" Without further ado, Naruto proceeded to raid all the sweet shops, filling bags with sugar and candy. Twenty minutes later, as he looked for ramen, Naruto saw a group of people staring with their noses up against the glass of a shop which sold brooms. Shizune had explained all about the game that wizards played called Quidditch and that they played it on broom sticks, but he still didn't get why people were gaping at this broom, why not go in and buy one. Smiling to himself, Naruto entered the bustling shop and made his way to the counter where a man with light brown hair was talking to a few customers.
"Yes, it just arrived today, the new Lightning Bolt," Naruto was reminded of the Chidori when he said this and resisted the urge to laugh, "It's twice as fast as the Firebolt and perfectly balanced." There were a few impressed gasps and murmurs at this.
"How much is it?" One boy asked, leaning over to get a better look at the broom that the seller was holding.
"250 Galleons." The man said, "Very expensive." He said with a smile as people whistled. Naruto checked the money bag that Hagrid had given him, he didn't want to spend all his money but for some reason he really wanted to buy that broom.
"YATTA!" He exclaimed causing people to look at him in shock, they clearly hadn't noticed him before. "I'll buy one!" There were gasps all around and the owner looked stunned. Taking the money out the bag and handing it to the man Naruto was given one of the new brooms which had been carefully wrapped in brown paper; people stared in awe and jealousy as he left the shop, leaving the brown paper off the handle so that the name 'Lightning Bolt' was visible.
When they arrived back at Hogwarts, Naruto and Hagrid went their separate ways; Hagrid back to the grounds to prepare some things for his first lesson of term and Naruto back to his room to have a look at the school books. While in Diagon Alley he'd brought a few Quidditch books and wanted to learn how to fly his new broom.
As he wandered back to his room with his wand, books and broom, Naruto wondered what was happening back in Konoha, would Sasuke, Sai and Sakura know that he was gone yet? Or would they still be on their mission, oblivious to what was happening? These thoughts brought a wave of home-sickness over him and he bowed his head slightly.
Trying to cheer himself up slightly, Naruto took his broom down to the Quidditch pitch to start flying.
He'd read through some of the Quidditch books and, feeling more like an idiot than normal, he put one hand over the broom and with as much force as he could muster, said a strong, "UP!" The result was that the broom flew up and smacked Naruto in the face. Said blond ninja fell back with a shriek and the broom fell to the ground again. Getting up, Naruto tried again oblivious to the fact that he was being watched.
In his office Dumbledore watched with amusement as Naruto attempted to make the broom rise without hitting himself in the face, the headmaster chuckled. Maybe he wouldn't turn out like his father after all.
Ten minutes and five bruises later, Naruto was in the air and swooping from one end of the pitch to the other. He was amazed at how the broom seemed to answer to the lightest touch, not to mention it was unbelievably fast. Naruto soon became a blur of blue and blond in the gathering dark and it wasn't until Hagrid called him over to tell him to go back inside that he noticed how late it was.
Grinning happily, he made his way back to his room and it wasn't until he was trying to get to sleep when he remembered about Team 7 and another wave of homesickness crashed over him, maybe he could send a letter to Sasuke and Sakura tomorrow. That was when he realised that he had one more day before the other students arrived, a knot tightened in his stomach and needless to say, Naruto had trouble sleeping that night.
The next morning Naruto didn't wake until turned 11 o'clock and even then he didn't want to get up. Then he remembered that he needed to study some spells and jumped up with a loud yell of "YATTA!". There was a silver tray with breakfast on next to his bed and he ate it with super-sonic speed.
Twenty minutes later would find Naruto puzzling about a spell he'd found in one of the books. It was called the Animal Summon and the incantation was Bestia Voco. Naruto didn't even know which animal it would summon but he was getting bored with all the other spells Dumbledore had told him to practice so with a wave and a flick he cast the charm. To his surprise there was a small pop and Gamakich appeared looking slightly annoyed.
"Hey! What did you summon me for?!" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously and chuckled.
"Umm..."
The day continued in much the same fashion, Naruto flicked through the books and soon mastered all the basic spells he needed to and was just playing round with trick spells. When he finally went to bed, Naruto's head was filled different spells, their incantations and effects along with their meanings and explanations about how to use them.
The knot in his stomach tightened even more as he wondered what the other students would be like, and whether they would accept him or whether he would be the outcast again.
"Naruto." The blond ninja mumbled something and rolled over onto his side, "Naruto!" Hagrid tapped him until he finally opened one eye blearily.
"Ano, what is it Hagrid?" He muttered looking up at the gigantic man.
"The students will be arriving in half an hour, Dumbledore asked me to get you up." The ninja sat up so quickly he nearly got whiplash.
"Half an hour?!" Without another word, Naruto sprang out of bed and sprinted towards the shower rooms.
Naruto sighed in relief as he reached the doors of the hall just as the new students were arriving, he was in his Hogwarts robes and he had opted for putting his weapons pouch around his waist again just in case he needed it. McGonagall was waiting for him next to the doors.
"Now then, Uzumaki. You'll go in with the first years and then sorted into your house. Understood?" Naruto nodded wishing that his nerves would stop playing up, he could feel his knee's shaking and he struggled to remain upright as the doors were opened and he and the first years walked into the hall.
McGonagall had set a small stool at the front of the hall and on it she put a fraying old hat. Seeing that everyone else was staring at the hat, Naruto copied, feeling out of place among the small wizards and witches. After a moment, Naruto was wondering whether the hat was going to do anything and was about to turn away when the rim opened and it began 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 someday 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 the discord crept among us
Feeding 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
And 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 crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you…
Let the sorting now begin!"
It finished the song to tumulus applause mixed with a few whispers and, with a slightly bemused expression on his face, Naruto joined in. Once the noise had died down McGonagall stood at the front with a long roll of parchment and twenty minutes of boredom for the ninja ensued as she read out the names.
Eventually, she reached his name and there was some muttering in the crowd as Naruto stepped up and sat of the stool with the hat on his head. "Well well, what do we have here?" Naruto resisted the urge to burn the hat and call it evil as he heard the voice in his head, "Where to put you...you have strength and bravery yes...but also you are alone, no bonds..." 'NO.' Naruto thought viciously, 'Before, but not any more!' "Very well, if you're sure it better be...GRYFFINDOR!" He shouted the last word to the crowd. The table at the far end of the hall erupted in cheers and grinning, Naruto handed the hat back to McGonagall and hurried off to his house table.
Unbeknownst to him, Dumbledore had stared in hidden shock, he had been almost certain that Naruto would be in Slytherin, well, it just went to show how wrong first impressions could be.
Naruto meanwhile had sat down next to a boy with black hair and emerald eyes and opposite a girl with bushy brown hair. "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger." She said, holding out her hand to him, he shook it slightly and smiled.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He replied in a whisper as Dumbledore stood up.
"This is Harry Potter," She gestured to the black haired boy who smiled before turning his attention back to Dumbledore, "And Ron Weasley." A red-haired boy who was grumbling about Dumbledore taking forever and how hungry he was. After the introductions, Naruto turned to look up at the headmaster who was currently addressing the school with open arms.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" He called and everyone immediately became silent. "There is a time for speech making but this is not it- Tuck In!" This was met by laughter and applause. Naruto immediately began to pile his plate high. As he ate his way through the mountain he glanced round looking at all the different people. Next to Ron were two red haired twins who were talking with their heads together and occasionally lapsing into laughter. Across from them were two black haired girls who were saying something about their summer holidays and next to Hermione was a girl with red hair who introduced herself as Ginny Weasley before blushing and turning away to talk to a boy called Dean.
When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the hall was starting to creep up again Dumbledore got to his feet and silence fell immediately. Naruto was feeling pleasantly drowsy and all he could think about was his four-poster bed waiting somewhere above, wonderfully warm and soft.
"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start of term notices." said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students and some of our older students ought to know that by now too." Naruto saw Harry, Ron and Hermione exchange smirks and wondered if they broke the rules a lot. Shrugging the thought off he turned his attention back to Dumbledore.
"...has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes nor are a number of things which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door." He saw Fred and George inhale half their pumpkin juice as their laughed at something that Ron had just said to them. Naruto nearly missed what Dumbledore said next because of their spluttering and coughing as they choked while Ron thumped them on the back trying to get them to breath again.
"We have a change in staffing this year. I am delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was a round of polite but unenthusiastic applause. "Try-outs for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-" He broke off, looking at Umbridge questioningly. She wasn't much taller standing than sitting so it took a few moments for anyone to work out why he had stopped talking. It wasn't until she cleared her throat with a small 'hem, hem' that they understood she wanted to make a speech. Dumbledore sat down smartly and looked at Umbridge as if he wanted nothing more than to listen to her speech.
"Thank you headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." She simpered, her voice was high pitched and little-girlish and made Naruto wince due to his heightened senses.
"Well, it's lovely to be back at Hogwarts I must say!" She smiled, revealing pointed teeth, "And to see such bright, happy faces looking up at me!" Harry snorted and Naruto understood why, none of the faces looked happy, they looked annoyed at being addressed like they were five years old. "I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I am sure we'll all be very good friends."
It happened simultaneously, the two girls with black hair whispered "I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan.", Fred and George said, "That's likely," with smirks and Naruto choked on his pumpkin juice, making Harry thump him on the back. Umbridge didn't seem to notice any of that and Naruto wondered aloud if a full scale riot could break out and she wouldn't notice, this made Ron and Harry laugh while Hermione kept her eyes firmly on Umbridge, focusing on the speech.
Umbridge cleared her throat again and when she spoke she sounded much more businesslike and her words had a dull, learned-by-heart, sound to them. Naruto felt his attention waning and put his head down on the table like so many others who were closing their eyes.
He didn't know how much later it was that the waffle finally stopped but he sat up and yawned. Dumbledore had stood up again and was smiling. "Thank you professor, that was most illuminating."
"Yes it certainly was," Hermione muttered in a low voice, Ron looked startled.
"You can't tell me you enjoyed it?!"
"I said illuminating Ron, not enjoyable!" She snapped back at him. "It explained a lot."
"Did it?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Sounded like a load of old waffle to me." Naruto added grinning.
"There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle." She said grimly.
"Was there?" Ron asked blankly.
"How about: 'progress for progress's sake must be discouraged'? How about: 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited'?"
"Well? What does that mean?" said Ron impatiently.
"I'll tell you what it means," Said Hermione ominously. "It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts." There was a great clattering and banging all around them; Dumbledore had obviously just dismissed the school because everyone was standing up ready to leave the Hall. Hermione jumped up, looking flustered.
"Ron! We're supposed to show the first-years where to go!" Without another word, Hermione swanned off, dragging a disgruntled Ron with her and leaving Harry, Naruto and Ginny to walk up to the common room alone.
"So," Ginny nudged Naruto, "Where are you from?" She asked, he turned to her, his blond hair ruffling.
"Konoha." He answered, grinning. "It's in Japan."
"Wow, what's it like there?" They continued their conversation all the way up to the common room, Naruto explaining all about his village and Ginny commenting now and then. When they reached the portrait Ginny said the password and Naruto did a double take, he could have sword that Ginny had just said 'Ramen'.
"Ano, Ginny-chan. What's the password?" He asked as they walked into the common room.
"Ramen." The ninja grinned and was barely able to control his laughter, instead he put on a straight face and walked towards the boys stair case.
"Good night, Ginny-chan." He waved to her over his shoulder.
"Good night Naruto!" She called to him before he disappeared around the corner of the stairs.
Smiling to himself, Naruto lay down on his bed. Everyone here seemed so nice, maybe he would be able to fit in here. He smiled again as he drifted off to sleep.