A/N: I know that this has been done about a million times, but due to loving both Naruto and Harry Potter, I couldn't resist. I also seem to really like these (multiple) stories, and am trying to read them all… unintentionally. So here's my attempt! Hope you enjoy it! ^^
Oh, and I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.
Tsunade sat back, re-reading the scroll in her hand. She sighed, and then raised her voice slightly, calling for somebody.
"Fox!" A blonde haired person appeared immediately in front of her. He was wearing black clothing, silver armour, a cape and a white snarling mask depicting a fox. A sword was strapped to his back, and he stood tensely to attention.
"Gather a team of 7, excluding yourself. You have a new mission. Then arrive back here, with your team, immediately. Be packed for a year." Fox nodded, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
"Who's the mission from?" asked Shizune, holding a struggling Ton-Ton. Tsunade's mouth mashed into a straight, grim line, and she tossed the scroll over to her. Shizune put down the pig, and picked up the letter, reading it carefully.
"No…" she breathed quietly.
At Kings Cross Station…
Harry was swept up by the tide of commuters heading for their trains, struggling to keep up with the Weasleys and Hermione. Eventually he managed to break through and walked through the barrier separating the muggles from platform 9 and ¾, hurrying slightly. As he was about to board the train, Mr Weasley caught his arm and pulled him away from earshot of the others.
"Harry. I don't know how much you know, but knowing you it is bound to be quite a lot. So, I don't want you to go looking for Black. Stay safe, and don't go looking for trouble." Harry opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again as he saw the stern look of Mr Weasley and nodded instead.
"Good man. Now, quickly get onto the train, you don't want to be late." Harry nodded again, heaving his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto the steam train. As he shut the door, a movement caught his eye and he saw a flash of white. Shrugging and putting it out of his mind, he followed Hermione and Ron as they wandered through the carriages looking for an empty apartment. Eventually they came to a near empty one, with a man leaning against the window dressed in shabby clothing. They sat down gingerly, but when they decided that he was definitely asleep, they started talking.
About a quarter of the way into their journey, the door slid silently open and a masked figure wearing a white cloak slipped in, unnoticed at first. Suddenly Hermione spotted whoever it was.
"Um… sorry, we, uh, we didn't see you. My name's Hermione Granger, and this is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley," she said, indicating the two boys who were openly staring at the person. Said person snorted quietly, and fixed cold blue eyes on the girl.
"Fox. ANBU captain."
"What's ANBU?" The figure named Fox stared at her, and an uncomfortable silence filled the compartment.
"You ask too many questions, and give away too much valuable information." With that, Fox stared at the wall straight ahead of him, and gradually the golden trio began to talk again. Suddenly, the train stopped. The lights went out, and no one (apart from Fox of course) could see a thing. The door slid open, and Fox saw a young girl and a slightly older boy come into the compartment, tripping over feet on the way.
"OW! Who's there?"
"It's me, Ginny."
"Neville."
"Everyone, be quiet!" The man who was asleep had woken up, and had lit his wand.
"What's going on?" Harry demanded, relieved at the glow from the wand tip. He could see Fox sitting in the corner and looking tense. The man shook his head. Fox fingered his kunai, unsure of what was going on and not liking it. He could sense a mass of energy coming their way, similar to chakra but not quite the same. It was coming towards them, and soon the compartment door was opening again for the third time that journey. A floating, grey hooded figure entered the room. It swooped towards Harry and seeing his charge in potential danger, Naruto flung a kunai at the creature. It stopped the sucking thing it was doing and turned towards him. Suddenly, Fox was watching the time when everyone in the village hated him and scorned him, when he attended the Sandaime's funeral, each time he had fought with Sasuke, Hinata pinned to the ground in front of Pein, when he had just got the news that Jiraiya had been killed, the fourth shinobi war in which so many lost their lives…
Fox's knees buckled and he fell to the floor, hitting his knees in the process. This jolted his memory, and he instantly formed the release seal that worked for genjutsus. He dimly heard someone shouting something, and suddenly he was staring at the floor of the compartment. A face swam into view, and as it focused he realised it belonged to the man.
"Are you alright?" Fox stared incomprehensibly at the man. "I guess not. You must have had a lot of bad memories… here, take this." He offered Fox a piece of chocolate. Fox stared at it for a moment, before getting shakily to his feet. Glancing around, he saw that the other occupants were watching Harry, who had fallen in his seat. Without a word, Fox ghosted out of the compartment and sped along the corridor of the train until he reached the compartment where the rest of the shinobi were travelling, and found them in a similar state. He made his way to a seat and collapsed into it.
"What… what the hell was that?" He asked Stag, who was uncharacteristically alert.
"I believe that they were the other guards Dumbledore-sama mentioned. Although, he did not say that they were genjutsu wielders… troublesome man."
"Hm. Well, if they're going to be here for the rest of the mission, we're going to have to try to avoid them. Do we know anything about them, other than that they use genjutsu?"
"No."
"Well, when we arrive at Hogwarts you and Slug research them. If they affect us like that, then I don't want to take any chances." Stag nodded, and Slug gave a muttered 'hai' from the corner.
Eventually the train pulled to a stop outside of Hogwarts, and they guards rushed off to the building, apart from Fox who remained to watch unnoticed as Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed into a carriage, pulled by a creature known as a thestral- Fox had asked the teachers about them the previous day, and was met by scared glances. He then found out why he received the strange looks, after learning that you could only see them if you had seen death. As the Golden Trio left the carriage, a boy with pale hair and a pointed chin stepped up to the three of them. Fox watched from the shadows as the boy- identified as Malfoy- proceeded to taunt Harry about fainting. Fox gave a soft snort. If the boy ever found out about what had happened to him, then he would have a field day. As the argument escalated, Fox sighed and stepped out from where he was hiding. He was given the satisfaction of making Malfoy jump.
"Is there are problem?" He asked Malfoy pointedly. Malfoy shook his head. "Good. Then I suggest you move along," Fox continued, picking at his fingernails with a senbon for added effect. Malfoy took one look at the weapon and scarpered. Harry turned to thank Fox, but the shinobi was nowhere to be seen.
"That was… weird," he commented. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement, and they made their way up the steps. However, before the three of them could enter the hall McGonagall stopped them.
"Mr Potter, Miss Granger, if you could just come with me a minute. It's quite alright, Mr Weasley, I just want a quick word with them." Harry shrugged to Ron and the aforementioned two left him to stand staring after them in the entrance to the Great Hall, before the crowd jostled him inside.
After an awkward talk with McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey (yes, Harry was perfectly fine) and being shooed out into the corridor whilst Harry waited for McGonagall to finish speaking with Hermione, the three of them returned to the hall, slipping in and sitting down quietly.
"Oh no, we missed the sorting," said Hermione dejectedly, peering round the hall.
"Never mind that, who do you think they are?" Harry asked, pointing up to the Teacher's table. Ten figures, looking very much like Fox, were sitting there impassively. Even though they were inside, their cloaks remained on and their hoods remained up, so that very little of their bone white masks could be seen. Dumbledore stood up, and after a few well-chosen words the plates before them filled with food. Harry, Ron and Hermione peered closely at the unusual figures at the end of the table to see how the responded to the food, but their plates and goblets remained empty. They returned to their own plates quietly, and eventually the plates were cleared again. Dumbledore stood up once more, and the chatter died away instantly.
"Now, welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before I let you go up to your warm and comfortable beds, I would like to make a few announcements.
'First, it is my deepest sorrow to tell you that Professor Kettleburn has retired from his position of Care of Magical Creatures to spend more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to announce that Professor Hagrid will be filling in his post." This was greeted to wild applause from the Gryffindor table, with Ron commenting on how only Hagrid would set them biting books.
"I would also like to introduce Professor Lupin, who shall be our defence against the dark arts teacher this year." There was quieter applause to this, and Lupin gave a tired wave. "As you are also aware, we have some new guards this year. You have already seen the Dementors. For those of you who do not know, they are extremely unforgiving, and do not distinguish between friend or foe. Therefore, I suggest you keep away from them. I will let the other guards introduce themselves." With that, he stepped back slightly as the robed creatures vanished only to reappear with a poof and a lot of white smoke in front of the long table.
"Fox- captain."
"Eagle- vice captain."
"Stag- strategist."
"Slug- Medic."
"Peacock- Medic."
"Cat- Scout."
"Panda- Weapons mistress."
"Wolf- scout. And this is my partner, Dog." He patted the large white dog next to him, and Ron rolled his eyes.
"No shit," he muttered quietly. Wolf's eyes met him immediately, and Dog gave a low growl. Ron gulped- surely he hadn't heard him from over there? Dumbledore stood up again as the eight of them melted back into the shadows.
"They shall have the same powers of the teachers, and I believe that they will want to lay down some rules, and as you all have a day full of learning tomorrow, I suggest you all go to bed now. Goodnight!" The shinobi watched as the students scrambled to the door from their various hiding places. As soon as the last person had left, they received a signal from Fox and all of them poofed out of the hall and into their various posts. Fox smirked as a knot of Gryffindors jumped at his sudden appearance. He leant against the fireplace and waited for silence to blanket the common room, pulling his hood off as he did so. When the chatter eventually died down, he straightened up slightly.
"Right. It wasn't mentioned in the opening speech, but we have a few rules which are in your best interests to keep. Number 1: Don't underestimate us. We won't appreciate it."
"Number 2," Stag said quietly, the Ravenclaws listening with the utmost attention. "No leaving you dormitory or common room after 9. It's a pain for us to come and find you again."
"Three," Panda said, the Hufflepuffs watching her twirling kunai with apprehensive eyes, "If you see or hear anything suspicious, tell one of us immediately."
"Four," Eagle said in an icy voice, causing the Slytherines to shiver. " No annoying us. Got it?" He watched with twisted humour as the students nodded woodenly at his made up rule. He had gotten tired of Slytherine's attitude after only five minutes. He could tell that it was going to be a long mission.
So? Like it, love it, hate it? Tell me what you think! XD
Fallen Quills
