Disclaimer: Again, I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever… (about ten minutes later…) …ever, ever owned Harry Potter or Naruto. I just put them together to come up with insane, hilarious situations. It's a lot of fun!
Chapter 2: The Leaky Cauldron, a Non-Canine Dog, and the Hogwarts Express
Sasuke awoke the next morning in a bed in a small, dingy room. Blinking sleep away, he noticed Fox in an adjacent bed, fast asleep. 'Well, that's not exactly surprising. With the amount of chakra he used up, I'm surprised he's still alive!' Struck by a sudden thought, Sasuke got out of bed and crept to Fox. He slowly reached his hand out toward the fox mask, curious. He wanted to know who in Konoha could produce such an enormous amount of chakra. He gently felt for the ties of the mask and breathlessly lifted in from the sleeping ANBU. What he saw was……another mask? What the hell? That was like Kakashi-sensei all over again!
Frustrated, Sasuke placed the mask beside the sleeping figure and returned to his own bed. He realized that the second mask was a genjutsu, but he couldn't believe that Fox could have enough chakra left to maintain an illusion. Plus, genjutsu were notoriously difficult to maintain while asleep.
He finally bothered to fully take stock of his surroundings (he had only made sure it was safe before the mystery behind the mask distracted him). He was located in an upper room of what appeared to be a small inn. He grabbed his weapons and headed down the stairs to explore. He hadn't yet created a design for his mask, but he didn't want to show his face. A quick "Henge!" fixed his problem and he walked downstairs with short brown hair and gray eyes.
As he walked into the main room, he stopped in the doorway. Some of the patrons were definitely not normal. His hand flew to his kunai pouch as he was approached by a young man and his dog. Although the man only looked about thirty years old, his hair was already graying. The dog beside him was black and about as big as Akamaru. The man stopped and said in a language that Sasuke understood but did not recognize, "Good day. I believe you are the other ninja Dumbledore hired to protect the school this year. My name is Remus Lupin and I am a friend of Dumbledore. He has sent me with specific instructions to give you. You and your friend arrived last night. He stayed awake just long enough to carry you up to your room."
Sasuke relaxed, but his mind swirled. Fox really was amazing. He had not fallen unconscious during the wild teleportation and managed to carry Sasuke up the stairs before collapsing. While ninjas tended to be physically slim rather than chunky (with Chouji the obvious exception), Sasuke was more than half a foot taller than Fox who had to be exhausted after expending that much chakra. 'What a guy!' he thought to himself.
Sasuke listened intently as Lupin explained Dumbledore's instructions. Apparently Lupin would show them the way to the train station where they would catch a train to the school they were to protect. It all seemed simple enough. Suddenly, someone tapped Sasuke on the shoulder. Startled, he whipped around, only to be faced by a boy of about 11. Sasuke had no idea who this black-haired, brown-eyed boy was. Suddenly, the boy yawned and said, "Good morning, Uchiha-san. I trust you slept well?"
Sasuke glared. The boy grinned and disengaged his henge. With a puff of smoke the boy's image was replaced with that of the Fox. Lupin jumped at the transformation and pulled out a short stick. He pointed it at Fox who merely shrugged and performed another henge. This time
he appeared as an older redhead with freckles. "Easy there, Lupin-san. I'm only having a little fun with Uchiha-san," he said.
Lupin suddenly relaxed and lowered his stick. No, it was a wand, Sasuke realized. It also occurred to him that Fox must have been under a henge when they arrived last night. Lupin said, "Ah, Fox, it's you. I beg your pardon, but I was not expecting you to look like a Death Eater." It took a moment for Sasuke to retrieve the sharingan memory concerning Death Eaters. Ah yes, a Death Eater was a follower of the Dark Lord from whom they would be protecting the school. Apparently the Death Eaters liked to dress in hooded cloaks with white masks. Sasuke didn't think anyone could confuse the plain masks of the Death Eaters with the animalistic ANBU masks, but he was trained to notice details. These wizards obviously judged before considering the details. That could be bothersome in the future.
Lupin repeated Dumbledore's instructions to Fox, told them to gather their things, and said he would be waiting downstairs. The two ninjas returned to their room and collected their gear. "Whew," said Fox. "I was afraid I wouldn't be able to take the bags, too. Hmm, in retrospect, we're probably actually pretty damn lucky we didn't arrive here weaponless and naked." Sasuke glanced at his companion to see if he was joking. Nope. He wasn't. Damn.
Both ANBU returned downstairs to Lupin and his dog and left for the train station. A short while later they were standing in front of a wall between platforms nine and ten. According to Lupin, they were looking for a platform nine-and-three-quarters. Sasuke just wondered if all the people in this world were slightly insane.
Fox was, of all things, sniffing. Sasuke could hear him sniffing the air around the wall. Suddenly the Commander turned to Lupin and said, "This isn't actually a wall, is it?"
Lupin's eyes widened. "How did you know?" he asked.
Fox laughed. "I can smell people on the other side. Usually walls are barriers to scent but I can smell right through this one. The illusion must block sound as well as sight, but whoever constructed it must not have considered smell." He turned back to the wall and walked through it. Sasuke shrugged and followed. He had never heard of a permanent genjutsu before, but he was bound to follow his Commander. As he emerged on the other side of the illusion, he saw a scarlet steam engine surrounded by a crowd of children and their parents.
Lupin and his dog exited the illusion and followed Fox, who was, for some odd reason, moving toward an empty corner shadowed from observers. Fox stopped, turned, and in the blink of an eye was crouched next to the dog with a kunai against its throat. He spoke to the dog softly, saying, "Now, I don't know what kind of technique you used to transform, but you're certainly not a dog. Why don't you quit sneaking around and introduce yourself properly?" Lupin and Sasuke were both shocked, but for completely different reasons: Lupin couldn't believe that Fox could detect an Animagus and Sasuke couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed the transformation jutsu used.
The dog looked into Fox's eyes (blue, despite the henge) and read the danger shining there. Suddenly he turned into a tall, skinny man with messy black hair. He was pale and shaking as he towered over Fox, who still had the kunai to his throat. "My name is Sirius Black," he said. "I did not mean to deceive you, but I cannot be seen in public. I am currently wanted for a murder I did not commit."
Fox returned his kunai to his pouch and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Black-san."
Lupin suddenly broke in: "Wait a moment! How did you know he wasn't a dog? And are you just going to leave him be?"
"Well, I noticed it a while ago but didn't really think anything of it until I was sniffing the barrier. Black-san transforms quite effectively into a canine but still retains a slight human scent," Fox explained. "As for his criminal background, I really couldn't care less. In fact, Uchiha-san here has a criminal background as well. As for murder, well, I guess you could say I've committed my share as well." His blue eyes hardened as he finished and all traces of mirth were gone from his voice. Lupin and Black shivered under the intense glare.
Suddenly, Fox's mood changed. His eyes twinkled and he said cheerily, "Now, Lupin-san, Black-san, I'm afraid we must bid you farewell. Unless I am mistaken, the train is about to leave. It was a pleasure to meet you, but we must be off." He shook hands with both the men and headed for the train.
Lupin and Black both blinked a little and turned to Sasuke. They asked, "Is this normal? Is he always threatening one moment and smiling the next?"
"No idea," replied Sasuke. "I only met him yesterday and have no idea who he truly is. You have seen as much as I. However, I must be off as well, so goodbye." He turned and followed his superior toward the train. Indeed, as they approached, it started to move. Both ninjas picked up their speed a little and leapt onto the roof, eliciting gasps from the crowd.
Once they had exited the station, Fox removed his henge and Sasuke followed suit. Fox left to go explore the top of the train and Sasuke sat down to begin creating a design for his mask. He had already decided to be the Snake. Fox had given his approval, stating that they hadn't had a Snake for several years. After all, ever since Orochimaru attacked at the chuunin exam, nobody really wanted to be associated with the reptiles.
Using the dye Fox had given him, Sasuke started to etch his design into the porcelain. He kept the features crude because only high-ranking ANBU had detailed masks. When he was done, Sasuke was satisfied that the mask was recognizable as a snake and put it on. He then relaxed on the roof of the train and slipped into a light slumber.
He was awakened abruptly when the Fox returned and shook him. "Hurry," said Fox. "There's a tunnel coming!" Sasuke leapt up, instantly alert, grabbed his bag, and copied Fox as they swung off the edge of the train to crash right through the window of the compartment below. While the compartment inhabitants were still in shock at their sudden appearance, the train entered the tunnel, blacking out the light. Sasuke could have sworn he heard a muttered "Double Dynamic Entry!" from his companion and cocked an eyebrow with amusement. Apparently Maito Gai got around a little more than he expected.
As the train exited the tunnel, the light returned and Sasuke could see the seated students gazing at them with faces full of surprise and horror. Fox bowed to them all and said, "I do beg your pardon. There was a tunnel coming and being squished between a roof and a stone is not the most pleasant thing I can think of." Sasuke could tell by the voice that his leader was grinning the whole time.
The students didn't think the situation very amusing, however, as they all leapt to their feet and pulled out their wands. The black-haired boy hissed, "Voldemort!" at Sasuke and the others screamed, "It's You-Know-Who!" Hmm. Not a very encouraging beginning, to be confused with the Dark Lord.
Sasuke quickly raised his hands in the air, protesting, "No! I'm not Lord Voldemort! In fact, we're here to protect you from him." It didn't do much good.
The wizards still aimed their wands at him suspiciously. "Who are you?" they asked.
Fox replied, "Well, now, that's a hard question to answer. You see, we are elite fighters hired by Dumbledore to guard his school against the so-called Dark Lord and all his minions." Sasuke noticed gratefully that he was no longer speaking in an amused tone. Fox continued, "However, we are not at liberty to reveal our names or faces. We have also not met with our client yet so I'm afraid you must restrain your boundless curiosity for some time. Now, if you will excuse us, we must return to our 'seats'." With a short bow, he and Sasuke leapt onto the sill of the now-shattered-window, grabbed the top edge, and swung themselves back onto the roof.
Harry couldn't believe it. He just couldn't. He, Neville, and Luna had been sitting in their compartment while Ron and Hermione made their rounds as prefects. Aside from the small incident with Neville's new cactus that spit Stinksap all over the compartment, everything was normal. Neville was chattering away about nothing important and Luna was reading The Quibbler upside-down. Suddenly, the window exploded inward, followed by two humans wearing strange clothing and masks. Harry barely caught a glimpse of them before the train entered a tunnel and threw everything into darkness.
The couple of seconds in the tunnel were some of the longest, scariest seconds of his life. When they finally emerged into daylight, he sighed with relief that the strangers hadn't attacked. His sigh was quickly cut off, however, when he got a good look at the strangers. They were wearing black clothing with white breastplates and lots of metal. Then his eyes travelled to upward their heads and he almost screamed.
The first person had blond hair down to the shoulders and was wearing a mask with a fox face on it. The fox looked really evil and it seemed to be laughing directly at Harry. However, it was nothing compared to the other. The second person who came through the window was tall,
black-haired, and wore a snake mask. The features were crude, though carefully designed. The first thought that jumped to his mind was 'Voldemort!'
Accordingly, Harry sat up, prepared to confront his archenemy who had dared to appear on the Hogwarts Express. Neville and Luna followed suit, their faces full of shock and horror. The thought crossed Harry's mind that Voldemort didn't need a mask to look like a snake and Death Eater masks didn't look like animals, but he pushed it away. As Harry sat there, still stunned, the two men suddenly shared a glance.
The short, blond one turned to the three students, bowed ('What the hell?' thought Harry) and said, laughingly, "I do beg your pardon. There was a tunnel coming and being squished between a roof and a stone is not the most pleasant thing I can think of."
Now, that was certainly not the threat Harry was expecting to hear from a Death Eater. However, his shock and terror left no room for rational thought and all he could think of was Voldemort. He turned to the snake-masked one and said, "Voldemort!" The man with the snake mask immediately lifted his hands and started protesting that he wasn't You-Know-Who. The voice Harry heard was nothing like the one that had been haunting his dreams ever since Voldemort's resurrection, so he relaxed slightly. He still had his suspicions, however, and demanded to know who they were.
The man in the fox mask answered the question seriously, mentioning something about Dumbledore hiring them. Harry finally relaxed upon hearing the headmaster's name. However, as he and his friends watched in astonishment as the strangers leapt out of the window and swung back onto the roof, he realized he still had no idea who or what they really were.
When Ron and Hermione joined the compartment later, Neville tried to explain what had happened and why the window was shattered. Hermione repaired the window, but neither she
nor Ron could make any sense of what Neville was saying. You-Know-Who was here, but didn't attack? Then he said he was hired by Dumbledore? It didn't make any sense. And when they turned to Harry for confirmation, he just shook his head, almost as confused as they were. The rest of the train ride passed in silence.
