Hello again.
Alright, some people have questioned why Gaara is in this fic. And yes, I do recognise that that is a plot hole. After all, he is Kazekage and everything and shouldn't be going to missions and all that blah.
The truth is, I am a disorganised writer with a bad case of fangirl-ness and I simply wanted Gaara to be in this fic. So let's just say it's a joint mission, okay? And if that brings up yet another plot hole… then… I'm just gonna use the 'this is fanfiction' excuse. Yeah, I already told one reviewer that I didn't have a really good reason for Gaara being here. Unless you guys really don't want him here, review and I'll take him out of the story or something.
Uh... and also, the ninja continent and the wizarding world are two different dimensions.
Just in case people still don't get it…
Naruto – Fox
Sakura – Slug
Ino – Dove
Neji – Hawk
Tenten – Dragon
Hinata – Cat
Gaara – Raccoon
Shikamaru – Stag
Kiba – Wolf
I got quite a lot of reviews, thanks guys!
They are: Tachi Kagahara, bookist, Ember Spy, Anivla01, Kakawot, ThePurpleSuperCow, xLoveChuuChuuTrainx, hokage of dragon, howlingwindofthestorm, SharpShooterRizaHawkeye, almp, Cindar, WinxPossible and tenshi-no-akuma-81.
Chapter Two: The Hearing and Hogwarts
"Potter-san has a hearing?" Fox repeated, eyeing Lupin.
"Yes. On the twelfth of August," Lupin said. "Are you going to accompany him?"
"Yes," Fox said.
"And why does the brat have a hearing?" asked a cold voice. Hawk had entered, his pupil-less eyes fixed on Lupin, and then onto Harry, who was also in the room.
"Because some Dementors arrived in Little Whinging and attacked me and my cousin," Harry said, trying not to sound angry.
His temper had been going haywire over the last few days. It wasn't getting any better considering that most of the guards called him a brat, a gaki (whatever that was), a child… Harry was getting rather sick of it. Even the female ninja showed no compassion, and although they didn't say it to his face, Harry had heard Slug and Dove call him an idiot and a troublemaker. Harry didn't even know what he was doing wrong to be called those names. Apparently they were reading some old reports on Harry which had been sent to them from Dumbledore.
Dumbledore, another person Harry was kinda pissed at. Dumbledore seemed to be avoiding Harry, and when they did meet face to face, the headmaster wouldn't even look at Harry in the eyes. This, combined with the name calling from the guards, was making Harry a little edgy.
"What's a Dementor?" Slug asked.
"A… thing," was all Harry could say.
"A thing," Slug repeated, her voice mocking. "Please elaborate." Harry resisted the urge to pound her face in, female or not.
"A Dementor is a Dark creature, considered one of the foulest to inhabit the world. Dementors feed off human happiness, and thus cause depression and despair to anyone near them. They can also consume a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state, and thus are often referred to as 'soul-sucking fiends' and are known to leave a person as an 'empty shell' (1)," Lupin said.
For a moment, Harry thought he saw something flicker in Fox's eyes. It was almost like recognition. Pain? After that second, though, it was gone, and the usual frostiness descended upon those eyes once again.
"So… what's the hearing for?" Hawk asked.
"I used magic to fend the Dementors off," Harry said, "in front of my cousin, who is a Muggle. You're not allowed to show magic in front of a Muggle."
"A Muggle is something you call people with no magical core, correct?" Slug asked.
"Yes," Lupin said.
"And so Potter-san has to go to this hearing because he performed magic in front of a Muggle, and that is illegal?" Fox said. Both Harry and Lupin nodded.
"Alright then," Fox said finally.
"Harry, dear," Mrs Weasley called from upstairs. "Could you please come and help us clean out this room? We need an extra pair of hands…"
"Coming," Harry called back. Harry glanced at the guards one last time before heading upstairs.
Lupin looked at Fox, his eyes hard.
"Could you be more polite to Harry?" Lupin asked.
"Hm? Why?" Fox said nonchalantly.
"Harry has been through a lot," Lupin said. "Last year he saw a fellow student die, he still thinks it's his fault. Your name calling isn't really helping, you know."
"And how does calling him a brat relate to that incident?" Hawk asked. Lupin shrugged.
"His self esteem," Lupin said.
"His self esteem," Fox repeated scathingly, "because his self esteem is so important to us. Look, Lupin-san, we're just here to protect him and Hogwarts. We're not here to baby him, you know."
Lupin sighed. There really was no way to make the ninja any nicer.
'No, it's just that… you calling him a brat will signify to him that he is still a child, and he feels that it is because he is a child that he wasn't able to save Cedric," Lupin said.
"He is still just a child," Slug said.
"What? You're no better, you know," came a voice from the doorway. Sirius stood there, dislike etched on his face. "Your voices are not that of adults. How old are you, exactly?"
"We are all seventeen, Dragon and Hawk are eighteen," Fox said. Surprise flashed across Sirius' face, and then he shrugged.
"See what I mean? You are barely two years older than him," Sirius said. "Don't talk about the world as if you have seen it."
"Black-san, I can tell that you have seen the world, both the good and the bad," Hawk said. "But we have as well. We are no longer children. We do not come from the wizarding dimension, Black-san. You forget… we are ninja."
Sirius stared at them for a second, and then he sighed.
"Yeah, you're right. I did forget," he said softly. "Easy to forget when you have the eyes of a child, but they bear the burden of an adult."
On the day of the hearing, Harry awoke at half past five in the morning as abruptly and completely as if someone had yelled in his ear. For a few moments he lay immobile as the prospect of the disciplinary hearing filled every tiny particle of his brain, then, unable to bear it, he leapt out of bed and put on his glasses. Harry scrambled into his clothes and crossed the room, stepped out on the landing and closed the door softly behind him. He walked quietly down the stairs, past the heads of Kreacher's ancestors, and down into the kitchen.
He had expected it to be empty, but when he reached the door he heard the soft rumble of voices on the other side. He pushed it open and saw Mr and Mrs Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Dragon and Cat sitting there almost as though they were waiting for him. All were fully dressed except for Mrs Weasley, who was wearing a quilted purple dressing gown.
She fussed over him, clearly nervous as well, and placed some toast and marmalade in front of him.
Mr Weasley checked his watch and looked up at Harry.
"I think we'll go now," he said. "We're a bit early, but I think you'll be better off at the Ministry than hanging around here."
"Okay," said Harry automatically, dropping his toast and getting to his feet. "Well… see you later." The other inhabitants gave him advice and wished him luck.
He followed Mr Weasley upstairs and along the hall. Dragon and Cat tailed him silently.
They walked along the street, turning heads with Mr Weasley's strange attire and the guards' armour and masks, but none of them really cared.
They went on a train, which the ninja didn't really like, and got off at the very heart of London. They walked until they reached a street that contained several rather shabby-looking offices, a pub and an overflowing skip.
"Here we are," said Mr Weasley brightly, pointing at an old red telephone box, which was missing several panes of glass and stood before a heavily graffitied wall, "After you, Harry, Dragon, Cat."
He opened the telephone-box door.
Harry stepped inside, the ninja flitting in behind him.
"Mr Weasley, I think this might be out of order," Harry said.
"No, no, I'm sure it's fine," said Mr Weasley, holding the receiver above his head and peering at the dial. "Let's see… six…" he dialed the number, "two… four… another four… and another two…"
As the dial whirred smoothly back into place, a cool female voice sounded inside the telephone-box, not from the receiver in Mr Weasley's hand, but as loudly and plainly as though an invisible woman were standing right beside them.
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."
"Er… Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, here to escort Harry Potter, who has been asked to attend a disciplinary hearing, along with Dragon and Cat… who are guards."
"Thank you," said the cool female voice. "Visitors, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."
There was a click and a rattle, and Harry saw something slide out of the metal chute where returned coins usually appeared. He picked up a badge: it was a square silver badge with Harry Potter, Disciplinary Hearing on it. He pinned it to the front of his T-shirt and handed the other two badges to Cat and Dragon. The ninja pinned the badges onto their black clothing.
"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."
The floor of the telephone-box shuddered. They were sinking slowly into the ground. Harry watched apprehensively as the pavement seemed to rise up past the glass windows of the telephone-box until darkness closed over their heads. After about a minute, a chink of golden light illuminated his feet and widening, rose up his body, until it hit him in the face and he had to blink to stop his eyes watering.
"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," said the woman's voice.
The door of the telephone-box sprang open and Mr Weasley stepped out of it, followed by Harry, Dragon and Cat.
"Death Eater!" a woman shrieked as soon as the two ninja appeared. Cat glanced at Dragon, who shrugged.
A spell was sent their way, red in colour, and Cat stepped to the side, causing the spell to leave a black mark on the floor where it landed.
"Death Eater!"
Soon, the shouts of "Death Eater!" echoed through the Atrium. There was a large ruckus after that, as Mr Weasley attempted to calm everyone down. The whole room was in disarray; papers flying everywhere, running witches and wizards, blinding spells shooting across the room…
"STOP!" Mr Weasley bellowed. Harry flinched; he had never heard him yell that loud before. Silence fell as everyone looked at Mr Weasley.
"They are not Death Eaters," Mr Weasley said calmly. "Look at them closely."
"But… but the masks, Arthur," a wizard spluttered.
"They are not Death Eaters," Mr Weasley said firmly, "now please let us be on our way."
The four of them moved through the throng of people who made a passage to let them pass.
"Over here," said Mr Weasley, and they stepped out of the stream of Ministry employees heading for the golden gates. Seated at a desk to the left, beneath a sign saying Security, a badly-shaven wizard in peacock blue robes looked up as they approached.
"I'm escorting a visitor," said Mr Weasley, gesturing towards Harry.
"Caused quite an uproar," said the wizard. "Now step over here."
Harry walked closer to him and the wizard held up a long golden rod, thin and flexible as a car aerial, and passed it up and down Harry back and front. He did the same for Dragon and Cat, although a little warily.
"What does that do?" Cat muttered.
"Don't know. Some kind of security thing," Dragon said.
"Wand," grunted the security wizard at Harry, putting down the golden instrument and holding out his wand.
Harry produced his wand. The wizard dropped it onto a strange brass instrument, which looked something like a set of scales with only one dish. It began to vibrate. A narrow strip of parchment came speeding out of a slit in the base. The wizard tore this off and read the writing on it.
"Eleven inches, phoenix-feather core, been in use four years. That correct?"
"Yes," said Harry nervously.
"I keep this," said the wizard, impaling the slip of parchment on a small brass spike. "You get this back." He thrust the wand at Harry. "And you?" he added, eyeing Cat and Dragon.
"Er, they don't have wands," Mr Weasley said hastily, dragging Harry away. "Thank you, Eric."
They got into a lift filled with people, all of whom stayed well away from the ninja. Mr Weasley chatted to a few wizards, until they reached Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services.
They passed the Auror Headquarters, where Mr Weasley and Kingsley spoke to each other as if they hardly knew one another, but then dropped hints about the Order.
They then went to Mr Weasley's office, where Perkins burst in, babbling about how the time of the hearing had changed. That caused Mr Weasley to grab Harry's arm and they streaked away, running to the old Courtroom Ten. Cat and Dragon hurried after them, ghosting along. They bolted into the lift, went down back to the Atrium, ran down some stairs where they finally reached Courtroom Ten, and Mr Weasley shoved Harry inside.
Mr Weasley paced outside nervously while Cat and Dragon stood there.
"What can you see?" Dragon murmured.
"A large room, let's see… all the seats are filled, Potter-san is sitting in a chair,"Cat reported. A movement caught her eye, and she turned to see a tall wizard with a long, silver heard, accompanied by a short woman.
"Dumbledore," Mr Weasley said. Dumbledore smiled at the man.
So this is Dumbledore, our client, Cat thought. He reminds me of the Third Hokage.
"Guards," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I apologise for not introducing myself earlier. I would do it now, in fact, but I must be getting to the hearing."
"Understood," Cat said softly. Dumbledore entered the court room, leaving the woman outside. No one talked. A few minutes later, she was summoned inside. She emerged ten minutes later and waited in silence with the rest of them.
"Dumbledore-san seems to be arguing Potter-san's case rather well, Cat whispered. I think they're voting now. It seems as though the witch, I believe her name is Amelia Bones (A/N Amelia is my name too!), is quite a fair person…"
"You said they were voting," Dragon said sharply. Cat nodded.
"Potter-san has been cleared of all charges," Cat said. "They are going out now." She switched off her Byakugan.
"How did it go?" Raccoon asked when he spotted Cat and Dragon.
"Cleared," Dragon said simply.
Time passed, and finally, on the day before they had to go back to Hogwarts, the booklists arrived. With it, came the excitement of the prefect's badge. First came the silence, then the screaming, then the tears shed by Mrs Weasley.
"What's a prefect?" Wolf asked. Everyone else shrugged.
That night there was a small party in honour of Hermione and Ron becoming prefects. The ninja stayed up in their rooms; they weren't party people.
Near the end of the night, Fox was walking down the stairs when he heard sobbing coming from a room.
"Hello?" Fox asked out loud. The sobbing continued. Fox opened a door where he thought the sobbing was coming from.
Someone was cowering against the dark wall, her wand in her hand, her whole body shaking with sobs. Sprawled on the dusty old carpet in a patch of moonlight, clearly dead, was Ron.
Fox stared at the corpse for a second, and then sensed that it wasn't human. Was it some kind of Dark creature? Whatever it was, Fox knew that he needed other wizards or witches to deal with it.
"Mrs Weasley," Fox said softly. "Get a grip."
Mrs Weasley started at the sound of her name.
"Someone!" Fox raised his voice. "I need help in here!"
The Boggart kept changing shape, seemingly oblivious to the extra person in the room. Crack. Dead twins. Crack. Dead Percy. Crack. Dead Harry…
"What's going on?"
Lupin had come running into the room, closely followed by Sirius and Harry, with Moody stumping along behind them. Lupin looked from Mrs Weasley to the dead Harry on the floor and seemed to understand in an instant. Pulling out his own wand, he said, very firmly and clearly:
"Riddikulus!"
Harry's body vanished. A silvery orb hung in the air over the spot where it had lain. Lupin waved his wand once more and the orb vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What was that?" Fox asked Moody, moving away as Mrs Weasley sobbed her heart out on Lupin's shoulder.
"Dark creature," Moody growled. "Lives in dark places, takes on the form of what you fear most."
What you fear most, Fox thought. What would that be for me…?
Slug awoke instantly and rolled out of bed, packing her things without hesitation. Nearby, she could hear her fellow teammates wake up as well. It was five in the morning, but she was sure that other Order members would be awake.
"Morning Slug," Cat said as they met on the landing and going down together.
"Good morning," Slug said. They found the other ninja in the kitchen. Wolf was sitting at the table looking at a newspaper with Dove reading it behind him, her hand on his shoulder. Raccoon and Hawk were sitting in front of empty plates. Stag was standing in the corner, and it was evident that beneath his mask, he was yawning widely. Fox was asking Dragon something about his kunai.
Mrs Weasley was having a cup of tea, and one by one, other members of the house woke up and went down to the kitchen.
"Oh my goodness," Mrs Weasley gasped, looking at her watch. "They have to wake up now; they'll be late for the train!"
She almost ran upstairs and woke everyone. Within the next ten minutes, there was a full on commotion going on inside the house.
It started with Fred and George bewitched their trunks to fly down the stairs, hitting Ginny in the process and causing her to fall down two flights. This resulted in Ginny's yell, which in turn caused the curtains from Mrs Black's portrait's curtain to fly open and she and Mrs Weasley started screaming.
"– COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS –"
"– FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS –"
"Well, at least this house is lively," Fox said, staring around at the chaos.
"I don't like this train," Hawk muttered. The ninja were in their own compartment at the front of the train. It was unsettling, really, for the shinobi, who hadn't been on any mechanical device in their lives, with the exception of Cat and Dragon, when they took the train to go to the Ministry of Magic for Harry's hearing.
"Wolf, go and sit with Potter-san," Fox instructed. "I'll swap you over when we're halfway there."
"Hai," Wolf mumbled. He and Akamaru left the carriage.
"Okay, the plan outline for the year is, to put it simply, guard Hogwarts and make sure Potter-san doesn't do anything stupid," Fox said. "And we have to look out for the Akatsuki."
"If they find out that we're here to protect Potter-san, they may capture him for a trade," Stag said. "We can't risk that."
"I know," Fox said.
They spent the rest of the train journey discussing tactics.
Meanwhile, Wolf was sitting in the compartment containing Harry and his friends, including Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom. He looked suspiciously at the little cactus-plant that Neville Longbottom held in his hand.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Neville said proudly. "It's really, really rare. I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even."
Wolf looked at the thing. It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ.
"Does it – er – do anything?" Harry asked, trying to sound polite.
"Loads of stuff," said Neville proudly. "It's got an amazing defensive mechanism. Here, hold Trevor for me…"
He dumped the toad into Harry's lap and took a quill from his schoolbag. Luna Lovegood's popping eyes appeared over the top of her upside-down magazine again, to watch what Neville was doing.
Please don't tell me he's going to show us what that thing does… Wolf thought, looking with distaste at the plant.
Neville held the Mimbulus mimbletonia up to his eyes, his tongue between his teeth, chose his spot, and gave the plant a sharp prod with the tip of his quill.
Great.
Wolf watched the plant contract; although it was so minute he doubted whether the magical folk could see it, and before it could expand again, he and Akamaru were out the door, not very keen to stay in the same compartment as the plant. Lucky he moved so fast, because a second later, liquid squirted from every boil on the plant; thick, stinking dark green jets of it. They hit the ceiling, the windows, and splattered Luna Lovegood's magazine; Ginny, who had flung her arms in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing Trevor's escape, received a faceful. It smelled like rancid manure.
Outside, Wolf almost choked as the disgusting scent reached him.
That's gross, Wolf thought.
He stepped aside to let a girl pass, and she opened the door of Harry's compartment.
"Oh… hello, Harry," said the girl nervously, "um… bad time?"
Wolf saw Harry wipe the lenses of his glasses and look up to see the girl smiling up at him.
"Oh… hi," said Harry blankly.
"Um…" said Cho, "well… just thought I'd say hello… bye then."
Rather pink in the face, she closed the door and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned.
"Never mind," said Ginny bracingly. "Look, we can easily get rid of all this." She pulled out her wand. "Scourgify!"
The Stinksap vanished.
Wolf came back in, Akamaru padding along. The dog almost took up the whole compartment.
An hour came and went, and Ron and Hermione, having gone to the prefects' carriage, had not returned. Harry, Ginny and Neville had finished their pumpkin pasties and were busy swapping Chocolate Frog Cards when the compartment door slid open and Ron and Hermione walked in.
Ron walked abruptly into Akamaru before the canine moved. Wolf was sitting there, silent and stiff, glaring holes into the wall opposite him.
"I'm starving," said Ron, stowing Pigwidgeon next to Hedwig, grabbing a Chocolate Frog from Harry and throwing himself into the seat next to him. He ripped open the wrapper, bit off the frog's head and leaned back with his eye closed as though he had had a very exhausting morning.
The compartment door slid open, and Slug stood on the other side. Wolf stood up immediately, and he and Akamaru left. Slug entered and took his seat.
"Well, there are two fifth year prefects from each house," Hermione said, talking to fill the silence. "Boy and girl from each."
"And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" said Ron, still with his eyes closed.
"Malfoy," replied Harry at once, certain his worst fear would be confirmed.
"'Course," said Ron bitterly, stuffing the rest of the Frog into his mouth and taking another.
"And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson," said Hermione viciously. "How she got to be prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll…"
"Who are the Hufflepuff's?" Harry asked.
"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott," said Ron thickly.
"And Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw," said Hermione.
How nice it would be… Slug thought, to be so innocent you can sit in a carriage and talk about who got the position of prefect. Whatever that is, I'm sure it's some kind of leadership role. I don't even remember when I lost my innocence. Maybe it was when I killed my first victim, knowing it was for the mission. The first kill…
The compartment door slid open once again.
Harry looked around he had expected this, but that did not make the sight of Draco Malfoy smirking at him from between his cronies Crabbe and Goyle any more enjoyable.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" he said aggressively, before Malfoy could open his mouth.
This kid's name is Malfoy? Slug thought.
"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you detention," drawled Malfoy, whose sleek blonde hair and pointed chin were just like his father's. "You see, I unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."
"Yeah," said Harry, "but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone."
Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville laughed. Malfoy's lip curled. He looked around and saw Slug.
"And who are you?" he asked contemptuously.
"I," said Slug coolly, "am Slug."
"Slug?" Malfoy repeated. "Are your parents daft or something? Who names their kid 'Slug'?"
"Better than being named 'Malfoy'," Slug retorted. Malfoy looked at her disdainfully and then turned his attention back to Harry.
"Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?" he asked.
"Shut up, Malfoy," said Hermione sharply.
"I seem to have touched a nerve," said Malfoy, smirking. "Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line."
"Get out!" said Hermione, standing up.
Sniggering, Malfoy gave Harry a last malicious look and departed, with Crabbe and Goyle lumbering along in his wake. Hermione slammed the apartment door behind them and turned to look at Harry.
"Dogging?" Slug said dryly. Hermione shot the guard a look; they could not talk freely in front of Luna and Neville.
The weather remained undecided as they travelled further and further north. Rain spattered the windows in a half-hearted way, and then the sun put in a feeble appearance before clouds drifted over it once more. When darkness fell and lamps came on inside the carriages, Luna rolled up The Quibbler, put it carefully away in her bag and took to staring at everyone in the compartment instead.
"We'd better change," said Hermione at last, and all of them opened their trunks with difficulty and pulled on their school robes. She and Ron pinned their prefect badges carefully to their chests.
At last the train began to slow down and they heard the usual racket up and down it as everybody scrambled to get their luggage and pets assembled, ready to get off. As Ron and Hermione were supposed to supervise all this, they disappeared from the carriage again, leaving Harry and the others to look after Crookshanks and Pigwidgeon. Slug, somehow, had also disappeared.
Harry shuffled off the train amongst all the other students, and wondered where Hagrid was after spotting Professor Grubbly-Plank calling the first years towards her.
He was shunted forwards onto the dark rain-washed road outside Hogsmeade Station.
Here stood the hundred or so horseless stagecoaches that always took the students above first year up to the castle. Harry glanced quickly at them, turned away to keep a lookout for Ron and Hermione, then did a double-take.
The coaches were no longer horseless. There were creatures standing between the carriage shafts. If he had had to give them a name, he supposed he would have called them horses, although there was something reptilian about them, too. They were completely fleshless, their black coats clinging to their skeletons, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonish, and their pupil-less eyes were white and staring. Wings sprouted from each wither – vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats. Standing still and quiet in the gathering gloom, the creatures looked eerie and sinister.
Nearby, Fox was gazing intensely at these reptilian horses.
Death horses, Fox thought, staring at them, they look like the horses of death.
"Good evening," Dumbledore said brightly, striding towards them in purple robes strewn with silver stars.
The ninja were in a room that led directly to the Great Hall (A/N It's the room where the champions went into after their names were spat out of the Goblet of Fire in the fourth book). There, they were meeting Professor Albus Dumbledore for the first time, well, second, for Cat and Dragon.
"Dumbledore-san?" Fox said quietly. The tall wizard nodded. "I am Fox, captain."
One by one, the others introduced themselves to Dumbledore as well. After the introductions were made, the headmaster nodded happily at them. Apparently he didn't find them intimidating at all.
"Would you like me to introduce the staff to you? Or would you rather find out their names yourself?" Dumbledore asked.
"We'll find out ourselves," said Fox.
"Very well, until I tell the students about you, may you please stay in here?" Dumbledore requested.
"Yes," Fox said.
Outside, Harry jumped as he recognised a witch sitting on a chair next to Dumbledore's. The toad woman.
"Umbridge," Harry said slowly.
"What?" Hermione said.
"That woman, I think she's supposed to be our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Umbridge. She was at my hearing! She works for Fudge!"
"Nice cardigan," said Ron, smirking.
"She works for Fudge!" Hermione repeated, frowning. "What on earth's she doing here, then?"
"Dunno…"
The buzz of talk faded away as the first years trooped into the Hall, lined up in front of the staff table and watched as a three legged stool was placed before them. The Hat opened its mouth, and burst into song.
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 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 just 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
When 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 this 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 dueling 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
Where whittled down to three
Have the houses been united
As 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's 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 fulfill 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 seems that among the four founders of Hogwarts, Hufflepuff was the kindest," Cat said quietly after the Hat had finished its song.
"Unity," Fox sighed. "It's an important thing."
"That's how we won the Fourth Shinobi World War," Stag agreed, "Because we were united."
"But Slytherin seem the darkest," Wolf pointed out.
"Yes, but he was a great friend to Gryffindor at the beginning," Swan said.
"That kinda reminds me of… Sasuke," Slug said. "And you, Fox."
"Me?" Fox said, surprised.
"Hn. Well, it kind of does," Hawk said. "Fox as Gryffindor, Sasuke as Slytherin."
"Sasuke was good at first, just like Slytherin," Dragon said, "and was friends with Gryffindor, which is like Fox. Sasuke turns 'evil', like Slytherin, and leaves, like Slytherin."
"That's quite true," Cat said. The shinobi lapsed into silence.
The ninja waited patiently in the room as the Sorting took place, listening to the cheers the various tables emitted. Finally, after the last girl was sorted into Hufflepuff, silence reigned again.
"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, "welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! Now, before we start our feast, I have an important announcement to make.
"Due to the events that occurred last year, I have decided to hire some ninja guards to protect Hogwarts. They are here to help, and though their… appearances may be a little frightening, I assure you that you will be perfectly safe," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Here they are."
There are eight poofs and a swirl of sand in front of the staff table, and when it cleared, nine figures stood in its place.
Harry, having already seen the guards before, wasn't surprised by their menacing looks. Others, however, stared at them with such great intensity it was considered rude. Many of them had their mouths open.
"They will be guarding the school, day and night. They will ensure that there are no nigh time wanders within the castle," Dumbledore said, his eyes sweeping the room. "If you see anything suspicious, report to the guards. They also have the authority to dock points and give you detention."
Fox stepped forward.
"Fox."
"Raccoon."
"Hawk."
"Slug."
"Cat."
"Dragon."
"Stag."
"Dove."
"Wolf."
"Yes, with that, let the feast begin," Dumbledore said merrily. He sat down, and instantly, the golden plates filled with food. The students tore their eyes away from the guards and down to the chow.
The ninja retreated into the shadowy corners of the Hall, melting into the darkness.
When the students had all finished eating and the noise level in the Hall was starting to creep upwards again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the headmaster.
"Well, not that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I bed a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the Forbidden Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too.
"Mr Filch, the caretaker, 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 corridors between classes…"
As Dumbledore went on, Fox darted over to where Slug was standing.
"Who's the toad?" he mumbled. Slug glanced over to where Umbridge was sitting.
"Um, a teacher?" she suggested.
"I saw her at Potter-san's hearing," Cat said quietly, flitting over as well. "Umbridge. She was one of the ones that voted Potter-san conviction."
"Hmm, so she doesn't like him," Fox muttered.
Dumbledore stopped his speech and turned towards Umbridge, surprise evident on his face, but then he sat down smartly as she got up to say something.
She had a fussy, girly, high pitched voice that thoroughly irritated Fox's ears. However, he listened attentively, though the expression under his mask was not one of enjoyment.
"There will be interference within Hogwarts coming from the Ministry," Cat said after Umbridge had finished. "That's not a good thing, is it?"
"No, it isn't," Slug murmured. "That pretty much tells us that Umbridge is here as some sort of spy for the Ministry."
"Well, she's not our problem," Fox said. "Unless she gets in our way, we won't do anything."
"Of course we won't," Slug said. "Why would we want to, anyway? She looks like she wants to swallow us whole."
"Let's go," Fox said. Raccoon and Hawk, Slug and Dragon and Dove and Cat split off from the rest of the guards and went with the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs to explain the rules they were expected to follow for the year. That night, the said ninja would be sleeping in the said house's common room.
That left Fox, Wolf and Stag with Gryffindor.
The three of them led the students to Gryffindor Tower, and after giving the Fat Lady the password, slipped inside the common room.
"Attention, everyone," Fox called.
While he explained the rules to the students, Stag and Wolf discreetly checked out every corner of the common room. When they were satisfied that it was safe, they relaxed their muscles.
After the Gryffindors had gone to bed, Fox and Stag went out for patrol.
"See you later," Fox said to Wolf.
"Troublesome," Stag muttered but followed his captain.
Wolf fell asleep on an armchair, Akamaru at his feet, but like any other shinobi, kept his ears open.
I'm sorry for putting in the Sorting Hat's song, as it was extra long in this book. I probably caused most of you to skip everything in italics, didn't I? I wanted to put it in because the song this time signifies a lot.
(1) I got that directly from the Harry Potter Wiki.
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