3

Disclaimer: Unsurprisingly, I own nothing. Naruto and Harry Potter belong to their respective creators.

Note: It will take a while for the main players in both series to appear, so bear with me on this. Otherwise, this is set near the start of HBP, and in Part II of Naruto.

One down, three left. Make that two. One. Bingo!

Move in.

The team assembled by the lower door, one holding the handle, one by the opposite frame, the remaining pair further back, checking for any other guards. The leader held up his hand, and silently counted.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!

The door opened. The first pair burst in silently, kunais at the ready. The room was dark, with no occupants. The leader gestured. Clear! The second pair followed, closing the door. They had between five minutes before someone would go and check on the perimeter guards. Five minutes to complete the mission…

Taking out a map, one team member lit a match. They were in the servant's entrance. The main entrance hall was through the second door, up two flights of stairs and then the first door on the right. From there, the main staircase would take them up the first floor, where they would take the third door on the left into the master bedroom, where the target was. The guards were gathered at intervals marked on the map: two in the entrance hall, one in the first floor corridor. There were ten others, but they were too far away too matter: if they became a threat it meant the mission had failed. The only worry was the target's snake, which tended to roam the halls at random and could communicate information to its master with incredible speed; however, there were ways of dealing with that.

The match dropped to the floor, spent. The team gathered behind the door. Silently, they opened it, and burst up the stairs, their soft soles noiseless even on the aged wood. Coming to the door, they halted. Time for stage two: Neutralise the main hall guards.

The team leader peeked through the keyhole. The main hall was lit, dimly, by a pair of lamps by the enormous teak door. The guards were nowhere to be seen. The team leader frowned. Signalling to his comrades that he would go in alone, he opened the door, squeezed through and concentrated on making himself part of the background. A shinobi knew a thousand ways to vanish from sight, the least of them accomplished with chakra. By diminishing his presence, he could pass unnoticed through a crowd of people. The leader slipped among the shadows cast by the dim lighting, his dark grey and green camouflage making him just another shadow. There! The two guards were on the far side of the hall, near the staircase. One was reading a book, the other eating some sausages with toast and mashed potatoes. The leader slipped back to the door, then rejoined his team-mates on the other side. Motioning one team member forward, he whispered "Two. By the far side." The team-member nodded, and slipped through the door. The team leader waited. Two low thuds rewarded his patience. The team slipped through, moving quickly to help carry the bodies and stow them somewhere less obvious. Footsteps on the staircase disturbed them. Hurrying, they hid in any possible space. The footsteps grew louder as their owner reached the ground floor.

"Guys? Dmitrov? Roschev? Where are you?"

The guard looked uncertain as he stepped into the main hall. Suddenly, a team member came behind him, kunai in hand. Holding a hand over the man's mouth, he dragged the kunai across the guards throat, then stabbed once to the heart, once to the groin and once to the liver. The guard collapsed, blood gushing all over his robes and pooling on the floor. No time for a clean-up, thought the leader. He signaled to the team, and they sprinted up the stairs. Once on the first floor, they grouped into an assault formation. Cautiously, proceeded to the third door on the left. The team leader gripped the handle of the door, and burst in.

The room's occupant gave a start, wand flashing up, but a well thrown shuriken cut the wand in half. A team member appeared behind him, drawing a kodachi. Before the target had a chance to scream, his mouth had been covered by a strong hand and the sword had pierced him three times: groin, throat and heart. The target collapsed to the floor and…

Disappeared.

The leader stiffened. Kage bunshin?! A noise caught his attention, and he turned. It sounded like…

Clapping?

The leader looked at his team. Their confusion mirrored his. From the shadows, two figures emerged. Both were tall, but there the resemblance ended. One was dressed in black robes, with a white face, a flat nose and snake-like eyes. The other wore battle gear, sporting long black hair. He was handsome after a fashion, pale faced and elegant, but his eyes held a cold malice in them, and his grin spoke of teeth and venom. He was also the one applauding.

"My, my. The Leaf are getting better and better at this sort of thing. See, Voldemort? I told you they were good."

His companion frowned. "Yes, so you did. I see we may have to take more care in the future. I hope you will assist, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru nodded. Still smiling, he looked at the team leader. "Ah, Kakashi-kun. How good it is to see you again. And how sad that this is the last time we shall meet. Tell me, how is that charming little kyuubi of yours?"

The team leader, his identity blown, signalled to his team. Time for plan B. Kakashi pushed up his head protector, opening his left eye. The tomoe spun slowly. Voldemort drew his wand, preparing for combat. Orochimaru stopped him with a gesture.

"I'm sorry, Voldemort, but I'll take care of him. His sharingan is beyond even your ability. A truly remarkable gift." Turning to Kakashi, he said "As I will shortly discover..."

Kakashi stiffened. Sasuke! Watching Orochimaru carefully, he made a slight movement with his left hand. Orochimaru stepped forward slowly, wary of moving too soon. Suddenly, the room filled with smoke, so thick that it became impossible to see more than a foot away. A sound from the window signaled the departure of the team. Orochimaru dashed forward to intercept, but Kakashi stopped him with a well placed kick to the ribs. Orochimaru spun away, sweeping his leg up. His heel caught Kakashi full in the face. Voldemort aimed his wand, shouting "Avada Kedavra!!" The green light flashed towards Kakashi as Orochimaru leapt aside.

The light struck Kakashi full in the chest.

He hit the ground in a heap, face first. Voldemort dispelled the smoke. The rest of the team was gone. Orochimaru approached the corpse, Voldemort close behind.

"My, my. The great Copy-nin Kakashi, brought down with a single curse. Who would have thought it…"

The Snake Sannin bent down to examine the body. Turning it over, he stared. "Scarecrow? What the… Kawarimi no-jutsu!!" He looked up. Kakashi was on the ceiling, sprinting towards the open window. Voldemort aimed again. A chunk of plaster and wood exploded. He aimed once more. The chandelier shattered into a million pieces. Furious, he aimed again. Too late! Kakashi had made it through the window.

Orochimaru was still smiling, though his eyes showed his frustration. "Kabuto," he whispered, "take care of them."

The crackling answer came a moment later. "Hai, Orochimaru-sama!"