A/N: sorry I'm updating a little later than usual today, I've been pulled from pillar to post this week so I didn't get a chance to sit down and type up this chapter until today - to which I've only just finished typing because I had training at work.
I'm going to apologise in advance for next week because I'm not sure whether or not I'll be able to update. My shifts for this week and next week have been shuffled around so I'm not working night shifts and 14.5 hours shifts rather than my usual shifts - I don't think I'm going to have enough time to write the next chapter, let alone type it up. So again, I'm really sorry.
Thank you to those who continue to show support via follows, favourite and reviews.
I know it probably would've made more sense to make Mizuki the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher during Naruto's first year and Orochimaru the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher during Naruto's second year, but seeing as I've already split Naruto away from the Konoha 11 and Sasuke, I wanted him to first meet them and make friends with them before Naruto found out that he was the Nine Tails Jinchūriki and I didn't want to take that reveal to Naruto away from Mizuki - I want to explain more but I can't do so without giving away spoilers so this might have to be another case of baring with me for a while - sorry.
Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Studio Pierrot while Harry Potter belongs to J K Rowling and Warner Bros. Studios. Please support the official releases.
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
~Fox
Naruto stretched and yawned widely before he sunk into a chair in between Kiba and Bill. The blond automatically poured himself a goblet of milk and helped himself to some toast while his two friends watched his sluggish movements with amused expressions.
"Nice to see that sleeping beauty has finally woken up." Bill commented with a smirk as he checked a small watch on his wrist. "And with only ten minutes before classes start, this must be a new record!"
"Shaddup." Naruto murmured groggily as he shoved another slice of toast into his mouth.
"Is he even awake?" Kiba asked with a snigger.
"Ah, Mr Uzumaki." Professor McGonagall approached the blond; she was holding a blank slip of parchment in one hand and her wand in the other. She surveyed the blond over the top of her spectacles with a disapproving frown playing on her lips. "How kind of you to join us, perhaps you would be so willing to dress yourself properly." She added; nodded towards the top button of Naruto's shirt - that was undone - the slack tie that was awkwardly draped around the blond's neck and his robes; which were hung off of his shoulders.
Naruto glanced down at his uniform before he threw the Head of Gryffindor House a sheepish grin. He quickly corrected his uniform under Professor McGonagall's stern gaze while many of the surrounding students watched the blond in amusement.
"That's much better." Professor McGonagall stated with a small smile as Naruto slipped his red and gold tie into a neat windsor knot. "Your timetable." The older witch tapped the slip of parchment in her hand with the tip of her wand and passed it to the blond.
Naruto took the timetable from Professor McGonagall and examined it curiously while the witch continued to address him.
"All second year students are encouraged to participate in after school clubs and activities." Professor McGonagall informed the blond. "Although it is not mandatory to do so, I think you will benefit from these. Professor Snape has agreed to start a potions club for those who wish to catch up on their class assignment and homework. Professor Mizuki is also looking towards starting a duelling club for anyone who is in their second year and above."
"Right." Naruto felt his face drop at the thought of spending more time than was necessary with the unpleasant potions master.
Professor McGonagall eyed the blond thoughtfully for a moment. "There will be a memo on the noticeboard in the Gryffindor Common Room with more clubs and details." The witch told Naruto in a softer tone before she then proceeded to walk through the Great Hall between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables towards the large wooden doors that led to the Entrance Hall.
"She never told us about the after school clubs!" Kiba burst in an offended tone as he watched the witch depart. "Talk about favouritism!"
"I wouldn't say that was favouritism." Naruto frowned at his new timetable. "It was more of a gentle nudge." Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the piece of parchment in his hands. "Looks like we're going to be the first class to have that new teacher." He grabbed a final piece of toast as he rose from his seat at the Gryffindor table and followed in Professor McGonagall's footsteps out of the Great Hall - with Kiba and Bill in tow.
Naruto's first day back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had proved to be uneventful.
Professor Mizuki and Professor McGonagall had spent their lessons with the Gryffindors telling the class what they would be learning over the course of the year, while Professor Flitwick - the small Charms professor and the Head of House for Ravenclaw - had inflicted a test upon his class to see who has retained their lessons from the previous year before setting the class to revise, practise and perform specific charms and spells in front of their peers; a task that none of Naruto's classmates seemed to enjoy.
Naruto had groaned inwardly and led his head drop onto his wooden desk with a loud thud during his fourth period as Professor Binns took his usual position in front of the class and read through his notes about the Medieval Assembly of European Wizards in his usual droning voice.
Naruto has been more than thankful to leave the ghost's classroom - having become bored of Professor Binns's monotonous voice and instead chose to spend the remainder of the lesson with his head resting on his arms where he happily fell asleep while Kiba put his feet up on the desk and swung lazily. Bill had opted to draw on a piece of parchment; he had later enchanted the doodles to roam around the page and spar against each other.
"I'm surprised they still let him teach, y'know." Naruto grumbled as he, Kiba and Bill departed from the History of Magic classroom. "It's not like we're learning anything from him. Do you think he's ever changed his teaching style?"
"Do you think he's even realised that he's dead?" Bill muttered under his breath.
"Doubt it." Naruto grimaced.
"Hey, don't knock it, his classes are basically a free period." Kiba chuckled gleefully. "I doubt he'll even notice if we didn't show up or even if we left halfway through one of his lessons. We can pretty much do what we want in his classes." Kiba grinned mischievously to himself as he stopped in his tracks to retrieve his timetable from his school bag. "Oh no." The brunette moaned as the smile slid off of his face.
"What?" Naruto and Bill turned in unison to face their brunette friend.
"Potions." Kiba announced with a grave expression. "Potions with the Slytherins."
"And Professor Snape." Naruto grimaced.
"He'll probably be looking for any excuse to take points from Gryffindor - as usual." Bill frowned as he continued down the corridor towards the Grand Staircase. "We should hurry if we don't want to give him the chance to."
The three boys rushed down the Grand Staircase, past the Great Hall and through a side door that led to the lower, underground levels of the school. They joined a queue outside the potions master's classroom; where the split between the Gryffindor and Slytherin students was as evident as usual. Naruto instantly noticed that there was a lot of muttering between the students and that a lone student was stood apart from the rest of their peers; upon further inspection he recognised the student to be Sasuke.
"Are they still banging on about him?" Kiba tutted under his breath as he rolled his eyes.
"What do you expect?" Bill whispered back as the drew closer to their classmates. "He's whole family was killed - to which there were reports that he's the only survivor and that he might have witnessed it - and now his brother is a wanted mass murderer" Bill shook his head at the brunette. "Of course people are going to talk about it."
"Well it's becoming annoying." Kiba retorted irritably. "He was the focus of attention last year -"
"Only with girls." Naruto pointed out; despite the fact that he inwardly agreed with his brunette friend.
Kiba continued his rant. "And now the whole school won't shut up about him because his brother went off and decided to do a number on the whole family -"
"I think there's a lot more to it than just that." Bill cut across Kiba.
But the brunette wasn't listening to Naruto and Bill counter arguments "He's just a stuck up, arrogant, bast-"
Bill cleared his throat pointedly and nodded towards the Slytherins - who hadn't even paid the Gryffindors any attention; they were instead enthralled in their own conversations. "I don't think they'll be too happy in you start insulting one of their own too loudly." The redhead warned Kiba. "Not only that, he's a friend of Naruto's - who is a friend of ours."
"W- wait a minute, who said anything about being friends?" Naruto started defensively; earning himself two perplexed stares from Kiba and Bill. "We're not exactly friends, I probably find him more annoying than Kiba does! And Sasuke can't stand me either, we spend almost the whole of last year arguing or… or…" The blond let his sentence trail off as the three Gryffindors glanced curiously as the raven haired Slytherin.
"He must be lonely though." Bill commented in a barely audible tone.
"Huh?" Naruto cocked his head at Bill.
"I mean -" Bill contemplated his words carefully for a moment before he spoke again. "To have his whole family taken away from him and knowing that it was his own brother who killed them. I can't imagine what it's like to lose all of that other than lonely." The redhead shrugged and continued to observe the Uchiha closely. "And the he comes back to school where everyone is talking behind his back in hushed voices. It's almost as though he has no one to turn to."
Naruto shuffled uncomfortably at Bill's words.
The Gryffindors and the Slytherins gave a collective startled jump as the classroom door swung open and Professor Snape entered the corridor. After a sweeping glance at the now silent students, the dark haired professor nodded towards the classroom door.
"Get in." He instructed in a dangerously low tone; he then stepped to one side and watched as the students obliged in complete silence.
"He's as joyful as ever." Kiba breathed as he, Naruto and Bill settled down around the same table at the back of the class.
The blond Gryffindor as Sasuke sat at his usual table on his own.
"Maybe I should sit with him." The thought crossed Naruto's mind as Bill's words continued to hang over the blond; causing Naruto to feel more guilty when the Uchiha was isolated by the rest of their peers once again. Naruto stood up - grabbing his school back at the same time - and turned back towards Kiba and Bill to tell them of his intentions.
"Mr Uzumaki, will you hurry up and take your seat." Professor Snape's voice cracked like a whip across the classroom; making the rest of the students turn in their seats to stare at the blond.
Naruto glanced about himself uncertainly before he hesitantly and awkwardly slid back into his original seat and quickly pushed his bag to the floor; wincing slightly as he heard the unmistakeable sound of broken glass.
"Seeing as it's your first day back and you've probably forgotten almost everything that I have taught you last year, we'll be revising the Antidote to Common Poisons." Professor Snape announced in a bored tone. "This is a beginner's potion that was covered during your first year, so I expect to see nothing that can't be graded with at least an Exceeds Expectations." The potions master's stare bore into each student before he pivoted on the spot and began to write the potion instructions on the blackboard behind him. "The Antidote to Common Poisons is a simple brew, so I expect to hear no talking." He added as he turned back to address the class once more; his eyes lingered on Tobio and Anthony as he spoke.
An uncomfortable silence fell over the class as the Gryffindors and the Slytherins waited for further instruction.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Professor Snape asked with annoyance in his tone. "Begin!"
Without needing to be told twice, the Gryffindors and the Slytherins swiftly retrieved their potion ingredients and cauldrons before they set about themselves to light a fire beneath the cauldrons and prepare their ingredients for their potions.
Soon the dingy classroom was full of vapours, an oddly damp smell and the sound of bubbling liquid; of which Naruto, Kiba and Bill used to their advantage to share whispered comments when Professor Snape wasn't nearby.
Compared to their usual potions lessons in their first year, Naruto felt as though the lesson going pretty well - this was until Professor Snape decided to take five house points from Gryffindor when he caught Kiba staring blankly as his cauldron during a forty minute simmer of the potion.
"How is that fair!" Kiba burst furiously at the potions master; jumping up from his seat as he did so. "Kaito, Ino, Samantha and Sasuke aren't doing anything either!" The brunette pointed outs he signalled to each Slytherin in turn. "I don't see you taking any points from Slytherin!"
Kiba recoiled slightly as Professor Snape leaned closer to him; the potions master's lips were pulled back into a sneer.
"Ten points from Gryffindor." He growled at Kiba. "Now regain your seat before you lose any more house points." Professor Snape threatened.
Kiba slowly did as he was told; glaring at Professor Snape all the while as the Slytherins sniggered at Kiba.
"Now do something useful with your time and copy the instructions off of the board." Professor Snape commanded in a harsh tone before he turned away from Kiba to focus on Ino Yamanaka's potion.
Kiba put his middle finger up at Professor Snape's back and pulled a face before turning back to face Naruto and Bill. "What an asshole." The brunette muttered in a voice that was louder than he had intended.
Naruto pursed his lips to contain his laughter while Bill's froze in horror as Professor Snape's figure loomed over their desk once more.
"What's your problem?" Kiba asked the redhead as he noticed Bill's panicked expression.
Bill hesitantly nodded towards the seething teacher behind Kiba; making the brunette turn in his seat curiously.
"Oh crap." Kiba mouthed to himself; he felt a sensation of dread drop to the pit of his stomach as his eyes met Professor Snape's.
"Get. Out." Professor Snape commanded Kiba through gritted teeth. "Now!" He roared when the brunette Gryffindor remained unmoved.
Without a single word or breaking eye contact with the potions master, the brunette grabbed his school bag and swiftly ducked out of the classroom.
"Is there something you find funny, Uzumaki?" Professor Snape shot at the blond; casting his gaze between Naruto and Bill. "Move over there." He instructed; pointing at Sasuke's desk.
"But my potion -" Naruto tried to argue.
"I suggest you move it very carefully and try not to spill a single drop." Professor Snape countered cruelly.
Under Professor Snape's penetrating gaze, the blond Gryffindor quickly retrieved his pair of dragon hide gloves from his bag, picked his cauldron up and set it down on Sasuke's desk; which had already been cleared for Naruto's arrival by the ebony haired boy.
"Try not to distract Mr Uchiha from his own potion." Professor Snape glowered at the blond. "I will deal with you two and Inuzuka after class." The potions master added; shooting his glare at Bill too.
Naruto hastily lit a fire beneath his cauldron again - hoping that the concoction's time away from the heat wouldn't spoil his potion - he then left the potion to simmer while he collected the rest of his ingredients and belongings from Bill's desk and took them to his new seat beside Sasuke. The blond shared a brief glance with the Slytherin, but quickly adverted his eyes; he was feeling too humiliated and frustrated to strike up a conversation with Sasuke - especially with the prospect of dealing with Professor Snape at the end of class already hanging over his head.
Naruto added a pinch of unicorn horn to his potion, stirred the brew clockwise twice and added two mistletoe berries before he stirred the concoction again; anti-clockwise this time. He hesitantly picked up his wand, took a deep breath and waved his wand at the potion; noticing that Sasuke had been watching him intently out of the corner of his eye before he followed in Naruto's lead.
The blond Gryffindor frowned at the potion in his cauldron; he had remembered that his concoction should have been a teal colour from his first year rather than the murky turquoise mixture that he had created. With a wary sigh, Naruto carefully ladled his potion into one of his glass vials, he labelled his vial with his name and place it on Professor Snape's desk alongside the rest of his peers' potions before he returned to his desk to tidy up. He caught a glimpse of the remaining potion that was sat in the bottom of Sasuke's cauldron - secretly, Naruto was relieved to see that Sasuke's potion wasn't the right colour either.
"Not so great at everything now, huh?" The blond snorted to himself; turning his nose up the at other boy's potion with a smirk. The smile quickly slid off of Naruto's face as he cast his eyes towards Sasuke's cauldron once more and was instead replaced with a frown. "That's not like him." Naruto quickly jumped away from the Slytherin's cauldron as Sasuke returned to their desk to clean up too. "He always makes perfect potions." The blond threw a sideways glance at Sasuke; taking in the other boy's appearance for the first time - there were dark circles beneath the young Uchiha's eyes, his brow was slightly furrowed in frustration and Naruto was fairly certain that the other boy seemed to be paler and slimmer than he had remembered.
"What are you staring at?" Sasuke quirked a quizzical eyebrow at the blond; ceasing in gathering his belongings to address the Gryffindor in a cool tone.
"I just -" Naruto's sentence was cut off by the sound of a bell that reverberated throughout the castle to announce the end of classes for the day.
"I want you all to produce an essay on the Wiggenweld potion; complete with the uses of the Wiggenweld potion, a list of ingredient needed to procure the potion and instructions to brew the Wiggenweld potion." Professor Snape announce to the class in a drawling tone as he watched the students make a note of their homework. "I suggest that you gather as much information as you can in your brewing instructions because you will be using your homework to procure your potions in place of a text book during your next lesson. Failure to complete the assignment will result in loss of house points and detention; if I catch any of you sharing note next lesson there will be severe consequences." The potions master gave the class one final, sweeping stare before he then sat down at his desk and began to closely inspect each vial of the Antidote to Common Poisons while the class packed the rest of their belongings away and filed out of the classroom.
With a final glance at Naruto, the Raven haired Slytherin swung his own bag over his shoulder and departed from the dingy potions classroom at top speed; forcing his classmates to part as he passed through them into the corridor beyond the threshold.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called after the other boy as he fumbled to grab his own bag and made to follow the Uchiha.
"If my memory serves me correctly, I told you that I would be speaking to you after class, Uzumaki." Professor Snape's icy voice reached Naruto's ears; forcing the young Gryffindor to stop in his tracks and stare between Professor Snape and the classroom door. "You too, Weasley." The potions master added as the redhead moved to Naruto's side. Professor Snape then rose from his seat behind his desk and proceeded to walk out of the classroom, into the corridor - leaving Naruto and Bill to share an apprehensive glance. The young teacher returned seconds later with a sheepish looking Kiba.
The potions master returned to his desk and waited for the three Gryffindors to move closer before he first pointed at Kiba.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor." He murmured in a low tone before then then pointed at Naruto and Bill in turn. "Ten points from Gryffindor - each."
Bill opened his mouth to argue, but quickly closed it again under the potion master's patronising glare.
"And a week of detentions for all of you." Professor Snape added with a malicious smirk. "It's not so funny now, is it?" Professor Snape paused for a few moments and watched the three boys expectantly; it almost seemed as though he was daring Naruto, Kiba and Bill to challenge him. When he didn't receive a reaction from the boys, Professor Snape instead turned his full attention onto Naruto. "Uzumaki, I told you not to distract Mr Uchiha during the rest of my lesson; ten more points from Gryffindor for disruptive behaviour."
"Wha-? I didn't!" Naruto burst defensively. "I didn't even talk to Sasuke until the end of class!" He added truthfully.
The potions master forcefully placed a vial of the Antidote to Common Poisons that was clearly labelled with Sasuke's name on the desk in front of the blond.
"T- that has nothing to do with me, y'know!" Naruto argued furiously; feeling his temper rising rapidly.
Professor Snape leaned across his desk towards the blond and spoke in a barely audible but intimidating tone. "Prove it."
Naruto merely glowered back into Professor Snape's cold eyes with a hardened expression upon his face; Naruto became disappointed and more frustrated when he was unable to think of anything to say in his own defence.
"I thought as much." Professor Snape leered. "Now get out of my sight."
"Come on." Bill muttered; giving Naruto's sleeve a small tug. "Just drop it."
Naruto readjusted his bag and clenched his fist to stop his hands from shaking as he allowed himself to be gradually steered out of the classroom by his friends.
The three Gryffindors walked the length of the corridor as fast as they could; each of them feeling just as eager as the other to put as much distance between themselves and Professor Snape as possible before they spoke again.
"I stand by what I said." Kiba murmured to his friends with a sincere expression. "He's an asshole."
"A week of detention and sixty five points from Gryffindor." Bill moaned as he, Naruto and Kiba waited for a staircase to move so they could continue their journey to the Gryffindor Common Room. "Sixty five points! All on the first day back. If anyone finds out about it -"
"If." Kiba pointed out in a sly tone. "No one needs to know it was us." The brunette shrugged. "Besides, sixty five points is a bit extreme, you don't really think Professor Snape will get away with taking that many points without another teacher stepping in, do you? I doubt he'll even take that many points anyway."
"He seemed pretty serious to me." Bill muttered more to himself than his carefree friend.
"Which reminds me," Kiba turned to address Naruto with a mischievous gleam in his eye, "well done for screwing up Sasuke's potion." A gleeful grin spread across the brunette's face. "That'll show everyone that he's not as perfect as they thought he was - it'll be a thorn in the Slytherins' side too."
"I wasn't lying, I really didn't touch his potion or distract him, y'know! Like I said, I didn't talk to him until the end of class." Naruto pouted irritably; he stormed up the staircase ahead of his friends as soon as the staircase shuddered to a halt.
Confused murmurs issued around Naruto, Kiba and Bill as they stood before the four house hourglasses in the Entrance Hall and watched as the red rubies retreated into the upper bulb of the Gryffindor hourglass; leaving the bottom bulb completely empty.
"He wasn't joking." Kiba stared at the hourglass in disbelief while Akamaru sniffed the bottom of the large hourglass curiously. "He really took house points away."
"What in your mind made you think he was joking?" Bill tutted impatiently at the brunette.
"I dunno… I mean, it's the first day of school…" Kiba tried to explain feebly.
"What happened to your hourglass?" A familiar voice join the conversation.
The three Gryffindors pivoted on the spot until they came face to face with a boy who was wearing Ravenclaw robes. The boy had short, brunette hair and wore sunglasses - despite the fact that he was standing in the torch-lit Entrance Hall. His hands were stuffed deep inside the pockets of his robes and - from what Naruto could see of his face - the boy had a stoic expression to match his bored tone.
Naruto surveyed the newcomer closely; he was sure that he had met the boy before - he could even recall this boy sitting beside Kiba during the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw during their first year - but the blond was unable to remember the other boy's name.
The Ravenclaw slowly walked past Naruto and his friends to examine the hourglass.
"I'm sure I saw some house points in here earlier… is it broken?" He asked curiously.
"No." Bill shot an accusing glare at Kiba. "Someone doesn't know when to keep his trap shut."
"Hey!" Kiba growled back at the redhead. "You guys lost points too!"
"You lost more than we did." Bill counter argued. "Besides, we might not have lost any points at all if you had kept quiet in the first place."
"He was being unfair!" Kiba pointed out defensively. "Anyway, it looks like we've got away with only losing twenty points in the end."
"That would be because there were only twenty house points to lose." Professor McGonagall's voice reached their ears. The witch approached the four boys; he eyes flashed dangerously as they fell upon the three Gryffindors and her lips were pursed - forming a line where the woman's mouth was. "The remaining forty five points will be deducted from Gryffindor when more points are added." She informed the boys in a sharp tone. "Well, I hope the three of you are pleased with yourselves."
Naruto, Kiba and Bill adverted their eyes from Professor McGonagall and shuffled on the spot awkwardly.
"Haven't you got anything to say or yourselves?" Professor McGonagall pressed in an expectant tone.
"He was being unfair!" Kiba burst hurriedly. "He took points from Gryffindor just because I was letting my potion simmer, but when I pointed out that the Slytherins were doing the same he took more points from me!"
"Even so, this doesn't warrant you to insult and swear at a teacher, Mr Inuzuka." Professor McGonagall's tone remained oddly calm, but Naruto could see that her nostrils were beginning to flare.
The blond tried to signal to Kiba to stop arguing without gaining Professor McGonagall's attention.
"Okay, I'll admit to that, but Naruto and Bill didn't do anything wrong." Kiba's voice reverberated throughout the Entrance Hall; causing nearby students to stop and watch the encounter between Kiba and the Head of Gryffindor house with interest. "He was just taking points from us because he felt like it."
"Professor Snape took house points from Gryffindor because three students were being disruptive to the class and continue to do so after having a fair warning." Professor McGonagall stated in a matter-of-factly tone. "If you feel that your punishment is unfair, you may come and speak to me in my office as soon as you have calmed down. In the meantime -" Professor McGonagall withdrew three slips of parchment and her wand from the pocket of her robes; she tapped each slip of parchment with the tip of her wand and handed them out to Naruto, Kiba and Bill. "You will each begin your week of detentions on Monday evening. If I remember correctly, you also received a week of detentions during your first week last year." She shot at Naruto as he took one of the slips of parchment. "I do hope that this will not become a habit, Mr Uzumaki." Without waiting for another word from Naruto, Kiba or Bill, the witch whirled around on the spot and furiously stormed away from the three Gryffindors while the other students in the Entrance Hall began to whisper and mutter to one another.