A/N.: Well, this started as a normal, easy and pretty boring chapter. I didn't think I'd end up where I did at the end of it – sooo… expect the unexpected? If you want to skip the boring if satisfying part, the excitement starts around the middle of the chapter *HERE* I tagged it.

As the bridge came into view, Harry took in the other two. He didn't see anything new to be truthful. Sakura was chatting a mile a minute and Sasuke was fiercely scowling while trying to tune her out. Catching Naruto with the corner of his eye, he saw that he was already used to it, most likely from their academy years.

They made their way to the two, and while Naruto faltered a second, clearly expecting for them to stop and wait for Kakashi, Harry didn't break his stride, strolling right past them and towards the training grounds.

Naruto quickly caught up, and they were joined by a puzzled Sakura not long after. Sasuke, not liking to be left behind tried glaring holes into Harry's back after he too turned to follow. After all, who did Harry think he was? Sasuke was an Uchiha! The Uchiha and for him to be ignored was just unthinkable.

Sasuke didn't even find it strange, that even if he thought himself a loner, avenger and all that shit, he instinctively demanded attention of everyone in his vicinity. He didn't recognize his baseless arrogance and feeling of superiority he inherited from his family and had nursed to enormous heights with the help of the villagers, teachers and rabid fangirls.

His sulking was soon interrupted by Sakura, who noticed him following too and quickly moved back to chat some more. Sasuke's glare was joined by a reappearing scowl, but really, Sasuke had nothing on Severus. Harry noted the faint itch in his back, but it didn't really bother him.

Harry turned around just as they penetrated the tree line and stepped into the training ground. When all the kids were standing before him, he said "Sit."

Naruto, knowing a command when he heard, plopped down and waited. Sakura, seeing as even if Naruto was an idiot he somehow knew this man followed his lead, inching away from the blond and to the other side of Sasuke. She took care to arrange herself and her skirt to look like a lady, hoping for Sasuke to notice her class even in these situations.

Sasuke on the other hand mustered his most ugly expression and just glared back. Not only was this man not acknowledging him, he had the gall to order him like he was above the Uchiha! Like THAT could happen. His defiance was noted along with Sakura's actions.

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "Well?" The scowl only got more pronounced.

"Mmm. I see. If you can't even follow simple instructions, you're not fit to be here. Obviously being on this team is not for you, so please leave. I have students to talk to and teach." These turned out to be the magic words as Sasuke was in front of him the next second.

"Now, please introduce yourselves. You've done this with Kakashi, but I'd like to hear it too. Name, your reason to be a ninja, dreams and anything you want to share above those." He saw Sakura already opening her mouth to demand him going first, but he cut her off. "No back talking." He knew she was like Hermione was, so, as a stickler for rules she would stop.

Harry gestured to Sakura after it was clear that she wouldn't start up again.

"Haruno Sakura. My reason…" She was glancing at Sasuke again then cleared her throat and did a similar act with stating her dream. It was frankly pathetic.

Harry turned to Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke. I became a ninja to be able to get strong enough to kill a person. My ambition is to kill him and revive my clan." Selfish much.

"Uzumaki Naruto. I became a ninja to be strong and respected. My dream is to be like …" Naruto flushed a bit, but Harry knew Naruto was talking about him, so he dipped his head in understanding.

"Now tell me. What is a ninja?" It was addressed to the team as whole. Naruto was bouncing a bit, but a flicker of Harry's eyes made the message clear. He wasn't the real target. The other two were the targets.

"A ninja is a person who is capable of using chakra, that in most cases are moulded into jutsus." Sakura answered. It was the textbook explanation alright.

"That is right and wrong." He saw the girl's face fall a bit. "It's true in most cases, but there are shinobi who don't have chakra and are still successful." He heard, but ignored Sasuke's scoff. "Now what is a ninja of a village?"

"It's a sign of where they were born and what kind of technique and style they have." Sasuke.

"Again, not fully. While it is true, the missing nin are also defined by you in the same group. As Konoha ninja we are loyal above and beyond to the village and the Hokage. Our day to day jobs may differ, but if there's a threat to the village, it is the obligation of every Konoha ninja to aid the village and its citizens." He shot a quick look around, not really seeing comprehension on either faces. Naruto saw what he was talking about, but it was not good enough it seemed. "Why are there three man cells?"

"It is a traditional formation of Konoha. Three people are enough to deal with most situations and small enough not to draw attention when needed." Another textbook explanation.

"So why do you think you three were put on a team?" Sasuke's scowl said all his opinions, so it was again sakura who spoke.

"It is done to balance the teams. By giving equal chances, any team can make genin and advance."

"And still, instead of ensuring that your team is the best in every aspect to increase the chance of making chuunin and later to survive anything together, you neglect self-training, ignore the weak points in each other that you could help with even without Kakashi and bring your personal feelings into a working arrangement. Very professional." Ohohoo, Sakura was close to crying. Harry didn't know if he wanted to crow in delight or slap the girl for being a wimp. For God's sake, she was theoretically a ninja already. It did cross Harry's mind that he was a bit too harsh on her, because she reminded him of Hermione, but he also resolved himself to treat her professionally, so as not to turn into a hypocrite.

"Teams are of critical importance here. Your teammates are there to support you, to make up for your holes in knowledge and skills, to save your life and guarantee your continued betterment just like you are for them. It's a symbiotic relationship. They are your brothers and sisters. If you think it's sentimental or cheesy, that's okay too. But when a fellow ninja jumps into the path of a jutsu or weapon you couldn't dodge and they die in front of you, instead of you, you'll understand that this desire to protect our precious ones is the reason Konoha is so strong."

"Now, back to your introductions. I already talked to Naruto and from experience; I know he understands the Will of Fire." He inclined his head and Naruto beamed up at him.

"Sasuke. Two things. One: If you want to revive your clan, you'll have to actually make contact with other people. A family won't just pop up because you will it to. Two: If your only thought is to murder, I don't know if you're cut out to be a ninja of Konoha. I know that you're practically honour bound, but this is a ninja village. There are others stronger than you here for one and for another, now you don't really have a reason to live. To survive, yes, but to live, no."

"I know you lost your family and that it is hard, but you are the only reason you don't have anyone Now." By now, Naruto and his clone were holding Sasuke back from attacking Harry. "Stop it. I know they're irreplaceable, and I don't want you to even try replacing them, but cutting yourself from everyone only leaves you cold and alone in the end. If you don't take a risk, you'll gain nothing. You think your family didn't have other friends who also lost them when you did? You think others didn't lose anyone in their life? That the Kyuubi and the Shinobi World Wars didn't ruin families? Of course they did. But others stood up and continued their lives, while you wallow in your misery." He huffed and took a moment to compose himself in the dead silence before turning to the kunoichi of the group.

"Now, Sakura. If your only ambition in you life is to marry why exactly are you here in the first place?"

"I…" She was speechless, but he couldn't really fault her this time.

"So say you are on a mission and get into a fight. What are you going to do? Are you strong enough to take on the enemy, or cover for either boy? Are you good in support or medicine, or infiltration or defence? Something? I know you are smart, but what are your value in real missions?"

She was back to teary eyes and she tried to shrink into herself.

Harry sighed. "Here's the deal. Sasuke. I want you to find something worth living for. Either to appreciate the beauty of the village and life, friends, anything as long as it doesn't have to do with 'getting stronger to kill'. As for you Sakura, I want to know at least one branch you want to specialize in. You can choose more, with less skill, or total dedication to one field, I don't care, just give me direction on what you want to become. If by next week I don't have answers, I'll disband the team." It was of course a bluff, but who cares.

*HERE*

Harry just turned and was about to say that they would meet the next day to train some, when a familiar sharp pain sliced through his scar. He gasped and quickly clenched his teeth together as his legs gave out. All his concentration was on the pain that started escalating.

Naruto exclaimed and ran to his side. Harry would've tried to tell Naruto to get someone if he had the capacity to concentrate on anything else, but the pain was piercing his thoughts and started spreading in his body. It was stabbing knives followed by burning fire, but as it got worse, it started resembling Crucio more and more.

Sakura was frantically hopping around, not knowing what to do, and Naruto was frozen on the ground – not that Harry realized it. Sasuke was vaguely worried, by obligation but he didn't really care, so he just stood back.

While Kakashi would've known to call for help, he was planning to be two hours late, so he had another two to go.

Harry was on his knees, huddled into a tiny ball, clutching his forehead and grunting when the pain spiked. He threw his head back, and some type of cloud materialized from his mouth, nose and eyes, soon joined by more matter from his scar. As the dark smoke like matter swirled in front of him, it seemed like more of it came from the air or it somehow gathered more power.

Now Naruto was next to Harry, busy checking the man and trying to keep the cloud in his sight, Sakura was backing away, while Sasuke's interest was picked.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Harry exclaimed hoarsely, recognizing Voldemort's spirit, which looked even bigger and more greyish than black now, but that could be the light.

"Just don't come near me." Harry got out, before he passed out and the cloud moved away at a fast pace.

Harry would later wonder if Voldemort got a body, if he heard and understood Harry, and if he did, did that count as truce between them?

Seeing as the crisis was averted, Sasuke 'Hn'-d and made his way back to the village, not even considering helping his instructor or teammates.

Sakura, while initially worried, and fully intent on helping somehow, saw Sasuke go and her long time instincts kicked in to follow her crush, all previous thoughts fleeing her mind.

Naruto was left alone and he grieved for a few minutes. His training kicked in not long after however and since he was alone, he thanked every Deity that he knew of the Feather-light Charm. He brought his hand to Harry's torso and whispered the incantation.

Now Naruto was not the best with magic, but he was average on spells he learned so his first attempt succeeded and he pulled Harry up. He carefully navigated the unconscious body and pulled it onto his back.

Unfortunately for Konoha, the Beautiful Green Beast and his apprentice saw him with his burden and sparked their new form of training.

"Hm-hmmm. So this is the place that dares steal my business." Anko bit the last dango from its stick and lazily flicked the wood, which embed itself into the wall, just next to Severus' head. Severus didn't move, or blink, his face stony, his state in emergency. He wanted to curse his precise sixth sense for predicting a Bella type of trouble. Why, oh why couldn't it be something harmless like the Weasley twins? He would've taken the elder Potter even if he could get rid of this woman.

"Can I help you?" He drawled out in his best intimidating teacher's voice.

"Yeah, you can you dick! What do you think you're doing on my turf? I'm the one supplying poison to ninja here." Anko stalked up to the counter and slammed her hands on it. She was glaring daggers at Severus, but as she was mostly sane, she had no success intimidating the former spy. A sane person knew the line and wouldn't cross it, only toe it some. An insane person on the other hand was unpredictable. Severus knew this only too well.

"I see. If you have objection to my shop, please take it to the Hokage. If there is no legal backing, I'm not obliged to bow to your whim." It almost came out with an insult to her person, but Severus thought better of it. She was mostly sane, not totally, and he didn't know what she was capable of.

"Now look here. I don't know who you think you are, but you chose the worst person to rile up! I'm not going to stand back and watch you…" She was cut off, by the opening door and Naruto's yelling.

"Please help! I don't know what happened, but…" Naruto was blabbing so loud and fast, that while his voice drowned out Anko, neither of the two understood what he was telling them.

Severus caught on quickly however, as he saw Harry's signature messy hair on Naruto's shoulder. He quickly came around the counter and took the man off Naruto's back, lying him onto the pristine countertop.

He was just about to whip out his wand, when the annoying woman from before made her presence known.

"Who's this? What happened to him? Doesn't look too bad. What? Did he faint?" She snorted. "What a pansy." She was about to continue when she was interrupted again by a furious roar.

"OUT! Get out of my shop now or I'll make you wish you weren't even BORN!" The last word was thundered at such a volume, that the building shook a bit, and even if Anko would die before acknowledging it, she was scared for a second there.

She was a kunoichi, and a pariah herself, so she knew deception intimately. She snorted again and ambled out in a near Nara fashion. She had things to think about and she was shook up enough to make her obey for now.

"Draw the curtains, Naruto." Severus gave the urgent command, and flicked on the light. He checked Harry for outwards signs of damage by hand, and checked his vitals while until Naruto was done. He took out his wand and cast diagnostic charm after the other, but found nothing.

He slowed down after a bit, noting that Harry's breathing was steady, and he was healthy if a bit exhausted. He enervated Harry finally.

Gemlike eyes opened, then Harry sat up – more like sprang up and his hand flew to his scar. "Oh my God." He breathed.

Severus' hands were on his shoulders, just a hair's breadth away from shaking him, when Harry looked up finally. "He's here. I don't know how, but his spirit came into this world. He came THROUGH me! Oh my God!" Harry was panting now, not quite hyperventilating, but close enough. Severus was quick to close Harry into a crushing, reassuring hug.

"Where is he? What happened? Tell me everything you remember." He half-whispered.

They let go for a second, as a small hand took hold of one of Severus' forearms. He drew back, and with a fluid movement, swooped Naruto into Harry's lap, before encircling both of them in his arms.

"I was just leaving the clearing when I felt it. He was hurt and hurt bad. His pain somehow came through to me and it got worse like he was closer or suffered more and more. Then it spread through my body and I felt him Severus. I felt his spirit slam into my body and flowing through me and out of my mouth. I… I felt my scar hurt like when it split and bleed." He nudged a hand up again, checking for non-existent blood. "I saw his spirit, like in my first year. I passed out."

"I saw it. Your scar I mean." Naruto clarified. He was torn between the obvious severe atmosphere, the shock from before and excitement that he knew important information. As he had the others' attention, he continued. "That cloud thing came out of there too. It looked really weird. But that thing flew away after you passed out." He clarified.

Harry shot a grateful look, while Severus squeezed Naruto in thanks a bit. The men locked gazes then. "We'll have to tell the Hokage. At least he has to know." They were resigned, and a bit apprehensive, but it had to be done. After some reassurances, Harry took Naruto to the tower, Severus remaining in his shop, going about his day as usual – or at least pretending to do so.

Voldemort was lucky or unlucky. It depended on how you looked at it. The first animal he possessed was a snake. The snake belonged to a furious Anko who was decimating training posts. The snake popped back to the summoning realm not long after Voldemort's spirit took hold of it, identifying the possession as serious damage. Lord Voldemort was taken with it.

OMAKE:

Albus Dumbledore was smug, self-satisfied and definitely happy. He was finally able to tear the Dark Lord's body and soul from each other. He planned to exorcise or trap the spirit, but it disappeared before he could finish his plan however.

He didn't care. He was free of the burden, now the world would cower at his feet and he would everything he ever wanted.

Little did he know that the people started liking living under the strong hand and guidance of the Dark Lord, thus would not be too happy that he was gone. He knew even less, that the aforementioned Dark Lord kept a tight leash on his insane followers, thus stopping them from causing havoc everywhere. Now the leash was gone, and Hell would break lose.

A/N.: So what do you people think? It caught me off-guard… I'm pretty self-satisfied now too… I hope there won't be a catastrophe to follow me though.

Yes, Sasuke stays an ass so far and Sakura just doesn't have the drive she does in canon when she goes to Tsunade so she won't be that motivated, but at least she'll improve somewhat.

2014.01.12