A/N: Hello again! I'm updating early and posting a double chapter this week because I won't be available this weekend and possibly next weekend - this is chapter two of two for the double update.
Thank you again to those of you who continue to show support for this fanfiction.
The Naruto characters and themes belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Studio P. and the Harry Potter characters, scenes and themes belong to Joanne Rowling and Warner Bros. Please support the official releases.
Enjoy!
~Fox
Taunts and jeers followed Naruto through the corridors after the Halloween feast; many of the students had taken to nicknaming the blond as "whiskers" and had even started meowing at him like a cat when they passed him in the corridors.
"I can't help how I was born, y'know!" Naruto finally snapped at a bunch of sniggering fifth years.
"And he has a proper name too, so you can stop calling him whiskers!" Another voice interjected as a hand clamped around Naruto's shoulder; making him jump and glance around at the source of the voice.
"S-Sakura?" Naruto blinked at the pink haired Ravenclaw.
"I would move on if I were you, unless you're looking for trouble." Sakura threatened the older students as she clenched her fist and gave the fifth years an innocent smile.
"What's with the girls around here?" Naruto mumbled quietly to himself; remember a similar pose and expression on Ino Yamanaka's face. "They're all so scary, y'know."
The Ravenclaw's threat seemed to have worked; as soon as the words left her mouth, the older students had shuffled into motion while muttering among themselves. Sakura kept her offensive demeanour until they had completely disappeared; leaving herself and Naruto in the corridor on their own.
"Well that got rid of them for a little while." Sakura relaxed her position with a sigh and cast a smile at Naruto.
"I - thank you." Naruto gave the girl a questioning stare. "Why did you help me?"
"Because they were picking on you and that wasn't fair." Sakura replied simply; picking up the school bag that she had dropped just behind Naruto.
"But I thought you was angry with me." The Gryffindor frowned at Sakura.
"Angry?" She tilted her head to one side. "Why would I be angry?"
"Because I shoved you during the Halloween Feast. I could've really hurt you, you even said so yourself, y'know." Naruto explained.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that." Sakura confessed as she motioned for Naruto to follow her. "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that and I'm sorry. Thank you for moving out of the way of Peeves."
"There's no need to thank me, Sakura." Naruto smiled to himself; feeling the heat rise to his face. "I should be thanking you, you helped me out with those fifth years, y'know."
"Let's just call it even." The Ravenclaw suggested with a small laugh.
"Just make sure that you don't get caught starting fights by the teachers." Naruto warned the girl. "Otherwise you'll be spending a week with Professor Hatake."
"I did hear about it." Sakura pursed her lips. "Did you get into a lot of trouble?"
"Let off with a warning." Naruto sighed; casting his memory back to his second week of term. "We got given a lot of weird jobs, y'know." Naruto added with a chuckled.
The pair fell into an uncomfortable silence.
"How did you get all of that ink out of your hair so fast?" Sakura asked; noticing that Naruto's hair was is usual vibrant yellow.
"Oh. My friend's sister knows a vanishing spell, she did it me after the Great Hall was tidied and the feast started." Naruto ran one of his hands through his blond locks. "She's been real nice to me and she annoys Kiba - so that's a bonus. How are you settling in?"
"I have Ino; we've been friends since we're were children." Sakura confided in the Gryffindor. "And I talk to Hinata whenever I see her."
"Hinata?" Naruto frowned. "That name sounds familiar."
"She's a Hufflepuff student."
"Is she the one with shirt hair and pale eyes?" Naruto asked; picturing a girl who he occasionally worked with during Herbology. "She seems a bit weird to me."
"She's not weird." Sakura gave Naruto an incredulous look. "Hinata's really quite sweet when you get to know her." The pair slowed to a stop outside of Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration classroom. "I'll see you later, Naruto." Sakura waved as she joined the throng on Ravenclaw first years in the corridor.
"See you around." Naruto grinned at the pink haired witch - and gave Shikamaru a greeting nod as he passed the other boy - as he set off to his Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson in better spirits than he had felt for a while.
Naruto's good mood was shattered when he had managed to land himself in detention with Professor Orochimaru; he had forgotten to complete their assigned homework that was due in for their lesson and had forfeited his evening for his poor memory.
Naruto knocked on Professor Orochimaru's classroom door and slowly opened it; peering inside uncertainly. "Professor?"
"Ah, Mr Uzumaki!" Professor Orochimaru greeted the Gryffindor with a calculating stare. "Come in and take a seat."
Naruto cast his eyes around the room as he crossed the threshold; expecting to see Kakashi, but the silver haired man was nowhere to be seen.
"It's only us, I'm afraid." Professor Orochimaru informed the blond after catching the surveying stare.
Naruto settled himself down at the desk in front of the teacher's desk. A small creature in a glass tank in the corner of the room caught Naruto's eyes. "Er… Professor, what is that?" He asked pointing at the grey creature.
Professor Orochimaru shifted his gaze to see what Naruto had pointed at. "That is an XX classified creature known as an Imp."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Not at all." Professor Orochimaru chuckled. "They can be quite bothersome at times, but they're just as harmless as a gnome - you'll be learning more about them during your next lesson. I had this one brought in so that I could teach my first years the Knock Back Jinx; this is why I wanted to make sure that you had your homework finished before our next lesson. I was going to ask for a Fire Crab or some pixies, but they can be quite a handful." The teacher explained. "I think I'll let you all get a taste of the spell with this Imp before I introduce you to the likes of Fire Crabs and Pixies."
"Will the Knock Back Jinx hurt it?" Naruto frowned at the sleeping creature.
The older man shook his head. "The most you'll be able to do is daze it." He assured the blond.
Naruto gave an understanding nod before returning his attention back to his reason for being in the classroom. "Am I writing lines today?"
"No, no." Professor Orochimaru shook his head as he compared two pieces of parchment in his hands before scribbling a notation on one of the parchments. "What good would writing lines do? That would just be wasting both of our time, I would much rather have you doing something productive."
"Something productive?" Naruto questioned as he arched one of his eyebrows.
"I would like you to complete the homework that you failed to hand in." Professor Orochimaru gave the blond an eerie smile. "When it is done, I will mark it for you and you may leave. Sound fair?"
"I guess." Naruto shrugged; feeling slightly taken aback. He then retrieved some spare parchment from his school bag along with a bottle of ink and his quill.
The following hour consisted of nothing but the scratching of Naruto's and Professor Orochimaru's quills against parchments. Every now and then, Naruto would break the silence with a resigned sigh or occasionally thud his head against the wooden table.
Professor Orochimaru observed the boy with an expression of interest as Naruto leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling.
"You are allowed to use your textbook." The older man pointed out; noticing that Naruto was trying to complete his homework through memory alone.
Naruto slowly moved his gaze downwards to meet his professor's eyes. "I didn't think about that." He muttered; more to himself. The blond then dived under the table for his bag to retrieve his copy of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
"You can find information on the Knock Back jinx on pages forty two, sixty nine and one hundred and thirty three." Professor Orochimaru notified the boy and then watched as Naruto ruffled through the pages of the book; marking each page that the teacher had suggested with a scrape piece of parchment, and he set off to work again - remembering to use the text book for information this time.
Naruto woke up with a jerk and stared about himself wildly for a few moments before he regained his focus of his surroundings; he was still sitting in Professor Orochimaru's classroom but the room was now dark - he had been slumped over the desk with his cheek pressed against the piece of parchment; which was now smudged with ink. Naruto rubbed his cheek subconsciously to get rid of any ink markings on his face as he continued to gaze around the room. His neck and back ached; to which Naruto had blamed the awkward position that he was sleeping in.
The chair that Professor Orochimaru usually occupied was now vacant and the wax of the candle on the teacher's desk had solidified again.
"Professor?" Naruto called out as he quickly rose from his chair. "Professor Orochimaru?"
Naruto gave a startled jump as the sound of nails scraping in glass reached his ears; he turned to see that the Imp in the glass tank had woken up too and was clawing at the glass in a futile attempt to get out - the blond heaved a relieved sigh and began to search the classroom or a source of light. He found some matches in the top drawer of the desk and relit the candle; he found some comfort in the light that the small flame emitted.
"Oh, you're awake." Professor Orochimaru spoke from the classroom doorway; startling the blond again.
"Professor!" Naruto whirled around on the spot - almost extinguishing his candle by accident - so that he could see the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. "You scared me, y'know!"
"That wasn't my intention, my apologies." The older man leaned against the doorframe. "You fell asleep during your detention and I didn't want to wake you. I think you've served enough of your detention."
Naruto gave the man a puzzled look. "But I haven't finished the assignment." The Gryffindor pointed out with a frown.
"You seem tired." Professor Orochimaru reasoned. "I'm sure I can let you off this time, just make sure you finish the homework before out next lesson."
"Right." Naruto nodded picking up his belonging and stowing them away in his bag.
"It's rather late." The ebony haired professor informed Naruto as he opened the classroom door to let the young boy leave enter the corridor. "You'll get in trouble for being out of bed after hours. Let me walk you back to your Common Room."
Naruto, Kiba and Bill eagerly ascended to the stands of the Quidditch Pitch in the grounds of Hogwarts; they had decided to leave the school earlier than most of the other students so that they could find a place where they could easily see both ends of the Quidditch pitch.
Shikamaru met the three Gryffindor soon after; along with a plump boy who Naruto recognised as Chōji from his Herbology lessons.
"You guys must've got here early." Shikamaru commented with a yawn.
"Of course." Kiba replied defensively as he set Akamaru down on the long bench between himself and Naruto. "My sister is playing in this match."
"And it's against the Slytherins." Bill pointed out to the Ravenclaw. "We're natural rivals."
"I just can't wait to see a Quidditch match." Naruto enthused with an excited grin. "I've never seen one before, y'know."
"Hn, I should've known that you three would say something like that." Shikamaru smiled to himself. "You guys know Chōji, right?"
"Hey." The Hufflepuff at Shikamaru's side gave the trio a small wave.
"Hey Chōji." Bill grinned as he spotter the plump boy; while moving down the bench a little to make a space for Shikamaru and Chōji, while Naruto and Kiba beamed at the Hufflepuff.
The stands filled quickly as the students - and even the teachers - trudged down the school's lawns to the Quidditch Stadium.
"Whoa! Even Professor Dumbledore is here, look!" Naruto pointed towards the stand where the teachers were talking amongst themselves. "And Professor McGonagall!" Naruto shifted his pointing finger in the direction of the stern looking witch; who was standing in a deep discussion with Professor Snape. "She seems way to strict for this kind of thing though, y'know." The blond Gryffindor added in an afterthought.
"Are you kidding?" Bill gave Naruto a look of disbelief. "She used to play for Gryffindor."
"No way." Naruto's eyes flitted between Bill and the witch in question while he tried to picture the woman wearing Hana's Quidditch robes. "Are you sure you're not thinking of a different McGonagall?"
"Pretty sure it's her, I saw her name on a trophy in the school's Trophy Room." Bill nodded earnestly.
"What were you doing in the Trophy Room?" Shikamaru asked; arching an eyebrow at the redhead curiously.
"Polishing the trophies for detention." Kiba grumbled. "That dodgy old caretaker; Filch, caught us in the corridors after hours. We were looking for you, Naruto." Kiba added; nodding at the blond.
"Looking for -" Naruto gave his two fellow Gryffindors a nonplussed stare. "When was this?"
"Back at the start of term." Kiba shrugged. "You landed yourself in a week load of detentions, remember?"
"On your first night, you didn't come back to the Common Room until well after the curfew." Bill elaborated. "We got worried that you had run into Peeves or some other ghost - especially after what Kiba had said." Bill threw Kiba a reproachful look while their canine loving friend shuffled guiltily in his seat.
"So we used Akamaru to trace your scent." Kiba added brightly.
"And got lost on the fourth floor." Bill rolled his eyes.
"You got lost?" Shikamaru gave the pair a bemused look. "Even though you had a dog who can trace scents?"
"Akamaru was the one who got us lost in the first place." Bill stated with an amused smirk.
"It's not his fault!" Kiba snorted defensively; petting the white pup that sat beside him. "There were so many scents to follow and he was new to Hogwarts - he was probably feeling a but overwhelmed!"
"Heh, excuses." Bill muttered to himself.
The stadium erupted with cheers - and jeers - as the red clad Gryffindors and the green clad Slytherins marched into the Quidditch Pitch with their broomsticks in hand. Hana and one of the Slytherin players strode to the centre of the pitch; where Gai was stood waiting for them with his own broomstick.
"Shake hands and mount your brooms." Gai instructed as he flashed a grin at the two team captains. The pair complied as the rest of their teams clambered into their broomsticks.
Gai opened the trunk at his feet with a flick of his wand - releasing two identical black balls and a very small, golden ball with wings - Gai then pick up a rather large red ball.
"Let the game begin!" Gai announced as he tossed the red ball into the air between the two teams; fourteen pairs of feet kicked off from the ground as their owners launched themselves into the air.
"Slytherin immediately takes possession of the Quaffle -" A voice; that Naruto recognised as Kakashi's, resonated around the stadium - causing the blond to cast his eyes around wildly until he found the white haired professor standing beside Professor McGonagall. "Hayashi passes to Jackson, Jackson passes the Quaffle to Young - oh! A nice interception from Foster; Gryffindor are now in possession of the Quaffle -"
Naruto flinched as one of the black balls zoomed past Foster's head; only narrowly missing the boy.
"That was a close one." Kakashi chuckled. "Foster dodges Jackson - passes to Inuzuka - Inuzuka to Chapman; she dodges a Bludger with a Sloth Grip Roll -"
The Gryffindors applauded as their Chaser caught the Quaffle and quickly let herself slide from the broomstick until she was hanging upside down to evade another of the black balls that had been aimed at her by a Slytherin Beater.
"Isn't she worried about falling off or something?" Naruto grimaced as he watched the girl regain her balance on the broomstick.
"Of course not." Kiba laughed. "Hana's probably trained them so much that falling off of a broomstick is the least of their worries."
"Chapman's soaring towards the goalposts - reverse pass to Inuzuka; oh, did she drop it?" Kakashi tilted his head to get a better view of the players. "No, she's used a Parskoff Play to pass the Quaffle to Foster! An excellent strategy, if I can say so myself - Foster to Chapman - Chapman back to… nope, intercepted by Young; Slytherin in possession. Young throws the Quaffle to Jackson - back to Young - to Jackson - to Young - to Jackson -"
The Quaffle zigzagged between the two Slytherin Chasers while the Gryffindors tried to regain the red ball.
"Another Parskoff Play from Young to Hayashi; who enters the scoring zone - Hayashi scores! Ten points to Slytherin!" Kakashi announced as the students holding up green banners in support for Slytherin cheered and the Gryffindor supporters groaned. 'Slytherin in possession; Hayashi to Jackson - Jackson avoids a Bludger and passes to Young; never mind, Gryffindor has the Quaffle now. Inuzuka throws the Quaffle to Foster, a reverse pass to Chapman; she's tearing around the pitch and passes to Foster - ah. A nice Parkin's Pincer by Hayashi and Young, but I'm still quite sure that that is Blatching." Kakashi tutted as Hayashi and Young trapped Foster in between themselves while Jackson accelerated towards the middle Chaser with the intentions of a collision.
Gai blew on his whistle and gave Jackson a lecture about rivalry and comradeship while many students voiced their disapproval of Jackson's action.
"I'm pretty sure that he's making up some of these moves on the spot, y'know." Naruto frowned at the white haired man; taking advantage of the temporary pause in the game. "Parskoff Play? Sloth Grip Roll? Parkin's Pincer?"
"They're all real moves." Chōji assured the blond; pulling out a bag of crisps and offering them to his friends.
"Seriously?" Naruto blinked at the Hufflepuff in disbelief. "It sounds like he's inventing new techniques to sound smart, y'know."
"Chōji's right." Shikamaru smiled as he took some of Chōji's crisps. "You should've probably read up on the sport before you came to the match; you'd be able to understand it a bit more. The library should have a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages; that's tell you all you need to know."
"Who needs books?" Kiba waved off Shikamaru's suggestion. "Just watch and learn!"
"And that's a penalty shot for the Gryffindors." Kakashi's voice drew Naruto's attention back towards the game of Quidditch. "The penalty shot is taken by Foster and that's ten points to Gryffindor. All players are back in the game with Gryffindor in possession; Inuzuka passes to Chapman - intercepted by the Slytherin team; Young to Jackson - Jackson to Young - Young back to Jackson who then passes to Hayashi; nice dodge there. Hayashi approaches the goalposts again - the Quaffle was just a stretch too far out of reach for Yamada; ten points to Slytherin! Making the score twenty: ten to the Slytherins."
The stands erupted with cheers and jeers again as the players readied their positions again.
"Slytherin in possession; Young to Hayashi to Jackson - Jackson is hit by a Bludger… that looked painful -" Kakashi continued his commentary. "Gryffindor in possession of the Quaffle; Foster to Chapman; a reverse pass to Inuzuka who just narrowly misses a Bludger - Inuzuka evades both Hayashi and Young; it looks like she might score."
"Go one, Hana!" Kiba yelled; pumping his fist in the air and making Akamaru yelp as he sprung to his feet.
"She can't hear you." Shikamaru grumbled as he gave the boisterous Gryffindor an irritable glare.
"So what?" Kiba shrugged. "I'm still gonna cheer her on, aren't I?"
Naruto, Bill and Chōji watched with bated breaths as Hana focused her aim and launched the Quaffle into the air - leaving Kiba and Shikamaru to finish their petty squabble.
"Eastman just misses the Quaffle by the tips of her fingers; that's ten points to Gryffindor!" Kakashi called out over the deafening roars of the rowdy students. "Gryffindor in possession; Chapman to Inuzuka - Inuzuka back to Chapman who passes to Foster - Foster is hit by a Bludger and drops the Quaffle; caught by Inuzuka who dodges two Bludgers - good job! Inuzuka to Chap- nope, Slytherin intercepts. Jackson to Hayashi - Hayashi to Young; well done on evading Inuzuka! Young reverse passes to Hayashi, another reverse pass to Jackson; who easily dodges between the Gryffindor Chasers - should've watched that Bludger though."
Naruto and Chōji winced, Bill his behind his hands, Kiba gave a snort of laughter and Shikamaru remained indifferent as one of the black balls collided with Jackson's face. The Slytherin Chaser cradled his nose as blood began to seep through his fingers; but he diligently kept his grip on the Quaffle with his other hand.
"He looks like he's really hurt himself." Bill commented through gritted teeth and a pained expression.
"He's fine." Kids said with a dismissive shrug.
The game continued; but Kakashi's commentary was absent - to which many students remained oblivious, but those who had noticed the absence of the white haired man's voice quickly cast their eyes expectantly towards the commentator's podium; where the man in question could be seen - and heard - giggling with his head buried in a small orange book.
"Professor Hatake!" Professor McGonagall whispered sharply at the man. "Kakashi!"
"Hm?" Kakashi wrenched his gaze from the pages of his book to meet Professor McGonagall's stern glare. He quietly glanced about himself; realising his mistake. "It wasn't a foul?" He asked sheepishly - he had expected Gai to interrupt the match to lecture the players about fair play and sportsmanship; and so he had used this time as an excuse to whip out his volume of Make Out Paradise.
"Oh for heaven's sake!" Professor McGonagall fumed. "Can't you last five minutes without diving into that book?" The witch glared at the small time as though it had personally offended her.
"My apologies." Kakashi chuckled nervously; putting his book away as an angry Professor McGonagall supervised his every move.
"Now will you please pay attention?" Professor McGonagall asked in an exasperated tone as he rubbed her forehead.
"Right." Kakashi nodded as he turned his attention back to the Quidditch match - oblivious to the fact that most of the students had heard his exchange with Professor McGonagall and were now laughing at him. "Slytherin have the Quaffle; Jackson to Young; who enters the scoring zone and shoots… ten points to Slytherin!"
The green and silver clad students cheered as the Slytherin players raced around the pitch in a victory lap and the Gryffindors groaned in disappointment; even Akamaru gave a low growl.
"Slytherin in possession; Hayashi to Young - nice tackle Foster! Foster to Inuzuka; drop passes to - oh, intercepted by Hayashi - Hayashi to Jackson; reverse passes to Young who evades an oncoming Bludger with another Sloth Grip Roll - Young passes to Jackson; but Inuzuka beat him to it! Inuzuka to Chapman, back to Inuzuka, back to Chapman who throws the Quaffle to Foster - he shoots…"
Naruto felt himself and his peers around his tense as the Quaffle left Foster's hand and hurdled towards the goalpost.
"Yakushi saves it." Kakashi announced as more cheers and groans issued from the stands.
"Damn that four eyed freak!" Kiba glared at the bespectacled Slytherin Keeper who was now holding the Quaffle with a smug smirk.
"Calm down." Chōji shushed the Gryffindor while Naruto tried to silently warn the Hufflepuff behind Kiba's back. "It's just a game."
"Oh no." Naruto moaned; dropping his head into his hands; while Chōji and Bill threw the blond a perplexed look.
"Only a game?" Kiba slowly turned to face Chōji.
"Here he goes again." Shikamaru huffed.
"Are you mad?" Kiba burst; making Naruto and Chōji jump while Bill slid a little away from the group and pretended he wasn't with Kiba as other students around them began to stare. "Quidditch is an essential sport in the development of members of the wizarding community!"
"Not this talk again." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Quidditch helps us to increase our agility and reaction speed." Kiba ranted patriotically. "Both of which are good attributes of a master duellist -"
"He sounds like Professor Maito." Naruto muttered disapprovingly; receiving a nod of agreement from Bill. "Shut up, Kiba!" The blond added; nudging his friend in the ribs.
"A master duellist?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Kiba as he surveyed the Gryffindor before he turned his focus back towards the match with a wary sigh. "You're too troublesome."
"If you're interested in becoming a duellist, why don't you just join the duelling club?" Chōji suggest between a mouthful of crisps.
"First years aren't allowed." Kiba grunted with an annoyed look on his face; quickly losing his fiery attitude. "I can't see why not though."
"Maybe because you don't know any offensive or defensive spells yet.' Shikamaru explained. 'And you're not allowed to join the Quidditch team yet either, so how is Quidditch supposed to help you at the moment?"
"Everyone bonds over Quidditch." Kiba retorted dismissively.
"You call this bonding?" Shikamaru asked; motioning towards the match in session - it had become more evident that both the Gryffindor and Slytherin players had become more brutal in their game.
"There's nothing wrong with a healthy rivalry."
"He definitely sounds like Professor Maito." Naruto sighed.
"Look!" A girl who was sitting behind Naruto pointed towards the Slytherin Seeker; who was in a nose dive towards the ground of the pitch.
" -points to Slytherin; making the score fifty: twenty to the Slytherins." Kakashi's commentary reached their ears again. "Oh, it looks like Walters has spotted the Snitch with Suoh hot on his tail!"
By this point, everyone's attention - including the other players on the pitch - was now focused on the two Seekers; the stands were divided between cheering on Walters and cheering on Suoh. The two Seekers pulled out of their dive simultaneously as try raced towards the base of the Gryffindor goalposts with their arms outstretched; ready to snatch the Golden Snitch out if the air. The two players collided with each other and fell off of their broomsticks; tumbling to the ground together.
The stadium slowly began to buzz with confused murmurs and the two opposing teams hovered uncertainly in the air on their broomsticks.
"Who caught the Snitch?" Naruto asked; squinting down to the ground at the two tangled Seekers.
"I dunno." Chōji frowned.
"Did they even catch it?" Bill enquired; following suit if many students around him and raising to his feet to get a better look.
Walters and Suoh finally rose to their feet; Suoh waved the Snitch above his head and beamed widely while Walters propped himself up against the goalpost while nursing a rather nasty looking cut above his left eye.
The Gryffindors erupted with cheers while Hana and the rest if her Quidditch team - who were still airborne - pumped their fists encouragingly.
"They did it!" Kiba roared in triumph as he jumped to his feet; forgetting that Akamaru had been resting on his lap until the pup fell with a loud yelp. "Oh, sorry Akamaru."
Akamaru whined in response before he jumped onto Naruto's lap instead.
"Kakashi Hatake!" Professor McGonagall's voice sounded again. Will you put that blasted book away and announce the winning team already!"
"Oh, did the match finish?" Kakashi ruffled his hair and smiled at the witch guiltily as Professor McGonagall snatched the book from his hand furiously. "Erm… who won?"