Sorry for the fat delay.
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The ministry was full of wizards and witches doing their business, walking this way and that. Raven's fascinated with them, even though no one would guess it by looking at him. He's considered the coldblooded one, with his mask on or without it. They said he never cares, but that's not true, and when he saw something new, he's curious too, just like everyone else would be.
His hand strayed to his hood, pulling it down. Various sounds came rushing to his ears, he planted his feet even more to the ground than before, his eyes roaming the place. They wore colours like the rainbow, and if he'd never seen a loud mouthed Genin clad fully in garish orange and blue, he'd close his eyes, wondering how daft these people were. They wore cloaks, all of them, even while out in public. Despite that, they wanted to keep their society a secret unknown to rest of the world.
Raven wondered, looking at them. He wondered how nobody had ever figured this out. People in cloaks and hats and … dresses in bright purple and emerald and sky blue. With stars and suns and other things on them. Weren't normal civilians curious about people dressed in such a fashion? Were they this oblivious?
It seemed so, as more witches and wizards poured in through fireplaces and on apparition platforms.
His ears picked up strange talks about even stranger things. Every single witch and wizard looked busy, as if they had so much work to do. Never had he seen a place such as this. Like ants in an ant hill they ran around. He lived in a village full of Shinobi, traveling through it by jumping from roof to roof, but this – this was something completely else. This was like a bustling city with too many citizens on its own. It would be so easy observing so many people over a long period of time. They wouldn't ever notice his presence, much like they hadn't noticed him entering days before. An easy henge did the trick, or just staying in the shadows. Even if they detected him - which would of course never happen - , he was an ANBU. Nobody would be able to catch him.
Raven fingered the ring on his little finger, a reminder of a promise he'd given. Never to walk stray again. Sealing runes were set deep into the metal, much like others were woven into his cloak and mask. Protection, transportation and – set into it so deeply that nobody would be able to break the seal – suicide, should he decide to betray those he said to be loyal to. The ring had been crafted after he made the promise on his very own wish. He knew his own being too good to deny the longing for power singing in his very blood. The Hokage knew this and ordered Konoha's resident sealmaster to help create that ring. Raven, of course, knew this, too. It had been a part of his plan, for he trusted Naruto Uzumaki to pull this through. Who else to give this 'honour' to, but his best friend? Nobody else, that is. Raven was sure that Naruto had done his best to assure that those seals were fail safe, triggered only when necessary. It wouldn't do for him to get killed by a sloppy seal, after all.
Raven couldn't take it off either, not without a counter seal made by Naruto himself. And even then only under certain circumstances. Without this little thing he couldn't have become a member of ANBU. Without this piece of metal he might not have been able to trust himself. Even with his brother dead, Raven was still an Uchiha, hungry for strength and power.
He tucked his hand away, hiding it from view. Sentimentality wasn't allowed during a mission and he should move to fulfil his mission.
So he did. He slid from his porch into the shadows down below, masking his presence by moving in the same rhythm as the bustling witches and wizards. His mental mapping skills were brilliant and by the time he reached the elevator he had half of all the people grouped together, depending on the direction they walked. He memorized their paperwork, stacks of them, carried around openly, but dedicated to only a few people. They were so careless and he snorted when he saw one of the carriers fall to the ground, his papers scattering across the whole floor.
Something like that shouldn't happen, not at all. There were stamps all over the papers calling out to onlookers. "Secret" and "Ministers Eyes Only", but such things tend to draw more eyes than anything else.
He crossed over to the lift which carried only two others and – funnily enough – both were members of the Order. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks were Aurors, he had learned. Basically the police force of this magic world. Still, they did not notice him straight away. What he did notice, though, was Kingsley starting to shuffle his feet and Tonks' hair to change colour. If he was Fox, he would tap Shacklebolt on the shoulder and startle the both of them. But he was Raven, silent and efficient. So the only thing he did was tying up Tonks shoelaces before she would trip and fall on her own face. Again.
When the Aurors stepped out of the lift, he followed them, right up to the office door. He memorized the place in less than a second, Sharingan ablaze and raking over every little detail. No real security here either, it was more than dissatisfying. Hogwarts itself had so many fail safes in case of danger, yet their own ministry couldn't even detect an intruder. All the possibilities…
Raven thought about home and the Hokage tower. Just the idea of intruding there without getting noticed was unthinkable … Nobody had ever achieved that – no matter what people said about one twelve year old Genin stealing a secret scroll.
Many witches and wizards occupied the room, separated by cubicles and strange plants he had never seen before. Some real grizzly old wizards walked by him, one of them repositioning his glasses as he did.
All of them seemed to notice something strange while he was near them but not a single one acted consciously on it. He attached a seal to the door, one to the ceiling and one to the floor, just like Fox had told him to, no matter that he had no idea what they were for. He trusted his Captain to do the right thing.
After doing his deeds he left the room, exploring more of the floor. This one and the one beneath it were filled with so many strange offices, that Raven did make himself a list once he reached the fourth most curiously named door. Something about animal regulation. Once that task was done he stood back and watched again, following the daily routines of witches and wizards. They mingled with each other, talking and gossiping. Most of them were holding some kind of newspaper. The pictures on it moved, and Raven caught sight of none other than Albus Dumbledore himself. The old headmaster was staring right out at him, but soon closed Hogwarts's main door right in front of the readers eyes.
"Have you heard?" a small witch said, thrusting the paper into the hands of another witch, this one grey-haired and wiry. "Dumbledore's gone bonkers."
The other snorted. "As if we didn't already know that years back. I've seen that coming a long time ago. He has always been a strange one after all, mingling with centaurs and the like."
Raven had heard of such talk from Dove and Fox, who'd informed him about the rumour mill regarding Dumbledore and Potter. They couldn't tell him the exact circumstances, but he was sure to find out while being here. So he listened to their squabbling, sinking back into the shadow even deeper. There was so much useless information, so much he didn't need… at the end of it, when they separated, he didn't know more than he had before. A sigh escaped his lips as he pushed himself off the wall. He used the lift to arrive at the next floor, the lowest one in the building. It was dark down here, not a soul walking around. A chill made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. His eyes roamed the area, but he didn't see anything. He had a weird feeling about this place, much weirder than down in I&T, were he heard screams and cries almost constantly. He tried to shake it off, but it won't have him be, clinging to him like a drowning man. Raven frowned, starting to move through the gloom and the chill, following his instinct. He stopped in a doorway, faint whispers of voices reaching his ears. There's more than one, arguing loudly behind closed doors at the end of this floor. Raven followed them, sure that somewhere there he'd find information. A short, bearded wizard stormed down the corridor at that very moment, slamming the door behind him. He was red in the face with anger.
"I'll get Malfoy for that, I'll get him!" he murmured, but loud enough for Raven to hear. That was a name he knew, and fairly well at that. Shikamaru had handed him a stack of papers, filled with names and names. Lucius Malfoy was on that list, too, right near the top. He'd been a Death Eater, back during the days of war between this Voldemort and rest of the wizarding world. There was a list of actions he'd definitely done during raids and other events, a little note marking him down as one of those possible Death Eaters attacking Muggles during an important sporting event last year. A possible threat to the Order, too. And as those facts were standing, Raven went the way the old wizard had come from, listening to his surroundings and creating yet another imaginary map in his head.
When he did find Malfoy, he had probably crossed half the corridor, behind a widely open door, and staring onto papers strewn in front of him. He didn't notice Raven, of course, wouldn't if the ANBU didn't want him to. The man had his pale blond hair in a neat ponytail, not a single hair askew. The clothes he wore were officially the best looking clothes that Raven had seen wizards wear. Malfoy twirled his wand between his fingers, a pale index finger on the silver snake head at the wands end. Raven could smell a faint odour of a real snake waft of the man.
It was this exact smell that had led him to send Shikamaru his current Death Eater list. Malfoy was on it since day one. Voldemort himself was associated with having a pet snake by the name of Nagini and there were only so many witches or wizards that wanted having to do with that kind of animal. Obviously Death Eaters were among them. It fit with the old lists Dumbledore had sent to Konoha before they came here. The lists all of them knew by heart. There were less than he remembered among the wizards here at the Ministry, but he'd heard and read the reports of some of them dying during the war or in imprisonment later. Some were still in Azkaban, anyway, so he wouldn't find them here.
Raven watched Malfoy a moment longer, studying the man, burning his image into his retinas by usage of the Sharingan. His magical signature flared around him, coiling like a snake. It was dark and slithering, ugly and waiting for the moment to strike. Malfoy was dangerous. That much he had written to Shikamaru, too. They weren't to underestimate him, no matter how he gave himself. The Minister thought highly of the blonde menace, only good things, though. That might prove to be a problem later on, they'd have to see.
Raven turned his back to the man, walking deeper into the ministry. There was still so much to be seen, so much to write down and report to his Captain. There was never enough they could know about this building. Who knew what might happen here in the near future.
.
There was an uneasiness in the meeting room which Shikamaru hadn't noticed in meetings prior. The meetings got rarer these days as both Snape and Dumbledore had to prepare for the coming school year. Things had gotten quiet, too.
He took the seat next to Moody, the man clapping his shoulder in greeting. When everyone had arrived - or at least those that were scheduled to come - Arthur begged them for quiet. They silenced themselves, so Kingsley Shacklebolt could get started.
"Those of you working in the Ministry might have heard of it; the others won't have. There have been strange occurrences all around the building. In every of the floors. Nobody knows what exactly happens there and most people think it's just magic gone wild. Which is why we took so long to take notice of it. "
He took a sip out of his goblet before continuing. "Colours in the air, moving like the northern lights, appearing almost everywhere. Whispers in the dark...some don't take it seriously, but I think we should take it very seriously."
Mumbled agreements were thrown in from all around the room. Hestia Jones leaned onto the table, a cup of tea in her hand. "Do we know what it is...where it comes from? It might be Death Eaters, even though they'd be stupid to do something like this."
"Wouldn't necessarily be stupid," Lupin countered in a good-natured way. "Maybe this is just the beginning. Maybe they test how far they can go. Newly cooked-up spells, or that kind of thing."
Arthur began sharing the wild theories with them that he had heard at work. From basic mirages and illusions to deathly curses and mind-blowing theories. Shikamaru listened to all of this, not partaking in the conversation. He had no idea how magic worked at all - which still bothered him quite a lot - so it wouldn't do for him to add something. Moody didn't say anything, either, rather opting to listening in and talk at a later point in time.
"Did anyone try to touch one of the lights?" Hestia asked, looking at Kingsley who pointed to Tonks in return. She flushed bright red when everyone turned to look at her.
"Not voluntarily...it just popped out of nowhere in front of me and I walked clean through it," she mumbled. "It doesn't hurt or anything. It doesn't even feel like walking through a ghost. It's just...there."
Shikamaru decided it was best to just rest his head on his palm when another round of speculations started. Moody grumbled under his breath beside him and crossed his arms. When the clock chimed for dinner the conversation calmed down slowly. Mundungus Fletcher had fallen asleep with his head on the table and Mrs. Weasley hadn't even started cooking yet. She excused herself from the table to prepare the meal.
"If anyone notices something new, please report as quick as you can," Kingsley closed the meeting, getting up from his chair. "If nothing happens, we should still keep it in mind, though."
The rest of them agreed, most of them happy to be able to go home.
Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose, not interfering with their actions. He just watched them leave instead, Tonks staying over for dinner and Moody clapping his shoulder in passing. If Fox got wind of this he'd smash his head against the wall.
The situation around the house had calmed down remarkably. It had been too quiet in fact. Dove had taken to Fox getting her to Hogsmeade most days, so she could familiarize herself with the castle and its surrounding. Which meant that Shikamaru slept most of the day - when he wasn't helping Fox write reports back home or Hanabi with her tasks. When the last week of holidays started both Shikamaru and Hanabi had their stuff packed and ready for transport. Fox would drop in and take it to Hogsmeade, so they wouldn't have to take care of it during the train ride. Since Molly had practically nothing to do anymore, she had washed their spare clothes early that week. It was practical. The only thing they were taking with them on the train was a lone dufflebag Shikamaru had propped beside the door. It carried a stack of books and months old paperwork he'd yet to finish. Nothing top-secret, just forms the academy head wanted him to look over and one or two things having to do with clan business.
Everything was prepared and ready the evening before they left Grimmauld Place.
Naruto cursed his luck when he saw the unorganized mess of bodies that poured onto the hidden platform. Witches and wizards of all ages milled about, hugging their relatives. Parents kissed their children's cheeks and foreheads a last time before sending them onto the train, waving at them from the platform. Some mothers were crying as little eleven-year-olds were bravely taking the steps into the carriages.
All in all ... Naruto had never seen such a thing. Such emotions for a good-bye. Their kids would be back for christmas, just a short few months away. Tsunade had only smiled at him shortly before sending him off with Jiraya for years. It was a strange thing to witness, really. And it was such a chaos, too. While some teenagers went straight onto the train, others seemed to be greeting their friends on the platform first.
His eyes were drawn back to the bright red steam powered train. Maybe even magic-powered, who knew. It was a huge machine, much bigger than the 'cars' he had seen in the streets. These concepts still weirded him out a bit. Back home they had electricity, sure. It powered most of the village. Some of the more traditional clans - like Uchiha and Hyuuga - still relied on fire and candles on special occasions, while most civilians had a functional electrical circuit running around their house. Light, TV, stoves … nearly everything worked that way. But here in this world, they had 'cars' but no electricity. Wizards, at least. Muggles - as they called them - obviously did have electricity and electronics. Strange, strange world. And even stranger wizards.
Naruto crossed his arms behind his head, watching Dove slap seals all over the roof of the train, in case he needed to move unnoticed. The blonde scratched his nose, enjoying the feeling of fresh air on his face. The mask and all of his ANBU clothing had been sealed away and stowed safely in the duffel that had previously been transported to their room in Hogsmeade. Of course he still had a spare set on him, the seal stitched into the sleeve of his jersey. Naruto checked it over once more, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows. The stitches were the same black as the jersey, so nobody would see it unless activated, which he didn't hope to do.
Since Hogwarts had quite a few hundred students, Shikamaru had thought it easier to dress as one of them than to stay hidden at all cost. Nobody knew his face anyway, and nobody would remember it after.
Beside the storage seal, a handful of other seals were worked into the fabric, including a diversion seal that made people look into a different direction. It was one of the mildest intrusions into a person's mind that Shinobi had ever worked out and Naruto was quite proud to say he had mastered sealing to such a high decree as to create a permanent diversion seal.
It was quite huge, spread all over his back and shoulders, but it had to in order to fulfil its purpose. He was a whole person after all, and that was a lot to get people to ignore.
"All done," Dove whispered into his ear, standing hidden in shadows behind him. He turned his head a bit, waiting for another kind of news. She softly cleared her throat, speaking in hushed volumes. "Neither Potter nor any of the Weasleys have arrived yet. They have about seven minutes to go before the train leaves."
"Then hopefully they'll make it. I'm not about to be stuck here because students missed their train."
They wouldn't have to wait for long for the group to arrive, though. First came Harry with Mrs. Weasley and Hanabi at their side. Their was a big smile on his face as he took in the sights and smells. Hanabi was wildly looking around the platform until she spotted them. Naruto nodded at her as a small greeting. She hadn't seen him without his mask on for weeks, so the gobsmacked face of hers was not surprising for them. What was surprising, though, was the huge black dog wagging its tail beside Harry.
"What the-?" Naruto cursed, "Whose dog is that?"
"I got no idea, seriously," Dove answered, ready to jump into action. "I haven't seen it before."
Naruto frowned, angry about the lack of information. "I want this cleared up as soon as we're at the base. It won't do if we don't even know about dogs."
Dove pointed a thin finger over his shoulder passed the three others. "Seems to me like Shikamaru knows it."
The brunette in question had his hands stuffed in the pockets of the pants, looking utterly bored, if it wasn't for the raised eyebrow and the smile on his lips. He walked several steps behind the others.
Naruto groaned. "Of course he would."
Dove snorted softly behind him and pulled her arm back to her side.
The both of them watched in silence as Moody came strolling through the magic barrier with a luggage trolley and a porter's cap pulled low over his mismatched eyes. He walked briskly up to Mrs. Weasley and an old lady drew near from the other side. Naruto stared at her, but it was obvious she was belonging to them. Shikamaru gestured to them that it was only Tonks in disguise. After seeing her metamorphosing - or whatever the actual skill was called - Naruto was still fascinated by it.
Seconds later, Mr. Weasley emerged on to the platform with Ron and Hermione. They had almost unloaded Moody's luggage trolley when Fred, George and Ginny turned up with Lupin.
Moody, Tonks and Lupin, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said goodbye to the children with hugs and handshakes. Shikamaru had already pulled Hanabi along to the train to search for an empty compartment so they would have one for themselves and probably as a reason that he wouldn't have to shake the hands of all those people.
Naruto and Dove watched in silence as the Weasleys got on the train, pulling Harry and Hermione along for the ride. Dove nudged Naruto softly forward.
"You should go, Captain, or the train's leaving without you."
He turned an easy grin on her before walking forward. "I will see you in Hogsmeade then. Have fun roofriding."
She rolled her eyes but vanished as soon as he was out of hearing range. The train whistle blew as soon as he had closed the door behind him.
There were still several students in the train's corridors even though it was already in motion. He moved through them, no one the wiser to his being there. They talked about the holidays with their friends, about the coming school year and how they would miss their families in the coming months. It reminded him of his time in the academy, when they were still innocent and young. When Sakura and Ino were Sasuke's fangirls, unfriending each other for rivalries sake. Hogwarts students were still in the middle of their childhood with no care in the world. Naruto wanted them to stay that way for as long as possible, because he didn't have had that chance. War had taken all of that away from them and it wasn't something he wished on anyone.
He held onto a window frame when the train moved around a corner. The train soon gathered speed. Someone bumped into his shoulder, mumbling an excuse and walking away.
Truly … not a care in the world.
Soon rain started to hit the windows and Naruto felt sorry for Dove, who would be soaked by now. He thought back to her angry expression the last time he had send her out into the rain and grimaced. He would get an earful about that later.
Sometime into the trainride a commotion started down the hall and he decided it would be best for his mental health if he didn't continue to stare out the window for hours without end.
A blonde boy and two very big friends of his stood in front of the very last compartment, loudly talking about something random or the other. Naruto recognized the boy as Lucius Malfoy's son, a kid by the name of Draco. He looked remarkably like his father down to the sneer on his face.
"...dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line," Draco told the people in the cabin, a smirk on his lips. Naruto really couldn't stand people like that and he'd met lots of them in his lifetime. He walked slowly closer.
"Get out!", a voice said and the compartment door slid shut before Malfoy's very nose, but one of his big friends stepped into it with his foot, before it could fully close. Naruto took a swifter pace, but was worried about nothing, as the cronie was punched in the stomach and out of the compartment, hitting the other side of the train and the door was slammed shut in front of the three of them. So hard, in fact, that a crack ran through the glass. Malfoy and his friends turned around, but not before screeching a threat to the compartments inhabitants. His cronies - because seriously what else could they be - followed him into the next carriage where he could harass others.
Naruto stepped up to the closed door, hearing a resigned sigh at the other side of the cracked glass. There weren't many people about that were able to throw a good punch and crack the glass by throwing the door closed.
He knocked once before opening it, a habit that Sakura had forced him to learn. Potter, Weasley, Granger … Shikamaru, a boy with some kind of plant, a blonde girl looking a little dreamy, and - of course - a red faced Hanabi, silently fuming in the corner of the compartment. Obviously Shikamaru and Hanabi had not found an empty compartment, or Shikamaru had thought it good to stay near Potter and friends. Hanabi, as well as the others, looked up when the door slid open yet again, ready to pounce on Malfoy once more. Both Shikamaru and Hanabi were surprised though, when another familiar face entered.
"I heard a commotion," Naruto said. "Is everything alright?"
Hanabi had his name on her lips - he could see that. So he turned to her, fake worry coating his voice. "You look quite red, you sure you're okay?"
He ignored the warning gestures that Ron gave him. A smile spread over his face when Hanabi turned a deathly white. Ron started waving his arms widely as if trying to scare mosquitos off. Even Hermione looked a little bit scared, fearing what Hanabis next move would be. Shikamaru just grinned, hiding his face behind an arm as he leaned back on the seat.
But Hanabi didn't say anything just glaring at him. And he was proud of her for it. When he was her age he would have just blurted his name out without thinking further into it. Hanabi thought about it, at least. She knew that he was part of the ANBU team stationed here since seeing his hair for the first time. She could have told everyone in this compartment his name, could have shown them that she knew him….yet she didn't. She was ten times as clever as he was at fourteen and he was glad about it. Even Konohamaru, who was one of the more brighter bulbs in the park, would have accidently spit his name out.
He cracked another smile for the young Hyuga. Her blistering glare was nearly as intimidating as Sakura's, but he just found it admirable in this situation.
"Now you're going awfully red again. Maybe I should go looking for a healer or something," he smiled at her, amusement barely hidden behind his roguish charm.
"We'll take care of her," Ginny hurriedly assured, softly pushing him out of the compartment. She was visible for a moment longer before closing the off the door. "But thanks anyway."
Naruto let out a chuckle, relieved about some freedom in his actions. He trotted down the corridor, lazily sweeping his gaze out the window.
"The nerve of that guy," Ron seethed, happy that Hanabi hadn't finished him off. He had been worried for a moment that she might rip the poor guy's head off his shoulders. "Coming in here like that."
"Ronald!" Hermione scolded him lightly. "He meant well by coming in here. He must have seen Malfoy getting punched and just wanted to make sure everything is alright." She looked at the cracked glass before settling her eyes on Hanabi. "I'm glad you didn't punch him, too."
The girl just shrugged her shoulders, flicking her hair back. "He wasn't worth it." Hanabi didn't need to tell them that punching an undercover ANBU agent wasn't appropriate either. She'd have to deal with the consequences otherwise. But why did Uzumaki have to be so infuriating in the first place? She'd known the guy since she was a kid, but dealing with him personally - when he wasn't acting all cold and hard behind his mask - was just so infuriating.
"Well, bloody guy's gone now," Ron said, munching in a chocolate frog that Harry had handed him. "Don't think I know him, though."
"I'm pretty sure I've seen him around before," Hermione told him, watching with disgust as Ron chewed with an open mouth. "Maybe he's from Hufflepuff."
Ron just shrugged, looking to Harry. The boy was thoughtfully staring out the window, immersed in his thoughts about Sirius and how Malfoy had said 'dogging'.
Luna soon started sprouting tales about Stubby Boardman, Neville asking her questions, if even to just evade another minute-long silence in the compartment. Ginny had fallen asleep half an hour after Naruto had stuck his head through the door and Shikamaru looked fast asleep as well.
In his head he went over different plans they had come up with, though. He was glad that their diversion seal had worked on those that didn't know his face. And about Hanabi's performance of course. The girl had acted perfectly, something worth clapping her shoulder for. He knew just how hard this must have been for her, being surrounded by complete strangers, with the sudden entrance of a known face into the compartment. She had acted accordingly to Shinobi rule and mission standards.
Naruto, of course, had to push it even a bit further than planned, but that was just how the blonde was. It was entertaining not to be involved for once. But he was ready for them to finally arrive in Hogwarts. Maybe this year was going to be not as troublesome as he first thought it to be.
Raven stood with Slug at the double winged doors of the castle, McGonagall stood waiting beside them.
"The train will arrive in thirty minutes down in Hogsmeade. Normally Hagrid – our keeper of grounds – is the one waiting down at the station for the first years. This year it is Professor Grubbly-Plank. She'll welcome them and take them down to the lake, where boats will be waiting for them."
Slug looked to Raven, who nodded at her. "I'll have an eye on them."
McGonagall had a tight drawn smile on her lips. "Mister Raven is looking after the other students, then?"
Raven looked straight ahead, crossing his arms. "That's the plan."
"You do know about our carriages, do you?"
Slug smiled beneath her mask. "Testrals are pulling them, right? Your library presents a lot of information regarding this school."
McGonagall looked relieved, as if she'd thought she'd have to explain it to them. "Our library is one of the biggest in the wizarding community. Of course it would be for the best if there's lots of information about the school. And yes. Be aware that Testrals are only visible to those who've seen death, so keep this in mind."
"We will," Raven said. "Dumbledore has told us about the Sorting of the First Years. Is there anything we need to know? Anything essential about it relating to the students security?"
"No. Not that I know of. The children might be a bit excited, but there isn't anything to worry about."
The three of them stood there for a few minutes until a first raindrop landed on McGonagall's tartan hat. She excused herself after offering a rain repelling charm to the two and stepped into the Entrance hall.
"Let's get going. It won't do to just stand in the rain up here," Raven told her before stepping down the stairs. They walked to Hogsmeade in complete silence. Both were lost in their own thoughts and routines. The real mission was about to start any minute now. The weeks long preparations were finally ending. Slug pulled her gloves tightly over her hands and cracked her knuckles. Up till now she hadn't seen anything but the school and its surroundings. It would be refreshing to see something new, even if it was just a lively Hogwarts. It would also be great to have Fox around longer than a day or even just a few hours. She had seen him briefly the day before, when he'd checked the seals over one last time and discussed something with Raven before disappearing back to London for the protection of Harry Potter and the guarding of the students during the train ride. He was a ball of sunshine and being stuck with gloomy Raven just wasn't the same.
They reached the platform with five minutes to spare. Professor Grubbly-Plank was already there, holding a lantern at her side. She didn't look at them when they arrived , focusing solely on the trainrails. Slug took a step towards her ready to follow her as soon as she moved. Raven stood beside a tree, hidden from plain sight, black eyes staring into darkness. The rain splattered against them and soon enough they were drenched. Maybe they should have taken McGonagall up on her offer.
A distant whistle was the first sign of the train arriving. Moments later a massive beast of steel rolled into the station, excited faces behind all windows. Hundreds of students poured out of the carriages as soon as the train had come to a stop, streaming onto the platform and beyond it. Raven spotted Shikamaru and Hanabi passing him but he still had to find his Captain in the masses. It was when nearly all the students were near the testral-drawn carriages or with Slug down at the lake that he spotted a mop of blond. Naruto grinned like an idiot when he jumped off the train, snickering about one thing or the other. Dove stood behind him, following him onto the platform and into the village of Hogsmeade. Raven waited for the last student to leave the train, walking behind him in several paces distance.
The castle came into view in all its glory. The whole thing shone with lit candles and lanterns and whatnot. The way into the Great Hall came easy to him, for he had walked it several times by now.
When the students got off the train Naruto stayed back with Dove. Shikamaru was amidst the students and both Raven and Slug were waiting at the gates. There weren't any more guards needed and Naruto had other things to tend to.
"Where are we going?", Dove asked him as he started walking into the village of Hogsmeade, not towards the castle.
"I'm going to go over another scroll I got from Tsunade while you get your fair share of sleep."
Dove stopped short. "I'm off?"
Naruto shrugged, pulling her cloak off her and putting it around him. He pulled the hood over his head, hiding his spiky blond mane. "I'm giving you some time for yourself, yeah. Do whatever you want. Sleep, drink, write letters to your boytoy..."
Dove pushed him hard, making him howl with laughter. "He's not my boytoy!"
"Rumor says differently," he told her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Even though rumor also tells about the two of us secretly marrying next month..."
Dove pulled him down by the front of his jersey. " .Me?"
Naruto just grinned, crossing his arms behind his head. "Your poor father would have had a stroke if he'd heard."
"I think I'll have a stroke...", she said with a weak voice. "Or be struck by lightning."
He pulled her close, more laughter boiling in his chest. They walked like that to Rosmertas', calling each other names in hushed tones. It was much like the relationship Ino sported with Sakura, only that Naruto could pull jokes much better than Sakura ever would. Additionally the pinkette hit hard after too much name-calling.
The door to the three broomsticks was closed, but Rosmerta had handed them a set of spare keys when Dumbledore had told her that they'd stay here year-round. Naruto pulled one of them from his pocket, opening the door with a jingle. He held it open for Dove to enter, who promptly shed the mask once the door was closed behind her again.
"You got really lucky to get rid of it today," Ino told him, pushing past him up the stairs. "The air on that train wasn't the freshest."
"You do know," he said," that I've been to Suna during my first year in ANBU. I thought I'd quit once I've got home to Konoha. Obviously though, I didn't."
"I couldn't stay in Suna for a week even without the mask on. It's just too hot there." Ino flopped backwards onto the bed, sighing contently.
Naruto didn't bother with an answer, knowing full well Ino would be fast asleep within minutes. He sat at one of the two tables beside the window, frowning at the seal on the window frame. One of its edges flayed away from the wood. He wondered if magic was interfering with the seals durability or if he hadn't pumped enough chakra into it to begin with. He ripped it off and the room around him rippled.
A stack of books appeared out of nowhere beside the right table, a set of cleaning tools on the left hand one. There was an IchaIcha movie poster on the wall above the bed that Naruto had to snort at. Jiraya's signature was boldly scribbled on the pink paper. It obviously was one of Kakashi's old one, well cared for and without its edges frayed. Sakura was probably the one hanging it up, as Sasuke didn't own anything of their old sensei. She knew how he would react to that, seeing as it didn't only remind him of Kakashi, but also of his porn writing godfather. It gave him hope and made him feel at home, no matter what happened around them. He loved her for that very dearly.
He tore his gaze away from the poster, closing his eyes. Were Kakashi here, he would sit somewhere on the schools roof all day, reading his smut and watching them do their job. Kakashi would handle this whole shit better than any of them did. He had seen war when he was younger than them, and no matter how definitely crazy and broken the man had been even back in the good old days, he would have been better off than any of them. Kakashi had grown up with the threat looming at the horizon. He had known war would come eventually. Naruto hadn't known. He had had an idea when he had turned sixteen that something might go down south very soon, but a war? No, never. They hadn't been prepared for that, not even their teachers. At least not on that scale.
Naruto sighed and pulled his thoughts back to the present. Kakashi would want him to go on like his Minato had urged Kakashi to go on after Obito had presumably died. After Rin had been killed by Kakashi's very own hand.
Naruto pulled a sealing scroll from beside the stack of books beside the table. He carefully ripped it open, scanning its contents. The most different of seals were scattered all across the paper, none of them finished to perfection. Some were crossed over, others had notes upon notes scratched on the paper beside them. All of them carried his signature handwriting, some had some of Sakura's and Sasuke's mixed within. Sakura as a master of healing had studied sealing as part of her apprenticeship under Tsunade. Sasuke was just a dork with a Sharingan who had an extensive knowledge of sealing just by looking Naruto over the shoulder once or twice. At least he didn't actively practice it or Naruto might just have hit him over the head too hard to be a love tap.
The blonde looked at all of the designs, unsure which to complete first. All of them might have been awesome once finished, but most of them weren't useful for their current mission.
"But which one is the most useful?" he asked himself, raking a hand through his hair. He stared at the two most likely designs, trying to estimate their worth and waging them against each other. Both would be most beneficial to their mission if it ever came to mass fights and explosions. Otherwise they were just too loud and obnoxious for stealth and normal guarding. Too 'Naruto', as some might call it. Be as it might, the blonde pulled the scroll closer to him, starting a completely new seal, disregarding the other unfinished projects sitting directly beside the new design. Maybe something totally unlike him would do the thing.
Raven stood beside the oaken doors at the entrance of the Great Hall. All students above year one sat at for long tables, already sorted into their houses and dressed in their colours. Just like Dumbledore had explained it to them. They talked about their holidays with their friends, house- and classmates. Some of them had already spied him, too, but they only glanced from him to the teachers table and kept quiet.
The headmaster had greeted him with a nod when he had entered. Now he had his head inclined towards the person sitting next to him, a woman dressed in nothing but pink, with an ugly Alice band that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes. Raven recognized her. She worked for the ministry, as far as he knew. He had seen her more than once in the presence of the minister, talking animatedly with him. She had a pallid, toadlike face and a pair of prominent pouchy eyes.
Soon enough Professor Grubbly-Plank appeared behind the staff table, working her way along to the very end and taking a seat. Not including McGonagall, all teachers were there. This, though, changed a few seconds later when the doors from the Entrance Hall opened. Raven turned his head slightly, noticing how more and more students caught onto his presence in the Great Hall. Even the lady in pink saw him now, an appalling look overtaking her features.
A long line of children entered, led by McGonagall, who was carrying a stool on which sat a...a Hat. Probably the one they had heard of, since there just couldn't be any other explanation. It was heavily patched and darned with a wide rip near the frayed brim.
The first-years lined up in front of the staff table facing the rest of the students, and McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of them. She then stood back.
Slug had walked behind them, now standing on the other side of the doors arc, hands behind her back and head held proudly. She was still drenched and dripped water all over the floor, a growing puddle all around her feet. Raven turned his head back to the teachers table, studying the waiting faces of first-years and other students.
Suddenly the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song. Raven was not the only one surprised by it, as Slug had twitched that very moment, too. Some of the first-years looked ready to cry in confusion, but even more were giddy about all the magic happening around them. The song was quite long and surprisingly...it lifted the spirits. It told of acting united despite differences. It reminded of home. Also it reminded of Kirabi with its riming.
The Sorting Hat became motionless once more after ending his song. Applause broke out, but still the students were talking with their neighbours. When the hall quieted down – after hard stares by McGonagall – she looked down onto a long list of parchment and began reading from it, calling the students one by one up to her for the sorting to take place. When the long line of students neared its end and "Zeller, Rose" was called at last, sorted into Hufflepuff and found a place to sit at, Dumbledore stood from his seat.
"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, "welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"
Students laughed at that short-cut welcoming and there was an outbreak of applause as Dumbledore sat down neatly and threw his long beard over his shoulder, so as to not dip it into his food and sauce on his place. The food had appeared out of nowhere, but after witnessing that a few times beforehand during their stay in the castle, it did not startle Raven or Slug another time. Students dug into their favourite foods, talking with their friends and having fun. The long train ride had taken a toll on them.
When all the students had 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, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of you attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First years ought to know that the 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, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door."
Dumbledore then continued on with changes in staff - and was rudely interrupted by none other than that pink thing. He broke off, looking enquiringly at Professor Umbridge. Most of the students smirked at the woman as her interruption had caused McGonagall's mouth to be thinner than most of them had ever seen.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered,"for those kind words of welcome."
Her voice was high-pitched, breathy and little-girlish. She gave another little throat-clearing cough and continued with what was in the end nothing but a tirade about the Ministry of Magic interfering with school business.
Raven drew his eyebrows together under his mask, glaring at the awful woman. Most students were obviously falling asleep right where they were sitting, not bothering to listen into Umbridge's speech. Some tried to keep the facade of actually listening and a bare handful actually sat straight, attentive gazes placed right on the woman. Mr Potter's friend was one of them.
"...intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."
Slug had a concerned gaze on him, knowing that he was feeling just as angered as her by that last sentence. The government interfering with school business? Okay, what did they care about the schedule. A paean of praise on the Ministry itself? Who doesn't do it?
But to block people from thinking on their own? To put a stop to innovation itself?
They were children, they needed to learn and to think about what they learned. They needed to dream about what could be done if a technique was taken further, because only then great could be achieved. This woman wanted to stunt natural growth. Not to guide it into the right direction, but for new buds to wither and die where they plopped up.
This obviously didn't mean that the Ministry trusted Dumbledore in his abilities at a Headmaster of Hogwarts. This was not good at all.
The students were already getting up from the benches, ready to leave for the night, but Dumbledore stopped them in their tracks with a few well placed words.
"Before sending all of you off to bed, there is one more thing for you to know. As some of you might have noticed there are guests to our castle and grounds. But, in fact, they are guards. After last years disastrous events I thought it fit to hire extra security," Dumbledore said. The whispers among the students got louder but soon got silenced when the headmaster started speaking again. "They are here to guard you, so treat them with the necessary respect. I wish you all a good night." He stepped back from the podest and the great oaken doors opened on their own. Students were rushing past them with big eyes, talking all the while. Raven and Slug were staring straight ahead, giving the students the image of unmoving statues.
Slug cringed beneath the mask. They were so...young. They weren't hard and trained. They were still the children they looked to be. Out of the corner of her eyes she glanced at Raven who was just crossing his arms. When he had been their age he was already high on planning how to kill his older brother. Shortly afterwards he had betrayed his own village. The children here though… she couldn't imagine who wanted to hurt them. They probably couldn't hurt a fly.
After a few short moments a woman dressed in an arduous pink mader her way over to them. There was even a pink fox slung across her shoulders and around her neck like a scarf.
"I do not," she spat right in Raven's face, one small thick finger pointed at his breast," understand why the Minister would agree to your stay at this school but I will not trust you as easily as the headmaster does." She glared one last time to both him and Slug before storming off.
Raven turned to her, sighing. "She might pose trouble."
Slug snorted. "She will definitely pose trouble."