Lost Chapter 9
Minato clenched his hands tightly in anger as he stared at the article in front of him.
He wanted to blow something up. Completely and utterly destroy something, preferably something in the shape of Albus Dumbledore's head.
'Why the hell didn't he send me a letter or something to at least tell me that something had happened? I was still able to receive post from where I was at! I should have been informed!' He stood up and began pacing, running his hand through his hair in frustration.
Minato knew he was likely being denied his right to care for his second cousin. Something was wrong with the way this situation was playing out.
'Sirius Black in prison. How the hell did that happen?' Minato knew that almost nothing would stop Sirius from going after anybody that threatened James and Lily!
"This makes no sense!" Minato slammed his hand on the desk next to him.
"Daddy?" Minato started violently at the sound of his five year old son's voice.
"Naruto? What are you doing up? It's…"Minato looked at his watch, "two-thirty in the morning!" Naruto bit his lip.
"I had a nightmare." Minato sighed.
"Come here buddy. Let's see if we can make it go away." Minato took Naruto back to his room and rocked the child back to sleep, grimacing at the state of the small room.
They needed to move as soon as possible, this place was filled with too many ghosts of his past.
Minato moved the last box off the truck and took it into the four-bedroom house that he had bought just a few days prior. Naruto was already inside, likely picking out his bedroom.
"Naru? Where did you run off to?" A yell came from upstairs.
Minato set the box down and went to see what his son was doing and to make sure his son was alright.
He made it as far as the landing before a streak of yellow appeared in a doorway to his right.
"Did you pick your bedroom?" Minato watched Naruto carefully as the little boy shook his head.
"Well, do you have a specific one you like?" He watched Naruto's face brighten as the child darted back into the room he had come out of. Minato followed him.
"Okay Naruto. You can have this room." Minato looked into the other rooms. The smallest one would become his office, at the end of the hallway was the bathroom, the room across the hall from Minato's office was Naruto's and the room on the other side of the office would become Minato's. The last bedroom would become a guest room.
"Naruto?" The little blond stuck his head out of his room. "This is my room okay?" Naruto nodded and returned to playing in his room while Minato started to unpack the kitchen and the living room from storage scrolls.
Minato had just finished unpacking most of the living room, making note of what he needed to buy, when the doorbell rang.
As he opened the door, he heard Naruto come down the stairs behind him, causing him to remember not to completely open the door unless he was sure the visitor wasn't dangerous.
He opened the door fully when he saw a horse-faced women dressed in a fancy-ish dress carrying something in a foil wrapped pan.
"Hello, I am Petunia Dursley. I live in number Four. I thought I would be the first to greet you as one of your new neighbors." Minato frowned inwardly. 'More like the first to pick up gossip she can spread around.'
On the outside however, Minato smiled and invited the woman in to the living room, watching her eye the moving boxes critically. Naruto was sitting on their black, fold-able futon that they had in place of a couch.
"And who is this cute little boy?" Minato winced as she set the thing down on the coffee table and reached towards Naruto who had frozen.
"Please don't touch my son." Minato was in between them in seconds. "He has had a very rough life for the past few years and I believe you are scaring him."
The woman paused and eyed Minato carefully before stepping back.
"I apologize. What is your son's name?" Minato paused before Naruto answered.
"I am Naruto and I am five." He held up five fingers to prove his own point.
"Ah, well it was nice to meet you Minato. I hope we can meet for dinner at some point?" Minato nodded.
"Maybe tonight?" 'No plans anyways, not to mention food.' Petunia nodded and smiled. "See you tonight!"
Minato showed her to the door and as soon as she left, he groaned.
"Dear Kami, that woman made me want to scream." Naruto looked at Minato.
"I didn't like her either Daddy." Minato ruffled his son's hair gently.
"Well, she brought us something and so we should see what it is, shouldn't we?" Naruto grinned.
"I bet it is some kind of jello-y stuff that wiggles if you poke it." Minato laughed.
"I don't think it's jello Naruto." Naruto pouted and Minato carried it to the kitchen.
Together, the pulled the tin foil off to reveal a steaming pork roast.
"Mm. That smells really good." Naruto sniffed the air too.
"Can we have some now Daddy?" Minato nodded and searched for the loaf of bread he had bought earlier in the day and a knife.
Eventually he found it and the pair enjoyed hot roast beef sandwiches for lunch.
Petunia entered the foyer of her pristine house.
"Boy!" She yanked open the cupboard.
"I invited our new neighbors over for dinner tonight. You will make a steak and mushroom sauce dinner with something nice on the side. I am going with Vernon and Dudley to get them ties. You better not screw up!" She thwacked him on the back of the head for good measure.
Harry grimaced and made his way quickly into the kitchen where he began pulling out ingredients.
"Cookbook… Cookbook! Ah, here it is!" He quickly climbed up onto a step-stool and grabbed the heavy book.
"Steak and mushroom. Okay, I can have this done quickly!" Harry muttered to himself as he worked.
Soon, Petunia had returned with Dudley and Vernon lumbering in behind her.
"Not done yet? They will be here any minute!" Harry ducked a blow and pulled the steaks from the oven.
"They're done now." He ignored his aunts glare and started to lay out plates for five.
He set the steaming dish of steaks smothered in mushroom sauce in the middle of the table just as the doorbell rang.
Unnoticed, Harry backed into a corner and proceeded to try to become one with the wall. It must have worked pretty well because neither his aunt or his uncle noticed that he was still in the room as Dudley led the new neighbors into the dining room.
One of them was obviously an adult while the other could only be his son. They both had yellow hair and were nearly identical. Harry watched them sit in seats right next to each other on one side of the table while Petunia and Vernon sat on opposite ends. Dudley took up an entire side of the table by himself.
"This looks delicious! What is it, Petunia?" Harry watched his aunt pale as she thought about the question. 'Ha, serves her right for not knowing!'
"It is steak smothered in mushroom sauce." Petunia barely managed to remember what she had Harry make.
"It looks delectable." Petunia served everyone at the table a plate before serving herself.
The new neighbor man and the little boy that had come with him looked at each other and said something strange before eating.
Petunia must have looked at him strangely because the man explained after eating a few bites.
"Itadakimasu basically means let's eat. I say this before I eat because I am originally from Japan and my son was raised there." Harry saw Vernon narrow his eyes, Vernon didn't like foreigners.
"I don't believe I have formally introduced myself. I am Minato Namikaze and this is my son Naruto." Petunia went white and Harry stifled a gasp as flashes of memory danced across his eyes.
Harry saw a man with yellow hair holding onto a wall laughing at something, a man with the same hair as the guest sitting at the table.
A guest that apparently had very sharp hearing.
"What was that noise?" Minato frowned.
"What noise?" Vernon was pale. If this neighbor discovered their secret, they would have to move. There would be no recovering from this.
"It sounded like a gasp." The man stood up and began turned to the wall behind out a small gasp at the sight in front of him.
"Oh dear Kami. Harry."