Summary: Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.
Rating: T, and should stay that way.
Genres: Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.
Warnings: Language, SPOILERS FOR NARUTO AND HARRY POTTER, violence, some angst, first kills, warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Or incest…just…no.
Pairings: As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry&Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship(maybe)!Snape/Snape. I might add more later, if I think of it.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Emphasis on words
Times
(#) A/N at end to explain stuff
Regular text
A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 10: Quirrellmort and Other Problems
By: AngelicSilverWolf
'First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Ghandi
Everything had gone spectacularly wrong. He just couldn't quite pin why. Well, no, he knew why. Quirrell had pulled one out of his ass and managed to gain the upper hand.
Shikamaru eyed Harry as Quirrell smirked evilly. The other boy was too close to Quirrell, only a few feet away, to pull anything unexpected off. Shikamaru didn't want Harry hurt because of Quirrell's reflexes, even if he was the one in the man's grip.
"Well?" the professor- evil bastard demanded. He tightened his hold on Shikamaru's throat, wand digging in. Shikamaru wanted to stab him. He would have, but knee-jerk reflexes weren't something he wasn't sure he could take care of in time to stop from having his head blown off. "Your friend's life for the stone. It's an easy enough trade."
"Don't even think about it, Harry," Shikamaru said flatly, just to give himself time to think. There was no way in hell he was dying here, he'd pull out a jutsu if he had to. It was a struggle to stay completely rational, because Ron was unconscious in the chess room, Hermione was hopefully safe watching over him (and where the hell was Neville with Snape?), but he thought he was managing pretty well. "My life isn't worth Voldemort returning."
Harry hesitated, looking agonized.
"Just one look in the mirror, boy," Quirrell prodded impatiently. Harry seemed to make up his mind, because he turned and started for the mirror. Shikamaru swore and made his decision.
He took hold of one of the knives from his holster, ignored Quirrell's derisive laugh, and threw it at the mirror. It hit dead center, and the mirror cracked and then shattered. Shikamaru knew of most wizards' hubris when it came to magic and non-magic, and the effect of the latter against the former, so it had become apparent to him that while the mirror was guarded against all sorts of magical dangers, the creators wouldn't have even thought to protect it against things muggles might use. Like, say, a knife.
Quirrell howled in disbelief and fury and brought his wand up to Shikamaru's head. Harry - who had whirled around at the throwing of the weapon - shouted in horror.
"Shikamaru!"
…
Seven days (168 hours) previous:
"Ugh. Finals." Ron stretched across the table and moaned, ironing his head into the wood.
"Don't even start," Hermione snapped. "I told you to start studying. But did you listen to me? No, Ronald Weasley does whatever he bloody well wants to, never mind what other people say that, Morgana forbid, might actually be useful."
Ron scowled and turned his head away.
"Real mature," she said snidely.
"I'm trying to study here," Shikamaru interjected mildly. "Do you mind?" Hermione seemed to swell up at this, and Harry snickered.
"Sorry," he said as she turned to him with a betrayed look on her face. "It's just funny to see him mess with other people."
"As glad as I am to be a source of amusement," Hermione said icily, "we should focus on studying. I don't want to fail."
"Relax," Ron said dismissively. "You're fine, probably."
"We've got our Herbology exam tomorrow and then Charms. Astrology is on Wednesday, and then Transfiguration and Potions. Then-" Hermione was cut off as Ron yawned loudly.
"We know the order of our exams," he said when she frowned at him.
"Alright, you two," Shikamaru cut in, "stop. You're disturbing Neville."
The latter had been dozing on top of his Transfiguration book, but the raising voices caused him to wake up.
"Did I miss anything?" he asked, scrubbing his face.
"Just Ron and Hermione arguing," Harry said with a shrug. Neville grinned.
"I said, 'Did I miss anything', that isn't really worth mentioning since it happens all the time," he said. Harry laughed and the other two huffed. Shikamaru shook his head.
"We're corrupting him," he said mournfully.
"There is no 'we' there, my friend," Hermione said. "That is all you."
"Ron probably doesn't help," Harry agreed.
"What is this?" Ron asked, scowling petulantly. "'Pick on Ron' Day?" The others just looked at him innocently.
"What are you talking about? That's every day," Neville said cheekily. "Didn't you know?"
Amid the snickers, Shikamaru tipped his chair back and mused that it would be nice for the peace to last. Too bad he knew it wouldn't.
...
Exams passed fairly quickly.
Despite Hermione's insistence that the lack of studying would bite him in the rear, Shikamaru did very well on all of them, coming in second in their year in overall testing scores, and this was only because he honestly hadn't cared about History of Magic or Defense Against the Dark Arts - nothing the study group had learned was touched, but he didn't think the others would be fussed since they'd all learned some new jinxes and strategies. Either way, it wasn't like they were meeting for the rest of the year, so no one could complain to him en masse about the results.
It was just after their last test that they got together in the library to give their individual reports on Quirrell.
"I heard a few Ravens talking about how he seemed jumpier than normal today," Harry volunteered, slouching in his chair. "They said he kept muttering to himself."
"Yeah, during our test he was all pale and stuff. Kept dropping what he was holding," Ron agreed. He looked weary from the tests, but relieved at the same time. "Think he's nervous?"
"I would be," Hermione said fervently. "Stealing something from Hogwarts is a daunting task at best, especially since he's been under heavy suspicion by Professor Snape." She tapped her foot thoughtfully. "I wonder, if You-Know-Who is possessing Professor Quirrell, if he'll just...take over to steal the stone. Somehow, I think that Professor has been himself all year - I can't really picture a dark lord stuttering all the time."
"That's a good point," Shikamaru acknowledged. Men like Voldemort had pride in spades; there was no way he'd lower himself to stuttering, even for cover. "We'll have to be really careful. If that does happen, then we're probably dead if he finds out that we're investigating him." Probably, or not. He'd like to see how a wizard faced off against a jutsu. Or just close-combat in general.
"Think we should tell Headmaster Dumbledore yet?" Harry asked.
"We don't know when he's going to strike," Ron said reasonably. "Not much point in telling him to be careful when he's already got a defense system in place."
"We need a definitive answer," Shikamaru said with a frown. Adults didn't listen to children, as much as that rankled, and they'd need more than suspicions and circumstantial evidence to convince the Headmaster of anything. And Shikamaru didn't trust Dumbledore to do anything, not when it was possible Snape had been investigating under his orders and nothing had been done. "I'll see what I can do." Maybe the house-elves could help.
They didn't have to wait very long.
…
12 hours left, tick tock, tick tock...
Shikamaru was walking with the other three, when there was a small pop, and a slip of paper appeared in front of his face.
Tomorrow.
It burst into flames as soon as he read it. He recognized the writing as the thin chicken-scratch of one of the house-elves from the kitchens. He frowned and turned to the others, who were looking at the spot where the paper had appeared in shock.
"It's tomorrow," he said. They started and shifted their gazes to him. "It's happening tomorrow. Quirrell will probably do it at night, after curfew."
"How'd you know? And what was with that paper?" Ron asked.
"That isn't important right now," Shikamaru said firmly. It had been surprisingly easy to get the house-elves to spy on Quirrell. They hadn't liked the feel of him either, and when Shikamaru had explained the potential danger to Hogwarts's occupants and integrity, they had become determined to aid however they could. But he didn't want anyone to know of their part in everything yet, just in case. House-elf abuse was serious, and he didn't like their chances against a professor at an esteemed school like Hogwarts.
"Right, so we just tell Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said. They set out to do just that, only-
"What do you mean, 'he's not here'?" Harry asked, panic lacing his voice. McGonagall raised an eyebrow.
"He has a meeting with the Minister of Magic, Mister Potter," she said. "He will most likely be gone until tomorrow."
Shikamaru ran through a number of curses in his mind. Of all the times to be gone…
Harry seemed to be of the same mind, for he scowled furiously.
"Whatever it is can wait, I assure you," Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"Look-!" Ron's frantic plea was interrupted by a familiar stuttering voice.
"Is t-there a p-problem, M-Minerva?" Quirrell himself walked up, looking pleased about something, though he tried to hide it.
"Not at all, Quirinus," Professor McGonagall said. "I was just telling some students of mine to relax. Exams are over, after all."
"Of c-course," Quirrell agreed. "W-wouldn't want them t-to overwork themselves, a-after all."
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the man and grabbed the arms of his companions.
"Come on," he muttered. "We need help."
And they did try. For the rest of the day, they tried to contact Professor Snape, but wherever they went, Quirrell, or Peeves or Filch seemed to pop up. The one time they managed to get to the dungeons, they were shooed away by a very irate group of Slytherin seventh years. It was like the universe was conspiring against them, or something (no owls were sent in case Quirrell had thought of that too, and they didn't separate on the agreed idea that being caught alone by a possibly suspecting Professor Quirrell would be a very bad thing, safety in numbers and all that).
"It's no good," Ron said eventually. "We'll have to go it alone."
"That's no good either," Hermione said crossly. "We'll be killed if it really is You-Know-Who."
"We have a day," Harry said reasonably. "I'm sure we can figure something out before then."
Only, they didn't.
Shikamaru was in the first year boy's dorm, dozing on his bed, when a frantic elf popped into it, right next to him. It squeaked at the knife he pulled out from its place perpetually under his pillow, but focused on him.
"You is needing to go, sir!" it said urgently. Fortunately, no one could hear because of his silencing spells.
"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked, pushing through the fog of drowsiness.
"The Bad Man changes his plans! You just hurry! He is already being down there!" it said, tugging on its ears nervously. He swore. It was already almost midnight. Curfew was in full force, and no one would be awake.
"Alright," he said. "Thanks. Go find Professor McGonagall and tell her what's happening."
The elf shook its head.
"Miffy can't, sir. The Bad Man orders the house elves to stay away from the other Professors tonight. We can't disobey such a command from a Professor," it said mournfully. Shikamaru growled as he wrenched aside his bed sheets and threw on a set of robes.
"Fine. Wake Hermione up, and keep Peeves and Filch away from us. I'll deal with Quirrell," he said through gritted teeth (because he couldn't do it alone, no matter how old he was supposed to be). The elf bobbed its head and disappeared. He strode over to Harry and Ron and shook them awake.
"Get up," he said. "Now."
They both jumped up at his commanding voice.
"Shikamaru? What's-" Ron was cut off as he started speaking.
"Quirrell's moving early. He's down there now. Grab anything that might be useful and meet me in the Common Room," Shikamaru said briefly.
He left them scrambling for clothes and marched into the Common Room. There he paced furiously, mind working overtime. Why would Quirrell move early? What could possibly-
Dumbledore.
He would be gone tonight. Which meant that protection was at an all time low.
Shit.
"Shikamaru?" Hermione's sleepy but still alert voice forced his mind away from his whirling thoughts of they were incredibly screwed. "Something woke me up and there was a note to come meet you..."
He nodded curtly.
"Quirrell's moving early. I think it's because Dumbledore isn't here," he said. She gasped and Ron - who had entered the room in time to hear that tidbit - cursed.
"What are we going to do?" she asked faintly. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
"Go after him," he said. She paled visibly, but waited for him to explain. "We don't have time to grab a Professor and explain. He could already have the stone. Which means that we need to get there as quickly as possible-"
"What are you guys doing up?" Neville asked, yawning. "I heard noise."
Shikamaru stopped. He eyed the other boy thoughtfully.
"Go back to sleep," Ron said roughly. Shikamaru raised a hand.
"No," he said. "He can help." He ignored Ron's gaping expression and gave Neville a serious look that caused him to straighten instinctively.
"Neville, I need you to do something that you're really not going to want to do," he said. Neville gulped.
"This is about the thing with Professor Quirrell, isn't it?" he asked. Shikamaru nodded. "Then - then I'll do it."
Shikamaru grinned sharply in spite of his apprehension.
…
45 minutes...ready - setgo...
"I can't believe you sent him to get Snape," Ron whispered as they crept along in the castle. Shikamaru was under several stealth charms, and the other three were under Harry's newly regained (by about a week) invisibility cloak. "Bloke's going to piss himself from fear."
"So you've said. Now shush," Shikamaru said, casting his eyes in all directions. So far, the house-elf seemed to be doing its job, because they hadn't run into anyone. They reached the forbidden corridor in record time, and squeezed into the room with the three-headed dog with utmost care. Oddly enough, there was a harp playing softly (1), but since it seemed to be keeping the dog asleep, no one complained. Unfortunately, this only proved that someone had been there before them.
They dropped through the trapdoor one by one - and were met with an enormous amount of a thick, cord-like, substance, which proceeded to try to strangle the life out of them. Shikamaru swore and jumped away and towards the wall.
"It's Devil's Snare!" Hermione cried, kicking away a piece of plant that tried to circle around her legs. "It must be Professor Sprout's contribution."
"Well, now that we know what it is, maybe we could, I don't know, get rid of it?" Ron snarled, fighting a tendril away from his chest. Harry was struggling to breathe through a small one tightening around his throat, and Shikamaru sliced through another that had attached itself to his leg with a knife.
"They like the cold and dark," Hermione said, obviously thinking furiously.
"So light a fire," Harry choked.
"But we don't have any wood!" Hermione wailed, wringing her hands.
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?" Hermione flushed and pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell and blue flames shot out of her wand. The plant was quick in retreating afterwards, flailing and writhing in an attempt to escape.
"Lucky Hermione knew that spell," Harry said, rubbing his neck.
"Lucky you suggested the fire bit. No wood...honestly," Ron said, shaking his head. The four of them ventured onward, silent in their thoughts. The sound of fluttering wings soon reached their ears as they continued down the passageway, causing them to pause.
"D'you hear that?" Ron whispered.
"Maybe it's a ghost?" Hermione suggested, also whispering. Shikamaru shook his head.
"Sounds...metallic, almost."
They inched into a brilliant lit chamber with hundreds of what looked like extremely shiny birds at first, but upon taking a closer look-
"Keys!" Harry said. "They're keys."
"Let's try the door, I don't fancy getting attacked by large metal objects with wings," Hermione suggested with a shudder. They tried the door, which was locked, and attempted to use a spell to unlock it, which failed.
"Worth a try," Hermione sighed, turning to the keys.
"Brooms," Harry noted, pointing. And indeed, there were three brooms sitting innocently on the floor.
"We'll probably get attacked as soon as we touch them, won't we?" Ron said in a resigned tone.
"Yeah," Shikamaru said with a nod. "Well, have fun. I'll stay in the ground to try and do damage control." The others gave him looks. "What? I'm no good on a broom. I'll use a Freezing Charm to make them stay in place."
"What if Professor Flitwick has done something to protect them?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms.
"I'll think of something. Go, we're losing time," Shikamaru said, pulling his wand out to start freezing the keys in place. "Try to find a big one that looks fairly old." The others sighed and mounted a broom each.
Several frantic, scratch-filled minutes later, the key was through the lock and they were in the next room with...an unconscious troll.
"Glad we didn't have to fight that one," Hermione whispered fervently, absently rubbing where a key had scratched her nose.
"Come on, I can't breathe," Ron said through a handful of his robes. They scurried to the next room, which had a floor of black and white tiles, and was filled with large stone structures. A chess board, then. "We'll have to play our way across," Ron said, echoing Shikamaru's thoughts.
"You take the lead on this," Shikamaru said, studying the board with a critical eye.
"Are you sure?" the former asked doubtfully.
"Yeah. I'm more familiar with shōgi, and while they're similar, they do have a few key strategical differences" Shikamaru said. "And Hermione and Harry aren't as skilled in strategy games like this." Ron nodded.
"Alright then," he agreed bravely. "You take the place of that Rook. Hermione, go in for that Castle, and Harry, you that Bishop." The three quickly moved, taking place of the pieces that seemed to hear Ron's commands and moved out of the way.
"What about you?" Harry asked. Ron grinned tightly.
"I'll be a Knight."
And then the game started. It wasn't particularly slow, but the anticipation made every turn feel like an eternity. The first shock came from the loss of the first Knight. Shikamaru stared in morbid fascination as the White Queen dragged their Knight off the board. He'd seen wizard chess before, but that seemed...excessive.
"Had to let that happen," Ron said shakily. "That leaves you free to take that Bishop, Hermione, go ahead."
It was a merciless game, and while they lost a good deal of pieces, Ron himself seemed to take out just as many of the enemy. Then, they came to a bit of a standstill.
"Let me think..." Ron said, biting his lip as he thought furiously. Shikamaru would have been impressed with his strategic abilities had he not been distracted by the White Queen turning to face his friend. "Yes... it's the only way," Ron said softly. Hermione and Harry protested loudly, but Shikamaru stayed grimly silent. It was an unfortunate necessity, and both of the strategists knew it.
"That's chess!" Ron snapped. "You have to make some sacrifices. I'll let her take me, and that will leave you to take the King, Harry."
"But-"
"Do you want to stop Quirrell or not?" Ron demanded. This stopped the others' protests. "Once I'm down, Harry, take out the King. That should let you go to the other room. Don't look back and don't stop, I'll be fine." And without another word, he stepped forward.
The White Queen brought her arm down on his head, and he collapsed. Hermione screamed, but she didn't move. Harry moved and put the King in checkmate, determined and pale. As soon as the King threw down his crown, all three of them ran towards Ron. Shikamaru checked his pulse. Still there. Thank God. His head seemed to be alright as well.
"He's alive," he said curtly, "but he probably has a concussion. He'll be okay for now."
The other two sighed in relief.
"Right, let's go then," Hermione said, sniffing a little. With one last glance at their unconscious friend, they moved through the door at the other end of the room. In the next room was a long table with a number of bottles sitting on it. As soon as they stepped closer to the table, fire sprang up in front of and behind them.
They exchanged looks. Harry picked up a piece of paper lying on the table next to the bottles and read it through, before handing it to Hermione with a lost expression on his face.
"It's a puzzle," she said in relief. "Many wizards don't have an ounce of logic and would be stuck here forever. Brilliant."
"And we won't?" Harry questioned uncertainly. She smiled.
"Of course not. Just give me a minute," she said. Shikamaru inspected the paper over her shoulder. It was reasonably challenging, and he commended Snape mentally for coming up with it. It made sense to have a man who was the head of Slytherin, and who complained about incompetents on a daily basis, create an obstacle based on logic of all things. While he was musing to himself, Hermione seemed to figure it out, for she suddenly clapped her hands and squealed, "I've got it!"
She proceeded confidently. "The smallest is the one that will enable a forward motion, and the round one will get a person back." Shikamaru looked at the smallest bottle critically, there was barely enough for one person there, let alone three. However...the fact that there was some in there, even after Quirrell had come through, meant that there was most likely a refilling spell in place. Still...no need to endanger lives needlessly.
"Alright, here's what we'll do," he said. The other two looked at him. "One of us needs to go back and try to owl Dumbledore and look after Ron, I vote Hermione." The girl started to protest, but he raised his hand. "Let me finish. I want you to do it because, if you happen to get caught by a teacher, you are the one they are most likely to believe if you tell them about this. Besides, I can handle myself, and Harry is already a target. There's no use in all three of us going.
"Harry, I've deducted that the small bottle probably has a refilling charm on it or something. I'll go first to make the way safe in case there's more traps, and you can follow when the bottle refills."
Harry didn't looked pleased at this idea, but seemed to understand that Shikamaru wouldn't take no for an answer. He gestured for Hermione to go first. She did so hesitantly and drank from the bottle. She shuddered.
"Is it okay?" Harry asked anxiously. She nodded.
"It just - it feels like ice," she said. She gave them each a quick hug, and vanished through the fire with what sounded suspiciously like a sniff. Shikamaru was a bit relieved that she hadn't cried in front of them, he wasn't much good at comforting people; Halloween had been a rare case of him being distracted and apologetic enough to not feel too awkward. He nodded once at Harry and took his own bottle at the return gesture.
Hermione had been right, it was like ice creeping through his veins, but he wasted no time in stepping through the flames. No burning sensation, just a faint tickling one, so everything seemed to be in order. He waited, and not five minutes later, Harry appeared, looking faintly disheveled.
"That was an experience," the other boy said dryly. Shikamaru nodded. He'd done many things in both of his lives, but walking through fire had somehow never made the list. They turned and faced the next chamber. Shikamaru sighed and palmed a knife.
"I really hate it when I'm right," he said.
Quirrell looked back at them with a cold disinterest, nothing like the stuttering mess of a man he had previously portrayed.
"I see," he said coolly. "So you did suspect me."
"Yeah. For over half the year," Harry answered flatly.
"Interesting. I would have thought Severus would be a more suspicious person, what with his constant hovering and uncanny similarities to an overgrown bat. But, either way, I am here, and you can't stop me. So, be good children and stay silent. I'll make your deaths quick once I've finished," Quirrell said dismissively. He shot ropes out of his wand that bound the two tightly.
When he turned around, Shikamaru used his knife to cut through his bindings, ignoring Harry's shock at seeing the weapon.
"Now, how do I get the stone? The mirror is obviously the key, and I see myself presenting it to my master, but how...?" the professor muttered as Shikamaru shifted over to cut Harry's ropes. "Is it inside the mirror? Should I break it? Help me, Master!"
And to both of the first-years' horrors, another voice spoke, "Use Potter...use him."
"Yes, come here, Potter-" Quirrell turned around, only to get a knee to the crotch, courtesy of a certain ninja who was feeling completely done with the whole business of evil egomaniacs targeting innocent children. The professor doubled over, and Shikamaru wasted no time in seizing the man's wrist, breaking it to make him drop his wand, which he did with a shouted curse.
"Kill him..." the other voice hissed furiously.
"Of course, Master," Quirrell gasped, trying fruitlessly to escape Shikamaru's grasp. Shikamaru, unimpressed, brushed off his attempts, twisted his arm behind him, and kicked his knee in, sending him to the ground.
"Harry, grab his wand and toss it into the fire for me," Shikamaru said calmly, sending the man sprawling with a foot to the back (maybe he was overdoing it a bit, but he was going to give this man hell for trying to kill his friend, and for being evil, and for the majority of this year's stress). Harry dutifully did as told, with a small amount of unholy glee.
"NO!" Quirrell bellowed, scrambling up. It was too late; the wand vanished in a flare of magical fire, and a small explosion.
"Shut up and be quiet while we wait for the professors like a good criminal," Shikamaru said blandly, holding him by the wrist in an awkward position. Then, Quirrell did something a bit surprising. He twisted out of Shikamaru's grip, wrenching his shoulder in the process, and then lunged and managed to grab Shikamaru's wand handle. He swiftly retreated, panting, with malice painted across his face. He pointed it at Shikamaru, who carefully watched him.
"Now, you pay," the man said, breathless with pain. Shikamaru scowled. He should have just killed him at the first chance. He hadn't because Harry had been present, but with the way things were going, he was probably going to regret not doing so. He stepped out of the way of a spell and inwardly cringed at the resulting explosion behind him.
That would have hurt.
Quirrell continued to throw spell after spell at him, growing increasingly frustrated at his continued misses.
"Stand still, damn you!" the man shouted angrily.
"And let you hit me? I'll pass, thanks," Shikamaru shot back acerbically. Then, the man adopted a crafty expression that set warning bells off in the boy's head.
"If I can't hit you, then Potter will have to do!" the man crowed viciously. He aimed his wand at Harry, who had chanced a quick glance at the mirror and was smartly staying out of the way, and who then looked over in surprise - and who was also in no position to dodge. Shikamaru swore and forced chakra to his legs.
He made it in time to shove Harry aside and get hit in the chest with a spell that knocked the wind out of him and temporarily paralyzed him at the same time (and yeah, those were probably cracked or broken ribs... fantastic). He mentally berated himself, because of course the man would target Harry, and he honestly should have expected as much.
"Shikamaru!" Harry yelped. He moved to come closer stopped when Shikamaru shook his head.
"Back off," he said through gritted teeth. "Don't let him get you too."
"Yes," Quirrell drawled, walking towards the immobilized boy. "Do keep away. Would hate for you to undo all of my hard work." He hauled Shikamaru up and pressed the wand (his wand, damn it) to his temple. "Now, the stone, if you don't mind. You'll obtain it from the mirror, and I from you, and I might just let you live," the man said triumphantly.
…
Present
And now, here they were, with a spell fast approaching Shikamaru's brain at an uncomfortable speed, and Harry moving. He'd heard that a person's life flashed before their eyes before they died. Clearly, whoever had coined that had lied. Shikamaru only experienced a feeling of resignation and relief that at least Harry was alive for now, before Harry displayed inhumane speed that he had never before showed the potential for, and moved. One moment Shikamaru was on his way to becoming a body on the ground, and the next he was on the ground, but his head was intact and Harry had tackled Quirrell's stomach - thankfully too low for the spell to hit him, and Quirrell was screaming as Harry made contact with bare skin on his arm.
And then the man was flailing wildly, shooting off spells left and right and center as the stench of burning flesh filled the air, and the other disembodied voice was filling the air with furious and frantic shrieks and Harry looked to be in immense pain, but he held on, and Shikamaru was avoiding spells while also trying to end the damn bastard already - and then he was hit with a stray spell that sounded strangely like 'crew-she-oh' and his world became pain and he couldn't think-couldn'tbreathecouldn'tmove and someone was letting out pained noises in an attempt to keep from screaming that might have been him and he could taste blood but he couldn't focus because all he knew was pain - and there were voices yelling, shouting, shrieking ("KILL THE BOY!") - then everything stopped.
Panting, Shikamaru looked up from the fetal position he had curled into, and he noticed two things. The first was that Quirrell was quite clearly dead, nothing more than ash and blisters. The second was that Harry was unconscious and barely breathing. Shikamaru stood up, ignored the way his body protested violently at the action, tensed his muscles and slowly made his way over to the other boy. He reached a hand shaking with tremors to Harry's neck, and let himself slump in relief at the pulse that beat, weakly, but it was still there. Footsteps made him while around, biting back a groan as his abused body shrieked. It was Professor Snape and...Headmaster Dumbledore? (3) The pair of them stepped closer, and stopped. Shikamaru belatedly realized that he had risen to his feet and had raised his wand (when had he reclaimed that?), and that, in spite of the fact that his body was on the point of collapse and his arm felt like lead, his aim was steady and he figured his expression was unreadable and vaguely threatening.
The Headmaster raised his hands in surrender.
"We don't mean you any harm," he said gently. The wand didn't move. Somewhere in the back of Shikamaru's mind, a voice was telling him how completely idiotic he was being, but he was keyed-up and in pain, and those old reflexes were coming to light and he couldn't be bothered with wrestling down the instincts that had saved his life so recently. Frankly, he didn't trust the Headmaster enough, subconsciously, to trust him at his word, especially dialed up to eleven like he was.
"Mister Potter needs medical aid, and I don't think I would be wrong in saying that you do as well," Dumbledore continued. The wand lowered (and how could he have forgotten that the eerily still boy behind him needed help?), and then was down entirely. Both men moved forward swiftly, and Snape was at Shikamaru's side while Dumbledore was similarly positioned with Harry. Both discarded Quirrell's body entirely.
"What were you hit with?" Snape asked, giving the boy a cursory inspecting glance. Shikamaru blinked, and then old habits kicked in, and he pushed the pain to the back of his mind to give an answer.
"Some kind of paralysis spell, and something that started with a 'C' that caused each of my nerves to feel immense pain," he reported monotonously. Robotically. The man drew in a breath and examined Shikamaru's eyes. Then, he scowled.
"Can you walk?" he asked. Shikamaru hesitated, but shook his head. As much as he didn't like being touched in any manner, he also had the brain capacity to realize that he probably wouldn't make it out of the room, much less the Hospital Wing, without collapsing. And that was something he really didn't feel like doing.
Snape nodded, and without another word, reached down and picked him up and proceeded to carry him in a princess hold.
Shikamaru would have been a bit embarrassed at any other time, but he was in too much pain to care. Snape looked down at him, and something seemed to soften just a little bit in the man's expression.
"Rest, Mister Nara," he ordered. "You will not come to harm with Headmaster Dumbledore and myself here."
So Shikamaru obeyed and drifted off. His last memory was of Harry being too limp and pale in Dumbledore's arms, and a weight settling upon him when he realized just exactly who had ended Quirrell's life.
…
He was out of it for a while. He would hear snippets of conversation when he awoke, but he never stayed awake for long.
"-Unforgivable on a child! How dare-"
"...longer than a minute. Incredibly strong boy..."
"... Potter? Did he really kill Quirrell?"
"...self defense, anyone will tell you..."
Shikamaru woke up for the final time days after the ordeal, hungry, stiff, and sore. His muscles felt like they had been tenderized and then charred on an open flame.
Seemed about right.
"You're awake!" A woman bustled into his vision, and he registered her as the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey. "I was wondering if I would have to move you to Saint Mungo's."
"How long have I-" Shikamaru started, when his voice caught and he started coughing violently.
"Careful now," she said sternly, handing him a glass of water. "I didn't patch you up just so you could go and strain yourself. You've been here for three days. Your friends are quite worried, about you and Mister Potter both."
"Harry." Shikamaru's befuddled brain latched onto the name like a lifeline. "How is he?" The nurse regarded him carefully.
"We had a near miss at the beginning, but he is recovering wonderfully. He will be fully healed in no time." Shikamaru felt relief rise up in his chest - or maybe that was just his ribs healing. "You, however, were hit with an Unforgivable. You were under that spell for over a minute, and you might have residual mental and physical damage. You will stay for observation for the next week at least," the woman continued.
Shikamaru didn't complain. He might later on, but the pain in his ribs just spiked again, and he merely relaxed further into his pillow. Madam Pomfrey handed him a goblet a third full of potion without another word.
"Some Dreamless Sleep for you," she said. He thanked her and drained it.
He was pulled into another few hours of peaceful sleep, before the opening of a door roused him. He didn't open his eyes, instead choosing to find out who it was first. Another perk of being a ninja - fake sleeping to fool even the most observant of people. He had been trained to wake up without a shift in breathing pattern or a twitch. For all intents and purposes, he was dead to the world. There were about twenty minutes of silence before the person in the bed beside his - Harry - stirred.
Shikamaru listened to their conversation, at first with disinterest, and then disbelief as Dumbledore didn't address the loss of life. Yeah, Quirrell was an evil son of a bitch that deserved worse than he got, but Harry was eleven and there was no way he wouldn't be getting nightmares about this.
Accordingly, Shikamaru waited until the visitors were gone - that included Ron and Hermione because, as well meaning as they were, he didn't feel a lot like socializing - and Madam Pomfrey was in her office before going back to sleep again. On the second day in the Hospital Wing, Harry was just talking out loud, when Shikamaru decided to turn over and face a surprised Harry.
"You're awake?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, have been," Shikamaru said. He checked to make sure Madam Pomfrey was listening to her station, and then turned to his friend. "How are you?"
"Fine, mostly," Harry said. "A little overwhelmed. There was just so much happening and...I dunno. I feel a little...dazed, I guess, even a few days later."
Shikamaru nodded but let him continue.
"So, Quirrell. I, uh, didn't want to talk to Dumbledore about this, but... he's dead, isn't he?" Harry asked, looking down at his bed.
"Yes." Shikamaru watched his friend carefully.
"And I killed him, right?" Harry continued, still not meeting his friend's gaze.
"Yes."
"Is...is it wrong that I don't regret it? I-I didn't want to kill him, but I'd rather it was him instead of you," Harry said.
"I won't tell you whether it was wrong or not, that's your decision," Shikamaru said slowly. "But...you didn't enjoy it, right?" He almost regretted asking the question at the look Harry shot him.
"Of course not! I didn't - I'd never-" the boy said, looking horrified at the idea.
"There you go," Shikamaru interrupted. "As long as you don't enjoy it, you aren't in danger of becoming evil. You'll never forget it, and you shouldn't, but you shouldn't dwell too much over it either. You were defending someone, and you didn't have many options. I would have done the same in your position - so would anyone else, I'm sure."
Harry was so relieved that Shikamaru felt something in his heart tug painfully. He'd lost his own innocence long ago, and while he didn't like killing anymore than his first time, he was also desensitized enough that it wouldn't bother overly much to do so. Such was the life of a ninja. Either shape up or ship out, and the former included getting over the knowledge that killing would become fairly regular.
No one had held his hand, and after Shikamaru's first few kills, during which he had spent nights throwing up into the toilet, he had gotten used to it and had stopped being sick. He didn't want that to happen to his friends, so he would try and keep the darker aspects of life from them as long as possible.
"Thanks," Harry said gratefully. Shikamaru nodded. "So, you sound like you know a lot...have you...you know...?"
"Killed someone?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry nodded. Suddenly, Shikamaru felt tired and lonely. Here he was, in a society so different from his own that people were taken aback, horrified, even, by the end of a human life at the hand of another.
Some of his weariness must have shown on his face, for Harry said tentatively, "You don't have to tell me, sorry, I was just wondering..."
"It's fine. Yes, I have. More than once, and not all for something as noble as self-defense either," Shikamaru said. There was no bitterness in his voice, nothing to indicate previous sleepless nights and sick hours spent in front of the toilet. Harry didn't ask anything else, even though it was clear he wanted to, and the Hospital Wing was left in a pensive silence. (4)
...
Shikamaru was exhausted, and he didn't even have a decent reason for it, considering he had spent the past few days in the Hospital Wing. But, all everyone wanted to do was talk about how Quirrell was evil and how he and Harry and Hermione and Ron were heroes, but they didn't seem to realize that Shikamaru just really wanted to let sleeping dogs lie and to never talk about it again, let alone with near strangers who'd been sleeping when it had all gone down. It was how particularly hard missions were dealt with, and it was how things should have been here, but no one was getting the memo.
Neville had run into trouble on his venture to get Snape (Peeves and Filch and the Bloody Baron), which was why the man had been so long in coming. Still, there was no lasting harm done, and everyone seemed to think he had been pretty brave to go on an errand at midnight. So, when at the feast points were given to him for facing his fears and loyalty to his friends, mostly everyone clapped and meant it.
Shikamaru straight up refused to accept points for his part in the whole thing, on account of: why the hell would anyone be rewarded for breaking over a dozen school rules and endangering lives? He ended up getting Professor Snape to take away the points beforehand so that his points would count for nothing. The professor was only too happy to oblige.
The year ended relatively peacefully, with Shikamaru warning people off on pain of he would do something painful and embarrassing if they didn't piss off about the questions already. Harry thanked him, later on, and stated that he hadn't liked the attention and probably never would. There went the attention-seeking theory that Shikamaru just knew Snape still had.
Unfortunately, the end of the year also meant a return to the orphanage.
"You can come visit any time," Hermione said the day before their departure at breakfast, giving him her address. "Mum and Dad wouldn't mind, especially since you're so smart and have been raised near muggles."
"Yeah, my Mum would enjoy having you over, and the twins would love it," Ron agreed through a mouthful of eggs. "Even Percy doesn't mind you, since you're so studious and you took down a corrupt professor."
"All these people want my company. Must be my charming personality and dashing looks," Shikamaru said with a smirk. They only laughed at him. Jerks.
Harry - who had been noticeably subdued for the past few days (and not without good reason) - spoke up unexpectedly, "I'd invite you over, but the Dursleys don't take too kindly to...wizards, or magic in general, really."
"I wouldn't want to be around them either," Shikamaru said, "I might not be able to suppress the urge to react violently in their presence. Going to jail would be too troublesome; someone has to be the brains of this messed up operation."
Harry snickered at the scandalized looks of Hermione and Ron, and Shikamaru felt satisfaction at having effectively lightened the mood up. He'd be fine, and he had an enormous list of plans for the summer already. Neville tentatively offered his place as well, giving a warning about his rather forceful grandmother, and Shikamaru barely kept from giving a statement about violence towards Neville's relatives as well.
He had not forgotten the statement at the beginning of the year about his friend being dropped out of a window as a child. It seemed wizards really didn't have common sense. They apparently also didn't know human anatomy very well, since they clearly didn't know that the neck was fragile and breakable.
The train ride back to London was too short, but they made the most of it with cards and snacks and talking. At the station, the twins pulled Shikamaru aside with serious and mischievous looks on their faces (and how was that even possible?).
"Now, owl us if anything happens," George said sternly.
"Yeah, we will certainly be doing the same with our new owls. What was the address of your orphanage again?" Fred added, their two owls twittered goodbye to Hypatia, who bore it all stoically. Shikamaru felt his mouth twitch up in a faint smile, and gave his address again. After a farewell, he turned to his other friends. Mrs. Weasley greeted him warmly, as if they had known each other for all of his life, and she received his polite but sincere gratitude for the sweater with a smile. He also met Hermione's parents, who seemed a little relieved that at least one of her friends was normal (relatively, since he was neither a pure blood wizard nor a celebrity). If only they knew that he was the strangest of the bunch.
And then Harry's uncle came, and the friendliness was gone, replaced by cold disdain. He didn't say anything though, not wanting to make Harry's life harder than it had to be. Shikamaru did extract a promise of monthly reports from the boy, though, so maybe it would all be okay.
And finally, he turned to where there would be a line of taxis.
He had a lot of work to do before the next year, and while his friends would be relaxing, he knew that he would be busy in the coming months.
His life was finally getting started, and he was more motivated than ever. He would later wonder when he had started acting so differently. Damn Gryffindor mentality of charging into things head first was affecting him.
Ah, well, it wasn't like his summer could be more troublesome than his school year, right?
End of Book 1
Charms (Spells):
Freezing Charm (Immobulus): This makes its target unable to move and, interestingly enough, disables electronic devices.
Cruciatus Curse (Crucio): Unforgivable that causes target to experience great pain and agony; has been known to drive people insane when used for too long.
(1): I distinctly remember this being a thing in the movies, and since they didn't ask Hagrid about Fluffy, this is how it's going down. Shouldn't take stuff from the movies too often.
(2): This happens because Harry is eleven years old and Dumbledore tells him that risking his life is brave and commendable (like...what the hell was he thinking?), and this should have been done in the original series because that's Harry's killed someone, unintentional and in self defense as it was (children are delicate), and there is no way that Shikamaru would let that fly. Like, as I was writing this, I had the realization that it was just brushed over and never mentioned again. Sorry, JK Rowling, but I'm pretty sure this shouldn't have just been glossed over.
A/N: Book 2 out soon, probably the beginning of next week
✧\(o)ﾉ✧
Keep an eye out for Book 2.
RECOMMENDATIONS: (Tell me if you like them and have any of your own)
Five Classmates Who Surprised the Hell Out of Him - Sammery: (N) A oneshot with some introspection on Shikamaru's part. It's pretty nice, rated K+, and it's a little fluffy.
Almost Paradise - cywsaphyre: (HP) Very nicely done three-shot about Harry visiting an alternate universe where things are very much better off than his own world. It's a bit angsty, but I love it to pieces and have probably reread it five times. Rated T for violence and hurts.
Someone Worthwhile - InkMaster27: (N) This is a multi-chapter NaruHina fic that is in a modern AU where, instead of ninjas, there are gangs. Everyone is present. It's been rewritten, and I love it. Also present is ShikaTema! Rated T for violence and language (it's Naruto, and gangs...no explanation needed).
Changes to Chapter 9:
Shikamaru takes two (2) part time jobs because I did not research England's minimum wage during the 90's last time, and now I feel a bit silly for assuming he could save much with only one job at a time. Thus, voila, waiter!Shikamaru as Winston!
Shikamaru, instead of scaring Malfoy because I felt it would be redundant at this point, ensures a more permanent solution by teaching Neville some hand-to-hand defense, drilling him on strategy and situational awareness, and teaching him some higher level hexes and jinxes, because forget all of you, Neville should have had more moments to shine in canon.
Changed Shikamaru's talk to the Gryffindors a bit
Neville finally gets one-up on Malfoy. It's not prominent, but it's mentioned, and I'll try to keep the effects of that going.
Fixed some details and OOC issues