A/N: *laughing maniacally* IT'S HERE! IT'S FINALLY HERE! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Freakin' man, freakin. WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG SAXI????? Heh heh. I bet you guys all hate me now, huh? I would too, don't worry. It's just school, you know the story. I love you guys all so much, for staying with me! And not leaving me! I've kept you waiting long enough! Enjoy!
Dear Ron,
I have only just heard (from no less a person than the Minister of Magic himself, who has it from your new teacher, Professor Umbridge) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect.
I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and must firstly offer my congratulations. I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the "Fred and George" route, rather than fallowing in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility.
But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post. Hopefully you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions. From something the Minister let slip when telling me you are now a prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Harry Potter. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger of losing your badge more than continued fraternization with that boy. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this - no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledore's favorite - but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts much longer and the people who have a very different - and probably more accurate - view of Potter's behavior. I shall say no more here, but if you look at the Daily Prophet tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing - and see if you can spot yours truly!
Seriously, Ron, you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter, it could be very damaging to your future prospects, and I am talking her about life after school too. As you must be aware, given that our father escorted him to court, Potter had a disciplinary hearing this summer in front of the whole Wizengamot and he did not come out of it looking too good. He got off on a mere technicality if you ask me, and many of the people I've spoken to remain convinced of his guilt.
It may be that you are afraid to sever ties with Potter - I know that he can be a unbalanced and, for all I know, violent - but if you have any worries about this, or have spotted anything else in Potter's behavior that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a really delightful woman, who I know will be only too happy to advise you. I have also heard that four new students have joined your year. Yes, I heard only bits about them, but I gather that they are not people you want to fraternize with as well, as- I believe- they side with Potter. One of them, I believe it was a girl, has been said to be vile and foul-mouthed. That is not something you want being around you as a prefect. I advise you to tread carefully around them Ron, you do not know who or what they might be.
This leads me to my other bit of advice. As I have hinted above, Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over. Your loyalty, Ron, should not be to him, but to the school and the Ministry. I am very sorry to hear that so far Professor Umbridge is encountering very little cooperation from the staff as she strives to make those necessary changes within Hogwarts that the Ministry so ardently desires (although she should find this easier from next week - again, see the Prophet tomorrow!). I shall say only this - a student who shows himself willing to help Professor Umbridge now may be very well placed from Head Boyship in a couple of years!
I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. It pains me to criticize our parents, but I am afraid I can no longer live under their roof while they remain mixed up with the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore (if you are writing to Mother at any point, you might tell her that a certain Sturgis Podmore, who is a great friend of Dumbledore's, has recently been sent to Azkaban for trespass at the Ministry. Perhaps that that will open their eyes to the kind of petty criminals with whom they are currently rubbing shoulders). I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of association with such people - the Minister really could not be more gracious to me - and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nation of you parents' beliefs and actions either. I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realize how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes.
Please think over what I have said most carefully, particularly the bit about Harry Potter and the four students, and congratulations again on becoming a prefect.
You brother,
Percy.
Harry looked up at Ron, "Y'know…" he said, trying to make it seem at though the letter were a joke, "if you want to sever ties with me, I promise I'll try not to get violent." he grinned.
Sakura felt like she had to laugh at that, and she thought that Naruko would too, but when she looked over at her friend to see what she was doing, Naruko looked furious. "Naruko," she said curiously. "Are you…alright?" she asked.
Whatever Sasuke had been doing before, he wasn't now. He was staring at Naruko who he saw was furious for some reason. "Naruko, what's wrong?" he asked seriously.
Naruko stood from her chair and angrily strode over to Harry, snatching the letter out of his hands. Harry's eyes went wide. "So your brother thinks I'm 'foul-mouthed', does he?" she said, raising her voice. "I think I'll show that pompous bastard what the hell foul-mouthed means! That was the brother you said left your family? What a little bitch he is! Calling me 'foul-mouthed'! Who does he think he is? And what? Are we dangerous? Last time I checked me a my friends were-"
Sakura bit her bottom lip, she was going to give up their secret! Would Sasuke be fast enough? What would happen?
Naruko caught herself. Everyone stared at her. She almost gave the secret up, that would have been messy. She looked at Sakura who was shaking her head as quickly and a still as she could. Naruko bit her bottom lip, "Me and my friends were just new students just trying to get around! It's not my fault that Pepto-Bismol is an evil little witch abusing her students!"
Sakura sighed to herself in relief, She caught herself… She looked over at Sai and Sasuke who both appeared to be thinking the same thing. "Aa...amari ni mo sessen datta... (Ah…that was too close…)"
Harry just happened to catch a glimpse of the relived faces of the other three while he also saw Naruko giving them a sheepish and apologetic look. They were up to something, it was either that, or they had a really big secret to hide. But what? What would four new students have to hide? If they were even students at all, that is.
For now, Harry would pay no serious mind to it, but if they made him more suspicious than he had to be, then he would just have to ask them what was going on. That was all he could do. He sighed, turning to gaze at the fire while Hermione was lecturing Ron on their essays for astronomy class.
"…it's ice, not mice, Ron, and- Harry?" Hermione said, looking at Harry who was crouching down on the rug in front of the fire, gazing closely into it.
"Err- Harry?" Ron said uncertainly, "What are you doing?" he asked.
Seemingly coming from nowhere, Naruko was gazing into the fire next to Harry as well. "What're you looking at?" she asked curiously, glancing around in the fire, trying to find some point of interest in in it.
Harry blinked at her in reply for a moment, not knowing how she appeared next to him so fast, she'd been sitting next to Sasuke on the couch a couple of yards away… Anyway, "I just saw Sirius's head in the fire." he said calmly. He knew what he saw, he wasn't crazy. Plus, the previous year, he'd had an encounter with Sirius's head popping up in the fire, so he was pretty sure about himself.
"Oh no, I don't think Sirius would do that now, it's to dangerous." Hermione explained. "And he knows he shouldn't - Sirius!" she exclaimed, catching a glimpse of his head as well. She gazed at the fire and Ron dropped his quill. Naruko was gaping at the fire as was Sakura. Was his head dismembered?
Sure enough, there was Sirius's head in the middle of the dancing flames, grinning back at them.
Sai stared blankly at the fire with the man's head in it. He turned to Sasuke, "Really?" he said flatly. "What else are they going to come up with, sports on broomsticks?" Sasuke didn't reply.
"I started to think that you all went to bed before anyone else did." Sirius explained, "I've been checking almost every hour."
Harry gave a laugh, "You've been popping in every hour?" he asked.
"And you weren't caught?" Hermione said in a somewhat disapprovingly.
Sirius chuckle, "I believe a first-year girl caught a glimpse earlier," he explained, Hermione, in reaction, clasped her hands to her mouth, "but then before she could do a double-take, I was already gone." he said hastily in reply to Hermione's reaction, "She must've have thought she was seeing things."
"Oh, but Sirius, you do know you're taking quite a big risk-" she began.
"You're sounding like Molly." he replied. "This was the only way to answer Harry's letter without using a code that would eventually be broken."
At the mention of Harry writing a letter to Sirius, Ron and Hermione looked at him. "You never told us you wrote to him!" Ron said accusingly.
"It slipped my mind." Harry replied.
While they entered a conversation slash argument about the dangers of sending letters to Sirius, he called the four Shinobi over.
"Alright, listen up you four." he said seriously. They all sat around the fire to listen carefully, "I've some news that may be disturbing to you from your Hokage."
Sakura and Naruko looked at each other anxiously.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked just as serious.
"It's about Orochimaru. That man that tried to destroy your village." he explained.
Hearing this, Naruto grasped Sasuke's wrist tightly, digging her nails into it without realizing it. Sasuke didn't seem to mind. "What do you have to tell us?" he asked shortly.
Sirius nodded, getting the okay to tell the information he was sent. "We received a hawk from your village with a message attached to it. It was from Tsunade. She said that an Anbu had discovered Orochimaru's most recent hide out, there was evidence that he had resided there until the day before it was discovered.
"There were a few prisoners and servants there and Tsunade said they were just lucky enough to capture one that had a close connection to Orochimaru. She stated that they captured him and brought him back to the village for interrogation. Although the man wouldn't say anything at first, once the Torture and Interrogations Specialist, Ibiki Morino got a hold of him, the servant spilt." he explained quickly. Then he flashed a glance in Harry's direction just to make sure that the boy wasn't listening.
When he saw that Harry was still distracted, he continued, "Apparently, Orochimaru and his right-hand man, Kabuto Yakushi had left saying they were going to visit an 'old friend'. When asked about who this person might be the servant mentioned something about leaving the country and going to Europe. As of right now we can only surmise that he was headed here, coming to see Voldemort."
Sai shook his head to himself. They could only assume? With a man, more like a nonhuman, like Orochimaru, "assuming" wasn't good enough. This could be serious. Tsunade probably had more in the letter, he was sure of it, but Sirius was probably only mentioning the parts he thought were important which wasn't the way any professional Shinobi did it. All details had to be read, and if not, then it would be like not reading any of it at all. Sai guessed that when it came to being careful, Shinobi topped wizards.
Naruto shook her head with carefully hidden fury, "I don't want to be rude, but 'surmising' isn't good enough for me, not when it comes to this man. I need to know Sirius, is he really here or not?" The other three members of the team stared at Naruko. Her face showed a fierce expression and her eyes were glossy. It had "hate" written all over it.
Sirius was about to reply when the trio turned back to face the fire.
Damn…what bad timing… Naruko thought irritated.
"It's not like there was any possible way that the interceptors could've gotten any information out of it, right Sirius?" Harry said, defending himself from anymore of Hermione's lecturing.
"No, it was very well coded." Sirius smiled as if he never mentioned anything to the four Shinobi about any danger. "But that's beside the point. We better be quick, so to keep all explanations short - your scar." he started. "I know it must not be fun when it hurts, but we can assume-"
There he goes with the assuming again… Sai thought.
"-that it's really nothing to worry about."
Harry began to reply and that's when Naruko tuned it out. She stood from the fire, turning away to go sit down. Sirius risked flashing her a quick glance and could see several expressions pass over her face. Anger…fear…anxiousness, hate, worry. He could tell Naruko was very serious about finding this man and keeping him from doing anything to harm anyone.
On her side, Naruko felt like she was going to explode, it was a horrible, terrible feeling. All this anger, which seemed like so much lately, was going to make her explode into a frenzy in which no one could stop her from harming, and possibly killing someone. It wasn't very healthy, believe her, she knew, but it was just so hard for her to contain it. Just the sheer thought of that molester trying to get his filthy hands on Sasuke once again was enough to push her over the edge.
She tried to calm herself, this wasn't about her, not now anyway. She had a mission to carry out and for now, that's all she could do. It's not like she could abandon the mission for her own selfish reasons to go and hunt down that sick bastard. Besides, revenge was not the road to take, Naruto knew that only too well with his experience with Sasuke. How it tore people up- how it ate at them from the inside. How it destroyed them. That wasn't something he wanted so early in his life right now.
Sasuke watched Naruko sitting in the love seat staring at the ceiling. Just by looking at her, he could tell she had so much going on in her mind right now. She had so much anger, turmoil, hate. It was unusual, because Naruto wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't like Sasuke, who had taken the road of revenge only to find out his aniki had reasons that were loophole free, no, that wasn't Naruto at all. Sasuke himself knew how tempting the road of revenge was, because he'd been weak enough to take it, all it did for him was cause him more pain. That was something he didn't want for Naruto.
Yes, Sai was really that good. He could read both Sasuke and Naruko like an open book, no matter how stoic they both tried to be, it was useless. They had so much going on in minds, it was hard to keep it obscure. Sasuke was worrying about Naruko who had revenge on her mind. It was so obvious that she hated Orochimaru with a passion and would do anything to get back at him for doing the worst thing possible: taking Sasuke away. On his side, Sasuke would do anything to keep Naruko from trying just that. If it went on, it would eventually turn into a triangle of destruction- and someone would die.
Because Sakura wasn't nearly as perceptive as Sai, she was listening in on the conversation between the trio and Sirius.
"So what kind of lessons does she train you in?" Sirius asked, sarcasm layering his tone, "How to kill half-breeds?"
"No, she's not. She's not teaching us anything. Sirius, she won't let us use magic at all!" Harry said, ignoring Hermione's affronted look.
"We do nothing but read out of the stupid textbook." Ron complained.
"Yes, well, that's not really surprising." Sirius replied, surprise being anything but his reaction. "The latest information we have from the inside of the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want any of the students to be trained in combat."
Harry was incredulous. "What does he think we all plan to do, form some sort of wizard army?" It was crazy, especially for Fudge.
"That's exactly what he thinks. Rather, that's what he's afraid Dumbledore is doing, forming an army strong enough to take on the Ministry." he explained.
"So…Fudge is scared that we're all going to use magic against the Ministry…and that's why we're not allowed to be using magic in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Hermione said, looking absolutely furious.
In the fire, Sirius nodded, "Yes. Fudge believes that Dumbledore will not stop at anything to seize power. He's getting more paranoid by the day. It can only be a matter of time before the arrests Dumbledore on some trumped-up charge."
Hearing this, Sakura thought of Percy's letter. She thought about it for a little while, making small comparisons in her head. While she was doing this the trio and Sirius continued their conversation.
Sai sat on the couch next to Sasuke, looking at it his stoic expression. "So?" he asked.
Sasuke shook his head. "She's just…" He seemed at a loss for words. That was surprising to Sai and way out of character for Sasuke. There has never been a time when Uchiha Sasuke didn't know what to say. Naruko's pain really must be bothering him…or so Sai figured.
"Sasuke, I think you should go get some rest, I'll deal with Naruko, okay?" Sai said with a smile.
The raven looked at him. Well, more like half-glared. It was well known to Sai that Sasuke never trusted him because of the thought that he would like…..molest the sunny little blonde. Which was just a big misconception. Sai would never do that to a fellow member of a team. No, that was Sasuke himself.
"Learn to relax every once in while grumpy. I'm trying to do you a favor here, you know it's something that one does for another." Sai said, smiling all the while.
"That's what I'm worried about." Sasuke said under his breath.
Naruko stood up from her seat, "I'm going to sleep now." she announced. She seemed much happier at this point. "I'll see you guys in the morning!" She definitely felt like venting to herself made her feel a hell of a lot better. She wasn't as angry as she was, but it was still pretty…up there. As she skipped up the stairs she heard a little popping sound, that must've meant Sirius disappeared from the fire.
____
The next morning at breakfast…
"High…Inquisitor?" said Harry darkly. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, his half-eaten toast slipping from his hands.
While Hermione began to read the Daily Prophet out loud, the four Shinobi were reading over another letter from Tsunade.
I see, well, I will find a suitable punishment for Naruto when you return to the village next year. Sai is right, tread carefully around this woman. She has already revealed her character to be violent and controlling. Proceed with caution you four.
Tsunade.
"How's your arm Naruko?" Sakura asked.
Naruko showed it to them. Where it was supposed to say "I must control my temper", was just skin. Nothing was there. Which was to be expected because of the Kyuubi's quick healing abilities. "It's fine. See? Nothing there."
Sai figured that she was still somewhat upset from last night because he knew she was thinking that the rest of her comrades treated her like a little kid who couldn't take care of herself. Though that really wasn't the case with Sai, it was mostly Sakura and Sasuke who babied her. But Sasuke was just overprotective so really it was only Sakura.
"It's alright Naruko, you don't have to get on the defensive side." Sakura said in reply to her friends reaction.
Naruko shook her head, frowning, "Hai, watashi wa ari masen.(Yes, I do.) What do you expect Sakura-chan? You guys are always treating me like I can't take care of myself when I can- I can take care of myself, I can handle myself and everything. If I'm going to be Hokage I have to be like that." she explained. "I'm not mad at you because I know you all do it because you care for me…but please, don't be so…"
"Overprotective?" Sai finished.
She nodded, "Yes please."
Sakura frowned and looked at Sasuke who shrugged then Sai who merely smiled. Had she missed something important?
She's been like this for a while now…ever since we got off the train… Sasuke thought to himself, taking a bite of his toast. What could've happened when she saw Orochimaru at that train station?
Hermione had just finished the article in the paper. She looked up at her six friends, "Now…now we know how we ended up stuck with Umbridge! Fudge passed this…'Educational Decree' and forced her on us! Now he's given her the power to inspect other teachers!" She was breathing fast and her eyes were bright. "Unbelievable…it's outrageous…"
Harry looked down at his right hand, "I know it is," he said. He clenched it upon the table top and saw a faint whit outline of the words that horrid woman had forced him to cut into his skin.
Ron, on the other hand, had a grin expanding on his face.
"What?" Harry and Hermione said together, staring at him. This caught the attention of Naruko and Sakura.
"McGonagall. I can't wait to see her inspection, it's gonna be a laugh." he explained happily. "Umbridge won't know what hit her."
This suddenly turned the trio excited. Hermione jumped up, "Well then, let's go! We should get going if the woman's going to be inspecting Binns' class- we don't want to be late,"
____
Sure enough, Umbridge was in Binns' class inspecting them. That class ended and the seven of them went to Divination together.
"I don't know…" Naruko said for the hundredth time. "I can't remember."
Sasuke sighed, I don't know…this could be important… Even though the Harry and Ron seemed to be taking it as a joke, Shinobi sometimes used their dreams as directions for the future or events happening in the present, like omens. He was trying to get Naruko to remember her dreams about Orochimaru that she'd been having lately, plus he wanted to find a way to rid them of her. He could tell how badly they tortured her…
She sighed, "Sometime's you're in them too…fighting against him or fighting me with him. Sometimes you die, sometimes I die and then rarely, he dies." she explained looking blankly across the misty room. "Sasuke…I don't know how much longer I can bear these dreams, they're- they're leading to awful thoughts. And now that we have 'proof' that Orochimaru's going to be involved in this….it's just getting worse."
The raven sighed, grabbing her hand, "Tonight, before we go to bed, I can perform a genjutsu on you that will keep these bad dreams away. We'll find a way to solve this." he said, reassuring his little blonde. "Between Sakura, Sai, and I, we will find a way."
Coming from him, it made Naruko feel better. At another small table, Sakura and Sai frowned at each other.
"Now, is there anything else about your dreams?" he asked carefully. When a confused look that said yes passed over her face, he sighed.
She took a deep breath, "Well, there are times where- I don't know who he is- this other man is in them too. He looks kinda like Orochimaru…in the way that they are both snakelike. I can see him- well…torturing people, people that we don't know. And then sometimes it seems like the man is looking for something…" she explained.
"Now," began Umbridge, looking up at the taller Professor Trelawney, "you've been in this post, how long exactly?"
The four Shinobi looked up, watching the scene unfold.
Trelawney scowled at her, arms crossed, shoulders hunched. Like she wanted to protect herself as much as possible from being undignified by the inspection. Moments later, she answered in a somewhat resentful tone, "Sixteen years."
Then they began some discussion about generation and the members of Trelawney's family that possessed this "second sight".
Soon, Naruko and Sakura noticed they weren't the only ones watching from their seats. People were listening in from behind their books. Harry and Ron as well.
"I don't understand," said Trelawney, suddenly clutching at her scarf.
"I would like you to make a prediction for me." Umbridge said once again, this time being clear.
The Divination professor seemed quite aghast, "The Inner Eye does not see upon command!" her tone was scandalized. Sai rolled his eyes.
"I see," was the soft reply from Umbridge, scribbling a note on her clipboard.
"I - but - but…wait!" Trelawney said quickly, anger underlying her attempted ethereal tone, "I think- I think I do see something…something dark…You…are in grave danger…" she finished dramatically.
There was a silence in the classroom for a moment. "Lovely." Umbridge said, scribbling something else down. "Well, if that's really all you can do…" The squat woman turned around and left.
"Watashi wa, zen mesu wo katatta. (I told you, a total bitch.)" Naruko said, nodding.
"Nani wo kanojo wa, kurippu boodo ni aru to omou no desu ka? (What do you think she has on that clipboard?)" Sakura asked, their table being next to Sasuke and Naruko's.
Sai was smiling again, "Sate, anata wa dare ka ga kaiko sa reru koto ga wakari masu. (Well, you know someone's getting fired."
"Watashi wa sou omou. (I think so.)" Sasuke shrugged.
____
After another stressful session of Defense Against the Dark Arts with Umbridge, they were sitting in Transfiguration, waiting for McGonagall to enter and start.
Naruko laid her head on her desk, "I don't know how much more of that class I can take…" she sighed heavily.
Sakura huffed in frustration, "It wouldn't be so bad if you learned how to control your temper." she explained. "As much as I don't want to say this, that horrid woman is somewhat right, you do need to learn how to control it."
The blonde gave her a pouting face, "That's not my problem! If she wasn't so damn uptight, I wouldn't be making a spectacle of myself and losing it!" she retorted, "That fluff ball is the cause of my anger!"
That, and those dreams you've been having. Sai thought.
McGonagall marched strait into the classroom, not even acknowledging that Umbridge was in there. "That will do." And with that, silence befell the class, "Mr. Finnigan, if you will, please come here and hand back the homework. Miss Brown, kindly take this box of mice - don't be silly, girl, they won't bite - and give one to everyone."
"Hem hem," said Professor Umbridge, utilizing the same annoying little cough that she had used to interrupt Dumbledore that first night. McGonagall ignored her.
"Alright everyone, please listen - Mr. Thomas, I suggest you not do that again to the mouse, unless you want a detention - most of you have successfully vanished you snails, and even those of you left with a certain amount of shell have a gist of it. Today, we shall be-"
"Hem hem," once again said Professor Umbridge.
"Yes?" Professor McGonagall turned around and everyone saw her eyebrows were so close together, they seemed to form a long and severe line
"I was wondering, Professor, as to weather you received my not telling you of the date and time of you inspec-"
"Obviously I received it, otherwise I would have asked you what you were doing in my class." Then she firmly turned her back on Umbridge. Many of the students exchanged gleeful looks, happy to see that McGonagall wouldn't take any of Umbridge's orders or anything else.
In here, the woman gets whatever she deserves. Sakura thought.
"Now, as I was saying," McGonagall continued, "today we shall be practicing the altogether more difficult vanishment of mice. Now, the Vanishing Spell-"
Once -annoyingly- again, she wa cut off with that "Hem hem,".
"I wonder," McGonagall started loudly and in cold fury, "how you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you're continuously interrupt me? You see, I do not generally allow speaking in my class when I'm talking."
Everyone looked at the professor in pink, waiting to see what she would say in return. But she did not. Professor Umbridge looked as thought Professor McGonagall had just slapped her. She didn't speak, but began to scribble furiously on her clipboard.
McGonagall looked unconcerned and continued with her lesson, "Continuing, the Vanishing Spell becomes increasingly more difficult with the complexity of the animal or object to be vanished. A snail, being an invertebrate, does not present much of a challenge; however, a mouse, being a mammal, offers a much greater one. You know the incantation, now let me see what you can do."
Naruko laughed, "Wo sanshou shi te kudasai deshi ta ka?(Did you guys see that?)"
"I did," Sakura laughed too. "And watashi wa kanojo ni ataisuru to shinji te!(And I think she deserved that!)"
Naruko nodded, "Ron migi ni kare wa, kono kurasu wa omoshiroi koto suru tsumori wa nakatta tosa! (Ron was right when he said this class was going to be funny!)
Then Sakura frowned. Naruko looked at her, "What is it?" she asked.
"Watashi wa choudo kyouju Magonagaru sore ga genin de kaiko sa re nai koto onegatte…" she said. "It already looks like the divination sensei is going to get fired."
Sai took the box that was being passed around and put his vanished mouse in there, then gave it to Sasuke who did the same.
Sai then added his two cents worth, "Kore wa Umbridge no yō ni omoeru wa dare no kanojo wo obiyakashi te iru shobun kibō no josei no ichi shu de aru.(It seems like Umbridge is the kind of woman who would dispose of anyone who is a threat to her.)" he said.
Sasuke nodded, "Sono yō ni mie masu.(It seems that way.)"
The bell rang. As people began to leave the classroom, Harry noticed Umbridge approach McGonagall's desk. He then nudged Ron to look, who in turn nudged Hermione. The three of them unnoticeably fell back to eavesdrop.
On the outside of the classroom door, Sai made his three teammates stop so they could listen as well.
"How long have you been teaching here at Hogwarts?" the pink one asked.
"Thirty-nine years this December," answered Professor McGonagall, brusque and tart.
Umbridge made a note. "Very well, you shall receive your inspection results in ten days' time."
"I can hardly wait." replied the other in a cold and indifferent voice, and she strode off toward the door, "Hurry up you three." Harry could've sworn he saw her give him a little smile.
The four Shinobi left.
___
"Foul, evil gargoyle!" Hermione said later that night in the common room, "We've just got to do something about her."
"I've already suggested poisoning." Ron said grimly, shrugging.
"She's not teaching us anything, we're not learing how to pass our owls. She's taking over the entire school." she said hotly.
And what do you intend to do about it, you powerless human? Sai thought, reading a book. If you're going to complain about something, then you should fix it yourself.
"What do you think we can do about that?" Ron asked, yawing, "The woman's already got the the job, and she's here to stay, Fuge'll make sure of that."
Naruko laid down a card, sighing, "Watashi wa kanojo wo korosu hitsuyō ga ari masu anata ga iu. Shikashi, sono gomi wa watashi desu. (I think you all should just kill her. But, that's just me.""
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Naruko, to omoi masu ga shibō mondai wo kaiketsu suru tame no yuiitsu no hōhō desu.(Naruko, you think killing is the only way to solve an issue.)"
The blonde shrugged, "Kore wa dōsa shi masen yo ne?(It works, doesn't it?)"
"Subete no jikan.(Not all the time.)" Sakura answered.
Sai and Sasuke simultaneously flipped a page in their books.
"We'll just have to teach ourselves." Hermione said, shooting a nervous look at Harry.
"Come off it," Ron groaned, "We've already got enough work to do and now you want us to do this? Me and Harry are already behind on homework - it's only the second week!"
"But this is more important than homework!" Hermione said fiercely. "We need a teacher…a proper teacher, one who's had on-the-field experience battling against the Dark Arts." she said, and then shot another look at Harry.
Naruko, looking up, caught the girl's drift. She shot out of her chair quickly and ran over to Harry, grabbing his arm and throwing it up with hers. Her teammates and Harry's friends looked at her, "I volunteer Harry!" she said happily. "I claim him to be the best candidate!"
Sakura stood quickly, "Naruko, keep it down! Someone's going to hear you." she said.
"Me?" Harry said incredulously, "Why me?"
Hermione half-smiled, "She's right Harry, you're the best candidate for the job."
That's what you were aiming at anyway. Sai flipped a page.
Harry just gawked at his friend.
She rolled her eyes, "Look you're the only one, out of every student in this school that's ever had any real experience fighting against the Dark Arts."
"What have I done?" he asked, still in surprise.
"You know, "Ron cut in, "I don't think I want anyone this stupid teaching me." he said, smirking slightly. "Let's think, first year, you saved the Ston from You-Know-Who. Second year - you battled a giant basilisk with the sword in Dumbledore's office."
"Third year," Hermione took over, "You warded off hundreds of dementors with an amazing Patronus Charm. And last year, you fought off You-Know-Who!"
The whole time they were speaking, Harry was trying to get his word in and Naruko would have helped him if it weren't for her staring at him in amazement. She'd learned a couple of things about the magical world, and some of what Ron and Hermione mentioned, she knew about. Harry had done so much for this world - yet he was just fifteen.
"Listen to me!" Harry said, almost angrily, "Just listen. I know it sounds great when - when you say it like that, but most off that stuff was just luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time and I almost always had help - " But before he could continue and get any angrier, Sai cut in.
"Why don't you just think about it?" he said. "From what these two said, you sound pretty good at what you do," Harry was about to continue, but Sai persisted with a smile, "Don't you know that half of skill is luck?"
"Yeah," Naruko agreed, "Just give it a thought Harry. Besides, no one said you had to do it, right?"
"Sorehodo kare no bijinesu ni todomatte i masu. (So much for staying out of his business.)" Sasuke said, shutting his book and standing. "Look, Harry, you'll never get a kind word from me, ever. So take my advice now, because I'm usually right. If you don't take this chance now, your world could end, and you will regret it. You'll regret not listening to your friends, so I suggest you take this chance to do something good and advance. We all hate that woman, and you know that - she teaches us nothing at all. But you, you've had experience doing this kind of thing. I suggest you put that skill to use and do what you can." he said.
Silence.
Harry took in all of what Sasuke had said.
"He's right." Naruko said softly, "You will regret it if you don't do it now. Please think about it."
A/N: Review please! And go look at my profile for my latest update! Be looking forward to the next chapter for lemon and lime!!