Chapter 10: Japanese Dating?

"Well," Hermione said slowly. "That was certainly...interesting." Ron, Hermione, and Harry had returned from Hogsmeade early, after having gone through most of the village, having a butterbeer or two or ten, and coming back sick.

"Interesting is a good word," Ron said. "But does Kiba always pick fights with strangers?"

"That girl wasn't really a stranger, Ron," Hermione said. "Maybe not directly, but those two somehow knew each other. They said something about Leaf and Sounds..."

"Oh," Harry said. "That! The Leaf is a place and Japan, I think, and so is the Sounds!"

"Ano..."

The Golden Trio jumped at the sound of a shy, white-eyed girl's voice.

"Hinata!" Hermione said. "You surprised us. We didn't hear you."

"S-sorry," Hinata stuttered nervously, blushing. "I'm really sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear you three talking very loudly... Kiba fought with a girl from the Sound?"

"Sound? Yeah," Harry said. "Kiba picked a fight with some girl with a dog. And then Shino made Kiba stop and another guy from the Sound made the Sound girl stop too. So what's with it between you and the Sound?"

Hinata stared at them in fear. Not fear of Harry's question, but from his answer. "R-r-r-really f-fr-from the S-S-Sound? Th-this isn't g-guh-good!" she stuttered, even worse than before. "They're planning something!"

"Planning what?" Hermione asked her. But she was talking to Hinata's back as she ran away.

"Was it something we said?" Ron asked.

They ran after Hinata.

They couldn't seem to catch up with the running girl, but they saw her destination. Hinata ran into the infirmary, past a flustered Madam Pomfrey, who yelled at her to slow down. It was unnecessary though, as she skidded to a stop to speak to a young woman whom Harry and the others had not met yet.

"Sh..Sh...Shizune...san..." Hinata stuttered and panted at the same time.

"Were you running all around the school?" the woman asked.

"Y...y...ye...yeeess..." she said, sliding down to the floor. Shizune scooped her up and placed Hinata into the bed next to a moaning third-year awaiting treatment.

"Catch your breath before you pass out, Hinata," she said, tending to the moaning student's wounds.

"H...Heee...Hiiinaaaa...taaaaaaaa!" Hermione passed out on the floor, soon followed by Ron. Harry looked down at his two friends, his body aching, glad that he had been training with the new students. (remember, Hinata's not physically weak for a ninja...just think about how hard it must have been for the others just to keep up...)

"Kage, what a mess! Four students half-passed out in less then five minutes!" she exclaimed, dragging them all onto a bed.

"Who...are you?" Harry asked her, catching his breath with everyone else.

"Oh, th-this is Sh-Shizune," Hinata said, already breathing normally. She still had a faint stutter though. These new people were way too fit. It was abnormal.

"Now, Hinata, what is it that you were going to say?" Shizune said to Hinata.

"I—"

"Sorry, hold on. You, boy, what on earth happened to your arms?" she asked Harry.

"Oh, um, just training," Harry said.

"Oh..." Shizune said. "...Oooh. I get it. You're Harry Potter! You should have come here whenever you're hurt! I'll heal you right now," she said.

"Erm, no that's okay," Harry said. He remembered what happened last time an inexperienced wizard had tried to heal his injuries. That idiot Lockhart... "I'll just wait for Madam Pomfrey to heal me then."

"Nonsense," Shizune said. "Madam Pomfrey is currently handling a handful of students who were mauled by something called 'scoots'. What they are, I do not know, but I do know that those students are in bad shape and she's tired right now. I assure you, I am definitely qualified enough to handle injuries much more severe than this. Bruises. Even Sakura and Hinata here could heal them during their first month of training! Of course, they're very talented when it comes to things like that! Right, Hinata?"

"Um...I guess..."

"Anyway, I was trained by one of the most famous healers in history," Shizune said proudly. "Tsunade-sama is the greatest!"

"I never heard of her..." Ron said.

"I would expect you to. I'm not from around here."

"Oh, you're one of the new assistants!" Harry said.

"Yes. I was student to Tsunade-sama, one of the three sannins, known for her strength and her healing powers." ...A sannin?

"You're a Healer?" Hermione asked. "But...you're so young!"

"Thank you," Shizune said, "but I am already in my early twenties! I am not so young as you make it sound."

"That is young," Harry said, puzzled by this woman's way of thinking. It was young. Especially for a Healer, who required many years of trainings. After all, look at Madam Pomfrey.

"Well Hinata is younger, and she is very skilled," Shizune said. "Now, Harry Potter, arms out. I'm healing you whether you like it or not."

Harry held his arms out in front of him as she told him to and she placed her hands on them. No wand? This couldn't be good. Her hands glowed green for a brief moment, and when the green light faded away, his arms were completely back to normal without its many bruises. He wiggled his fingers. He still had his bones!

"Now, Hinata, what was it that you ran all the way here for?" Shizune asked. Hinata looked at Harry and the others a brief moment and looked away as she took off her hitai-ate Leaf headband. After that, she began speaking in rapid (or stuttering) Japanese as she explained several things to Shizune who frowned.

"I'll tell everyone else about it," Shizune said, looking a bit worried.

"About what?" Hermione asked.

"Hinata's having boy problems," Shizune said. Hinata looked away and blushed, stuffing her face in a pillow in embarrassment. Hinata's reaction fit perfectly with Shizune's excuse, but it was hard for Harry and Hermione to believe. And Shizune and Hinata knew that Ron, Hermione, and Harry knew that it wasn't true. Still, no one was going to admit anything. "You three don't have anything for me to heal, right? Well, um... I'll just let you guys go then. Er, Hinata and I are going to have a...girl to girl talk."

"Um, can I stay?" Hermione asked. "I'm a girl. And I'm having problems with...boys." It looked like she was going to die just saying it.

"Um, I don't know..." Shizune said. "I don't think Hinata would be comfortable if anyone at all knew who she liked."

"It's Naruto, right?" Hermione asked. "The whole school knows it."

"Th-the whole school?" Hinata eeped.

"She does?" Ron asked. "Well I didn't know that."

Hinata buried her head into the blankets. Nooo...the SCHOOL knew? So did that mean... Naruto does too?

"Don't worry," Shizune said, patting the distraught girl on the back. "Naruto is completely oblivious. Okay, now, all of you, out!"

"Honestly, the way that small woman just shoved us out," Hermione said, rubbing her back, where she landed after Shizune forcibly removed them from the infirmary.

"You'd think that by the way she acted, she would be a lot more conservative, less pushy, and not so strong..." Ron muttered.

"Well I saw that Sakura Haruno hit Naruto and Naruto flew at least fifteen feet," Hermione said.

"And Hinata totally accidentally KO'd Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewt! The lucky girl... Hagrid's so scared for their 'safety', all she has to do is bookwork. And Kiba too."

"Well Kiba passes out whenever he gets too close and smells it," Harry reminded them. "If you think they stink bad to us, think about how bad it must be for him."

"Why would it be worse for him? We're all human?"

"Well, I don't know," Hermione said hesitantly. "He is a bit wolfish at times..."

"You think he's a werewolf?" Ron whispered. "I mean, that dog of his likes him. Maybe it's like Sirius and stuff and his dog is an Animagus."

"Honestly, Ron, just because this situation can be like Sirius's doesn't mean it is," Hermione said. "Just how many unregistered Animagi are running around here?"

"Shh," Harry said. He shook his head. They shouldn't speak so loudly about those things. The Golden Trio headed into the Great Hall for dinner. Several owls were arriving with late-night packages. One particular owl was carrying a large bag of boxes.

"Now, who'd you reckon that belongs to?" Ron asked, looking at the owl that madly flapped its wings half-drag, half-fly itself across the room. After giving out a weak hoot, it dropped the package on Kiba and fell. Fortunately for the owl, Akamaru safely caught it in his large jaws, even if it didn't look so safe. Kiba, on the other hand, was left half-unconscious from the impact of the parcels.

"Are you okay, Kiba?" Hinata asked.

"Who cares?" Ino asked excitedly. "Looks like Naruto came through after all!"

"What is it?" Harry asked them. Ino smiled.

"Look, they got us clothes! Ooh, I knew it. The work of Fujiwara Yoshiko. She's actually the only maker of kimono's in the whole Sand village and they're rare in the Wind Country! And not only that, but she's one of the best in the business too! I knew it. Definitely the work of Sakura and Temari and Gaara."

"Temari and Sakura, I understand," Harry said. "But Gaara?" The creepy Goth guy who remained impartial between other Houses and his own Slytherins?

"H-H-Harry," Ron said, holding up Ino's beautiful purple dress. "Gaara...he's filthy rich! Like you!"

"I'm not filthy..." Harry muttered, feeling rather offended by his friend. He looked down at Hinata's black robes with white petals that matched her eyes.

"Twenty thousand yen on one kimono?" he asked Hinata.

"Um...about two hundred American dollars," Hinata said. "Take off two zeros and that's the cost. I'm not sure about galleons whoever."

"Two hundred," Harry repeated. Was this girl crazy? "But it's just a kimono!"

"One made specially by Yoshiko-sama herself," Ino said. Who was Yoshiko? "She's the best in the Wind Country! Sasuke, Sasuke! Over here! There's a box for you too! And everyone else...but you have one too!"

Sasuke opened the box to find... a plaid tablecloth.

"..." He read the card in it. OWNED! --The Great Uzumaki Naruto! XD (just kidding, don't hit me when I come back...) He lifted the table cloth and nearly sighed out loud in relief. "I thought he was serious," Sasuke muttered, picking up his dark blue hakama. He looked at Ino and the fangirls watching him in the Great Hall. Hermione frowned when she heard him whisper to In, "Meet me in the girl's bathroom later. There's something you should see, but don't bring good clothes."

"Oh, come on, Hermione," Ron said later that night. "Why are you acting all paranoid all of a sudden? There are tons of things they could do in the girls bathroom."

"Oh really, Ron? Like what?" Hermione demanded crossly. Ron blushed.

"Like, well... Sasuke and Ino are sort of going out now, right...?" he stuttered, his ears going red. "It's not strange for...for couples to go into places that... uh, people don't ordinarily... go to. Like the broom closet is a very common place for... for things like that."

"Honestly," Hermione sniffed. "Do you even know what's in the girl's bathroom?"

"...Toilets? Sinks? Stalls? A moaning Myrtle?"

"The Chamber of Secrets," she hissed. "Do you use that brain of yours? Because it might be getting dusty."

Harry looked around in the relatively empty Common room. Akamaru was sleeping lazily in front of the fireplace. Ino and the others were in a corner, whispering. Harry managed to catch a few words that Ino whispered to the other Griffindors, aside from Lee, who was somewhere outside 'training' with his father.

"...I can't...tonight. ...catch him... later..." she said. Hinata frowned.

"...not right... shouldn't do...this," Hinata whispered.

"...for his... good," Kiba said with a grin on his face, similar to that of Fred and George's faces when they were up to something.

"Munch...munch...munch. Gai's gonna...pissed."

"...shouldn't be, but who knows?"

"Anyway, I have to go," Ino said in a slightly louder voice, now that the whisper section was over. Hermione, Ron, and Harry exchanged looks and headed for Harry's trunk where his invisibility cloak lay folded, ready to be used..

"You're going out in that?" they heard Kiba ask.

"Yeah."

"This is some weird date. Don't get caught by Filch."

"Shut up. And I won't. Or else calling myself the most beautiful kunoichi in Konoha would be unjustifiable."

"It is unjusti—ow!"

"Hurry up," Hermione whispered as Ino opened the portrait. They walked quickly under Harry's cloak. Despite their efforts to move silently, the remaining few Griffindors in the room looked around for the sound. Luckily, they didn't look into it and the Golden Trio followed after the blond girl as she left.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Harry said, tapping on the Marauder's Map. Ino was avoiding people surprisingly well for someone without a cloak or a Marauder's map. She completely avoided halls that had people in it, and managed to hide behind something each time a split second before a ghost could float through the walls. Not only that, but she was also able to move as quickly as she did silently.

It took quite a deal of effort for Harry, Hermione, and Ron to keep up with her without any noise at all. It seemed Ino had experience sneaking around. She opened the door and grimaced. Despite the fact that nobody ever used this bathroom, it was still rather dirty.

"Sasuke?"

"It took you long enough," Sasuke muttered. He would have leaned against the wall, in his make-a-good-appearance mode, but they were a bit dirty.

"Sorry, I had plans to get Lee tonight, but he didn't show and there was this, whatever we're doing," Ino muttered.

"Get Lee?" Sasuke asked.

"It's a surprise!" Ino winked at him. "I will change the world! Bwahahahaha..." As Ino laughed, Ron, Hermione, and Harry crept towards a toilet stall.

"..." Sasuke sweatdropped. "Anyway, I was in here, kinda hiding out. I have something to show you," he said, biting his thumb. Hermione made a face when blood leaked from it.

"Masochist," Ron muttered.

"I really don't like that boy," someone on Harry's left said. Wait...if Ron was on Harry's right, and Hermione was on Ron's right, then... WHO ON EARTH WAS ON HARRY'S LEFT?

Harry yelled (quietly), and all three of them jumped away from Myrtle, who seemed to have joined them under the invisibility cloak.

"Who was that?" Ino said, looking around.

"It's probably just Moaning Myrtle, some ghost of a dead girl who died in this bathroom fifty or so years ago," Sasuke muttered. "She haunts the bathroom. A bit irritating, but she can't really do anything to you but complain." Myrtle made a face and shrugged as she floated through the cloak and the stall's door, wailing loudly.

"You're talking about me aren't you?" she cried loudly. "What else were you going to say, I'm annoying? Fat? Loud? Pimply?" Ino, Hermione, Harry, and Ron all winced. How was it that the entire school did not hear this?

"Well, I wasn't going to say it," they heard Sasuke say loudly, "but I sure am thinking it now." He turned to Ino. "Just ignore her, all she'll do is complain or yell in your ear."

Myrtle 'hmphed' and returned back to the stall to Harry and the others. "He's always like that," she whispered, sniffing indignantly. "He's been coming in here for a while and—"

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Sasuke placed his thumb and slapped the floor. The blood worked as ink and created several runes. Hermione gasped. "I think I saw something like that in a book!" she hissed. There was a 'poof' of smoke and a tiny snake appeared.

"Open it," Sasuke said to the snake.

"Was it Parseltongue?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione, unable to tell the difference when either was spoken.

Ron shook his head. "Normal English," he whispered in response. But the snake did not speak the same.

"I want a sacrifice..." it hissed to him.

"You are as gluttonous as your worm of a father," Sasuke replied to the snake. "A tiny, useless thing like you have already feasted on the flesh of the dead creature down below. Isn't that sacrifice enough? And all you do is say open up to a bloody sink. Now do it!" Sasuke said, prodding the snake and pushing its face into the faucet where the picture of the snake was scratched into.

The snake grumbled something about how it was under-appreciated. "My father will hear about this...Open!"

"He opened the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said.

"And he's not even a real Parselmouth," Hermione whispered.

"I'll go first with the Invisibility cloak," he said. "Ron, Hermione, wait thirty seconds and then go down. It might be dangerous."

"What would be?" Ron asked. "You killed the basilisk in there two years ago. What else could be down there?"

"Dark items, curses, Sasuke and perhaps Ino," Hermione said. "You saw how he ordered that snake around. And he summoned it too! I saw runes shaped like that in Ancient Runes. It's some sort of ancient, theoretical summoning rune. No wizard has ever been able to properly summon a creature like that before!"

"Keep your wands out," Harry said to them, heading for the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Bye, Harry!" Moaning Myrtle said, waving him. "Don't be afraid to die! I'll save you a stall."

"...Thanks."

And Harry jumped down the tunnel.

A Brief Intermission: Prelude to Disaster

"Um, Iruka-san?" Shizune said, knocking on the door to the quarters he 'shared' with Binns. The dead professor didn't really sleep in a bed anyway, just floating around in midair. Each of the assistants shared quarters with their respective professor. Not rooms or beds, but space. Since Iruka was the only one who did not have to share anything, considering the fact that Binns was oblivious to his assistant and didn't really require anything, they used his rooms as their private headquarters to discuss events at Hogwarts and issues back at home.

"Oh, hi Shizune," Iruka said.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, looking down at her feet. "I was busy tending to a few leftover Skrewt victims."

"Oh, Kakashi!" Kurenai growled. "You said you were looking after the students! And put down that book and look at be before I burn it!"

Kakashi obediently put Come Come Paradise away, frightened by the prospect of losing his precious. His other one. He smiled sheepishly at Kurenai. "Um...the Skrewts overpowered me?"

Iruka laughed. "Well, at least it's not Kakashi who's late," he said.

Kakashi gasped. He forgot to forget! He groaned. Next time, he ought to be extra late then.

"NOW THAT WE ARE ALL HERE, WE MAY DISCUSS THE YOUTH OF OUR STUDENTS!"

"Right," Asuma said, taking out a new cigarette.

"Now, the young ones are getting rather sidetracked," Iruka said. "I overheard several Slytherin students talking. Apparently, they've been planning on jumping the Harry Potter boy for a while."

"Yes, well I actually received a note from Sakura, telling me that," Kakashi said. "However, I heard that they'd been planning it for years now, and don't seem to be taking any action. The Slytherins are all talk and no play."

"Action, you mean," Kurenai corrected.

"It's all the same for us."

"You know what sucks?" Anko asked. "Snape was supposed to be on the Hogsmeade trips, and he sends me instead. And then I get lost! Do you know how many hours I spent stuck in there until I realized I lost all of the students? And Snape has a whole bunch of rooms, but he makes me stay in the guest bedroom and living room all day. I mean, honestly, he's locked all doors to me! I can't open it without his permission!"

"I don't blame him," Ibiki said, remembering a slumber party he had when they were all genins. "You destroy things."

"It's not that bad," Anko said. "Who needs a five century year old vase anyway? I say greaseball here is overreacting to everything. I mean, the table from the fourteenth century or whatever broke, but it's not my fault that he had all sorts of expensive things on there! And who collects those antiques anyway? And he called me a distraction to his work. Well maybe if he'd stop paying attention to me when I run around, he won't screw up on his potions! It's not my fault! I mean, sure, I bumped into his cauldron, but maybe if he wore better protective clothing, he wouldn't have gotten burned! And that happened only two times, so he can't just blame me!"

"Moving on to more important business..." Ibiki said, shaking his head. 'I feel for you, Snape...' "People are talking about some Triwizard Tournament, which will take place in a matter of days once students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrive. Once they do, I say we put them through a test, to make sure that none of them will attack Harry Potter."

"I say you're paranoid, Ibiki," Anko said. "How many homicidal maniacs do you think are in these schools anyway? Here, they are considered children. Little kids. Snot-nosed brats. Just how much destruction can one kid cause anyway?"

"You remember the Gaara kid when he was twelve," Ibiki said.

"Well we're shinobi, and they're wizards. They suck! We rock! Hell yeah!" Anko cheered, raising her arms in the air.

"YES, WE BURN WITH THE FLAME OF YOUTH!" Gai cheered with her.

"Yaaaay!"

"If everyone were enthusiastic as Anko and Gai, I don't think we'd need cheerleaders anymore," Kurenai said.

"Which would be a real pity," Kakashi said, reading his book again. Kurenai grabbed the book and slapped him upside the head with it.

"Also, Hinata came to the infirmary earlier and told me that today in Hogsmeade, Kiba encountered a member of the Sound," Shizune said.

"The Sound?" Iruka repeated. "Here in the wizarding world?"

"They must be planning something again," Asuma murmured. "Well, I say we ought to send scouts out to Hogsmeade."

"School is back in session tomorrow," Kurenai said. "Stop snuggling me, Kakashi. Just because you don't have your book anymore doesn't mean you can bribe me like that."

"Yeah, Kurenai's right," Ibiki said. "If we leave the moment we come, it'll attract even more so attention than we already have. A lot of students keep talking about us anyway."

"It's your fault," Anko whined. "I mean, you're face! It's unforgettable! They think you're that Mad-man's Japanese twin! And that's not even possible!"

"Let's stay on subject, shall we?" Iruka said.

"Now, I say we send two people to Hogsmeade," Anko said. "It would be less attention grabbing if we cause a scene and two of us 'fight' and get sent to the infirmary. That'll buy us maybe an hour or two or three. Maybe even a day!"

"We did that in Academy school," Ibiki said.

"That can't work," Asuma said. "We aren't kids anymore."

"I know, I'll ask Greaseball to poison us or something!" Anko joked.

"That's not funny," Kakashi said. Anything that man whipped up really could end up deadly.

"Um, I think that we ought to stick with the fight," Shizune said.

"Which one of us?" Ibiki asked.

"Me! Me!" Anko cried, jumping up and down with her hand in the air. "Pick me!"

"I have to stay at the infirmary. Students are getting hurt left and right in Care for Magical Creatures."

Kurenai and Kakashi looked at each other. "We have important lesson plans," they said. Their date was tomorrow. Wait, two hours in Hogsmeade? "But we can both go together," Kurenai insisted, but Iruka already crossed their names off the list he made.

"I'm the only person the students listen to in class, and they really need to get up to date with this History, so I can't go," Iruka said.

"As hard as it is to believe, I enjoy the Defense Against Dark Arts classes," Ibiki said. Watching as Moody terrorized students was most interesting. He didn't even get in trouble, unlike when Ibiki did with the Academy students.

"I WILL GO AND SEARCH AND HUNT DOWN THESE ENEMIES OF OUR FLAMES OF YOUTH!" Gai shouted. Anko stopped raising her hand.

"If he goes, then I won't," she said stubbornly.

"Okay, anyone else?" Everyone looked at Asuma.

"Who can imagine me and that Gai going around Hogsmeade together?" Asuma asked. "Forget it."

"Fine, you can stand Anko, right?" Kurenai asked.

"So long as she doesn't try anything funny or anything I'm fine," Asuma said.

"Thank you," Anko said. If she would have been paired off with Gai and forced to spend over thirty minutes in the same fifty-meter radius of him, someone would die.

Harry slid down the tunnel and tumbled out onto the ground. Sasuke and Ino were nowhere to be seen. The heavy boulders that had fallen from the ceiling two years ago when Lockhart zapped himself with a memory charm were gone. In fact, things were looking a bit cleaner. Perhaps Sasuke had cleaned. Harry almost laughed out loud at the thought of Sasuke in an apron with his hair tied up with a pink bow (anime style!). And then he shuddered. It was actually kind of creepy...

Harry stood up, only to be knocked back down to the ground by a force that felt as powerful as a stampeding hippogriff.

"Urgh..." Harry groaned, blacking out for a minute. He saw spots.

"Bloody hell! Sorry 'bout that, mate," Ron said, helping his friend up.

"I...have a footprint on the side of my head, don't I?" Harry asked.

"Um, yeah," Hermione said nervously, hiding her laughter in the darkness.

"Sorry..."

"Quiet, Ino and Sasuke might hear us," Hermione said.

"Right. Almost forgot," Ron said. They re-draped themselves under Harry's invisibility cloak and went straight through the tunnel.

"Ew, what's that?" they heard Ino's voice, echoing through the hallways.

"I looked it up. It's the carcass of a dead basilisk. If you look closely, the blood on its nose shows that it was stabbed through the brain from inside the jaw. You can even see the dried blood on its teeth where the person who did this was bitten. A basilisk bite is poisonous, but there is no other body. I saw through my Sharingan that there are many preservation spells in this chamber. Meaning this snake could have been here for years. But if it has, then where is the body of its killer? If the person was bitten by this snake, then he or she should be dead. Where's the body? Whoever killed it must have had powerful healing powers. Or perhaps a companion with the healing powers."

"And all this you knew from a single dead snake..." Ino commented, thoroughly impressed.

"I'm exceptionally not stupid, if you had not noticed," Sasuke said.

"I know, I know," Ino said. "I couldn't have learned all this if I looked myself."

"You probably could have found out eventually," he replied. "I'm just a bit faster than others. But that's not what's interesting. Did you know that the founder of my house, Salazar Slytherin, lived in here? He's the one who made all of this. The Chamber of Secrets that nobody knows about. He lived down here. Made a big house, practically an indoor city. There's a library inside. Libraries. Plural. Lots of them. On different things. Books about all sorts of Light Magic, Dark Magic, and everything in between. But that's not what matters. It does, but I don't care about it. They have books on us. Shinobi."

Shinobi? Hermione mouthed to Harry. What was a shinobi? Harry shrugged. Too hard to explain...

"It sounds impressive," Ino said, "but where is all of this?"

"Inside the old man's mouth," Sasuke smirked, nodding to the large statue of the man's head. "I went inside. It's wide, enough room for the basilisk to move around inside. My guest is that's where the thing lived. What it protected..."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione backed away, out of earshot.

"A city in the guy's mouth?" Ron repeated. If he had not always lived surrounded by magic, it would have been hard for him to believe. It was already hard enough for him to believe, and he was a wizard too.

"I suppose it is possible," Hermione said. "But what on earth is a shinobi?"

"Er..." They both looked at Harry, who had been closest to all of them ever since his training began. Was Harry allowed to tell? "A shinobi is like...a Japanese wizard, like Dumbledore said they are," he answered. Not completely a lie, right?

"He's not a Parseltongue," Ron said, "but he summons snakes. What do you think those weird since were?"

"Probably summoning runes," Hermione said logically. "Ancient summoning runes that no one in the world has been able to use. Except for Sasuke and possibly several of his friends..."

"This is insane," Ron said. A hissing sound echoed in the tunnels. "What's that Sasuke's snake is saying?"

"He's saying 'open'," Harry said. "That's all."

"Of course," Hermione said. "If Salazar Slytherin's password was too difficult to find out, why would he bother casting preservation spells all over the place to save it for future generations? If it was too hard, no one would be able to get inside."

"Makes sense," Harry said, peering past the wall as the dark haired boy and the blond girl disappeared in Salazar's open mouth. It shut quickly. "Um, either it opens for a short time or only a few people at a time because it closes really quickly. "When I get it to open, you two go in. That way if it closes, then I can still get inside. Wands out?"

They did have them. They treaded softly past the dead snake that had not seemed to decompose yet. Probably the preservation spells Sasuke spoke of earlier. But Harry noticed that in the snake's side... well a big chunk of it was missing. Not so big as to draw much attention in the darkness, but its side had been cut open. Perhaps Sasuke's snakes had gotten to it?

"Move fast," Harry said. "Open." The mouth of the statue opened, just like it had in Harry's second year when the memory in Tom Riddle's diary set the basilisk on him. Harry shuddered. No, the basilisk was dead. The only thing he had to worry about were...other dangers, since he didn't really know what was inside anyway. Ron and Hermione quickly ran inside before the mouth shut once again. That was fast. It was a good thing Harry hadn't tried to go inside right after them himself, or else Slytherin's statue would have had a Harry for dinner. He shuddered at the thought of being crushed inside the stone mouth/tunnel.

"Open," he repeated for himself. He ran inside, thanking Merlin that his training hadn't worn him out too badly as he disappeared into darkness. "Lumos."

Harry's wand lit up. He saw Ron and Hermione waving at him to put his light out, and Harry did. Their hands fumbled around in the darkness until they found each other. Harry recovered them under the Invisibility Cloak.

"Something happen?" Harry asked.

"Sasuke and Ino might see the light in the hallway," Hermione explained, relighting her wand under the safety of the Invisibility Cloak. "It's still hard to see," she muttered.

"Let me try," Harry said. "Lumos." His wand light up also. He frowned and focused on the light and his own magical energy. His light refocused and became a beam of light, rather than 'loose light' (1).

"Wow," Ron said. "It goes farther."

"I see an exit," Harry said. "Let's go forward." And with Hermione's light making sure they didn't stumble over their feet or nearby rocks and Harry's wand lighting a path straight ahead, the Golden Trio.

"Or an entrance," Hermione said. They approached the brighter light when Harry's instincts went haywire.

"Protego!"

"Katon Goukakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire Element; Grand Fireball) they heard a voice shout, and the three were engulfed in a sea of flames.

"Aaaaah!" Hermione screamed.

"Bloody hell, we're burning!" Ron shouted as they were surrounded in red-hot flames. They weren't really, but Ron's always freaking out like that (honestly, in every single movie (1-3), he's screaming his bloody head off and going, H-H-Haaaaarrrryyyyy! like with Aragog and stuff...). Harry's shield protected them from most of the harm, but it was getting relatively warm.

"Wait a minute, Sasuke!" Ino's voice cried. "I know that stupid voice, it's just some Griffindor! Don't toast them!"

The fire receded in moments as Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who were all feeling uncomfortably warm, froze.

"I don't see anyone," Sasuke said. His eyes were... red.

"I could have sworn I heard him!" Ino cried. "Sasuke, you burnt them to ashes!" Harry and Hermione looked at each other and exchanged glances. Ron was currently unable to, being frozen in fear on the ground. Harry shrugged. It seemed relatively safe. He took off the Invisibility Cloak. Ino gasped.

"Haaarry!" she cried, tears in her eyes. "You're alive! Oh my god, the moment I heard your Ron screaming his bloody head off, I knew you three were here! Kage, we would have been in soooo much trouble if we killed you dead!" She hugged each one of them.

"What the bloody hell did you do?" Ron demanded, his right eye twitching.

"Magic," Sasuke said, bluntly. No wand? No, wait, he had it out. It just didn't seem to be directed at them or anything. As if he brought it out to make it seem like what he had just done was magic.

"That was a really long incantation," Hermione commented.

"Why'd you do that?" Harry asked.

"You could have been enemies," Sasuke replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"But we could have been friends! And we are!" Ron said. "Merlin, I nearly wet myself there... Hey, I said nearly. NEARLY!"

Harry grinned. He looked around. They were in a fireplace that looked as if they hadn't been used in centuries. The tunnel behind them became a brick wall. Harry's eyes widened as he ran back and placed his hands on the cold bricks. This was no illusion.

"Open," he said, although his Parseltongue didn't kick in. "Open!"

"We're stuck!" Ron moaned. "We'll be stuck here forever! And ever! And ever again!"

"Relax," Sasuke said. "We're under Hogwarts. That's the only way to get inside. But... there are plenty of ways we can get out."

Ron relaxed immediately, but muttered something about cocky guys who had no real facial expression. There seemed to be several of them at Hogwarts anyway.

"How do we get out?" Hermione asked him.

"I wanna leave!" Ino said. "This place is so old and dusty and dirty!"

"This is an 'uncharted' area of Hogwarts. There are no known tunnels or exits to the Headmaster and the staff. I did some exploring earlier. Don't feel bad, do—idiot..." Sasuke frowned, nearly referring to Naruto. They hadn't really spoken much since that incident. He had never really properly mocked the boy. But that wasn't the matter at hand here. "I was plenty...cautious (no, not scared...Sasuke's NEVER scared. Zabuza doesn't count, does he? He's kinda dead...) when the tunnel disappeared. So I spent a little time down here. Found a few secret passageways. I'll map it out on my own eventually. Meanwhile, let's do some more exploring, shall we?" He looked at Ino and flashed a smile. He had been practicing in the mirror when no one was looking. And that practice paid off, as Ino turned to putty.

"Let's explore!" she said with new enthusiasm. Sasuke's smile may have never reached his eyes, but the fact that his eyes remained narrow gave him a sly look, like what Naruto would probably look like if he were more intelligent.

The Golden Trio sighed as their only connection to the way out led Ino through a door and into a hallway. They followed after the odd couple, really wishing they had never come in the first place. It seemed that each time they attempted to spy on one of these new people, they'd be discovered, and then they would have to leave with no real useful information. After all, why on earth would you need a secret hideout built under Hogwarts that only you and a certain few people could enter? Honestly, no one has any use for a headquarters like that! (note the sarcasm please...)

"I have a feeling," Ron muttered under his breath, "that whoever's idea to go down here was complete rubbish. A waste of time. We follow them to find out this is some kind of weird Japanese version of a date!" he said as they all jogged to keep up with Sasuke and Ino. Harry wasn't so sure that his friend was right. After all, if in the right hands, it could be rather useful in the future (2).

(1) Meaning, if Harry focused hard enough, he could make a laser pointer! Coolies! Yeah, it's like a beam of flashlight instead of, like, a lamp. Er... can't think of a good example... Okay, well back then, the Greeks (I think it was the Greeks...hm... -.-) put a half-dome thing on top of a candle and the mirror reflected the candle in one general area... So the light shines further and is focused towards the front. That basically sorta/is what Harry's light looks like. Chakra control? Hehe.
(2) I know, I know, Harry doesn't really do anything this year that would actually require a secret hideout or anything, but what the hey, who cares? There's always next year. Or the year after that. Or the year after that. Heh.
Golden Trio: that's what they call the Harry-Ron-Hermione team thing right? Anyway, that's what I'll call them sometimes, because typing it all out makes my fingers tired after a while.

My Thinking Corner: (and the things with the numbers and explanations)

Oh yeah, I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire a week ago. Better than the other movies, but not much compared to the book. I was disappointed by the fact that they skipped seeing Sirius and Rita Skeeter was hardly in there. However, I do like how Harry got the gillyweed. I don't like Dobby that much. Anyway, there are some things in the movie that would be a bit better suited for this fiction, although the book is easier, more practical, and I prefer it. So...I suppose it's going to be a mix of all three? Okay, maybe not.

Ideas for weapons would be greatly appreciated. I had an idea for one from Naruto, but that's pretty much ripping it off from Flame of Recca, and I dislike that. Of course, if I don't get any ideas, I'll be doing that anyway. Whatever.

By the way... I think I have a more interesting idea than even Kankurou and the Sarea girl! ...Hehehehehe... HAhahahahaha... MUahahahahahaha (eyes twitching as I do my evil laugh)
ANYWAY, I have a new couple in mind. It might not show for a few chapters, but it might be interesting. Hehehe.