Normal Text
Thoughts
Flashback
Thoughts within a flashback
SUMMARY: Albus hires shinobi to protect Harry (and Hogwarts) during Harry's fifth year. However, Harry has a secret that not even he knows about.
WARNINGS: SasuNaru, HarryxDraco, Drarry, SuiKarin
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto, they are the property of J. K. Rowling and Masashi Kishimoto respectively
A/N - Thanks to everyone who favourited and/or followed this story and/or me and to the reviews! I now have 50 favourites and over 80 followers for this story!
It was now around halfway into December, and the days were getting shorter as the Christmas holidays rapidly approached. The meetings of Dumbledore's army had continued, as had the shinobi patrols. Harry and Draco had met on their usual Saturday night, the last time they would be able to meet until after the holidays. Draco was sitting in one of the armchairs, watching as Harry practised parselmagic. He had mastered the freezing spell he had tried some weeks previously, and had just successfully frozen and shattered multiple hands and arms from several practice dummies which had appeared at his thought.
"I think you've got it", Draco noticed.
"Yeah, I think so too – I can't directly kill anyone, but I can destroy wands, hands and arms, which will get rid of their magic. After that, the witch or wizard can't really do anything anymore."
"Didn't you want to practice a new spell?"
"Yeah, but I can't do it on these dummies, I need something that's actually alive."
"I suppose I shouldn't offer?"
"Not unless you have a death wish", Harry smirked at Draco, who stood up and crossed the room to hug his boyfriend. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco, who then pulled back to press a chaste kiss to Harry's lips.
"So, something alive?" Draco asked.
"Yeah, like a plant or something..." Harry mused. A large cactus in a pot appeared in place of the half-destroyed practice dummies.
"A cactus?" Draco asked.
"Full of water", Harry offered in explanation, before pushing Draco away slightly to turn towards the plant. Draco stepped back and watched as Harry hissed a spell at the cactus, which slowly began to shrivel up, as if...
"You're drawing out all the water?" Draco asked in amazement.
"Yeah", Harry breathed out, feeling a slight rush at how easy it seemed to master parselmagic spells – both of the spells he'd tried so far had worked the first time, even if he was a little ambitious both times. He stepped away from the cactus and sat down on the couch. "Perhaps I should have chosen a plant with less water in it", he continued.
"I thought you wanted one with lots of water?"
"I did, I wasn't sure if it would be difficult to find the moisture and draw it out, but I can't draw out all of the liquid when there's so much."
"How would you use that in a battle?" Draco asked, sitting down on the couch beside Harry.
"I'm not sure, but I figured I could make my opponent collapse from dehydration, or make their hand so shrivelled they couldn't hold their wand...something like that", Harry mused.
"Sounds painful", Draco said, pulling Harry into a cuddle. The two sat in silence for a moment.
"We won't meet until after the New Year now, unless we see each other outside this room somewhere, in which case we'll have to be horrible to each other", Harry mentioned.
"I know", Draco responded, hugging him tighter.
"Do you want to do anything?"
"No, I just want to cuddle you for a bit. We've been practising for a few hours, we're both pretty tired, but...do you think we could spend the night in here? We can easily ask the Room for a bed and a bathroom", Draco suggested.
"Draco, I don't think I'm ready for..."
"I don't want sex, I just don't want to leave you yet. My dormmates will be sleeping in late tomorrow, so I should be okay to sleep here – and that's all I want, sleep, nothing more."
"Really? Well, I guess it would be nice to just be able to sleep curled up around you, but...oh screw it, let's stay here."
"Are you sure?"
"Most of my dormmates will sleep in late as well", Harry said. "We can ask the Room for a bed and a bathroom, as well as a fresh change of clothes for the morning. Plus we can use my Cloak to sneak back to our common rooms tomorrow, and just tell people we went out early if they ask."
"Sounds good to me", Draco agreed. He closed his eyes for a moment and the room changed. The couch and armchairs were left there, as was the fireplace, which roared to life, but the rest of their normal room disappeared. Instead of the training area and bookcases, a large four-poster bed, draped in green and silver covers appeared. On the armchair near them appeared two sets of clothes, which Harry realised were for the two of them. He stood up and went over towards a door which appeared in the wall and looked inside. It was a bathroom, but a massive one – the bathtub was as large as the one in the Prefect's bathroom, as well as a toilet and a decent-sized sink.
"What do you think?" Draco asked, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist from behind.
"Why is it so big?" he asked in reply.
"Because you deserve it", Draco replied, nuzzling his neck.
"Why green and silver?"
"Why not? I'm a Slytherin, and you should have been one too. Besides, I based it on my bed at home, and the thought of you in my bed will definitely keep me going through the cold winter nights..."
"Yeah, yeah", Harry smirked, turning in Draco's arms. "Bath before bed?" he asked pulling back, teasingly removing his clothing. Draco groaned audibly as he followed Harry into the bathroom, stripping off his own clothes.
The two of them soaked in the bath for quite a while before they got out, pulling on some fresh underwear before heading towards the bed.
"Draco?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you, I mean..." Harry broke off, yawning.
"I told you earlier, I just want to stay with you tonight, we don't need to do anything. Besides, we're both tired, and it's almost 2am, so let's go to bed, okay?" Draco replied, climbing into the oversized bed.
"Sure", Harry replied, yawning again. He got into the bed beside Draco, cuddling up close to his boyfriend.
"Comfortable?" Draco asked.
"Yeah", Harry replied, already dozing off. Draco pulled Harry closer, both of them falling into a pleasant sleep.
Just before the start of the Christmas holidays Naruto gathered most of the other shinobi together for an emergency meeting. It was 5am and most of the students were still in bed.
"Naruto-sama, where are Gai-sensei and Kakashi-san?" Lee asked.
"That's why we're here so early", Naruto responded. "Last night, there was an incident, and Gai and Kakashi are currently not in the castle as a result. Kakashi sent a shadow clone to me last night..."
Naruto was lying awake in his bed, still annoyed at Sasuke for repeatedly evading his questions. I'm so weak when it comes to him, he said to himself. Not anymore though, I won't let him get away from me again! Naruto decided to wake Sasuke up, and had just sat up in his bed, when a shadow clone of Kakashi appeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Kakashi, what...?"
"Sorry for just popping in, not interrupting am I?" Kakashi teased in a quiet voice. "Seriously, though, something's happened", he continued, still quietly, as if he didn't want Sasuke to know what was going on. Naruto followed clone-Kakashi into the main living area.
"What is it?" Naruto asked, wondering why Kakashi had been reluctant to speak when Sasuke was there –even though he was probably awake, why would it make a difference to Kakashi if Sasuke heard if it's to do with our mission? Naruto asked himself.
"Potter-san had some sort of dream. Apparently he's had them before – only this time was different. He went to tell Professor McGonagall, who took him to see Professor Dumbledore. Gai and I overheard their conversation with McGonagall, and I also followed into Dumbledore's office under genjutsu. Potter-san revealed that, in his dream, Weasley's father was attacked by a giant snake, and it seems that it wasn't just a dream, but Potter was seeing something happening miles away as it was happening. He was also seeing it through the eyes of the snake, which seemed to worry everyone. Dumbledore had a bird watch for anyone approaching, so it's likely that, wherever Weasley was, he wasn't supposed to be there, as the bird seemed to be keeping a lookout for Umbridge. Weasley's children and Potter-san have been sent to a safe house in London somewhere, and I requested Gai and I be sent as well, revealing myself after they had left and letting Gai into the office as well. We've already gone – I would have waited for your permission, but Umbridge was approaching, and we needed to leave."
"Okay then", Naruto said, thinking through everything. "That's fine, keep an eye on everyone at the safe house. Sasuke and I will be there as well tomorrow morning, after I tell the others what's going on, and we can watch them in shifts there. The other four can handle the castle – some of the students have left for the holidays anyway, so there are fewer people here – I'm sure the others can handle it." Kakashi nodded before his clone popped into smoke.
"So, that's what happened", Naruto concluded. "The four of you will be okay here, right?"
"Of course, Naruto-sama! Our Youthful Spirits will be enough to protect the remaining students while the four of you protect Potter-san and his friends!" Lee almost shouted with a thumbs-up. Beside Naruto, Neji groaned slightly, having been woken up early. Suigetsu groaned as well, much more audibly, as he buried his face in his arms. "Come on!" Lee continued. "The four of us will have no problem!"
"How can you be so perky when we've been up all night already?" Tenten groaned.
"It's because of my Youthful Spirit!" Lee announced.
"Okay, Sasuke we should go", Naruto said. The other shinobi nodded and stood up, following Naruto to Dumbledore's office as Lee continued to shout about his youth while Neji and Suigetsu tried to wake themselves up for their shifts.
It was early morning at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and Harry was helping Sirius prepare some breakfast while everyone else sat around waiting for news. The two shinobi who had arrived just after them were standing to one side of the room, merely observing everyone. Mrs Weasley had arrived to tell them that Arthur would be fine before deciding to help with breakfast. As the wizards were eating, two of the other shinobi turned up and pulled the two already there to one side, talking to them quietly, before the first two excused themselves to the room which they had been assigned, leaving the second two to continue watching them. The wizards then spent the rest of the morning sleeping before heading to the wizarding hospital, St. Mungo's, the second pair of shinobi accompanying them.
When they arrived and reached the ward, Naruto looked around. There were three other patients in the room, Mr Weasley occupying the bed furthest from the door. He was propped up by several pillows and reading the newspaper, looking mostly fine, although he did reveal to the others that he started bleeding every time the medical staff attempted to remove the bandages. Naruto thought it was strange that he refused to reveal where he had been, apparently for some political reason involving the Ministry.
"What do you think he was doing?" Naruto asked Sasuke under his breath, the two of them remaining at some distance from the others. "He said he was guarding something, but if it were something at the Ministry why would he be needed?"
"Perhaps it's something the Ministry doesn't know needs protecting? Or believes is protected enough, but Dumbledore wants extra protection for it? Or maybe even something which Dumbledore himself wants?" Sasuke mused, speaking too quietly for anyone but Naruto to hear. When Mrs Weasley had the students leave, Naruto and Sasuke were asked to leave as well. Rather than argue, they did so, although both knew that Naruto's enhanced hearing would allow him to hear what was said though Mr Weasley was on the far side of the room from the door.
As they travelled back to Grimmauld Place on the Underground, Sasuke spoke to Naruto, both standing a little back from the others, who were taking up the entire carriage: "Did you hear anything?"
"They didn't specifically mention what needed guarding, although it seems that they believe Harry is being possessed by Voldemort in some way, apparently his dreams aren't normal."
"Potter and his friends used those Extendable Ears...how much do you think they heard?"
"Probably most of it", Naruto sighed. "Which would explain that", he continued, motioning to Harry, who was silently staring out of the window as the train they were on continued on its way through the dark tunnel.
Harry was ignoring everything around him. Voldemort needs a weapon, he said to himself. Am I that weapon? Is that why there are so many people guarding me, including ninjas? So that I don't hurt anyone? If Voldemort is possessing me, can he see what I can? Does he know about me and Draco? What should I do?
When they returned, Harry isolated himself in his bedroom, still concerned about what he might do to those around him, although he knew that there was nowhere he could go to keep people safe. Phineas, a former Headmaster and a Black, who had portraits in Dumbledore's office and in Grimmauld Place, brought Harry a message from Dumbledore. The message merely ordered Harry to stay where he was, annoying the young wizard, who wanted more information. He fell into a restless sleep, again dreaming of the corridor, before waking up later that afternoon and joining the others downstairs.
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, both shinobi standing to one side of the room as Harry entered and joined the others.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think Harry is okay? He is very distant."
"If you found out your enemy could possess you and you had no way to fight him off, how would you feel?"
"I guess", Naruto responded. "You should be careful, you know, teme, saying things like that...people might think you're going soft." He ignored the death glare levelled at the back of his head as he wandered over to where the wizards were putting up various decorations, asking them what they were doing.
"Christmas decorations", was the only response he got, as if it should have been obvious.
"Christmas?" Naruto repeated. the wizards looked at him.
"I guess you don't have it", Granger said dismissively. She had arrived earlier that morning to join her friends.
"It's a holiday where people give each other presents", Ron continued. "There are other traditions as well, but that's the main thing." Naruto looked around in interest as everyone put up decorations, singing songs as they did so.
"What do you think?" Naruto asked as he rejoined Sasuke.
"Hn", was the only reply he got from his teammate. Naruto wasn't expecting more of a reply, especially given his earlier comment about Sasuke going soft, so he just shrugged off Sasuke's non-committal response and continued watching the others decorate.
Later that night, Harry lay in his bed awake. He was worried about what might happen if he fell asleep, although he knew realistically that he would fall asleep sooner or later. It was around midnight, and Ron was snoring from the other side of the room when Harry noticed a glow in his trunk, which quickly subsided. Harry quietly stood up and crossed the room, opening his trunk and quickly locating the source of the light, a wrapped present with a tag on it: Harry, Happy Christmas, Draco. Harry smiled to himself, opening the paper and quietly pulling out the present, wondering how Draco managed to sneak it into his trunk before it was sent to Grimmauld Place. The present was a leather bound book. Harry pushed the wrapping back into his trunk, burying it to hide it, before settling back down into his bed, running his fingers across the cover of the book, which was engraved with unusual patterns. He opened it up, and a slip of paper fell out. He picked it up and read it.
Harry,
This is a two-way journal, I have the other copy. Whatever one of us writes will appear in the other book, so we can communicate even when we're far away from each other. When we sign our name at the bottom the message will be sent to the other person. This present is hidden by a spell which will cause it to be revealed at midnight on Christmas, and I am going to sneak it into your trunk now, even though Christmas is still a few weeks away, to make sure you have it.
Draco.
Harry smiled to himself, finding a quill and ink and lighting his wand tip. He sat up cross-legged and pulled his bedcovers over his head, the ink held between his legs as he wrote into the book. He used the bedcovers to obscure the light from his wand, which he directed at the page, all the time trying to avoid waking Ron up.
Draco,
Thank you for the present, it's really thoughtful, and I'm glad that we can talk all the time. I know you may be wondering what happened, why I'm not at Hogwarts. Forcing myself to have those dreams, like you suggested a few weeks ago, made no difference, so I stopped trying, just waited to see what would happen. I had a dream that was different – I was inside Voldemort's snake, and I saw as it attacked Arthur Weasley. I had to tell Dumbledore, so he sent me and the other Weasleys to the Order Headquarters. I don't know how my dream worked, but the Order members think that Voldemort may have possessed me somehow. Please be careful – if they're right, he may know anything, including about us.
Happy Christmas to you as well, I hope whatever you're doing isn't too bad. I may have to stop writing abruptly, as Ron is asleep in the same room, so don't worry if I suddenly sign my name in the middle of the sentence. Stupid Gryffindors – can't let them find out about us.
About the possession thing...what do you think? I don't want them to be right, and they might not be, but I can't think of anything else Voldemort may be doing to me, or how else I could see through the eyes of his snake. I don't know if you're at school or at home, but if you have the opportunity to research what could be happening to me...
I miss you a lot, and I can't wait until the first Saturday night after we come back, but we'll probably come back right before term starts, on Sunday, so it could be a while. If you want to write back to me, please only do so at night, so no-one sees any glowing or anything from the journal.
I can't tell you exactly where I am, although I do know a way to get around the wards over the Order Headquarters to tell you the location...but I don't want to endanger you by letting you know the location.
I'll see you soon,
Love,
Harry.
Harry blew on the ink to dry it, watching as it faded into the paper and out of sight, presumably appearing in Draco's journal. He closed the book and extinguished the light from his wand, pulling the bedcovers down and looking over to where Ron was still snoring. He returned the quill and ink and hid the journal under his mattress, before settling into bed, feeling more comfortable already just by sending a message to his boyfriend. He closed his eyes, still smiling, and allowed himself to drift asleep, although he was still worried about what might happen.
While Harry was in his and Ron's room writing to Draco, another important conversation was going on down the corridor. Naruto and Sasuke were continuing to keep watch during the day, while Kakashi and Gai patrolled the house at night, keeping the same shifts as they had at Hogwarts. Gai and Kakashi were currently wandering around the house, while Naruto and Sasuke were asleep – or so the other two shinobi thought. The group of shinobi had been given two adjoining rooms with two beds each, and Naruto and Sasuke were in their beds at the moment.
"I still think you should let me sleep with you", Sasuke said, almost leering.
"I said no, the other two could come into our room at any time."
"But..."
"Sasuke, why did you come back to the village?" Naruto asked abruptly.
"Naruto..." Sasuke said, moving to sit on Naruto's bed.
"Don't try flirting, don't evade the question, just tell me what happened. Everyone believed that, once you killed Itachi, there'd be no reason for you to return, but you did, and people think that I convinced you somehow...yet I don't know the reason. It's not like I'm just going to stand up and announce it to the whole village, I won't even tell the Elders or Tsunade-baa-chan, but I can't honestly tell them that I trust you when I don't understand."
"Naruto", Sasuke sighed. He lifted one of his hands to Naruto's cheek, but the blond flinched away, not letting Sasuke touch him. I can't tell him, can I? Sasuke asked himself. I have to tell him something, but I...no, I have to tell him... "Naruto", Sasuke said again. "When Itachi died, he...he dropped a scroll. I was curious what he could possibly have to say to me, so I read it. In the message, he told me the truth – he told me that he massacred the clan under orders from the village, as the clan were planning a coup...they were going to kill anyone necessary to take control of the village. Itachi followed orders, he did what he had to do, and in the message he asked me to protect the village." Sasuke stood up, his back to Naruto. "And that's what I'll do, protect the village, no matter what." Naruto put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, turning him around to face him.
"So, how exactly did playing matchmaker between Sai and Gaara protect the village?" Naruto teased.
"I was hoping you'd forgotten about that usuratonkachi", Sasuke grumbled under his breath. Naruto chuckled slightly.
"I'm not stupid, and I'm not going to forget something like that. So, how then? How did almost causing a political situation protect the village?"
"You know, I may have said I'd protect the village, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to take revenge on those who annoy me", Sasuke pointed out, leaning over Naruto.
"Well, yeah, but..."
"And denying me what I want is an annoyance", Sasuke continued, pressing himself against Naruto.
"Why are you doing this then?" Naruto asked. "You may have come back to protect the village, but you started this – whatever this is – with me pretty quickly, right?"
"Firstly, I didn't just come back for the village, it's to protect Itachi's legacy. Secondly, we're lovers. And, thirdly, I don't care how quick this started, you're mine now, and I'm not letting go. Got it?" he asked, nipping Naruto's ear as the blond stretched out beneath him.
"Yeah, but we're still not doing anything when Kakashi or Gai could wander in at any moment."
"Fine, but you'll have to make it up to me when we're back at the school", Sasuke smirked. I'll protect Itachi's legacy, protect the village and...that person. But I'm staying with Naruto no matter what...I may have had another plan when I first returned, but Naruto would never have accepted it and I don't want to lose him, so I'll stay with him, and as for that person...
"What about your clan?" Naruto asked, as Sasuke got back into his own bed.
"I'll restore my clan myself, like I was always going to", Sasuke replied, lying down in bed.
"For what it's worth, I'll do anything I can to help you."
"Well, I did assume you'd want to protect the village, as you are the Hokage."
"No, not that...well, yeah, I want to protect the village, that's obvious, but...I'll help you restore your clan, anyway I can", Naruto said, grinning at his lover.
"Naruto..."
"Just accept it, Sasuke, I'll help you whether you want my help or not." Naruto lay back down as well, closing his eyes and falling asleep. Sasuke closed his eyes as well. I'll hold you to that, dobe, he said to himself. Whatever you can do...that's not very specific, but I will hold you to it. I am going to restore my clan, and that person...I don't know anymore, perhaps Naruto would be good enough, not definite but...there wouldn't be any conflict, would there? So it might be okay. Either way, I won't lose my dobe. Sasuke settled down to sleep, listening to Naruto on the other side of the room. And I'll find a way to make him forget about that Gaara and Sai thing too, he decided as he fell asleep.
Harry was sitting on his own quietly again, looking out the windows as the Knight Bus raced through the streets, taking them back to Hogwarts. The four shinobi were also on board, three of them just sitting quietly, while one kept going on about youth and loudly announcing everything he could see out of the windows. Harry ignored them as well as the other wizards, thinking over what had happened in the last few weeks – he had found out that Voldemort was possessing him and had to deal with everyone trying to be happy about Christmas, all the while worrying about his boyfriend. It would have helped if he'd written back quicker, rather than taken almost a week to reply to me, Harry thought to himself. And even then he only sent a short message saying he was glad I liked the present...does he hate me now? After all, I told him about what may be going on with Voldemort, does he hate me now he knows I could be possessed at any time? Or was he just busy over the holidays? He may have had to hide his own book, so he didn't notice that I wrote for a while. He also may have been worried that his parents would find the book and discover our relationship...once we get back, I can't see him again until Saturday night, and today's Sunday, so it'll be almost a week... Harry sighed to himself, thinking about the other presents he had gotten, although none was as good as Draco's. To be honest though, Harry was more concerned about what was going to happen tomorrow night...
Harry was playing wizard's chess against Ron while Hermione and Ginny watched, as well as one of the shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki, who was half watching them from one side of the room. Harry briefly wondered how someone could stand around doing nothing but watch them for the entire day. He also wondered when they ate, as the shinobi did not join them for meals. He was watching one of his rooks battle with one of Ron's pawns when Mrs Weasley called to him from the kitchen. He didn't fully register what she'd said, and nor did the others, but he walked into the kitchen nonetheless, leaving the chess match for a moment. When he entered the kitchen, he saw Sirius and Snape, both seated at the long kitchen table, glaring in opposite directions. He made himself known and Snape ordered him to sit down, sparking off an argument between Sirius and Snape about the latter's right to give Harry orders outside of school.
"Professor, what do you want to see me for?" Harry asked, interrupting their argument.
"The Headmaster has sent me to tell you, Potter, that it is his wish for you to study Occlumency this term", Snape replied. Occlumency? Harry repeated to himself. If it's going on now I can reasonably assume that whatever it is has something to do with Voldemort's possession – something to defend myself against possession perhaps? Harry realised he should pretend he didn't understand what was going on, as he wasn't supposed to know what was said inside the ward at St. Mungo's involving Voldemort possessing him.
"Study what?" he asked blankly. "Ockle-oo-mans, what?"
"Occlumency, Potter, do try to learn the word, it isn't that difficult", Snape sneered at him. "The Headmaster thinks it is a good idea for you to learn the skill. You will receive private lessons once a week, and you are to tell no-one, especially not Dolores Umbridge, do you understand?"
Harry nodded weakly, I know it's important, but if he's the one who's here, then does that mean..."Who will be teaching me?"
"I will", Snape replied. Of course you will, Harry said to himself. Well, that's another night a week I lose homework time, I think I'm going to have to learn to survive with less sleep, although I already get only around four or five hours a night. This Occlumency thing will probably be useful, but I doubt Snape will actually be able to completely teach me, not while he's pretending to be on Voldemort's side (if it really even is pretend). Either way, I may have to learn it for myself, or at least practice outside of these lessons. On top of that I have to learn parselmagic, study anything else I need to know for the war, worry about the ninjas as well as school stuff like classes and homework, as well as make time to see Draco...at least I haven't got Quidditch any more... Harry realised that Sirius and Snape were arguing about what the Headmaster had ordered. He wondered if he should try to stop their argument, especially when it escalated to the point that they both drew wands, but the two of them were interrupted by Arthur Weasley returning from the hospital, his wounds fully healed. The two wizards lowered their wands and Snape headed to leave.
"Six o'clock, Monday evening, Potter", Snape said on his way out.
Harry watched the rolling countryside as the Knight Bus sped through England and into Scotland, wondering what these lessons with Snape would be like. Guess I'll find out tomorrow night, he said to himself as the Knight Bus arrived in Hogsmeade. And I hope Draco doesn't hate me and still meets me on Saturday night – I think I'll need to see him, this is going to be a long week.
When Naruto, Sasuke, Gai and Kakashi arrived at Hogwarts on Sunday evening, they found the other four shinobi waiting for them in their shared quarters. The eight of them sat down at the table, after Tenten explained that they had clones patrolling just in case.
"So, what happened at the safe house?" Suigetsu asked.
"I think they were there more as it was close to the hospital where Weasley-san was being treated. They visited him a couple of times before he returned", Naruto said.
"Did anything of importance happen?" Neji asked.
"Not really", Kakashi replied lazily. "The wizards are trying to cover up what happened to Harry and aren't even telling him everything that they know, including whatever Weasley was doing in the Ministry."
"So they have something to hide", Tenten said. "Well, I guess we already knew that, it seems to be a normal thing for wizards, hiding everything from each other, even allies who should share knowledge."
"They don't tell us much either", Suigetsu pointed out.
"Well, anyway, what happened here while we were gone?" Naruto asked.
"There were rumours about what may have happened to Potter-san and his friends", Neji replied. "They left for the holidays, but not at the same time as everyone else, so various possibilities circulated."
"Anything interesting?" Kakashi asked.
"Not really", Suigetsu yawned, leaning back on his chair. "Just mostly stuff about them leaving in secret because they were ashamed to be seen in public, and other stupid stuff like that."
"Immature", Sasuke noted. The other shinobi looked at him, surprised that he had actually spoken at one of their meetings, even if it was only a single word.
"Okay then", Naruto said, drawing the others' attention back to himself. "Well, if there's nothing else, I need to have a shower and get some sleep, are you four okay to patrol without us for the rest of today?"
"Of course we are, Naruto-sama", Lee said, putting his thumb up and grinning widely as his teeth glinted. With that, Lee and Tenten went to start their patrols, Tenten providing two shadow clones to keep up the numbers. Neji and Suigetsu went to bed, having patrolled all day.
"I am not tired at all, Hokage-sama, I believe I will go outside and do some training!" Gai announced.
"It's snowing Gai", Kakashi said lazily, having already pulled out one of his books to read.
"That doesn't bother me at all, my Eternal Rival! I will train no matter what the weather!" Gai continued, before making for the door.
"Try not to be too over-the-top", Naruto called after him. He didn't hear a response but decided to just leave the over-exuberant shinobi to it. He excused himself to shower, and Sasuke went towards his and Naruto's room.
"Sasuke", Kakashi said. Sasuke, who had been leaving the room as well, heading towards his and Naruto's room, paused and stood still, although he didn't turn to face his former sensei. "Can I talk to you please? In private if you don't mind."
"Hn", Sasuke responded. Kakashi decided to take that as an affirmative, snapping his book closed and leading the younger male into his and Gai's room. He closed the door, watching as the built-in silencing charms activated.
"I want to know why you came back to Konoha", Kakashi stated, his visible eye narrowing slightly.
"That's not your concern", Sasuke replied.
"I believe it is, especially as I'm not certain that anyone knows your reasons."
"Naruto", was Sasuke's only response.
"Do you mean you returned for him or that he is aware of your reasons?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed, the barest hints of anger becoming evident on his normally expressionless face.
"Naruto knows."
"Would you mind sharing?"
"Ask him", Sasuke said dismissively. "And, when he won't tell you, you'll realise that it's not your business."
"Maybe not, but it is my business to protect my Hokage, and if you're a threat to him..."
"You'll do what?" Sasuke almost growled, Sharingan swirling in his eyes. Before the silver-haired shinobi could respond, Gai burst into the room energetically.
"My Rival! I have just thought of a new way to challenge you – let us have a snowball fight! Whoever collapses from tiredness first is the loser and must climb up the side of the castle to the top of one of the towers, without using any chakra!"
"Gai...", Kakashi began.
"Perhaps you should accept", Sasuke said, deactivating his Sharingan but still maintaining his Uchiha death glare. "After all, the two of you compete all the time, right?"
"Oh, Kakashi!" Gai said, bursting into tears. "Everyone knows of our rivalry, don't they? It warms my heart that you speak of it so often!"
"Gai, I'm not sure..."
"Go on, Kakashi, I'm sure our conversation can wait", Sasuke said, smirking. Kakashi glared at him before accepting Gai's challenge, following Gai out of the room. The two of them left the door open, and as Sasuke went to leave, Naruto appeared in the doorway.
"What was all that about?" he asked. "And why are you in their room teme?"
"Naruto", Sasuke almost purred. "We haven't been together in a few weeks now...And you are only in a towel..."
"That's because I just had a shower!" Naruto almost shouted. Sasuke grabbed his bare arm, still warm from the heat of the shower, and pulled the blond into the room, throwing him onto one of the beds as the door slammed behind them.
"That's not the point", Sasuke said, crawling onto all fours above Naruto's body. "You shouldn't test my ability to resist you...and you look so...delicious." He purred the last word into Naruto's ear, grinding his body down against Naruto's at the same time. Any protest Naruto had died on his lips, as Sasuke's words travelled straight to his groin, and the dark-haired male earned a groan from his lover. Sasuke pulled back, quickly stripping his own clothes and yanking the towel from Naruto's body, before flipping Naruto onto his front, pulling the blond's ass into the air to slip two dry fingers inside. Naruto groaned in discomfort, but this changed to a moan as he felt Sasuke's tongue wiggling in alongside his fingers, stretching Naruto open. Sasuke soon pulled back, entering Naruto and setting a brutal pace, while the blond beneath him fisted his hands in the sheets, moaning and cursing as Sasuke battered his prostate with repeated thrusts.
"Nngh, Sasuke! Just – ah! – there, yes!" Naruto moaned.
"Fuck...Naruto, always so tight for me", Sasuke groaned, knowing that he wouldn't last long, especially given where they were...
It wasn't long before Naruto tensed up, screaming Sasuke's name as his come splattered onto the sheets beneath him. Sasuke stilled inside Naruto for a moment before allowing himself his own release, spurting inside Naruto before withdrawing himself from his lover's body. He rolled over, pulling Naruto with him so that the blond wouldn't collapse into his own pool of come.
"Enjoy that?" Sasuke asked, as Naruto nuzzled into his chest.
"Pervert", Naruto muttered. "And I can hear the smirk in your voice."
"Sure, usuratonkachi." Naruto didn't respond for a moment, but then his eyes suddenly opened, and he shot up, not noticing Sasuke's come dripping out of his hole onto the sheets.
"Sasuke! This is Gai and Kakashi's room!"
"Is it?" Sasuke asked, feigning innocence. "I guess you distracted me by wandering around in a towel...after all, it's not like I realised where we were...or noticed the books on the nightstand showing that this is Kakashi's bed..."
"Damn you! Why am I always surrounded by perverts!" Naruto stormed out of the room, forgetting his nakedness, before Sasuke heard the door to their own room slam. He stood up and dressed himself before heading to the door. He looked back at Kakashi's bed – rumpled, covered with drying come which would stain, Naruto's wet towel flung across one corner of the bed – and smirked. That's what you get for messing with a Uchiha, he thought to himself as he returned to his own room and his pissed-off lover.
A/N - Please read and review!
Next Chapter - Occlumency, more Drarry, and a secret involving Harry is revealed...