A/N: Hey guys! Let's assume Naruto started working on his elemental chakra when Sasuke returned, but he's only just gotten started, and he isn't using the mass shadow clone technique.

Chapter 10: Ninjas

Harry didn't like the idea of Naruto carrying around sharp objects or jumping onto handrails three stories above the ground. Somehow, those things in combination with the exuberant blond just seemed to spell trouble and a lot of accidental pain.

When he demanded to know what the heck was going on, though, Naruto brushed it aside with, 'learned it at Konoha Academy.'

Harry didn't know how they managed it, but the next time they saw Sasuke, they didn't immediately launch into the story.

Naruto twitched a little more than usual, but Sasuke seemed to put it off as him just being an idiot. Harry was a better liar and just continued avoiding Sasuke, as if because of his wand and questionable connection to Voldemort. Which brought back genuine anger and made his act even better.

But Harry had also promised not to tell Ron and Hermione. Naruto had begged, seeming convinced that Ron couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Harry begged to differ, but he also saw Naruto's point. Ron and Sasuke just didn't get along. Ron might let it slip in a fit of rage. And he couldn't tell Hermione, because she would try and prod for more information and maybe inadvertently make Sasuke ask his own questions. He wondered if Naruto told Sakura. Seeing Sakura's usual interaction with Sasuke made him think she didn't know, though.

"Why don't you want Sasuke to know, though?" Harry demanded in a low voice one night. They were doing homework in the common room while the others were playing Exploding snap (Ron and Hermione) or Shogi (Sakura and Sasuke). "Doesn't he have a right?"

"No," snapped Naruto, not looking up from his own essay. "You don't understand how he gets. Just forget about it."

The rest of November passed without much change. The only thing of interest happened one Thursday morning and came with the owl post.

While Hermione got her usual Daily Prophet, a small hawk soared toward Sakura.

She looked up without surprise, and let it land on her robed arm. She stroked its neck a few times before taking off the small scroll attached to its leg. "We use hawks instead of owls," she commented to the trio's bemused looks. Then she returned to the hawk. "Can you stay in the owlery for a little while in case I need to send a response?"

The hawk let out a shrill 'caw' and flew off, supposedly towards the owlery.

Sakura unrolled her scroll and scanned the lines, brow furrowed as she concentrated on overriding the translation spell.

Then her eyes widened. "Oh, my God," she murmured, catching everyone's attention.

"What is it, what is it?" asked Naruto, leaning across the table towards her, his eyes huge. "Did something bad happen? What happened?"

"A-Akatsuki," she breathed, eyes still ravaging the page. Her face was pale. Her hands shook. "Oh, God…."

"Sakura!" said Naruto and Sasuke in unison. While Naruto went on to demand in a voice slightly too high, "What happened?" Sasuke snatched the scroll out of her hands. She blinked at him, still lost in her own shock over the news, and didn't protest.

Sasuke's eyes took in everything within seconds. He informed Naruto in Japanese, "It's from Tsunade-sama. Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, and two chuunin fought two Akatsuki members on the border. Immortals. Asuma-sensei was killed, and the others retreated. Team Ten went back after them – joined by Kakashi-sensei. They defeated them within reason, but Kakashi-sensei, Ino, and Chouji are in critical condition. Tsunade-sama thinks Kakashi-sensei and Chouji will be alright, although Kakashi might be awhile in backing us up. Ino's condition is the worst. Her body took some bad hits during her attempted mind transfers. Apparently, Shikamaru took on one member alone and wasn't there to protect her like he usually does."

He passed the scroll back to Sakura and returned to his breakfast. Naruto gaped at him, eyes wide and unseeing.

Sakura stared at him as if he had grown another head. "You just learned," she forced out in a strangled voice, "that Asuma-sensei died, and the others might not make it… and you're eating breakfast?"

Sasuke glanced up at her, and his generally uninterested expression reminded Harry forcibly of Itachi.

"Tell me, Healer-taichou," he said quietly, "will my fasting bring back the dead? Or should I, perhaps, cry and see if my tears have magical healing properties for the others? This is war, Sakura. People die, and people are hurt. If you don't like it, you're in the wrong profession."

Sakura stared at him, still as though she couldn't quite see him. "Oh?" she whispered at last. "So you like it? Well, did you fucking like it when your family were the ones dying and getting hurt?" Her voice had risen to a scream, and suddenly she was on her feet, tears streaming from her eyes. "Well, did you, Sasuke? Maybe you don't know what it's like to lose a best friend, but I do, and I never want to go through that again, you goddamn bastard! Don't you dare tell me how to act! I'll panic if I want, and I'll go all the way back to Konoha to heal her myself if I have to! I'm not losing anyone again!"

With that, she turned and fled the Great Hall, leaving every student staring after her.

Hermione sighed and began to get to her feet, but Naruto held up his hand to stop her. "No, let me," he murmured. "She's not just crying about her friend anymore." He shot Sasuke a dark look and finished, "Now it'll be about some bastard who left us."

He stood and took off after Sakura.

There was silence in their wake.

Harry couldn't stop himself from asking coldly, "Do you have any redeeming qualities?" He knew he wouldn't have reacted so indifferently if he had to tell Ron and Hermione that someone like McGonagall had been killed, and some of their graduated friends might not live.

Sasuke didn't look up from the Prophet he had somehow, sometime, swiped from Hermione, as he responded, "My good looks." At their astounded looks, he sighed. "Look, Naruto and Sakura knew the people a lot better than I did. Naruto frequently went to the teacher for extra help, and one of the girls was a very good friend of Sakura's. All I saw in them was a persistent stalker and a man who smokes like a chimney." Pause. "Smoked… like a chimney."

"I heard 'Kakashi-sensei,'" said Hermione, giving him a concerned frown. "Sakura told me that was your personal teacher for fieldtrips. Surely you care about him?"

Sasuke stared at her for a split second, surprised by her knowledge. Then he looked away expressionlessly. "Kakashi will be fine."

"You can't possibly know that," Hermione countered. "Not if Sakura is as upset as she is."

"He will be," Sasuke snapped, throwing a lethal glare her way.

Hermione's eyes softened despite his glare, and Sasuke thought she suddenly understood more than she should have.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Sasuke's good looks weren't so useful when Christmas approached. Overnight, the corridors were hung with tinsel and mistletoe; suits of armor donned wreathes, and great pine trees sprouted up in the corners of the Great Hall. Snowed piled up outside the windows, and Naruto had way too much fun throwing it at people to be considered sixteen years old.

"What is it with girls crowding that stupid mistletoe?" muttered Sasuke angrily as he was forced to go out of his way to bypass what looked like ninety percent of the female population, all crowded under one cluster of mistletoe. They swarmed the next one, trying to keep pace with him, Naruto, Sakura, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were trying to get to class.

"You don't know the mistletoe tradition?" asked Hermione, surprised. She stopped to scowl at a girl who tripped her, probably jealous of her talking to Sasuke.

"Tradition?" asked Sasuke, as Naruto and Sakura perked up as well.

"Well…" began Hermione, "it's tradition that when two people stand under mistletoe, they have to kiss."

Sasuke looked vaguely disgusted. "That's what this is about? Fitting that it's mistletoe… a goddamn parasite…. Ridiculous…."

"And you really need to watch out what you eat or drink for a while," Hermione continued. "You, too, Harry and Naruto. I overhear girls talking about slipping love potions in your drinks every day, now. They'll keep at it until you pick girls to take to Slughorn's Christmas party."

"Christmas party?" repeated Harry, while Naruto looked stunned that he had been included. "Why haven't I heard about this?"

"Because you keep scheduling Quidditch practice during his dinners," grumbled Hermione, sending an intense glare at a second year girl as she was tripped again. "But he specifically asked for you to choose the date for the Christmas party. He's determined to have you – all of you," she added to Sasuke and Naruto. "And we're supposed to bring dates."

"And this is just for the Slug Club, is it?" glowered Ron, more bitter than ever at the attention focused on the other three boys.

"Well, yes, but…"

"They're not that bad," added Sakura to Harry's disgruntled look. "Hermione and I actually have fun sometimes."

"Hey, Sakura-chan, do you have a date yet?" asked Naruto, turning and walking backwards so he could face her with big, glittering blue eyes.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, do you want-?" began Sakura.

"No."

"No, Naruto," she sighed. "I don't."

"Pleeeeeease, go with me?" he asked, turning the eyes on Full Adorable Puppy-Dog mode. "Pretty, pretty please, with sugar, and ice-cream, and ramen, and cherries, and milk on top?"

"Ramen… and milk?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, and his eyes went starry. "Sounds delicious, doesn't it?"

"Naruto, that's gross."

"Please, before the fangirls get me!" he paused and mused, "Man, Sasuke, is it always this fun? That was, like, the coolest line I've ever said in my life, and I say some pretty awesome things."

"Just wait until the fangirls actually get you," muttered Sasuke, eyeing some of the nearest ones, appearing distantly traumatized. "Then you won't laugh the next time you say that."

"And I'm still mad at for you that, by the way," Sakura grumbled to Naruto, suddenly glaring.

Naruto blinked. "For what? I haven't pissed you off in weeks! Um… much…."

"You stole Sasuke's first kiss! I was going to do that!"

Sasuke and Naruto stopped in their tracks, causing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to crash into them. They were both beet red as they shouted, "SAKURA! NEVER - AGAIN! WHY WOULD YOU-?"

Ron was green. "Bloody hell, you two are-?"

"NO!" Again, they bellowed it in unison, still bright crimson.

"Some asshole knocked Naruto into Sasuke when they were standing face-to-face," growled Sakura, still glaring at Naruto and beginning to crack her knuckles.

Naruto made a small squeaking noise and sprinted the rest of the way to class.

Sasuke muttered something about needing to brush his teeth again and headed back to the Gryffindor tower. The mob of females took off after him, still trying to trap him under the mistletoe. Naturally, he evaded them only a little effort.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Dumbledore watched the three shinobi before his desk thoughtfully. They had given him updates at the end of every month, and now they appeared before him just as December began, Naruto lounging in a chair, Sakura standing at attention, and Sasuke hanging back indifferently.

He thought about his most recent visit from Itachi – last month, the first time he'd seen the man in almost a decade – and wondered if Itachi knew exactly what unstoppable force he was setting into motion. Sure, they didn't look like much on the surface, but Dumbledore could feel it in the very air surrounding them. The magic linked them, unbroken, though they felt as if it had, unbreakable, though they didn't understand just yet. The magic, life, pulsed through them and came out stronger for having touched them. These three… did Itachi really know what he was messing with? Did he have any right to do this to them?

But Sakura was speaking, asking about the Christmas break, and he had to play his part.

"Well, I believe it best if we say you three are returning to Konoha for the holidays," said Dumbledore. "And I would like the three of you to guard Harry and the Weasleys at the Burrow. I shall tell Arthur and Molly that I've hired three ninjas for protection. They'll trust my decision, and you'll be free to use chakra instead of your wands."

"But Ron hasn't invited us," pointed out Sakura. "Won't Harry and Ron find it fishy if we show up and his parents welcome us when they haven't even mentioned us?"

"We'll use disguises," said Sasuke, who was now stroking Fawkes' silky neck. The phoenix seemed to enjoy the attention. Dumbledore supposed they had an alliance in fire. "ANBU styled masks should work instead of a genjutsu or henge that will be a constant drain on our chakra – especially since the one of us with unlimited chakra can't even do genjutsu–" he ignored Naruto's angry retort and finished, "although we might consider a potion to alter our distinctive hair colors and styles. And a shadow clone fourth member, so our numbers aren't suspiciously coincidental."

"An excellent plan," agreed Dumbledore. "I might, however, suggest short henges if you go out in public. Masks are not taken well, here, I'm afraid."

Sasuke gave a short nod. "Not a problem."

Naruto grimaced. "Harry's not going to like this."

Dumbledore treated them to twinkling eyes, and the ninjas sighed.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"Ninjas? Ninjas?" repeated Harry, thrashing the parchment around in air when he finished it. "Is he serious?"

"What does it say?" asked Hermione blinking in surprise at the outburst. They were sitting around the fireplace a week before the Christmas party and subsequent break when Ginny had handed Harry a letter from Dumbledore. "What about ninjas?"

"Dumbledore… has assigned four ninjas… to come with us to the Burrow," said Harry through clenched teeth. "I didn't even think ninjas were real – and now I'm going to be stuck with four of them following me around a house! A single house!"

"Ninjas? Real ninjas?" repeated Hermione, still trying to ascertain how serious he was about that term. "Oh, my God, Harry, that's incredible! I read about the Hidden Continent for weeks in our third year; it's absolutely phenomenal!"

"Wait – ninjas are real?" asked Ron, looking up from his essay, his sugar quill halfway in his mouth. "When did that happen? I thought they were right up there with the Beatle and the Bard stories."

"The what?"

"Fairy tales," said Ron. "So does that mean they're real, too?"

"I seriously doubt it," said Hermione. "Anyway, the ninjas approached magic from a different standpoint altogether. Instead of drawing trace amounts of magic from their magical cores and directing it through wands like we do, they use chakra, like Sakura's healing technique. Except they use chakra for a lot more than healing. It's unknown exactly how powerful they became through that method, but it's said a single ninja could defeat an entire battalion of Wizarding Aurors."

"If they're so powerful, then why don't we hear more about them?" grumbled Ron. "They haven't been seen for hundreds of years, I'd warrant."

"Well, they hid themselves. Their entire continent, actually," said Hermione, practically bouncing in her seat. "No one knows exactly where it is anymore. The ninjas were said to focus their magic on battle techniques, and they hired out their services as mercenaries. But the rest of the world started abusing their culture, getting them caught in the middle of politics, killing each other in masses because their clients were fighting wars. So they withdrew from our world to preserve themselves and their way of life. I can't imagine what kind of strings Dumbledore had to pull to get them here after that kind of isolation. He must be really concerned for you, Harry." She paused and added, "I'm so jealous I can't come see them. But my parents wanted so much to see me this Christmas…. I would ask you to get pictures, but I doubt they'd fall for that…."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione thought she saw Sasuke step on his foot. It was difficult to tell with the robes, but Naruto eventually shut his mouth and pouted.

"Still," said Harry, not noticing anything. "Four ninjas… following me around all Christmas."

"At least he didn't go with four battalions of Aurors, mate," pointed out Ron. "Mum would have had a heart attack trying to feed them all a Christmas feast."

Harry couldn't help but snort.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

The morning before the Christmas party and the day before they left for break found both trios in the common room. Some trying to do homework, others trying to get dates for that night.

Harry had already asked Luna, and Hermione had invited Ron, all under the guise of 'as friends,' though anyone would have to be blind not to notice Ron and Hermione blush and smile every few seconds afterwards.

Meanwhile…

"Pleeeeease, Sakura-chan?"

"No. Sasuke-kun, are you sure-?"

"I'm sure."

"Sakura-chan…."

"Naruto, I swear to God…. I promise I'll make it as painless as possible, Sasuke-kun…."

"No. I'm not going."

"But you have to!"

"If Slughorn thinks he can drag me down there by force, I'd love to see him try."

"Come on! We could go as friends, rather than you and some girl you don't even know or like!"

"Or you could just go with me…."

"-the fuck are you trying to say, Idiot?"

"Not you, Bastard! Sakura!"

"Naruto… if I have to tell you one more time…"

"Sakura, just go with the idiot before he propositions me again."

"I DID NOT 'PROPOSITION' YOU, WHATEVER THAT MEANS, YOU BASTARD!"

"Erm, Sakura, Naruto, Sas-Sasuke," stammered a new voice, and they turned to find a first year holding a scroll towards them. "Professor Dumbledore wanted me to give you this…."

Sakura took it, and the first year scampered away. She unrolled it and announced, "Dumbledore wants to see us in his office. We're starting back to Konoha today to make up for the time difference." She turned back to Sasuke and Naruto. "Come on, let's grab some stuff and go home!"

"Have fun, you guys!" sang Hermione as they stood to leave. "I hope your friends and teacher are doing better! Have a safe trip!"

"Thanks! See you later!" Sakura chirped back.

They disappeared to their dorm rooms and, taking advantage of the brief privacy, stuffed satchels with kunais, shuriken, scrolls, and other weapons they'd hidden in their trunks. They lined their bags with a black, form-fitting uniform they would use for disguise to make it look like the bags were filled with clothes.

When they met up five minutes later, the students wished them happy Christmases and safe trips again, and they returned the wishes likewise.

Another five minutes found them outside Dumbledore's office knocking on the door.

"Come in," his voice met them just as pleasantly as ever. Sakura opened the door and led the way in.

As usual, Dumbledore sat behind his great mahogany desk, but in front of it now stood a plump little redheaded woman, and while Dumbledore's expression was serene, her expression was angry.

"Konoha shinobi," began Dumbledore, "meet Molly Weasley. She has raised a few concerns about your trustworthiness, so I thought it best to introduce you beforehand."

"Albus, they're children! You can't be serious!" She sounded as though a bad day had just gotten worse.

"What makes you think this is our true appearance?" returned Sasuke, crossing his arms and giving her an unimpressed once-over.

She gaped at him a moment, then regained her ability to speak. "Well, if it's not, why should I trust you at all?"

"You don't have to trust us," said Sasuke. "You just have to pay us."

She gaped at him again. Sakura shot him a narrow look. She stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Please, excuse my insubordinate." She smirked at Sasuke's stiffening at that, and then continued, "My name is Sakura Haruno. That was Sasuke Uchiha, and the other is Naruto Uzumaki. We are very pleased to make your acquaintance." She bowed low and straightened, proud to see Naruto mimic her, even if a little half-heartedly. "I assure you, while Harry is our charge, nothing will touch him. We will, of course, protect you and your family as well. You have no reason to be anxious around us."

Mrs. Weasley turned her attention to the girl, and Sakura didn't know if it was her pink hair, tone, or speech that made the difference, but she seemed to relax fractionally. Eventually, she sighed.

"How old are you, dear?" she asked heavily. "Is that really your face?"

Sakura smiled wryly. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but you must realize that in our line of work, that knowledge could get us killed very easily. It would hinder our mission more than help it." At Mrs. Weasley's saddened expression, however, she added more gently, "We are, however, adults. You shouldn't worry over our own safety."

Mrs. Weasley nodded heavily. "I can't believe the war has come to this," she muttered, but whether to herself, Dumbledore, or the shinobi, Sakura couldn't tell. At length, she looked back at Dumbledore and said, "Albus, are you sure?"

Dumbledore bowed his head once. "Molly, I would stake my life on their honor."

That, and Sakura's bracing expression, was apparently what she had needed. She nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll trust you, of course. But please, give me a little more notice in the future before you bring fairy tales to life, alright, Albus?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "But of course, Molly. Now, gentlemen and lady, could you please demonstrate your disguise, so Mrs. Weasley doesn't stun you by unlucky mistake?"

The shinobi nodded and quickly henged into the outfits they would wear.

So, three new figures stood before Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley. Their heights corresponded to their real heights, but everything else was so different, Harry and Ron would never guess. They wore form-fitting black outfits with green multi-pocketed vests and plain white masks. Their hair had turned to nondescript shades of brown, Naruto and Sasuke's a similar sort length, while Sakura's grew longer. They stood at attention, their postures immediately going from laid-back school children to perfect, graceful, lethal machines. It was chilling.

"We'll need to speak in English the entire time," said a strange, hard female voice, "with altered voices. Otherwise, they might connect it to our school personas."

"Agreed," said another strange male voice, sounding like a low hiss. "And Naruto, where's our fourth member?"

"Huh? Kakashi-sensei's still in the – ohhh, that fourth member! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Beside the male on the left appeared a third male, this one with dark brown hair slightly longer than the other two's. "Great, huh?"

"Fantastic," agreed the female voice drolly. "We'll use the names of our summons for our codenames, agreed? It'll be easiest to remember. So, Snake, Toad, and Slug. And we'll assume the fourth member is Kakashi and refer to him as Dog."

"Agreed," said three male voices.

Sakura turned back to Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley. "Is this acceptable?"

Dumbledore beamed. "Perfect."

Mrs. Weasley gave a short nod, eyeing the shadow clone warily. "…Alright."

"If that's all," began one of the males, and the henge released to show Naruto, "then why did you say we were leaving tonight? Now what'll we do until tomorrow?"

Sakura and Sasuke also released their henges. The Shadow Clone disappeared.

"I thought you might like a chance to familiarize yourself with the Burrow before you restart the mission tomorrow," chirped Dumbledore, motioning to Mrs. Weasley. "Would that be alright with you, Molly?"

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "If it's to keep the children safe, I'm alright with anything, Albus."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Christmas at the Burrow wasn't quite the same with ninjas thriving in the shadows. From the moment they were introduced, Harry knew he'd never get used to that expressionless white mask, staring at him though he couldn't see it, and the poise that suggested they could kill in cold, calculated precision at any moment.

"Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George," said Mrs. Weasley, and her expression was strained as it had been living at Grimmauld Place, "These are Slug, Toad, Snake, and Dog. They'll be staying with us for a while. They'll be protecting us, so please be respectful – and don't prank them!" she added furiously to Fred and George, who had moved closer together with mischievous glints in their eyes.

They held up their hands innocently. It might have helped if they weren't also holding their wands, which inexplicably flopped into rubber chickens.

One of the male ninjas snickered. Harry wondered exactly how professional that was for a killer, and then he shuddered at the realization. He was not only surrounded by four ninjas – he was surrounded by four professional killers. Were these people – things, because for all he knew, they were more like dementors under those masks – any better than Death Eaters?

The female's mask turned slightly toward him at the miniscule movement, and he froze before shifting uncomfortably.

Ron, however, asked, "Are all ninjas named after animals? And who names their daughter 'Slug'? That sounds pretty degrading, if you ask me."

"They're codenames," growled a hard, cutting feminine voice, and Ron blanched.

The male that had snickered before snickered again.

"Toad," hissed one of the other males, whom Mrs. Weasley had indicated was Snake, "shut up."

His voice was an eerie cross between Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy; Harry would have no trouble remembering him as 'Snake.' That and he was the only one with a freaking sword strapped to his back.

"They'll be staying in Percy's room, and they've asked me to let you know it's completely off-limits from now on," continued Mrs. Weasley. "So, Fred, George, that'll put Bill in with you, and Fleur with you, Ginny."

Ginny swore quietly. Mrs. Weasley, instead of reproaching her, gave her a sympathetic look.

"Alright, is there anything you'd like to add?" Mrs. Weasley finished, looking back to Slug.

"That's all, thank you," said Slug, inclining her head slightly.

With that, Slug, Snake, and Dog blurred before completely vanishing from sight, leaving Toad to explain, "They'll take positions watching the perimeter and outside of the house. I'll be keeping watch in here for now." And he melted into the shadows. Within seconds, no Weasley or Harry could tell where he really was.

It was creepy, Harry decided. And what kind of Apparition was that? They blurred; they didn't pop. He took a moment to remember Hermione's explanation of their 'different magic' and grudgingly attributed it to that.

And so the holidays began.

In general, the wizards and ninjas gave each other a wide berth: the ninjas as professional courtesy, and the wizards because the ninjas were just too chilling for the Christmas spirit.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George occasionally convinced Bill to play Quidditch with them so they'd have even teams, but when they were outside, they never caught sight of the other three ninja guarding the outdoors. Harry could occasionally tell that they changed places, because he had caught sight of the female lurking in the shadows indoors once or twice. As it was, he couldn't tell the males apart well enough to discover how long their shifts were. And all the while, Percy's door stayed locked. They only time Harry actually saw a ninja near it was when he and Ron walked by, loudly debating who was looking best in the Quidditch season so far.

Dog dropped to the ground in front of the door, almost as if he had been attached to the ceiling.

"I would be quieter if I were you," he informed them cheerfully, not reacting to their near-heart attacks at his sudden appearance. "Snake is trying to sleep in there."

"What's he doing sleeping?" demanded Ron, getting over it first. "It's four in the afternoon! Dumbledore ought to have his head for sleeping on the job!"

Dog cocked his head to the side, literally like a dog. Then he stated, as though curious about Ron's reaction, "Snake has been patrolling the perimeter for forty-eight hours straight. Can you stay awake that long and still perform to the best of your abilities?"

Ron gaped.

"We're sorry," said Harry, stepping forward and trying to ease the building hostility. "We didn't realize you were working through the night. We'll keep it down."

Dog nodded and did the blurring-disappearing thing.

"I wonder if they sleep with their masks off…" said Ron, now staring at the door hungrily.

Harry couldn't help his own burning curiosity as he thought about it, too. But he shook his head. "What if he woke up, though? He'd probably kill us on reflex or something. Dog made him sound like a foul waker, didn't he?"

"He can't be worse than Sasuke," retorted Ron. "He's set the dorm on fire a few times, and we survived."

"But Sasuke's still just a student," countered Harry. "This is a fully trained killer."

Ron brushed aside the comment with, "But they're not allowed to hurt us," and reached for the door.

It opened just before his hand touched it.

They faced Snake, his plain white mask, short brown hair, and homicidal waves of fury. "One more word," he snarled, "and I'll electrocute both of you until your fucking windpipes turn to ash and crumble out your goddamn asses, clients or not. Do I make myself clear?"

They stared. He slammed the door shut. There was the sound of snickering from the ceiling.

Ron and Harry continued on to their room, quieter than they'd even been in the Burrow.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Sakura flipped through the trees like an acrobat, bored and entertaining herself. She loved the forest surrounding the Burrow; it was more like the forest surrounding Konoha than Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest, which was only similar to the Forest of Death. She twirled expertly through their traps of exploding tags and soared gracefully over the trip wires on the ground. Only a shinobi would have a ghost of a chance getting through these with all their limbs in tact; and even shinobis would have trouble with some of the more creative ones.

Sakura let herself fall below the line of chakra-sensing strings and caught a slim branch with a gloved hand, clutching it expertly and swinging back to her original height once she was clear. The sudden appearance of Naruto almost made her fall into the hidden spike-pits waiting below.

"MORON!" she bellowed, allowing him to help her back onto his branch. "Don't surprise me like that! You're not Kakashi!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, probably grinning sheepishly behind his mask. "Did I really? I've been getting pretty good at this stealth thing since that prank with Tsunade, ha-ha…."

Sakura rolled her eyes behind her own mask. "Is it already my turn to take the inside? It feels like I was just there…."

"Well, it'd be Sasuke's turn if he'd do it," muttered Naruto darkly. "Bastard refuses to go inside except to sleep."

Sakura forgot her annoyance in favor of concern. She let her brow furrow. "Do you know what's going on with him? He never used to pick and choose like this. Is something bothering him?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's probably just that it's a big family. You know. Alive. During the holidays."

"…Oh." Sakura hesitated. "And are you…?"

Naruto laughed too loudly for her to finish. "Aw, Sakura-chan. You know me. I'm having fun. I'm spending Christmas with the only family I've got."

Sakura smiled and nodded once. "Right. I'm glad you're okay, Naruto. I guess you and 'Dog' can take over out here. I need to catch a shower inside, anyway. See you in a few hours."

"See you, Slug," Naruto saluted warmly.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Naruto was on house-guard Christmas Eve, pondering what Mr. Weasley's "famous eggnog" was, when he was suddenly assaulted with a week's worth of information.

Dog popped, he realized through the brief, confusing haze of overlapping memories. And when the memories came to an end… Dog was popped by a foreign shinobi! -Sakura and Sasuke!

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he exclaimed, eliciting several surprised gasps from the Weasleys, Harry, Remus, and Tonks, who had forgotten he was in the room. A clone, disguised as another Toad, appeared at his side. Naruto called to the wizards, already leaping towards the window, "If anything happens, throw stuff at my clone until he pops, and one of us will come! But stay in here!"

With that, he was out the window and leaping towards Dog's previous location. He didn't have to go far.

The shinobis were locked in combat with Sakura and Sasuke just inside the perimeter of traps. How did they get past all the traps?! It was a four-man cell against the two, and Naruto made his entrance with an attempted kunai to the throat of one of the two battling Sakura. The shinobi – his hiat-te and vest distinguished him as a Mist chuunin or jounin – countered his attack with a windmill shuriken in one fluid movement, and used the momentum to throw Naruto off balance.

"What are you doing?" demanded Sasuke as he ducked a blow and drew his katana in one quick as lightning movement. He lashed out with the sword, but both opponents leapt over it and landed on opposite sides of him, forcing him to fight a two-sided battle. "Guard Potter!"

"I left a clone!" shouted Naruto, summoning another clone and preparing a Rasengan. It took too long. One of Sakura's opponents left her to fight Naruto fully and riddled his clone with senbon before the chakra could finish shaping. It wasn't a smart move. The only thing that had kept them safe from Sakura was their combined ability to keep her too busy blocking for her to attack. Now that she only faced one, her Mist opponent was done for. All it took was one good punch, and he went crashing into the ground, his skidding body ripping up half a mile of dirt in his wake.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura roared at his prone form before turning to help Naruto.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried again, and four Toads and one Slug charged the Mist ninja.

He was good. He set the windmill shuriken spinning and slashed through two clones and had Sakura reeling to dodge in a single movement. He hadn't, however, accounted for the other two Narutos to be preparing a Rasengan in his distraction. Sakura attacked head-on again, forcing the man to shield his front while Naruto flipped over his head and forced the Rasengan into his unguarded back. He had started to duck below the swirling chakra, but Sakura landed an uppercut in his chest, forcing him back up into it.

Blood splattered her vest. Naruto pulled back a dripping hand.

They turned to find Sasuke had already disposed of both opponents, but Naruto couldn't tell from the sizzling sounds whether it had been some form of lightning or fire that had done the trick. It was the bloodied sword that made him realize Sasuke had probably run lightning down the length of it and stabbed them. And from Sasuke's stilled, alert pose, he was probably surveying the rest of the perimeter with Sharingan for more intruders.

"They were pawns," he murmured suddenly, spinning around to the east. "To locate the traps and distract us – Death Eaters!"

Just as he said it, fire roared into life from the east, shooting across the dry December grass to encircle the Burrow. Naruto barely had time to notice Harry, Mr. Weasley, Remus, and Tonks in the doorway before a strange song met his ears.

In a flare of ash and shadow, a dark-haired woman with a manic grin appeared just inside the flames. She looked directly at Harry, sang, "I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK, I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK!" and pranced through the flames.

Naruto vaguely heard Sasuke breathe, "Bellatrix Lestrange," before Harry ripped through Mr. Weasley's and Remus' arms took off after her.

Naruto shot off after him, feeling Sasuke on his heels. He landed in front of Harry, still just inside the circle of fire, and grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

"We have to go after her!" bellowed Harry, eyes wild with hatred, darting to Bellatrix's possible locations behind the raging heat. "She's a Dark wizard, you have to catch her!"

"We're ninjas, not Aurors!" snapped Snake. "All we have to do is protect your dumb ass!" His bloody, dripping sword punctuated the sentence more somberly than his annoyed exclamation could ever have.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! SHE KILLED MY GODFATHER! SHE KILLED HIM!"

"Godfather?" repeated Naruto, not releasing Harry's arm despite his violent wrenching. Harry had never mentioned a murdered godfather, and neither had Dumbledore during their briefings. He thought suddenly of Jiraiya – dead – and some bastard shinobi prancing about singing, screaming with laughter about it…. He closed his eyes behind the emotionless white mask.

"Sirius Black! The closest thing I had to a father! And she just killed him, right in front of me! I'm not letting her escape – not again!"

Pervy Sage….

"Well, fuck, why didn't you just say so?" snapped Naruto, and instead of holding onto Harry's arm to stop him, he used his grip to drag him forward faster than his wizard-feet could follow. "Come on, let's get that psycho bitch!"

"Toad!" Sasuke shouted, angry at the idiot's complete inability to see a trap when he was running right into one. Toad ignored him. "Goddamn it," Sasuke growled under his breath and, making his decision, he took off after them.

"Hey, what the hell are you- ?" he heard Sakura shout, cussing and giving chase. And with that, Team Seven raced into the trap, leaving the Burrow alone but for a single clone and four half-dead Mist shinobis.

A/N: Hey, guys! Hope you liked that mild cliff-hanger. I was going to end it at Naruto realizing shinobis were attacking, but I decided to be nice and continue. Anyways, for the record, NO PAIRINGS in this story. I'll do canon emotions, but 'romance' is not in my vocabulary. Sorry all you romance fans! I hope the canon love is enough.

Besides that, have I mentioned how thankful I am to all my outstanding reviewers? THANK YOU, all! I feel so honored to have such a nice audience. =)