Resonance
Chapter Twelve
The Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers at the Hat's declaration, applauding happily as Haku got to his feet and handed the Sorting Hat back to Professor McGonagall with a polite inclination of his head.
Brown eyes flickered across the table before landing on Cedric and he smiled, at least there would be someone he was familiar with in his new house. The Shinobi quickly made his way over and sat down beside the beaming brunet who whispered a quick greeting before falling silent as the Sorting came to a finish and Dumbledore-hakase got to his feet, no doubt to address the students.
"I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his voice echoing around the silently expectant hall. "Tuck in."
"Here, here!" Haku could hear Ron call approvingly from the Gryffindor table as food seemed to quite literally blossom on the golden serving plates and dishes in front of them, making the Quasi-Kunoichi jerk backwards with a particularly vile expletive squeaking out of his mouth. Certainly not one he would have ever uttered around Tsunade-sama or Naruto-kun.
Cedric just laughed at his reaction.
"How did..." Haku trailed off, suspiciously lifting the corner of the nearest plate, when he found nothing beneath it he arranged his fingers to break the Genjutsu only to feel Shizune's Chakra spike in a Release Technique as well, the sensation of her Chakra washed over him like a ripple of cooling lukewarm water but nothing wavered or broke. He bit his tongue again and tasted blood. This was no Genjutsu. "Where did all of this come from? Is it even safe to eat?" he asked, looking at the still snickering Cedric with wide eyes.
He nodded, reaching out and ladling some chicken nuggets onto Haku's plate, "Yes, its all perfectly safe. The Elves in the Kitchens would never even consider sending up sub par food," he explained to the 'girl' who genuinely seemed alarmed by the sudden appearance of the food. He wondered why she was so suspicious of it, usually most Muggleborns were so amazed and immediately coined it to magic that they dug in purely out of excitement to see if there was anything magical about the food.
"Elves? As in House Elves?" Haku asked with a brief frown, "I didn't know Hogwarts had them. How can they be tied to a place when there is no owner and the Headmaster legally isn't allowed to bond with them?"
Cedric blinked before smiling, "So you looked into the situation, did you?"
He nodded, a vaguely offended look crossing his face, "Of course I did." It was one thing to willingly devote yourself to servitude, or slavery, but it was quite another to be forced into it as most Elves were – despite their eagerness.
The Hufflepuff smiled apologetically as he pushed the bowl of chips towards the Shinobi who hesitantly began to dish himself up some of the foreign foods. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say you wouldn't. Its just that a few Muggleborn who find out about the Elves kick off about slavery and such without even giving a passing thought for how its survived this long if it were so evil." He shrugged and Haku got the distinct impression he was forcing himself not to look at someone near-by, apparently one of these Muggleborns was still a student here. "Our House Founder, Helga Hufflepuff, set up a clause in the school, it was to offer shelter to any House Elf, Centaur, Veela, Goblin, Half-Breed or Being who requested Sanctuary away from an abusive or dangerous environment. The Castle Enchantments protect them. Hogwarts currently has the largest Elf population in Europe and sadly, it isn't getting bigger."
The Shinobi frowned as he mechanically ate, noticing very little about his food save that it wasn't poisoned or drugged, "How is that a bad thing? Surely its good that no more abused Beings are showing up on the steps..."
The Hufflepuff looked a little upset, "Because, the Beings in such bad conditions now believe its their lot in life, that its their pleasure to be treated so poorly. To expect it. To even harm themselves when their Abusers aren't there to do it for them for whatever imagined slight. Some Elves have been so badly treated that they will immediately try to harm themselves for even thinking poorly of their Masters."
Haku's mouth immediately felt like it was full of ash.
He remembered a time, not long after Zabuza-sama had started training him, when he too behaved like that. Bitter and frightened thoughts would consume him the moment the campfire went out and sleep consumed the Mist Shinobi and Haku would be left awake to wonder and hiss malicious thoughts at the other man, and in horror over what he had just thought, Haku stabbed himself with a senbon. Not deep, it didn't even bleed much, but it happened again and again and again until he didn't even need to physically harm himself. He would feel pain in his heart if he thought badly of Zabuza-sama. Such pain that... sometimes to be stabbed with a senbon would have been preferable.
He set his knife and fork down, "Wakarimasu," he murmured, appetite lost.
Cedric seemed to realise that the conversation at reached a sore point and offered the other teenager an apologetic smile which was waved off without comment. The rest of the dinner passed with Haku listening in on the conversations around him, gathering information about everything and everyone. He learned that Susan Bones was the niece of a highranking official who worked with Magical Law enforcement, Madam Bones possibly? A boy called Zacharius Smith had some kind of superiority complex because evidentially he could trace his family roots back to Helga Hufflepuff herself.
When the last of the puddings vanished, crumbs and all, leaving the golden dish ware sparklingly clean and Haku thoroughly interested in learning just how as he hated doing the Washing up, Dumbledore-hakase climbed to his feet and the muttering and buzzing of conversation throughout the Great Hall faded into respectful silence so only the sound of the storm outside could be heard raging against the Castle walls.
"So!" the man declared, beaming at everyone around him, "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs." Idly, Haku wondered why the Purebloods behaved as though everything Muggle was beneath them when even their toys were just Magical versions of the ones that Muggles created, patented and played with. "The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it." Haku would definitely be double checking that but judging by the way the Headmaster's mouth twitched he doubted that anyone would bother, or that anyone ever had.
Never the less, he forged on with the announcements.
"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." The instant uproar from several students and the buzz of conversation swept through the hall like a hissing tidal wave as the teenagers gasped in shock and horror, several appearing to be on the very edge of mutiny. A good number of Gryffindors being the most vocal even as Cedric added his own voice to the disapproving chorus of unhappy students. The headmaster acted as if he hadn't heard them, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I'm sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts – "
A deafening roar of thunder and the sound of the doors leading into the Great Hall banging open cut him off and made Haku jump so badly that his legs curled up under him so was crouched on the bench he had been sitting on a split second ago with a fist-load of needles bristling between his fingers as he stared at the man stood in the doorway. Everyone was suddenly looking over at him as the lightning forked across the sky, just in time to catch his grizzled face as he shook his head free of the heavy hood he had worn to shield himself from the rain. Haku smiled and relaxed at the familiar sight of Moody-san, secreting the needles away within his clothing and sitting down properly as the ex-Auror began to make his way up to Dumbledore.
That was when the Ice Nin started frowning. Something wasn't right.
Moody-san usually moved with a lot more grace than that, having travelled with the man through the Elemental Countries during the Summer he was quite familiar with his body posture and movements. True the stormy and not to mention cold weather could attribute some of his lacking grace due to the heavy scarring on the man's body but not that much, he moved like he was wholly unfamiliar with his peg-leg and the differences in weight and flexibility of his prosthetic limb were discomforting to him, not uncomfortable in a physical sense, but not something he liked. Moody hadn't given a hoot nor a hollar about it when Haku saw him last, indeed, he seemed to appreciate the limb more than his flesh and blood one for the simple fact that it was not only expendable but also durable. Plus, he got discount on shoes he had once joked.
Watching the man, perhaps more intensely and less morbidly than the rest of the students, he spoke briefly with Dumbledore yet he couldn't make out what was being said, their mouths were obscured though from what he could gather Moody had done a cursory inspection of the school grounds before coming in. Sounded like something Moody would do. He glanced to Shizune-senpai who was frowning and Tsunade-sama who was scowling frightfully as her knife sharp honey brown eyes pinned themselves to Moody, watching as he took the seat Dumbledore indicated and used his own personal cutlery to eat and even drank from his hipflask. Both familiar behaviours, but there was something... Moody was quite used to pulling knives and forks from his pockets, being clumsy and awkward while pulling them out was a new one, Shinobi sharp eyes picked out the way both had snagged on the fabric and left marks. Even tearing some of the threading of his pocket.
The hall was silent as Dumbledore introduced their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Haku, along with Shizune-senpai and Hagrid were the only ones to applaud aside from Tsunade-sama who was still scowling suspiciously as she studied Moody-hakase. The man seemed indifferent to his less than warm welcome as he took another mouthful from his hipflask.
"As I was saying," Dumbledore began again, loudly, to gather the attention of the appalled students as they gaped disbelievingly at Moody, "we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
"You're JOKING!" blurted Fred Weasley from over on the Gryffindor table, very nearly jumping out of his seat as he stared at the Headmaster. All the tension in the hall since Moody-hakase's arrival was shattered like fine porcelain at that comment as laughter broke out amidst the teenagers, even Dumbledore laughed appreciatively at the red head's exclamation.
"I am not joking, Mr Weasley. Though, now you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar – " McGonagall-hakase cleared her throat meaningfully, and loudly, as she frowned disapprovingly at the headmaster, only the faint twitch to her mouth betraying her own private amusement as he subsided rather like a kicked puppy, "Er – but maybe this is not the time, no, where was I? Ah, yes, the Triwizard Tournament. Well, some of you will not know what this Tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanations, and allow their attention to wander freely," he declared jovially, practically beaming down at them.
Haku tried to pay attention, he did, but the scowl on Tsunade-sama's face was becoming more and more pronounced the longer she observed Moody-hakase, so something had to be wrong, they had gotten along rather well during the journey to Uzugakure no Sato. Well enough for Shizune-senpai and himself to make some light hearted teasing comments regarding him, comments that got their teacher and friend to turn pink and defensive. A flustered Tsunade-sama was an oddly cute one.
The prize money of the Tournament, once mentioned, immediately pulled his Master's attention away from the suspicious teacher and back onto Dumbledore in such a jarring fashion it would have made anyone who didn't know the woman somewhat disorientated. Just like Zabuza-sama, though for different reasons Haku noted with a slightly pained sigh, rubbing the tingling scar upon his chest again. Such a shame the age line would prevent him from joining, he couldn't help but chuckle when he noticed her immediately deflate at the minimum age requirements, Haku wasn't old enough to enter and being both faculty, neither she or Shizune could.
After informing them that the other competing schools would be arriving in October, they were chivvied off to bed.
"C'mon Haku, I'll show you to the dorms," Cedric told him with a friendly smile. The quasi-Kunoichi shook his head, smiling apologetically.
"Gomen, ah, sorry, Cedric-kun. But I will be staying in the same quarters as Tsunade-sama. I would be a danger to whomever I shared a room with due to my training, I may end up attacking someone accidentally before I can come to grips with my surroundings," he explained nervously, "I would love to know where the Common Room is, if you would please show me tomorrow morning after breakfast? I would like to meet my yearmates and everyone else in the house," he admitted, hopefully and yet a little fearfully, not wanting to upset any of them because he couldn't sleep in the Badger's Den like a true member of the house.
Cedric nodded, smiling gently, "I'll tell them, Professor Sprout already knows, I assume?" he asked, receiving a nod, as far as Haku was aware, the staff members knew that he would be staying with his Teacher, as was only right and proper. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early for breakfast. Then I'll take you down to the den and give you a quick fly-by tour of the castle before escorting you to class, how does that sound?"
"That sounds great, thank you very much Cedric-kun," he said, bowing formally in gratitude before the two parted ways, Cedric to help hustle the first-years out of the Great Hall and Haku over to his teacher who had started to scowl frightfully at Moody-hakase again. "Tsunade-sama?"
"That is not Moody-san," the blonde woman growled under her breath, glaring at the man and making Haku blink in surprise and check the man's Chakra.
Kami-sama, she was right! He looked identical, right down to the tiniest of details, he had mimicked his general personal details and habits, his speech patters and even quirks, but his Chakra network was completely different, erratic, damaged almost. Not to mention the discrepancies in his body language and movements.
Airi skittered to his side and pressed against his foot, picking her up, Haku observed the man and watched as Dumbledore dismissed him to his quarters before turning to them.
"That isn't Moody-san," Tsunade declared as soon as she was certain the man was out of earshot and before Dumbledore could open his mouth, "His Chakra is different, his body language is awkward and messed up, even his scent is off. That is not Moody-san."
Dumbledore's eyes traitorously flickered over to Haku, to a normal person, a civilian, it would not have been noticed, but they were Shinobi, it was as obvious as Naruto-kun's 'Kill Me' orange jumpsuit that the man was hiding something and he didn't want Haku to know what it was. Frowning, the quasi-Kunoichi turned to the nearest teacher, Snape-san.
"Snape-sensei, would you be kind enough to show me to Tsunade-sama's room please? I would like to make some preliminary security measures and my Master would like a word with the Headmaster in the mean time," he informed the sour man who, after glancing sharply at Dumbledore who at least had the grace to flush a little sheepishly at his transparency, nodded sharply and gestured for the dark haired Hufflepuff to follow him.
They made their way up the marble staircase in silence for a time, "I had not anticipated your placement being in Hufflepuff," he admitted quietly as he stepped over a particular step, "Be careful, that is a trick step, it will grab your ankle and refuse to let go," he warned as Haku hopped over it.
"Ah, thank you. In all honesty, there was no doubt in my mind," he explained as they turned down a corridor on what he believed was the sixth floor, "It may seem unhealthy but I have... I have a dependent personality," he admitted, "If Tsunade-sama had not come into my life, I probably would have committed suicide after Zabuza-sama's death, regardless of his final orders for me to finish his work in our home country."
Snape glanced over his shoulder at the young man, he had heard of this Zabuza-sama before now, known the man was a criminal who took Mr Yuukinari in and raised him before dying in a fight, he knew that the man had made the youngster utterly dependent on him and he also knew that Dumbledore was attempting to turn that dependence to his advantage. The fact that such a thing could actually succeed, frightened Snape because he was actually finding himself becoming rather fond of the soft-spoken and level headed young man who saw the world in all the shades of grey that he, that Dumbledore and so many of the Wizarding World forgot existed.
"The headmaster will attempt to turn that loyalty onto himself," he warned softly.
"I know. He will not succeed. He has done nothing that would earn or deserve it." A small, somewhat sardonic smirk curled on Haku's lips, "If anything, he has prompted me into wanting to prod him with sharp objects more than anything."
It was a good thing there were no students in the halls to hear the Potion Master's startled bark of laughter, the Portraits around them never-the-less gave the dark haired man stunned looks of astonishment as he snickered under his breath.
"When the urge becomes unable to control, please inform me and allow me to watch. I assure you it has been a long desire of many people to... ah, prod the headmaster with pointy objects," he echoed, mouth curled in black amusement. Haku inclined his head, pleased that he had managed to make the other man laugh with his out of character honesty, Snape-san had been through a lot, he needed more light in his life, more warmth. The Ice Nin wondered if he would be interested in joining himself and Shizune-senpai when they practice and study poisons and other compounds and mixtures unique to the Hidden Countries, he had most certainly been enthusiastic when they spoke of the matter on the way to Uzugakure no Sato.
"This is your room," the black haired Wizard announced as they came to a stop in front of a large tapestry, "There is no password but you can assign one instead of merely pulling the correct thread," he explained as he pointed to a Unicorn and the loose white thread at the tip of its horn, Haku frowned thoughtfully. "Just pull this, not too hard though, the Unicorn will be upset," he warned as he gave the loose thread a light jerk, causing the unicorn in the tapestry to rear back on its hind legs and run to the side of the fabric – pulling it aside and revealing a thin passage way wide enough for only the one person about fifteen feet long, leading into what looked to be a rather attractive room.
"Is there any way of using both the password and the thread? Make it so that one won't work without the other?" Haku asked curiously, he would sleep a lot better if he knew that a lucky guess wasn't going to get anyone into their chambers.
Snape nodded and gestured for the unicorn to come back, the horse shook itself and trotted back into place where the Potions Master prodded one of its ears with his wand, "Say your password."
Haku looked down at Airi, at the scar on her forehead and smiled, "Narutokun," he decided, no one would think of it, no one would even be able to guess it. It was perfect. Snape nodded and prodded the Unicorn again who nodded and snorted in a surprisingly realistic fashion and bowed its head in Haku's direction, the quasi-Kunoichi bowing back, if only out of reflex.
The Wizard nodded, "I will see you tomorrow at breakfast Ms Yuukinari," he told the Shinobi with a polite nod.
"Goodnight professor, pleasant dreams," the dark haired teenager told him before pulling the thread and saying the password, requesting the Unicorn remain open so that Tsunade-sama and Shizune-senpai could find their way in before stepping inside.
The rooms were simple, nice, but very... different. Stone floors with fur rugs, lumpy looking chairs with red upholstery, a large fire in the middle of the room with two flights of stairs flanking it, one going up, the other down, there were windows, wide and multipanneled offering a beautiful view of the Lake and the Forest. Haku smiled before looking down stairs, a pleasant bathroom greeted him along with a small closet that he mentally decided would be Weapon and Scroll storage. Upstairs were two bedrooms, one was rather grand and done in shades of crimson and gold with black wooden furnishings, clearly this was meant to be Tsunade-sama's room, Haku made quick work of setting traps and Fuuinjutsu seals to prevent spying, eavesdropping and anything else he could think of. He hadn't yet figured out how to combine Ancient Runes and Fuuinjutsu together but he was able to include one Ancient Rune based ward to the room that would repel anyone meaning Tsunade-sama harm, this he carved into the door and window frames. The second room was a little larger but had two beds, it was done in soothing blues and greens with creamy lavender trimmings, it was a pleasant room but Haku still performed the same safety measures as he did in Tsunade-sama's room before moving on to the rest of the room.
By the time he was finished, Airi had fallen asleep in front of the fire which had died down to embers and Tsunade-sama and Shizune-senpai were just walking through the door with Tonton leading the way, having followed him via his scent.
Explaining the entry methods into the room and the security he had set up the three of them made quick work of unsealing their belongings and having a quick bath before going to bed, tomorrow would be another day and if Haku was reading Tsunade-sama's facial expressions correctly, it wasn't going to be an enjoyable experience for her youngest apprentice, especially when early morning training was going to roll around.
He winced in his sleep.
And ta'dah! This chapter was rather difficult to churn out but I managed, I hope you guys enjoy it.
Wakarimasu – I understand in japanese. Wakarimasen/Wakarinai – I don't understand in japanese. I thought it would be a little important to include some cultural and language differences in this, at least to begin with, Haku will slip up and speak in Japanese without meaning to, English may have been the language he was born to but it isn't the one he learned to speak first, so he'll make mistakes.
