Classes are piling up, so updates for either of my stories will get slow.
I still need cover art. Is anybody willing to put some time into it?
Dinner that night was a disaster for Naruto. The twins took their latest prank too far. George Vanished Naruto's shirt and Fred drenched him in water right before he entered the Great Hall. Before thinking this was just a small prank, Naruto remember that he had a body that, in comparison to many wizards, was lean and incredibly buff. Needless to say, Naruto did a lot of ceiling walking practice to get away from some girls, a couple of whom wanted to Severing Charm his pants into very short shorts. After losing most of the girls by using Shadow Clones after rounding many corners and escaping to the Slytherin Common Room, Naruto dried himself off, put on another pair of clothes, and returned to the feast. The score was two all, even though Naruto thought that prank was worth more than just one point. But with the help of his new prank half-buddy Peeves, Naruto had the perfect prank to end the war in mind.
Soon after dinner, Pa hopped over to Naruto. "Naruto-boy, the first lesson is in half an hour. Let's head out there early and get some warm ups done. I also want to have you to go over some of the spells Dumbledore-san came up with."
Pa then guided Naruto to their lesson area. It was a large outdoor courtyard, with many pillars along the edges and a fountain in the middle. Naruto saw that the chosen area would serve well for both the wall walking and the water walking exercises. There, they first set up the class. This was easy, since they unsealed some mats and practice dummies with swinging arms that Pa had, which were given to him by Dumbledore. The thinner mats meant for spars were placed together near the castle side of the courtyard, the practice dummies were placed near the corners of the sparring mats, and the poofy donut-shaped ones went around the pillars.
Naruto was then told to open up Pa's book and go over the four spells listed in the various chapters, since Fukasaku couldn't cast the spells himself. First, there was Vires corporis et animi coniungo. Hearing that spell made Naruto realize he was able to translate some spells. This one, the Chakra Creation Charm, meant 'energies of body and mind merge/pool'. It's intent was to force Chi and Aura to mix into Chakra, and forcefully expand the chakra system and tenketsu if the target was already at his maximum chakra capacity. The next spell was just the first one with Metior in front, which meant 'measure'. This spell, the Chakra Detection Charm, allowed the caster to measure how much chakra the target has, useful to determine if pupils could safely perform a jutsu without causing chakra depletion or control Mana without instantly turning into a stone toad. The diagnosis spell could also tell if the target was experiencing chakra overload, which could be more dangerous than chakra exhaustion. The spell Naruto was doing wordlessly to gather Mana was called the Mana Curse, because of the dangerous risks involved. The incantation was Congregabo vires de natura, or 'gather energy out of nature'. This curse, surprisingly, could only be used on the caster, and would make Mana enter the caster through his own wand. The Mana Counter-Curse, should one start turning into a toad or to stone and Fukasaku wasn't nearby with his black baton of bludgeoning torture, was Expellere vires natura, or 'expel nature's energy'. The Counter-Curse, unlike the Curse, can be used on any target, as long as the target was in close proximity.
After making sure Naruto could cast the first two, as well as moderate the Aura and Chi draw of the first, Naruto and Pa practiced the Toad Kata until the time that the class would start. The leaps, punches, dodges, and kicks the duo did awed the students who arrived early and watched from the other side of the pillars. Once the bell had rung, the two fighters stopped for a rest, and Naruto turned to see the class. While quite a few of Naruto's fangirls from dinner were there, the majority of the class were boys and other girls. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were there. The Weasley Twins showed up, but were quickly warned by Fukasaku to not pull any tricks or pranks in the class, or else. While most of the class was composed of Gryffindors, there were a decent number of Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, including Luna, and even a few Slytherins. Most noticeably among the Slytherins, there was Adrian, Malfoy, and the over-compensations for his right and left biceps.
"Good evening, my pupils," Pa greeted the class from the top of the fountain's statue. After scattered repeats, and a few grumbles from Slytherins, Pa explained the class. "This class, unlike the others, will not have tests or grades, but reviews of what you have already learned. This is because everyone will progress at their own speeds, and having a unified test would prove ineffective.
"The purpose of this class is to see if you can unlock and wield your chakra, an internal energy of your body. Now, has anybody opened their books yet?" A few hands went up. "Who can explain what chakra and magic is?" Only one hand didn't drop. "Hermione-girl?"
"For both those forms of energy, three energy sources are used. There's Chi, the physical energy, Aura, the spiritual energy, and Mana, life or nature energy. Magic and spells use Mana given command and form by Aura. Chakra is created from a mixed balance of Aura and Chi."
"Splendid explanation Hermione-girl. 10 points to Gryffindor," Fukasaku praised. He then turned to the rest of the class. "Aura is indeed what connects Magic and Chakra. While Dumbledore-san and I were preparing this book, we found a couple muggles who were related to wizards and witches and willing to test our theories. As it turns out, even though some muggles have more Chi than wizards, they don't have nearly as much Aura, which means most aren't able to use either magic or chakra. However, one muggle managed to develop a tiny amount of chakra, and may build more if he continues to train. If Mr. Granger does well enough, he may be able to learn small spells and weak magic.
"So, by these results, we determined that Muggles and Squibs can't use magic because they don't have enough Aura to command Mana. However, all wizards, whether pureblood or muggleborn, are born with more Aura then others, and hence can use magic or chakra." This explanation of non-magicals caught many of the wizards there who believed in blood supremacy off guard. The thought that wizards and muggles actually had only one small difference was almost blasphemy against their parent's teachings. Hermione was shocked as well. This was why her father had left town for a few weeks while Hermione was moved to the Order in July!
"Should you develop enough chakra in this class, you'll be able to learn how to do wandless magic using your chakra." Many of the students looked up at this thought. "However, most pupils start to unlock their chakra at the age of six, because later ages have a much harder time developing their chakra system should they have not unlocked their chakra. Also, even among those who unlocked their chakra at an early age, the amount of chakra needed to wield magic without a wand is phenomenal, and a rare few can naturally develop the chakra capacity needed." Hearing this news dampened the spirits of many of the students. "However, those who unlock their chakra will be able to substitute it for some techniques called jutsu. Jutsu can have power over the elements, as well as perform skills unheard of by spells." This caught their attention once again. "Naruto-boy, if you will..."
"Right Pa! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Those that hadn't seen it before were surprised at the 2 physical copies of Naruto who appeared out of nowhere. Some of the fangirls squealed, but were silenced by Fukasaku. One clone broke off from the rest, and leaned against a pillar. Quickly, said blonde clapped his hands together. "Wind Style, Gale Palm." That Naruto opened his hands and shoved them at the other two, which created a strong but short gust of wind that blew them into the opposite pillar. However, those two Narutos used the pillar as a springboard to jump at the attacking clone. One of the Narutos held his hand out to the other, who started spinning his hands over it. Within a few short moments, a few rings of blue energy appeared, which turned into a spiraling orb. "Rasengan!" Was the cry the wielding Naruto gave when he shoved it into the Wind Naruto. If the damage done to the clone wasn't a surprise, the class was shocked that the pillar he was leaning against was destroyed as well. The third Naruto, however, was quickly casting "Reparo" to restore the pillar and the stone it was supporting, and was soon joined by the original.
While repairing the damage, Naruto noticed some of the reactions of the class. Luna looked... well, like Luna, but was also gazing at Naruto will a curious look. The Hufflepuffs, in general, were jaw-dropping shocked. The Ravenclaws, while surprised, also had looks of curiosity, as if they wanted to piece together every detail of how he did those jutsus. The Slytherins had some looks of power lust, but some had the sense to know they shouldn't mess with their housemate anymore and had looks of fear. Malfoy was particularly interested, as well as Left Arm and Right Arm. The Gryffindors were whispering either about using those jutsus for good, or for pranks, or how destructive they were. Ron was in the latter group, but was quickly shushed by Hermione and Harry.
"Calm down class," Professor Fukasaku commanded. Soon, all eyes and ears were on the short wizened toad perched on the fountain's statue. "Who can explain what Naruto did?" Only one hand was raised. "Hermione-girl, can you explain it to the class?"
"Yes Professor. First, Naruto did a variation of the Bunshin, or Clone jutsu. His version, unlike the illusory Clone Jutsu, uses more chakra and is corporeal." Seeing the confused looks on the other students, she rephrased herself. "That means they can be touched and can touch others." The confusion wore off, and Hermione continued her assessment. "One of the Naruto's then did a basic C-Rank Wind Jutsu, known as the Gale Palm. It creates a brief blast of wind to knock back your target. The other two Narutos countered with what at first looked like a Stage 1 Rasengan, but then became a sphere which dispelled the Wind using Clone and damaged the pillar."
"Excellent Hermione-girl. 15 points to Gryffindor, five for each usage of chakra. However, you missed two." Hearing that she didn't get the full answer, Hermione went into shock. "Can somebody tell me what she missed?" After a few nervous seconds, one hand went up. "Luna-girl, what did your classmate miss?"
"Did Naruto and his clone use chakra to stick to the pillar for a moment, before using chakra to jump off the pillar to attack the third one?" Luna said, her ability to comprehend beyond what could be seen shining through.
"Correct! Ten points to Ravenclaw!" Fukasaku said, beaming at her. He then turned to the class. "Skilled chakra users can mold chakra without needing hand signs. However, most can only do it for enhancing their physical abilities, wall and water walking, and the Substitution jutsu. For example, see those two rocks over by that door?" The class turned to see two rocks. One was as large as them, the other easily weighing a couple tons. "Naruto-boy, can you pick up the first one without chakra?" Naruto turned to the smaller rock and struggled to lift a corner. As he was struggling to lift it, Fukasaku spent a few moments gathering Mana. "Now, can you try again, this time with chakra?" Naruto tried again, and to the surprise of most of the class, he managed to lift the rock like it weighed five pounds. "Now try the large one." Naruto failed to lift it. "As you can see, chakra isn't limitless," Fukasaku explained, hopping off the statue and towards Naruto. "Your chakra is deeply connected to, and is limited by, how physically fit you are. However, should you have enough chakra, the final part of this class will teach you how to use chakra and magic's main energy, Mana, together." Fukasaku was now squatting right in front of the large boulder. "If you have mastered the mix, you'll be able to do this and more!" Fukasaku, to the shock of the whole class, lifted the boulder many times his size and weight with few problems.
Seeing as he had the desired effect, Fukasaku returned to his 'seat' in a single hop. "Since chakra and the physical fitness of a person are closely tied, I won't be able to teach you to use it just yet. First, we have to raise your strength and stamina. That way, even a simple Transformation Jutsu won't knock you out for a couple hours." Hearing that they'd have to exercise and can't learn jutsu yet disappointed some of the class. "After some exercises, we will spar, another way to build your stamina and learn to control your chakra. Be sure to exercise once or twice a day outside of class to improve your performance and growth. At the beginning of the following classes, my assistant Naruto-boy will cast a couple spells on you to see how well your bodies can handle chakra. If you cannot take on very much chakra after a few weeks, you'll be honorably dismissed, since we can't risk your health and life to graduate from this class. Now, let's start with a few laps around the outside of the courtyard."
When class ended, Naruto realized his first assessment of the students was wrong. They weren't just out of shape, they could barely run as fast or as far as he could when he first entered the Academy at the age of six! After a couple people fainted on the second lap, Pa was gracious and switched the class over to other exercises like chin-ups, pull-ups, and push-ups. With fifteen minutes to spare, Pa taught them some hand to hand punches and blocks from the Academy. Naruto realized at that point how lazy he was in the Academy; these forms were better than his self-taught brawler style. With five minutes to go, Naruto cast the Chakra Detection Charm and saw that few of the students naturally made chakra. The four that had a very slight chakra network by the time class ended were Crabbe, Goyle, Ron, and Luna.
While most of the class headed back to the castle, Naruto saw Harry walk towards the Forbidden Forest. Curious, Naruto looked where he was heading and saw a few deathly skinny flying horses descending in a certain location near the edge of the forest. 'Boney flying horses few can see? They must be thestrals.' Naruto thought. 'Maybe one of them gave me my wand core.'
When Naruto reached the clearing, he saw a small herd of the winged horses. Just like Ollivander said, their appearance made them seem like bad luck. Their cries, however, were both haunting and beautiful. But Harry and Naruto weren't alone. Luna was also there, feeding the thestrals and an infant that was walking up to her. Luna was telling Harry that she and her father believed Harry about Voldemort when Naruto came close.
"Hello Naruto Uzumaki," Luna greeted. How did she do that?! I was completely silent, and she didn't so much as turn her head to see me! "Did you see them too?"
"Uh... yeah!" Naruto answered. "Thestrals, right? Who did you see die?"
"My mum," Luna told him, without showing much emotion. "She had an accident with an experimental spell. I was nine when it happened."
"I was just born when both my parents died. But the death I remember the most is from when I was twelve. My first precious friend and his... mentor and father figure."
"That must be sad, not being raised with a family," Luna commented, "being alone, feeling unloved." She then turned towards Harry. "If I was You-Know-Who, and was out to kill you, I'd try to separate you from your friends."
"That's true," Naruto mused. "When my team first faced our teacher for a test, we didn't along well and tried to take him on one on one. But since we did nothing together or at the same time, he lazily took us out. He was even reading while facing two of us! He later told us that the true test was teamwork, and we failed because we turned our backs on each other."
"Interesting. When you had faced him, if you had worked alongside your friends, you could have passed. But because you faced him alone, you weren't a threat." She then turned back to Harry. "So, are you going to turn your back on your friends, or let them help you?"
While Harry pondered over this revelation, Luna pulled a piece of meat from her bag. Naruto noticed the young thestral get excited, and asked Luna for it. He then slowly approached the foal and carefully let it feed from his hand. While it was feeding, Naruto pet it's back and wings. While the wings felt weird, like stretched skin, the body was bony with a very thin, almost imperceptible, soft coat of fur. It was also starting to grow it's mane. Since it was getting close to sundown, the trio returned to the castle.
On the way back to the Slytherin Common Room, somebody got the jump on Naruto with a cackle. "SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY TRICK IDEAS?!"
Thinking quickly, Naruto smirked. "Actually, I do. But first, I want to see how well you do on your own." Naruto handed Peeves, who as a poltergeist was somewhat corporeal, a bag of various items. As Naruto explained each item and how they are to be used, Peeves went from grinning to a cackle that would put even the Joker to shame.
"OKIE DOKIE TRICKSTER PARTNER! YOU'VE GOT YOURSELF A PRANK!" With that salute, Peeves left.
Waiting for Naruto inside the common room was none other than his Head of House, Professor Snape. "Hello Snape!" Naruto then saw that his sneer was bigger than average. "Ehhh. I guess you spoke with Fred and George already... Gotta go!"
"Not. So. Fast." Snape drawled/growled, grabbing the back of Naruto's shirt. "My office. Now."
As Snape dragged a boy, screaming, pleading, desperate to escape to his office, Malfoy had a good laugh. He then realized that if he couldn't punish Naruto directly, he could try to get him in trouble through Snape.
And here's the chapter! How did I do?
Chapter Critiques:
No, most muggles aren't getting chakra, and none will be mentioned/brought in the story. I included Mr. Granger for another reason, which you may find out later when I get to the chapter.
I don't speak Latin, I use google translate. If anybody can provide me with better translations, I'll edit what I have.
No, I'm not going to reveal what Snape does to Naruto. Partly because I can't think of anything horrible enough that won't launch me into an M rating.
Review Responses:
Everyone: Yes, there are minor edits. Most noticeably in the beginning of chapter 1. This fanfic was taken down because I had too much original text, and it was removed without a warning.
Peace out!
AnonymousGX